9076
Retired: Thursday April 1, 1993
Division at the time of retirement: Coral Way
Oh,boy. No Metrobus in recent years has had such a public demise. While 1172's fate was similar, I don't believe it was mentioned in the Miami Herald, while 9076 landed on Page One of the Local Section on April 2.
Ninety Seventy-Six was of course the 76th bus of the first shipment of buses that were equipped with wheelchair lifts. This Flxible was built in 1990. It was assigned to Coral Way. During the closing days of March 1993, 9076 was in the shop getting a brake job. It was put on the road on the morning of April 1st. It was deadheading on the Turnpike when a fire broke out at the site of the recent brake job, which was one of the four rear wheels. The driver pulled over near the SW 137th Avenue off-ramp and fled. He called 911, and Metro- Dade Fire Rescue mounted the Turnpike and rushed to the burning bus. Unfortunately, the fire had spread rapidly, and the bus was destroyed. A passing motorist snapped a picture of the fire and it appeared in the Herald the next morning.
An investigation later showed that the brake job that was preformed earlier was faulty, and I guess the blaze started when the brakes overheated.What isn't clear is what direction it was headed, but being that far south it was either coming off or heading onto the 35/70. The only other route that went to Florida City in those days was the rush-hour only 38 express, but in the mornings it operated northbound, towards Dadeland North, so if it was early enough, it might have been returning to Florida City after dropping off a load at Dadeland. The 38 , much like it's succesor, the Busway MAX, was a money-maker, so it was highly unlikely that he was in service but with no passengers.
This fire was an eerie precursor to the fire that damaged 9744 on January 24, 1999. That bus was southbound on US1, on the Busway MAX, when fire broke out in the wheel behind the back doors. The cause was also a faulty brake job, and the bus was also down in deep South Dade, near SW 268 St. (Or roughly SW 147 Avenue.- both the turnpike and US1 run northeast to southwest in this area, so they cross both streets and avenues.). Fortunalely the damage on 9744 was much more limited, and it returned to service after a few months in the shop.
Oh, by the way, if you reverse the 0 and the 7 in 9076, you get 9706, which of course survived an impact from a speeding 18 wheeler back in March of 2000. If 9076 were still around, it would've been a Central bus, since 9074 and up are currently Central's.