Comments:

ypsidixit - 2007-08-30 08:54:22
So let's scribble on the back of the envelope, here. Let's assume the AATA buses will achieve an average of the highest (45%) and lowest (20%) fuel savings figures. That average is 32.5% fuel savings.

The fleet will be 29% hybrid by next spring. Therefore, 29% of 32.5% is a 9.4% fuel savings overall for the AATA fleet. Not bad.

I hope the AATA gets some more advertisers to rake in some more cash to help with its laudable innovations. I like the bus ads--though they're nowhere as inventive as these bus ads that incorporate the wheel into the design--cool!
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lynne - 2007-08-30 20:00:56
I wonder if the new hybrid busses will be quieter. I am riding the bus now that I am working in downtown Ann Arbor but the engine noise on the bus drives me bonkers. Plus they are stinky. Maybe they'll be less stinky too. All good things, imho
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ypsidixit - 2007-08-30 20:53:14
Lynne: Yes, the articles I was reading this morning said the new hybrid buses were very quiet. They said the noise was the same as a regular car. That will indeed be nice. Now if they could just turn down, every so slightly, that ear-splitting BING BING BING Rice-a-Roni noise whenever someone pulls the cord...sheesh, we hear it already.
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ypsidixit - 2007-08-30 20:54:24
p.s. Lynne, I hope your employer gave you a GetDowntown free bus pass. I love mine and use it all the time...weekends, &c. Great perk to working in downtown AA.
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Nancy - 2007-08-31 09:19:19
did someone say go!pass? Well please don't hesitate to check out www.getdowntown.org if you work in downtown A2 and need one. I am here to be of service. Laura, Thanks for the post. And yes, definitely the buses will be super quiet. There was one at the green fair and you could hardly even tell it was on!
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Ypsidixit - 2007-08-31 09:22:31
Nancy: how nice to hear from you. Congratulations on your very cool new job with the GetDowntown program! I imagine it is hugely fun and that you meet all sorts of progressive-minded people with exciting ideas. Neat.

Quiet buses: more good news! Even easier to eavesd--er, concentrate quietly on my book.
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lynne - 2007-08-31 20:37:36
Yeah, my employer *has* ordered me a GoPass and I should get it next week. I agree that it is a real perk to working downtown!
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Ypsidixit - 2007-08-31 21:49:31
Lynne: Ah, great! Saves so much money. Fritz works in AA outside the go!pass zone, and has to spend $37.50 per month on a FlexPass thingie. We figured out how much it would be to drive and it's cheaper to take the bus than for him to drive his car.
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Lisele - 2007-09-05 10:30:47
Ahhhhh, bus talk. It is so good to have you back, Esteemed Y. Tho I have moved jobs, I am still taking the lowly #4, fake digital clang and all. (Yes, I got off the bus humming the Rice-a-Roni theme AGAIN yesterday.) I am so glad to hear about hybrid buses. I have been driving a hybrid since 2002 and believe me, I was so glad to have it when the gas prices spiked. Sharing just one car, riding the bus & biking a lot made the pain not quite so great. Losing my yellow M-Card did just about kill me tho. I am eagerly awaiting my new Go!Pass so I can stop flashing my nearly expired M-Card...
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Ypsidixit - 2007-09-05 10:39:00
Thank you for your kind words, Lisele; it's great to be back. I've saved SO much money (well, about $40 a month, which is what Fritz pays for his FlexPass) over the last 3 years with my GoPass. I wouldn't read hardly at all if I didn't bus back and forth 45 min each day--my relaxo-time.
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