Goodbye, Musical D60LFs | Final Ride on Santa Cruz Metro 2002 New Flyer D60LF #2318

ex-VTA D60LF Tribute Video. The 2002 ex-VTA D60LFs roamed on El Camino Real, Route 22, for most of their lives, carrying many riders between San Jose and Palo Alto. In 2018-2019, these were completely retired from VTA, and a few of them were brought down to Santa Cruz to provide higher-capacity transit to UCSC. Those were 2316, 2318, 2322, and 2333. These were the only articulated buses running in Santa Cruz, while the rest of the fleet consisted of 40-foot buses before the ex-MTS ones came in. I rode these a lot during my freshman year, and that was when I started my hobby of fanning buses. This was also how I met new transit friends and learned more about mass transit in different countries, including how it can function in different types of suburbs. Whenever I rode a bus, I noticed each model made distinctive noises, and I really enjoyed listening to them. However, there was one that really drew my attention and that I could never get enough of: the 2002 D60LFs. The loud axles and the beastly ISL engine combined sounded like music you'd want to listen to for days. 2333 was the most notable one I particularly liked. What also drew my attention were the Banana Slug wraps on the exterior. Once I saw one of the articulated buses with that wrap, I immediately knew it would go to UCSC, since I wasn't quite familiar with the routes yet. These buses felt brand new because they ran very well and were well-upkept. Towards the middle of the year, I started filming buses. This started with a little ride video on 2322, and I kept rewatching it every time. The video performed very well on YouTube, so this incentivized me to make videos of different buses and different agencies. These buses were very abundant until the beginning of my third year. I found out that 2322 was retired out of the blue after not seeing it for nearly a year. It became far more concerning when the San Diego MTS artics were put into service, as they were supposed to replace the 20-year-old D60LFs. However, there have been surprising revivals within this fleet alone. In November 2023, 2316 suffered a major mechanical issue as the bus could run, but not move at all. I thought that would be the very last time I saw it. 2333 then disappeared from service early 2024, but a few months later, it came back! When I first saw and rode the bus, it seemed as if it woke up from a long hibernation, lost in its dreams. Until then 2318 and 2333 ran sporadically. During my fourth year, another surprise came in. 2316 was suddenly running again, after over a year of sitting in the yard! I was very shocked to even see it running, especially when all of them were on the verge of retirement. At the same time, Metro was having quite some trouble with their MTS artics as half would be out for maintenance. As Metro was suffering from a bus shortage, they purchased more used buses from OCTA to accelerate the retirement of older buses and expand the fleet. Unfortunately, this was the point where we started losing a significant portion of the legendary buses, and by that time, the hydrogen buses were already on site. Towards the end of my fourth and last year, I dedicated as much time as I could to looking out for old buses while many had only months left. Now, fast-forward to this video, which was taken one day before I officially graduated from college. This is my very last ride video I'll have filmed on an ex-VTA D60LF, filmed on 6/12/25. When I rode this up to campus for the very last time, it felt quite bittersweet. When the bus accelerated, the noises it made reminded me a lot of my early years here. Over the past 4 years, these buses have taken me everywhere between UCSC and downtown Santa Cruz, from going to classes to going on expeditions/ hangouts with friends, and from early morning peaceful rides to late night chaotic and packed rides. Even when these buses suffered issues of old age, they continued to survive and thrive, and this is how you can tell that these were real workhorses. Every transit friend I met loved riding these buses for similar reasons, whether with VTA or SCMTD. These will always remain my favorite buses I've ever ridden. These have also had a large influence on my interests in transit. R.I.P 2002 - 2026 In this video, I show clips of these units arriving and taking off, and show the final ride video I took uninterrupted. Videos of these I've filmed over the years:    • New Flyer D60LF   Vince Website: https://sites.google.com/view/vince-w... Map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mi... Instagram:   / vince_transport_productions   Vincent S:    / @vincents687   (NEW) Vince Transport Production's Archives:    / @vincetransportproductionarch   ©2026 Vince Transport Productions. Use of this video is prohibited without written permission.