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56 months ago

Rosa (a guest user) asked this question:

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56 months ago

CIWARA TRADUCTION & SERVICES   wrote:

Arrival in reform

56 months ago

CIWARA TRADUCTION & SERVICES   wrote:

Are no longer fit for duty / have reached riddance age

My comment:

After Commenting on Barbara's translation, I've realized that I've come to a different conclusion.
If the owner of the bus company has decided that he will renew his fleet after 8 years of good and faithful service, he will get rid of the buses, whatever their condition. Those that are still in good working order will be sold to be refurbished and have a second life; those that are in very poor condition will be sold for scrap.
"Réforme" here has the same meaning as in a military context. A soldier who is "réformé" is no longer fit for duty and is sent back home.

56 months ago

CIWARA TRADUCTION & SERVICES   wrote:

Arrived in proper form

56 months ago

Ffion Marianne Moyle   wrote:

Reformed buses

My comment:

After a serious accident or after 10, 15 or even 20 years of service and mileage of up to 800,000 km, buses are reformed by operators. But what happens to them? Well, it all depends on their general condition. Some are directly demolished, resold or offered to preservation associations, others begin a second career, sometimes in areas unrelated to urban transport!

Reform process
Communities and operators have several ways to get rid of buses that need to be reformed:

Taken over by a manufacturer as part of a new bus purchase market
Sale to traders or other networks, in France or abroad (mainly in Africa and Eastern Europe)
Donations to associations
Destruction (following accident, fire, failure...)

My references:

Internet

56 months ago

MatthewHallisy   wrote:

Reimagined

My comment:

I think the key to determining the context is the phrase "chacun des lots". "Lot" can be translated a few ways, but with this context the one that makes the most sense is "destin" or "destinée" meaning fate or destiny. What does that mean? When we look at the 2nd sentence, "Ces autobus réformés one une DEUXIÈME VIE", it looks like it's not just a refurbishment (a return to their 1st life) but something new being created (a 2nd life). Putting this all together, it seems like the new purpose for the buses isn't the same as its first use (presumably transportation of groups), but maybe something totally different (e.g. a food truck). Again, the use of the phrase "une deuxième vie" seems to allude to something dramatically different, moreso than a simple refurbishing to make it look similar to what existed before.

My references:

I only used Google Translate to get the most amount of possible translations of "lot".

56 months ago

CMD   wrote:

[here] recycling as newly manifested conversion of

My comment:

NB:
cf https://www.transbus.org/dossiers/reforme.html
cf https://www.liveabout.com/what-happens-to-buses-after-use-2798853
cf https://www.lushome.com/fun-recycling-ideas-old-buses/151728

conversion (into) = act or process of changing sth from one form, purpose or system to a different one (cf Dict. Longman, Webster's),
i.e. [here] assignation of another or completely new use or destination

Comments by other colleagues on this answer:

56 months ago

CMD   wrote:

"réformer" : also means "changer en mieux" , "corriger" etc (cf Dict. LPR)

56 months ago

CMD   wrote:

overhaul of buses

My comment:

After doing a google search, it seems you can also use "rehabilitation" and "refurbishing". But I think that "overhaul" is more commonly used.

Comments by other colleagues on this answer:

56 months ago

CMD   wrote:

Quite right. Anyway, it can't be translated by scrapped since they have a second life. But it's true that in another context, sold for scrap would be the correct translation.

56 months ago

CMD   wrote:

PS It's the same meaning as in "un soldat réformé" = no longer fit (or unfit) for duty. If the buses are meant to be used for, let's say, six years only by the company, even if they still in good working order, the company has to get rid of them to buy new ones. Literally, they have reached their riddance age.

56 months ago

CMD   wrote:

If what you say is true, Serge, I would say that a couple of possible translations might be "cull from the fleet", or "retire buses from service". But then, why would the source text say that they are going to have a new life, a second lease at life? That seems to me that they are being overhauled or refurbished, so that they are up to snuff (mechanically, the condition of their seating, etc.), when it comes to making sure the service they are supposed to carry out will be done in all safety.

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