Another driver, UTA maintenance gets ISO 9001 right.

Yesterday after the incident at the TRAX station, I would eventually catch the 440pm Route 801 back to Utah County, and after what happened, I have to commend the driver and UTA maintenance, and a passing Utah Highway Patrol trooper, for a job well done, not only that, but the UTA employees followed the customer service standard that ISO 9001 implies.

The trip was uneventful after leaving downtown, used the HOV/HOT lane from Downtown on I-15 as usual. The freeway was recently rebuilt in Salt Lake, and a 'stopgap' widening was done south of 106th South until they can begin a huge widening project in 2011. It is possible issues with the stopgap nature of UDOT having to add additional lanes until the big one can begin that may have been one factor in the following incident. Equipment fatigue could be another.

Just after 114th South, the bike rack on the front of the bus came loose, and the bus had to pull to the inside of the freeway, and came to a stop cross-lanes from the 123rd South (U-71/US-89) interchange. They discovered that they needed someone to be sure the rack would be OK until they could get it to the yard for the night crew to fix. So they called into the radio room at UTA just off 33rd South and I-15, a good ten or more miles north of their location.

Obviously this was after 5pm and traffic was thick. So the truck was going to have to deal with that. The driver and the passenger got the bike into the bus. About that time a passing UHP trooper came by and asked what could be done. The driver explained they had radioed it in. He hopped the center divider and did what he could, which despite his good efforts, was not enough.

About five minutes after that, the maintenance truck pulled up. They got it to hold the rest of the trip back. I'm sure that maintenance is looking at it now. They usually do a very good job, and their work using ISO 9001 in their documenting problems that come up is probably what keeps the buses running with few issues.

Here's the possible theories on the 'why it happened' part.

1. Although the bus was a three-year-old model MC 400 D bus, affectionately called 'stripers' by some, there is the possibility of metal fatigue in the rack or in a fastener, usually a bolt or screw, that could have worn through or simply failed. If so, it might point to a minor workmanship issue possibly at the factory. For the record, UTA's vehicle ID number on this was 04010 but it was referred to as '4010' by dispatch.

2. The other issue is the road itself could have contributed to something coming loose. Past 106th South, the road in the HOV lane is uneven, particularly at the end of the segment widened in 1997-2001 on south. Also settling near the 114th South bridge and near the work done for the 123rd South interchange may have made things just uneven enough to jar something loose.

Again thanks to the UTA driver, dispatch, maintenance, and the passing UHP trooper for a job well done. The rider still has his bike thanks to the quick thinking of the driver.