Calgary Transit ran the double decker on Route 3, 5 and 64 each rush hour from June 9th to June 25th. CT has built the Trident its own peak service run in order to operate all 3 routes separately during each peak period. For more specific schedule information please click Here (Scroll to bottom)
Calgary Transit had no immediate plans to purchase any of these buses. The sole purpose of the double decker running in service was to see how passengers and operators liked it and to see if it would be a good bus to use for the BRT service to start in September 2004. Of course there are still matters of logistics of buying this bus such as its flexibility on other transit corridors where ridership is not as the high as the Centre Street/North transit corridor.
This TransBus International (Dennis) Trident is powered by a Cummins ISM11 (330 rating, 330 bhp @ 1040 lb-ft torque) with a Voith D864.3 4-speed automatic transmission. The Trident is a low floor bus with wheelchair ramp and 2 wheelchair positions, these buses also have Balios LED destination sings. The double decker is 14 feet tall (4 feet taller then a D40LF) and features 83 seats (44 more than a D40LF) and room for 28 standees for a total capacity of 112 passengers without wheelchairs. These Tridents have better legroom on the majority of the seats, more comfortable seats (less durable though), PA system, air conditioning, rear door and upper deck monitoring system using a small camera.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Reaction from passengers has generally been that of surprise despite the trial was published in the media. Many passengers were quite excited and enjoyed the special ride. Many on lookers from the street couldn't stop looking at this 14ft. tall bus as it passed by. Several Chinese passengers throughout their trip made comparisons to Hong Kong’s double deckers. To the delight of many passengers, this Trident along with the others of BC Transit is equipped with an air conditioning system. None of Calgary Transit's regular buses have air conditioning systems. Although one disadvantage is the low ceiling on the upper deck, standing headroom is only 1.72m. Overhanging trees in some older communities’ force the Trident to hug the centerline more than usual. The ride on the upper deck is very quiet, legroom is very generous on both levels, the upper deck tends to sway a little when going over any uneven surface in the road, this is expected in a double decker bus as it is taller. 9027 was had a bit of a rattle up at the very front on the lower deck, but the rest of the bus was rattle free. Every pair of seats has it's own stop request button. Each seat also has it's own airflow control and reading light. This was the first thing most passengers noticed once they took their seat. By the end of the trial quite a few passangers were adjusting their schedules just to ride the double decker bus. On most days the 64 got the most passangers of all 3 routes run, the 64 was the only route that the double decker was truely effective on. In fact on the very last day on the 64 Macewan Express in the afternoon, 9027 left downtown with all 83 seats taken and about 10 standees. Routes 3 and 5 usually did not get enough passangers boarding to make the extra seats on the bus effective. Although it should be noted that the Trident was placed in between two regular runs and did not actally replace any standard bus runs. Both driver and passangers were sad to see the bus go as the expierience was quite enjoyable for many.
