Renaults a go go: the final frontier

[triumph]

There are two new Yutongs fitted only with the new ticketing system.

As has been announced, these will be used in regular service, and there will be 4 in total.

So that's potentially 4 more Renaults to be withdrawn shortly.

It is becoming more and more confusing and contradictory. Charging capability was said not to be enough for the new Yutongs. Does that imply they will be using Belconnen facilities and consequently the Elements are a long way from service? If the withdrawal of gas buses can be covered, how come the Renaults were not gone sooner? At present it seems to strictly be each time a new bus is about in service. Gas buses had new floors not long before gas cylinder expiry (are any still away? Has 693 been returned from major repair? If there were updates, I have missed them. (Many contradictions and/or incorrect assumptions - for example is it actually factual that the gas buses are permanently withdrawn?
Out of all this, it does appear that either forward planning is severely disrupted by external factors or some last minute panics might be happening (or both?).

[Barry Drive]

Does that imply they will be using Belconnen facilities and consequently the Elements are a long way from service?

It certainly looks that way.

My guess is they brought forward some Yutongs due to the continued **whatever** fault with the Elements.

[L94UBbusfan]

TC should send the new Scania's, which would have otherwise been replacing the Irisbuses, to Tuggeranong to cover for L94s being retired once the Belconnen Renaults are retired. Then once there are enough Yutongs in the fleet, TC can send the Scania's back to Belconnen to replace the Irisbuses.

Depends on just how many L94s are retired before mass Yutong deliveries arrive.

[triumph]

......
Depends on just how many L94s are retired before mass Yutong deliveries arrive.

Charging facilities? If I have understood it properly, this is dependent on new Woden Depot completion.

[L94UBbusfan]

Charging facilities?

That too

We probably will need another topic for L94 retirements at some point too, they seem to be filling up the Renault retirement topic (I probably started that, sorry)

However 697 is according to fleetwiki "not currently in service". Anyone know what's going on with this bus?

Geez at this rate, Tuggeranong is gonna run out of buses lol. I wonder how far away the Scania's are, because we need them ASAP

[L94UBbusfan]

I have some speculation about the Renaults retirements, don't take it too seriously, it is all guessing. We will see how right or wrong I am in the end...

We currently have 10 Renaults remaining in service, 7 at Belconnen and 3 at Tuggeranong. (931 is retired according to fleetwiki and I haven't seen it in ages). 733 and 812 are registered and are due to enter service this month, and 813 has already entered service. This should lead to 3 Renault retirements, however 813 may have caused 953 to be retired. This means we would be down to 8 by the end of the month

Now as mentioned by Chris Steel in Question Time, the Elements have had "technical acceptance" done to them, and are expected to enter service sometime in June (as all but 751 are registered). There are 4 of them, so that should mean 4 Renaults are retired. This takes us down to 4 Renaults remaining by the end of June (2 at each depot)

Now by then I would guess 814 and 815, which are presumed to be MyWay+ buses, as well as at least 1 more Scania, if not more, are delivered. These buses would likely enter service in July, meaning that there would be enough buses to retire all the Renaults by the end of the school term.

Now, this all may depend on how many L94 CNG's have to be retired before July, which is when most of them will hit the 20 year mark, which may slow down the Renault retirement a little bit, but if we get more buses than what we project, then there is a high chance the Renaults last day in service will be July 5th, the last day of Term 2. 

[triumph]

I have some speculation about the Renaults retirements, don't take it too seriously, it is all guessing. We will see how right or wrong I am in the end...
....

Now, this all may depend on how many L94 CNG's have to be retired before July, which is when most of them will hit the 20 year mark, which may slow down the Renault retirement a little bit, but if we get more buses than what we project, then there is a high chance the Renaults last day in service will be July 5th, the last day of Term 2. (

Yes, apart from possible gas bus retirement impacts, this seems quite likely. The present on-line timetable for public services shows using non-disability compliant (ie Renaults) is becoming rather sparse, and the reality is a lot worse.
On Monday I planned to time a departure from Majura Park (route 54) for the mid-afternoon Renault which duly showed  up. The plan was then to continue to Gungahlin on the Light Rail and use the sole R8 Renault service to Belconnen, and failing that, the route 23 Renault service a few minutes later. Neither showed up. So back to Dickson on the Light Rail for route 30 Renaults. The first was a no show. The second and last was a Renault. So out of 5 timetabled services only 2 were actually Renaults.
Today the plan was to use the after lunch route 64 Woden to Coolemam Court and the route 65 back to Woden Both were Renault services but only 64 had a Renault. The subsequent route 77 from Woden was also a no show. Thence a number of possibilities from the City. Route 32 was a no show, also 53 to Dickson. Route 53 Renault to the Museum showed up and later the same bus operated the late afternoon route 51. I think that a route 55 leaving while I was at the Museum was also a Renault. Again, out of 8 services timetabled for Renaults only 50% actually were Renaults (involving 3 different units).
The message is that opportunities to ride are already difficult and about to get even more so, especially if different Renault buses are sought on the same day. If you want multiple rides, do it now, don't procrastinate.   
 

[L94UBbusfan]

They are disappearing off routes I know they operate on quick, I hope they don't go off the 25 service they usually operate, that's my only chance I get to ride on one. I hope to at least ride on 1 more Renault before they all go.

[Sylvan Loves Buses]

Same, I've been so busy with uni these last few weeks I've had to miss quite a few - including 963 the other day pulling into city west, nice to see a Dinosaur bus again.
I haven't looked recently, but I'd still imagine that 72 in the morning connecting with a 71 Iris is still doable, but getting up first thing these last few mornings has been tough with the cold.

[L94UBbusfan]

To the best of my knowledge the 72 in the morning is still a Renault, but who knows for how much longer. I'd definitely try catch that route ASAP.

[743]

Conversely, on a few occasions over the past month, I've noticed Renaults in unexpected places - including Tuggeranong fleet on Routes R5 and 78 well in to the evening.

[triumph]

Same, I've been so busy with uni these last few weeks I've had to miss quite a few - including 963 the other day pulling into city west, nice to see a Dinosaur bus again.
I haven't looked recently, but I'd still imagine that 72 in the morning connecting with a 71 Iris is still doable, but getting up first thing these last few mornings has been tough with the cold.

As of today, according to the on-line TT, the early morning 72 from Woden is still a non-disability service.

A perusal of the on-line TT shows that South of the Lake there are now only 16 single runs across 10 routes left as non-disability services. On any given day this is probably less as other buses substitute for Renaults.

Today I happened to be in Woden again. So checked on the after lunch routes 64 and 65. Renault 982 again operated route 64. But route 65, operated yesterday by electric Yutong 810, was operated today by Renault 980.

[triumph]

....
A perusal of the on-line TT shows that South of the Lake there are now only 16 single runs across 10 routes left as non-disability services. On any given day this is probably less as other buses substitute for Renaults.
.....

Adding North of the Lake and incl Rte 47 as predominantly N of the Molonglo, the numbers are:
63 single trips across 21 routes.

Notably route 46 has no less than 7 single trips, closely followed by routes 45 and 51 with 5 each.

I haven't attempted to graph the trips to see what the greatest number of simultaneous trips are and to compare that with available Renaults. But at an average of nearly 8 single trips per Renault still in service, it is reasonably clear that a good many of the trips are not operated by Renaults in any single day. 

It seems logical that the last runs will be North side with Belconnen Depot Renault(s). But which ones?

 

[Barry Drive]

... then there is a high chance the Renaults last day in service will be July 5th, the last day of Term 2.   

Way too early to speculate, but a few things to note:

• in 2024 there have been 3 new Scania buses (at Belconnen Depot) for 5 Renault withdrawals - so there's no guarantee that the 4 Custom Denning Elements will result in 4 withdrawals, and it's even less likely that they will result in more than 4.

• the number of new Yutongs is also uncertain; while 3 are definite, the 4th was speculation.

• again, the 3-4 new Yutongs may not result in any further withdrawals at Tuggeranong for a variety of reasons, including the logistical difficulties of charging 15 or 16 electric buses when there are only 12 outlets that can be used concurrently.

[L94UBbusfan]

It may but a bit early for speculation, but not too early. The Elements would at least replace 4 Renaults, I doubt they would retire a lesser amount than new buses in service considering they are trying to get rid of them ASAP. They have been able to retire some L94s without any drama (so far) so what would an extra 2 or 3 Renaults being retired do?

The number of Yutong's delivered within the near future is almost certain to be 4, since there are 4 MyWay+ trial buses expected, all of which should be Yutongs. Charging is an issue, but I don't see why some buses could be charged while others are on duties, and then once the original buses run out of charge, the charged buses will then operate (unless it's super inconvenient). No matter what, we could still probably replace all Renaults with the Elements and Scania's due soon and whatever new Yutong's we currently have before Term 3 begins. Definitely before the end of the year. Time will tell

[triumph]

.......
 Definitely before the end of the year. Time will tell

Well before the election at the very latest I reckon.

[L94UBbusfan]

Looking into routes operated by Renaults, I believe there is only 1 Renault service scheduled on a Rapid route left. This is an R8 service to Belconnen in the late afternoon

including Tuggeranong fleet on Routes R5

As seen here, Rapid services may be operated by Renaults, but not scheduled. The R8 is the only scheduled Rapid route with a Renault.

[743]

Renault sighted departing Calwell Shops on a 79 just now (yes - at 9:10pm).

[L94UBbusfan]

Renault sighted departing Calwell Shops on a 79 just now (yes - at 9:10pm).

I just saw a Renault on an 80 at 7pm. It isn't a Renault scheduled service. Keeping this on topic, I wonder which Renault will be the next to be retired? I think it should be 959, the last time I rode on it it sounded sick and had a problem just as I got off it, how lucky was I!

[triumph]

Renault sighted departing Calwell Shops on a 79 just now (yes - at 9:10pm).

Just chance, or an indication that gas bus withdrawals are having an impact? Or even that Yutongs being charged during operational hours need to be covered? Speculation - time will probably resolve

[Barry Drive]

Just chance, or an indication that gas bus withdrawals are having an impact? Or even that Yutongs being charged during operational hours need to be covered?

Firstly: this is getting close to setting off the "off-topic" alarm.

Secondly: the underlying cause would be the withdrawal of the Scania L94s without replacements. The immediate cause would be a backlog in the workshops (for any number of reasons - availability of parts, complexity of repairs ...). You can only survive the removal of spare buses from your fleet for so long before you find out why you actually needed that many.

[Sylvan Loves Buses]

Oh I see, couple of numbers missing from the scania list already
What's happening with 979? Can't recall seeing it recently, has that fallen fate to the retirements yet or will the Tuggy's be the last to go with it included?

[743]

What's happening with 979? Can't recall seeing it recently, has that fallen fate to the retirements yet or will the Tuggy's be the last to go with it included?

It is safe and sound - I've seen it in service on two days this week. 

[L94UBbusfan]

What's happening with 979? Can't recall seeing it recently, has that fallen fate to the retirements yet or will the Tuggy's be the last to go with it included?

I just saw a Renault on an 80 at 7pm.

This service was operated by 979. It's definitely still in service, for now at least. And regarding whether the Tuggeranong Renaults will be the last to go, it's really anyone's guess, but I personally think a Belconnen Renault will be the last to go. Purely just because there are more of them.