I was able to tour the newest buses about to hit the streets here in Seattle. I spent a short time looking at King County Metros newest 60' bus, and their new 40' Orions. Other photos from this visit can be found on my Flickr Account.The biggest change, are the seats! Many agencies use these seats, and have for some time. They include Portlands TriMet in their Buses and Trains, Vancouver Translinks Buses, Los Angeles Metro Rapid Buses, Philadelphia SEPTA Buses, and Orange County (OCTA) Buses, to name a few. Metro has been using borderline premium seats in all its buses. Seats that are expensive to repair and replace.
It has been in my travels, that these new seats are durable, and despite the removal of the coil based cushions, these seats are comfortable. They are shaped ergonomically, and very space saving. The seat covering Metro chose is the same as the seats in the current in service 6800s, a vinyl, non-slip surface. These seats resist soaking up odors, spillages and more. Overall, these seats will help save Metro money, and will provide a better experience for the rider. It is very possible you will see these seats in all future Metro buses, including RapidRide, and personally I welcome the change.
1 comment:
Back when I rode the bus in Northern Kentucky on TANK (hows that for a cool acronym?) We had seats like this. They were quite comfortable as far as things go.
Although when I'm tired and wanting to relax I'm going to miss the current Metro seats, and even the kind they have on the new articulated buses..
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