It's also the bow and stern. It looks like the new ship has maximized seating space and extended the cabin front and back so you don't have the 80s sci-fi angles going on.

Well we can only hope it runs like the old ones... those things are workhorses.

Christening of the new Seabus - from the Buzzer Bog:

Is that a new SeaBus logo on it?
From the interior shot, the windows on the front and back look higher than on the older ones. i.e. when seated, can you still see out clearly?

http://buzzer.translink.ca/

Photo gallery:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebuzz...7621760672939/

Very nice looking.. love the new SeaBus logo.

That logo has been used by SeaBus for a while now...

Do you know how SeaBus got it's name back in the 1970s? According to Transit Museum Society, it was a ripoff of CP Air's SkyBus service, a no reservation air service between Vancouver and Toronto. The first manager of SeaBus was previously the marketing guy at CP Air's SkyBus.

Skytrain came from the same origins (it was a public contest, but the outcome was obvious) given the SeaBus name.

some others: Anybody remember the old 640 "Valley to Sea" bus. I remember seeing the "Valley to Sea" destination sign on the bus and thought it so west coast. It was a "tip of the hat" to Edwards Lake to Sea System in the US, recently written up in Motor Coach Age.

Anyway - look at the most recent newsletter at TRAMS for more
http://www.trams.bc.ca/

that one does look a little different than the one currently in use.

Your right actually.... the seagull is on top instead of on the bottom now.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1141/...3fe2aadc_b.jpg
Photography by paradigm4 of Flickr

Vs.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2663/...04e56a54_o.jpg
Photography by BuzzerBlog of Flickr

I thought those two humps were to represented the north shore mountains, oh well, still the new Seabus looks great, except for the name.

It's just probably another logo that have dual interpretations, like the TransLink logo for instance. Some say it's mountains, sun, and sea. Others think it's a moving man.

On a related note, they're currently repainting the interior of the seabus dock. Mostly dark blue now (used to be light blue and white).

They are also ordering new fencing for both seabus stations, the fence will be 8ft tall and made of iron rod, much nicer then the chainlink they have on the Vancouver side, don't know what they have on the north van side.

Also changing the title of this thread.

Where exactly is this fencing going? I can't think of anywhere that either SeaBus terminal has chain link fences.

There's chainlink fencing on either side of the entrance on the north side (just about 10 feet or so) and chainlink in less visible areas outside on the south side.

Wow... that brings back memories... My dad used to drive the 640 Valley to Sea. That was the days of the old GM Fishbowl busses with the "armstrong" steering. He was a transit driver for over 30 years and I would ride with him during the summer. That was always fun.

From Jhen at the Buzzer:




Higher SeaBus frequencies canceled as originally planned with introduction of third vessel
Translink ops to retire one of older ferries instead; new-build program for SeaBus

From fleet management:

-The Burrard Pacific Breeze was originally intended to expand the fleet during the Olympics, then the Otter and Beaver would be taken out of service to perform major refit work to them, and after all was said and done, we would have three good vessels.

-The cost (and risk) of the refits on the Otter and Beaver, when we got our quotes in, were far too expensive to justify when compared to the cost of new-builds.

-As a result, we have moved forward with canceling the refit program, and turning it into a new-build program.

-We would like to build two new vessels, so that we can offer 3-SeaBus service (as we’d originally planned), but TransLink’s funding situation has reprioritized this– 2 SeaBuses is “good enough” if we’re not moving forward with the full expansion plan.

-As to why TransLink had originally planned for 3, but now can’t afford it: our expert’s cost estimates for refitting the two existing vessels was far too low, resulting in much more money needing to be allocated to the project, money which TransLink doesn’t have.




Under the 2010 10-Year Plan, adopted by the TransLink Board on July 29, 2009, TransLink has committed to replacing both SeaBus vessels. TransLink had originally considered overhauling the SeaBus vessels however a cost analysis concluded the extended lifespan of the vessels did not justify the cost of the overhaul.

One of the replacement vessels has already arrived and will go into service during the Fall of 2009. During the Olympics TransLink will operate three SeaBus vessels, providing 10 minute service frequencies. After the Olympics one of the older SeaBus vessels will be retired and service will revert to pre-Olympic levels. Under the 2010 10-Year Base Plan the remaining older SeaBus vessel will be replaced. If TransLink operates under the ‘On Track to a Sustainable Region’ supplemental plan then a third SeaBus vessel will be purchased, allowing for improved service levels similar to those planned for the Olympics.

1,377 new vehicles does sound like a lot however there are a few key points to consider:

- 40-foot conventional vehicles have a 17 year lifespan. Between 1995 and 2001, BC Transit/TransLink purchased over 500 conventional 40-foot buses, all of which will have to be replaced over the course of the next 10 years.

- 773 (over half) of the 1377 new vehicles outlined in the Base 2010 10-Year Plan are Community Shuttle and HandyDART vehicles. These vehicles have a shorter lifespan (7 years for Community Shuttle and 6-8 years for HandyDART). Many of these vehicles will have to be replaced twice over the course of the 10-Year Plan.

- Not all vehicle types are the same cost. Smaller vehicle types, such as Community Shuttles and HandyDART vehicles are approximately half the cost of a conventional 40-foot bus.




The new SeaBus ferry is now in water. This won't be the third ferry, instead it'll be a replacement of either the Beaver or the Otter.
http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-conten...8/dsc_3109.jpg

Shitty.

+1:yuck:

Nice to the new SeaBus in the water, can't wait to ride it.

So after the olympics, they will retire one of the original boats, but keep one running, for at least a couple of years (until a second new boat is purchased, which must take at least 1-2 years to order, and hasn't been started yet).

If one of them is ok to keep running without a refit, why not keep both of the old ones running, and have 3 sea bus service, as promised? Are they not both the same age? (I can't tell the difference between them at all, they seem identical). How do they decide which one is ok? I can't imagine one of them suddenly becomes unsafe the day after the olympics, but the other is ok for another 2-3 years!!! And what will they do if they cannot get another new seabus ordered in a year - run just one?

I think they are announcing this to get more support for their funding plan - but this was already budgeted for before and promised before that, and hopefully this turns out to be just political games and they will get on and do what they promised, although I don't have much faith.

I think people will be mad next year if one of the perfectly good old seabusses is taken out of service to just sit in a dock somewhere, while the other identical one carries on. It would have been different if it was being refitted, but to just pull it out of service because translink is throwing a fit about not having an unlimited budget seems dumb. Obviously there are fuel and staff costs to consider, but I would have thought the fare return would justify the fuel and staff costs at least.

I also bet the new one has some teething problems in the first year and ends up more unreliable than the old ones!

I think it is a cost over time factor. Over the next 20-30 years it would be cheaper to build two more Seabuses and cover the 20-30 year maintinence fee's for those then to refit the current ones and pay the 20-30 year maintinence fee's for those.

Plus I'm thinking that building a new seabus or two from scratch would produce jobs, which is never a bad thing, especially with the cheaper labour market we will have for the next little while.


Also, am I the only one that doesn't mind the look of the new seabus? It's utilitarian, yes, but it gets the job done. And I think the paint job is spectcular and uniform with the rest of the bus and skytrain fleet, which is something I quite appreciate and hope they don't change anytime soon.