Staten Island Bus Proposal Thread 2012-2013

[checkmatechamp13]

@Via Garibaldi 8 Amazon isn't the type of company that would be interested in those types of perks. Basically the perk is that they give you a few bucks over minimum wage and some basic benefits (paid time off, etc) and that's about it. Unless there is some tax incentive for environmental reasons as was mentioned.

[B35 via Church]

2 hours ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

@Via Garibaldi 8 Amazon isn't the type of company that would be interested in those types of perks. Basically the perk is that they give you a few bucks over minimum wage and some basic benefits (paid time off, etc) and that's about it. Unless there is some tax incentive for environmental reasons as was mentioned.

At all.

After what my cousin told me about the shuttles they had (don't know if they still got em, since she's not out of LGA9 (Edison location) anymore), I was done.... A minivan from Manhattan to Edison's gotta be BRUTAL !

[bobtehpanda]

7 hours ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

@Via Garibaldi 8 Amazon isn't the type of company that would be interested in those types of perks. Basically the perk is that they give you a few bucks over minimum wage and some basic benefits (paid time off, etc) and that's about it. Unless there is some tax incentive for environmental reasons as was mentioned.

 

5 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

At all.

After what my cousin told me about the shuttles they had (don't know if they still got em, since she's not out of LGA9 (Edison location) anymore), I was done.... A minivan from Manhattan to Edison's gotta be BRUTAL !

They offer the Google type buses, but those are for corporate. Google just doesn't have a large workforce of minimum wage employees for them to not provide bus service to.

...does Google NYC run buses from Chelsea Market? I doubt it, mostly because I don't think they'd be any faster than just using normal mass transit.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

19 hours ago, bobtehpanda said:

 

They offer the Google type buses, but those are for corporate. Google just doesn't have a large workforce of minimum wage employees for them to not provide bus service to.

...does Google NYC run buses from Chelsea Market? I doubt it, mostly because I don't think they'd be any faster than just using normal mass transit.

When I went to that business luncheon down there at Google, I didn't notice any sort of shuttle service. One thing they did have plenty of as I walked around the various spaces was lots of open areas for employees to sit and be "creative" or meet and discuss this or that. Not my style. I prefer my office, but I realize it's a different work environment there. lol

 

On 12/6/2020 at 5:14 PM, checkmatechamp13 said:

@Via Garibaldi 8 Amazon isn't the type of company that would be interested in those types of perks. Basically the perk is that they give you a few bucks over minimum wage and some basic benefits (paid time off, etc) and that's about it. Unless there is some tax incentive for environmental reasons as was mentioned.

But they must do something for their creative types. More pay if not any transit perk. I work with a lot of international type clients, and they will pay for things like relocating their employees, and they get a rent stipend and all of that jazz. Goes back to such companies wanting to get the best talent.  On occasion I take clients out to lunch (this was pre COVID) and we'd discuss such things if they were sending employees from other offices abroad to the US, etc.

[checkmatechamp13]

@Via Garibaldi 8 You're probably thinking of the corporate offices. The ones out on Staten Island are just warehouses.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

53 minutes ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

@Via Garibaldi 8 You're probably thinking of the corporate offices. The ones out on Staten Island are just warehouses.

I am... That's interesting about them being all warehouses though.

[A Former New Yorker]

Express Bus Ideas: 

SIM13: Operates from Woodrow Rd/Lenevar Av to Greenwich Village. Runs on Woodrow Road, then on Arthur Kill Road to Korean War Veterans Pkwy/W Shore Expressway/Staten Island Exp and then follows the SIM7 from there 

SIM16C: Operates from Port Richmond to Central Pk S/6 Av via South Av/Richmond Terrace and follows the "Combination" routes 

SIM12: Operates from New Dorp La/Cedar Grove Av to Midtown. Runs along New Dorp Lane, left on Amboy Road, then right on Arden Av and then runs though Korean War Veterans Pkwy/NJ Tunrpike/42nd St/5 Av/Madison Av 

SIM36: Operates to Eltingville Transit Center to Midtown via Richmond Av, right on Victory Blvd, right onto Clove Road and follows the SIM31 until 57 St 

SIM17: Operates from Oakwood (S76 termimal) to Midtown via Todt Hill Road. Straight on Mill Road, left on New Dorp Lane, right on Richmond Road, slight left on Todt Hill Road, left on Ocean Terrace, right on Bradley Av, right on Gannon Av and takes merger near Bradley, runs along Gowanus Exp, FDR and then 23rd and right on Madison Av ending at 57th St 

SIM2X: Operates from Tottenville to Downtown. Runs along Hylan Blvd along the regular SIM2 portion, left on Seguine Av, right on Amboy Road, left on Foster Road, left on Drumgoole Road and merge onto Korean War Veterans Expy and then W Shore Expy and follows the SIM2 to Downtown

[Future ENY OP]

20 minutes ago, A Former New Yorker said:

Express Bus Ideas: 

SIM13: Operates from Woodrow Rd/Lenevar Av to Greenwich Village. Runs on Woodrow Road, then on Arthur Kill Road to Korean War Veterans Pkwy/W Shore Expressway/Staten Island Exp and then follows the SIM7 from there 

SIM16C: Operates from Port Richmond to Central Pk S/6 Av via South Av/Richmond Terrace and follows the "Combination" routes 

SIM12: Operates from New Dorp La/Cedar Grove Av to Midtown. Runs along New Dorp Lane, left on Amboy Road, then right on Arden Av and then runs though Korean War Veterans Pkwy/NJ Tunrpike/42nd St/5 Av/Madison Av 

SIM36: Operates to Eltingville Transit Center to Midtown via Richmond Av, right on Victory Blvd, right onto Clove Road and follows the SIM31 until 57 St 

SIM17: Operates from Oakwood (S76 termimal) to Midtown via Todt Hill Road. Straight on Mill Road, left on New Dorp Lane, right on Richmond Road, slight left on Todt Hill Road, left on Ocean Terrace, right on Bradley Av, right on Gannon Av and takes merger near Bradley, runs along Gowanus Exp, FDR and then 23rd and right on Madison Av ending at 57th St 

SIM2X: Operates from Tottenville to Downtown. Runs along Hylan Blvd along the regular SIM2 portion, left on Seguine Av, right on Amboy Road, left on Foster Road, left on Drumgoole Road and merge onto Korean War Veterans Expy and then W Shore Expy and follows the SIM2 to Downtown

My questions are in the bold portion. I may be a ignorant to Staten Island Bus service. However, I have a pretty good knowledge of the bus system to say this.  You don’t need a SIM16c if you already have a SIM33 & 33c already doing the work. I would like for you to justify a reason to why the SIM16c should be a combination. From the way I see it’s over kill. 
 

With your SIM36 proposal I feel that there’s enough bus service on Richmond Avenue to not warrant any additional service. Unless I see the MTA trying to expand on SI express service right now these proposals are just proposals. Just expand a bit more on this.  

[A Former New Yorker]

48 minutes ago, Future ENY OP said:

My questions are in the bold portion. I may be a ignorant to Staten Island Bus service. However, I have a pretty good knowledge of the bus system to say this.  You don’t need a SIM16c if you already have a SIM33 & 33c already doing the work. I would like for you to justify a reason to why the SIM16c should be a combination. From the way I see it’s over kill. 
 

With your SIM36 proposal I feel that there’s enough bus service on Richmond Avenue to not warrant any additional service. Unless I see the MTA trying to expand on SI express service right now these proposals are just proposals. Just expand a bit more on this.  

The "Combination" is a express route that runs in both Downtown and Midtown. Forget to mention that all "Combination" routes run on Church St/6 Av. The SIM16 is intended to provide express service along Richmond Terrace between Port Richmond and South Av. The SIM33C goes down South Av up to Forest. The SIM16 goes all the way down to Teleport and merge into W Shore Pkwy. I think having it end in Lower Manhattan or run through West St would make it a decent alternative to the SIM33. Making it a rush hour only route is also better. 

As for the SIM36, Eltingville was the only terminal I could think of at the time. If the route went all the down Victory Blvd to Travis, it could be an express variant of local S62/S92 up to Clove Road

[Future ENY OP]

1 hour ago, A Former New Yorker said:

The "Combination" is a express route that runs in both Downtown and Midtown. Forget to mention that all "Combination" routes run on Church St/6 Av. The SIM16 is intended to provide express service along Richmond Terrace between Port Richmond and South Av. The SIM33C goes down South Av up to Forest. The SIM16 goes all the way down to Teleport and merge into W Shore Pkwy. I think having it end in Lower Manhattan or run through West St would make it a decent alternative to the SIM33. Making it a rush hour only route is also better. 

As for the SIM36, Eltingville was the only terminal I could think of at the time. If the route went all the down Victory Blvd to Travis, it could be an express variant of local S62/S92 up to Clove Road

I know what the combination stands for. However, from what I’m gathering here your trying to address additional bus service along Port Richmond area into Teleport near the Amazon Facility, correct.. The only sediment I have is Richmond Avenue has decent service with the current set up of express lines including 33 & 33c. I believe the SIM3 also travels along Richmond. (I could be wrong) please correct me. 

As SIM36 I believe there is an express bus that already goes to Travis. Is this additional service your trying to add via Victory Boulevard? Is this for Downtown service. 

[checkmatechamp13]

1 hour ago, A Former New Yorker said:

SIM13: Operates from Woodrow Rd/Lenevar Av to Greenwich Village. Runs on Woodrow Road, then on Arthur Kill Road to Korean War Veterans Pkwy/W Shore Expressway/Staten Island Exp and then follows the SIM7 from there 

The SIM13 would basically be bypassing the Eltingville Transit Center if it were to do that, and nothing should be bypassing the Eltingville Transit Center.

1 hour ago, A Former New Yorker said:

SIM16C: Operates from Port Richmond to Central Pk S/6 Av via South Av/Richmond Terrace and follows the "Combination" routes 

For the SIM16C, it seems like you're trying to provide some express bus service along that portion of Richmond Terrace (Since from Port Richmond itself, you have the SIM3/3C/35). That area really doesn't need or use express bus service, unfortunately (even the current express routes that travel north of Forest Avenue don't perform too well...it's more just "We might as well service it on our way back to the depot" type of planning). 

1 hour ago, A Former New Yorker said:

SIM12: Operates from New Dorp La/Cedar Grove Av to Midtown. Runs along New Dorp Lane, left on Amboy Road, then right on Arden Av and then runs though Korean War Veterans Pkwy/NJ Tunrpike/42nd St/5 Av/Madison Av 

The old X24 didn't perform too well east of Richmond Avenue, and I can't picture this performing too much better. While I get your general point is to provide express bus service along (more of) Amboy Road and add a Midtown option, I think the Hylan Blvd routes are too dominant in that portion of Staten Island for this route to make a significant impact. 

1 hour ago, A Former New Yorker said:

SIM36: Operates to Eltingville Transit Center to Midtown via Richmond Av, right on Victory Blvd, right onto Clove Road and follows the SIM31 until 57 St 

All of those areas are already covered by other, much faster express bus routes. The SIM4/4C is way faster considering it gets right on the expressway at Richmond Avenue. For Victory Blvd, the SIM32/33/33C and SIM3/3C/34 are all much faster, and then at that point it's just a SIM35 supplement.

Such a route might make sense as a local route (e.g. Bay Ridge - ETC via Victory Blvd & Richmond Avenue, some kind of S93 variant). The thing is most of Victory Blvd (except for the portion between Willowbrook Road & Richmond Avenue) is a narrow street with a 25 mph speed limit and a lot of traffic lights. North/South Gannon Avenue is a wider street with a 35 mph speed limit and fewer traffic lights.

1 hour ago, A Former New Yorker said:

SIM17: Operates from Oakwood (S76 termimal) to Midtown via Todt Hill Road. Straight on Mill Road, left on New Dorp Lane, right on Richmond Road, slight left on Todt Hill Road, left on Ocean Terrace, right on Bradley Av, right on Gannon Av and takes merger near Bradley, runs along Gowanus Exp, FDR and then 23rd and right on Madison Av ending at 57th St 

No need for any route (local or express) to run through Todt Hill. And especially not to backtrack to Bradley Avenue and duplicate the SIM31.

1 hour ago, A Former New Yorker said:

SIM2X: Operates from Tottenville to Downtown. Runs along Hylan Blvd along the regular SIM2 portion, left on Seguine Av, right on Amboy Road, left on Foster Road, left on Drumgoole Road and merge onto Korean War Veterans Expy and then W Shore Expy and follows the SIM2 to Downtown

That western portion of Hylan Blvd has enough express bus service (Rush hour anyway, off-peak I still think the SIM2 should've kept some off-peak service). 

If a second South Shore - Downtown route were to be created, it should follow either the SIM26 route, or the old X22 route. Maybe swing up and terminate at the Arthur Kill SIR station rather than Hylan & Page or Hylan & Craig.

1 hour ago, A Former New Yorker said:

The "Combination" is a express route that runs in both Downtown and Midtown. Forget to mention that all "Combination" routes run on Church St/6 Av. The SIM16 is intended to provide express service along Richmond Terrace between Port Richmond and South Av. The SIM33C goes down South Av up to Forest. The SIM16 goes all the way down to Teleport and merge into W Shore Pkwy. I think having it end in Lower Manhattan or run through West St would make it a decent alternative to the SIM33. Making it a rush hour only route is also better. 

That's a huge backtrack, and I can't picture anybody using it over the current SIM33/34. Any Teleport service (if any) should be reverse-peak, since it's an office park, not a residential area.

1 hour ago, A Former New Yorker said:

As for the SIM36, Eltingville was the only terminal I could think of at the time. If the route went all the down Victory Blvd to Travis, it could be an express variant of local S62/S92 up to Clove Road

As mentioned, there's already multiple routes that cover those areas and provide quicker service. 

14 minutes ago, Future ENY OP said:

I know what the combination stands for. However, from what I’m gathering here your trying to address additional bus service along Port Richmond area into Teleport near the Amazon Facility, correct.. The only sediment I have is Richmond Avenue has decent service with the current set up of express lines including 33 & 33c. I believe the SIM3 also travels along Richmond. (I could be wrong) please correct me. 

The old X17 (currently SIM4/4C/4X/8/8X) is overwhelmingly favored along Richmond Avenue. (You even have people driving or taking local buses from areas further up Richmond Avenue, or down in Mariners Harbor to catch it). The SIM33 barely sees any usage (I think they had the right idea when they wanted to bypass this area via Christopher Lane...I've lived here for 16 years and it's been like that since I've moved here...the X10 is basically the bus that you take when the X17 has stopped running for the night, and the same applies with the SIM4C vs. SIM33C).

But yes, for those who don't want to make their way to the SIM4/8 (and variants), the SIM3/33/34 (and variants) are available for those at the northern end of Richmond Avenue. The SIM30 is also available for those who want a straight ride to Midtown. (But his SIM36 is on the SIM4/8 portion of Richmond Avenue, not the SIM3/33/34 portion).

14 minutes ago, Future ENY OP said:

As SIM36 I believe there is an express bus that already goes to Travis. Is this additional service your trying to add via Victory Boulevard? Is this for Downtown service. 

Travis already has multiple routes. If you want to get right on the highway, you have the SIM2/25/26 (and usage from Travis residents was increasing in the few years before the pandemic). If you live a bit further from the highway and don't want to walk, you have the SIM32 (and even that's faster, since as I mentioned, it takes the service road and then gets in the HOV lane after Slosson Avenue).

[Via Garibaldi 8]

On 3/6/2021 at 12:14 PM, A Former New Yorker said:

Express Bus Ideas: 

SIM13: Operates from Woodrow Rd/Lenevar Av to Greenwich Village. Runs on Woodrow Road, then on Arthur Kill Road to Korean War Veterans Pkwy/W Shore Expressway/Staten Island Exp and then follows the SIM7 from there 

SIM16C: Operates from Port Richmond to Central Pk S/6 Av via South Av/Richmond Terrace and follows the "Combination" routes 

SIM12: Operates from New Dorp La/Cedar Grove Av to Midtown. Runs along New Dorp Lane, left on Amboy Road, then right on Arden Av and then runs though Korean War Veterans Pkwy/NJ Tunrpike/42nd St/5 Av/Madison Av 

SIM36: Operates to Eltingville Transit Center to Midtown via Richmond Av, right on Victory Blvd, right onto Clove Road and follows the SIM31 until 57 St 

SIM17: Operates from Oakwood (S76 termimal) to Midtown via Todt Hill Road. Straight on Mill Road, left on New Dorp Lane, right on Richmond Road, slight left on Todt Hill Road, left on Ocean Terrace, right on Bradley Av, right on Gannon Av and takes merger near Bradley, runs along Gowanus Exp, FDR and then 23rd and right on Madison Av ending at 57th St 

SIM2X: Operates from Tottenville to Downtown. Runs along Hylan Blvd along the regular SIM2 portion, left on Seguine Av, right on Amboy Road, left on Foster Road, left on Drumgoole Road and merge onto Korean War Veterans Expy and then W Shore Expy and follows the SIM2 to Downtown

You really don't need these lines, especially that Richmond Terrace one. Demographics simply don't support it, and you already have the SIM33C. What I would do is re-instate the X16 and X18 and increase the SIM1C going into Manhattan to every 20-30 minutes where it currently only runs once an hour.  Weekends, I'd introduce a SIM2C from Tottenville. Have it run every 30 minutes or so.

[B35 via Church]

5 hours ago, A Former New Yorker said:

Express Bus Ideas: 

SIM13: Operates from Woodrow Rd/Lenevar Av to Greenwich Village. Runs on Woodrow Road, then on Arthur Kill Road to Korean War Veterans Pkwy/W Shore Expressway/Staten Island Exp and then follows the SIM7 from there 

SIM16C: Operates from Port Richmond to Central Pk S/6 Av via South Av/Richmond Terrace and follows the "Combination" routes.....

On 3/6/2021 at 1:41 PM, A Former New Yorker said:

...The SIM16 goes all the way down to Teleport and merge into W Shore Pkwy. I think having it end in Lower Manhattan or run through West St would make it a decent alternative to the SIM33. Making it a rush hour only route is also better.

SIM12: Operates from New Dorp La/Cedar Grove Av to Midtown. Runs along New Dorp Lane, left on Amboy Road, then right on Arden Av and then runs though Korean War Veterans Pkwy/NJ Tunrpike/42nd St/5 Av/Madison Av 

SIM36: Operates to Eltingville Transit Center to Midtown via Richmond Av, right on Victory Blvd, right onto Clove Road and follows the SIM31 until 57 St 

SIM17: Operates from Oakwood (S76 termimal) to Midtown via Todt Hill Road. Straight on Mill Road, left on New Dorp Lane, right on Richmond Road, slight left on Todt Hill Road, left on Ocean Terrace, right on Bradley Av, right on Gannon Av and takes merger near Bradley, runs along Gowanus Exp, FDR and then 23rd and right on Madison Av ending at 57th St 

SIM2X: Operates from Tottenville to Downtown. Runs along Hylan Blvd along the regular SIM2 portion, left on Seguine Av, right on Amboy Road, left on Foster Road, left on Drumgoole Road and merge onto Korean War Veterans Expy and then W Shore Expy and follows the SIM2 to Downtown

The central theme to these ideas of yours is unnecessary backtracking.... With that said:

SIM2x: For the amount of mileage traveled, I don't think there would be enough ridership for that; the patronage/demand along Huguenot makes a difference.... I would simply have a "SIM2x" variant continuing up Huguenot to get to the West Shore Expwy... Service area to be between [Hylan/Craig] & [the Huguenot P&R (well Huguenot/Drumgoole)], then run nonstop to Downtown Manhattan from there.... There are more parking spots at Huguenot than there are at Princes Bay...

SIM12: That immediate area of New Dorp Beach isn't the best of places to end a bus route, for starters.... To then have this panning up to Amboy to pan west, forget it - that very move is going to loom as a turnoff for SI-ers when Hylan service is *right there*... As for basic service along Amboy, the thing with that is Hylan is simply more free-flowing (hence all the routes along it).... If Amboy was wider, I'm pretty sure there'd be less service alon Hylan & more along Amboy.....

SIM13: Yeah, IDC for that stunted coverage along Woodrow rd. either, but this is still an unnecessary layer of service along Hylan... If the idea is to connect the South Shore to the WFC, you may as well have some SIM7's (or a "SIM7x" variant) running to Woodrow (the neighborhood) via Woodrow rd. or whatever... Whether there's enough demand for that (South Shore - WFC) or not, IDK.....

SIM16C: Dude, this is a complete waste of resources from start to finish.... What in the hell are you even thinking with a route like this? You cannot be serious with expecting much of anyone taking a bus route in Port Richmond & Mariners Harbor that'd go Richmond Terr → South av, to run in the vicinity of the damn Teleport, to then shoot up the West Shore Expwy. from the South av. entrance, to get to the SIE, to ultimately "follow the "Combination" routes" into Manhattan.....

The fact that you think this would be a decent alternative to the SIM33 is even more loony 😂

SIM17: Noble, but bus service of any sort along Todt Hill rd. simply isn't happening... Similar problem with putting buses on Amboy rd; matter fact, it's worse b/c Todt Hill rd. is the main road people take to get in/out of Todt Hill.... So that narrow 1-lane-in-each-direction road is often congested during the rush.... Then there's the elevation difference/factor on top of it.... After going through all of that, you have it backtracking to Bradley (which appears to be an attempt at a ridership grab, b/c Todt Hill isn't all that dense) to take the Bradley entrance of the SIE.... An exp. route like this overall just screams disaster to me, from a usage standpoint & from a runtime standpoint during the rush....

SIM36: There is no need to create another layer of service along Richmond av. to address that service gap along Victory Blvd..... While I've never been high on buses running along N/S Gannon, you're not going to get buses running on N/S Gannon, Victory, and Watchogue rd. in the Mid-Island region....

1 hour ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

.....and nothing should be bypassing the Eltingville Transit Center.

...especially now that there are even more people resorting to P&R-ing at ETC due to the revamped network.

[checkmatechamp13]

9 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

SIM13: Yeah, IDC for that stunted coverage along Woodrow rd. either, but this is still an unnecessary layer of service along Hylan... If the idea is to connect the South Shore to the WFC, you may as well have some SIM7's (or a "SIM7x" variant) running to Woodrow (the neighborhood) via Woodrow rd. or whatever... Whether there's enough demand for that (South Shore - WFC) or not, IDK.....

His SIM13 route doesn't touch Hylan Blvd. It is basically the Woodrow Road portion of the SIM8, but then instead of turning into the ETC, it turns onto Drumgoole Road West and merges onto the Richmond Parkway and West Shore Expressway to get to Lower Manhattan (like this).

If a South Shore-West Street route were to be created, you could just reroute my proposed SIM27 (Amboy/Bloomingdale - Downtown route) up that corridor and call it a day. Might ease up some parking at the ETC with people shifting from the SIM7 to the SIM27. And then of course, people have the option to transfer to it from the SIM2/22/23/24/25/26. (And if you want to appeal to those who wish to drive, then start at the Arthur Kill SIR station which has a parking lot). 

FWIW, I did a quick survey (on a Facebook page) and I asked potential SIM27 riders what they do now, and most of them drive to the SIM2. (As opposed to taking transferring at "Checkpoint" or going to Midtown and backtracking down on the subway). But most of them were just interested in Downtown service in general (no particular preference for West Street vs. Church/Broadway).

@A Former New Yorker The thing with the Richmond Parkway is that it's too much of a backtrack to really use for any route (SIM12, SIM13, SIM2X). If it ran directly to the SIE like the original plans were (that's why there are those abandoned overpasses at Arthur Kill Road and Richmond Avenue, just past the ETC, and there used to be a corresponding set of overpasses at the SIE just west of Renwick) then it would make sense to put an express route on it. (Even then, I can't really see the portion west of Richmond Avenue really seeing usage...you'd at least have to serve the ETC, and then to get back on the highway just to get off at Arden or Huguenot wouldn't really save much time). 

[B35 via Church]

1 hour ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

His SIM13 route doesn't touch Hylan Blvd. It is basically the Woodrow Road portion of the SIM8, but then instead of turning into the ETC, it turns onto Drumgoole Road West and merges onto the Richmond Parkway and West Shore Expressway to get to Lower Manhattan (like this).

Then that's more worthless than running such a service along Hylan..... Service area is far too narrow.

[Nitro]

SIM Buses are one of the worst things the MTA has ever done all they did was slap a bunch of express buses with a new designation and cut service to important areas in Staten Island. What's even worse is the Staten Island Railway loses 500 million dollars annually which the NYCTA & the NYC Subway have to bail them out to keep their system running. They are the most underfunded division in the entire MTA aside from the buses of course which gain ridership. The major issues with the Staten Island Railway is underfunding and a car shortage crisis even before the budget cuts of 2010. I've seen the stations and a lot of them are deteriorating for nearly the course of a decade by now. What the Staten Island Railway needs is more subway cars, a new maintenance/storage yard, fare gates, and installing proof of payment machines if fare gates aren't feasible for all stations. The R44s never performed that bad on the line though which is it's only saving grace since this line is a shadow of its former self.

[Nitro]

On 3/8/2021 at 12:52 AM, checkmatechamp13 said:

His SIM13 route doesn't touch Hylan Blvd. It is basically the Woodrow Road portion of the SIM8, but then instead of turning into the ETC, it turns onto Drumgoole Road West and merges onto the Richmond Parkway and West Shore Expressway to get to Lower Manhattan (like this).

If a South Shore-West Street route were to be created, you could just reroute my proposed SIM27 (Amboy/Bloomingdale - Downtown route) up that corridor and call it a day. Might ease up some parking at the ETC with people shifting from the SIM7 to the SIM27. And then of course, people have the option to transfer to it from the SIM2/22/23/24/25/26. (And if you want to appeal to those who wish to drive, then start at the Arthur Kill SIR station which has a parking lot). 

FWIW, I did a quick survey (on a Facebook page) and I asked potential SIM27 riders what they do now, and most of them drive to the SIM2. (As opposed to taking transferring at "Checkpoint" or going to Midtown and backtracking down on the subway). But most of them were just interested in Downtown service in general (no particular preference for West Street vs. Church/Broadway).

@A Former New Yorker The thing with the Richmond Parkway is that it's too much of a backtrack to really use for any route (SIM12, SIM13, SIM2X). If it ran directly to the SIE like the original plans were (that's why there are those abandoned overpasses at Arthur Kill Road and Richmond Avenue, just past the ETC, and there used to be a corresponding set of overpasses at the SIE just west of Renwick) then it would make sense to put an express route on it. (Even then, I can't really see the portion west of Richmond Avenue really seeing usage...you'd at least have to serve the ETC, and then to get back on the highway just to get off at Arden or Huguenot wouldn't really save much time). 

The Staten Island Railway is the kid left out of everything in the entire MTA.

[IAlam]

On 8/23/2023 at 3:45 PM, Nitro said:

SIM Buses are one of the worst things the MTA has ever done all they did was slap a bunch of express buses with a new designation and cut service to important areas in Staten Island. What's even worse is the Staten Island Railway loses 500 million dollars annually which the NYCTA & the NYC Subway have to bail them out to keep their system running. They are the most underfunded division in the entire MTA aside from the buses of course which gain ridership. The major issues with the Staten Island Railway is underfunding and a car shortage crisis even before the budget cuts of 2010. I've seen the stations and a lot of them are deteriorating for nearly the course of a decade by now. What the Staten Island Railway needs is more subway cars, a new maintenance/storage yard, fare gates, and installing proof of payment machines if fare gates aren't feasible for all stations. The R44s never performed that bad on the line though which is it's only saving grace since this line is a shadow of its former self.

With the SIM System looking at the old system and the current system, heck even the day 1 route network after the redesign, I'd say overall it was a win for SI. While it's not perfect the South Shore got more direct routes and now the SIM23/34 are part of the MTA which is something was was really wanted back then. On the North Shore while people weren't happy with the route shuffling the off-peak network has a major boost. Before you only had the X1 to the east X10 to the north and X17 to the west. There was a push for X12 to have an off-peak service, but it never came to be. At its current state, the SIM3c and SIM33c basically cover the X10 and X12 and provide frequent service in the areas they overlap and are near each other. The SIM4c runs later into the day as opposed to the X17 I believe that ended around 4 PM and now it ends at 7 PM. While it's not perfect I still believe it was an improvement.

Also with regards to the SIR, they're getting new trains as we speak. They are currently testing the R211's and there are 75 cars on order (15 trains) if you want to discuss that I suggest going to the R211 thread on the subway forum.

 

[checkmatechamp13]

@IAlam Definitely not on Day 1...they had giant gaps between peak and off-peak service (a few of which remain to a certain extent today). They copy-pasted a bunch of old schedules onto the new routes without double-checking.

Now that they fixed most of the issues, I do believe that it is somewhat better than the old system, but still nowhere near as good as it should be. There was too much "Give them what they had before" which defeats the whole purpose of a redesign. 

[Nitro]

12 hours ago, IAlam said:

With the SIM System looking at the old system and the current system, heck even the day 1 route network after the redesign, I'd say overall it was a win for SI. While it's not perfect the South Shore got more direct routes and now the SIM23/34 are part of the MTA which is something was was really wanted back then. On the North Shore while people weren't happy with the route shuffling the off-peak network has a major boost. Before you only had the X1 to the east X10 to the north and X17 to the west. There was a push for X12 to have an off-peak service, but it never came to be. At its current state, the SIM3c and SIM33c basically cover the X10 and X12 and provide frequent service in the areas they overlap and are near each other. The SIM4c runs later into the day as opposed to the X17 I believe that ended around 4 PM and now it ends at 7 PM. While it's not perfect I still believe it was an improvement.

Also with regards to the SIR, they're getting new trains as we speak. They are currently testing the R211's and there are 75 cars on order (15 trains) if you want to discuss that I suggest going to the R211 thread on the subway forum.

 

11 hours ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

@IAlam Definitely not on Day 1...they had giant gaps between peak and off-peak service (a few of which remain to a certain extent today). They copy-pasted a bunch of old schedules onto the new routes without double-checking.

Now that they fixed most of the issues, I do believe that it is somewhat better than the old system, but still nowhere near as good as it should be. There was too much "Give them what they had before" which defeats the whole purpose of a redesign. 

It was a service cut in disguise. This is what they did to Staten Island before moving on to Brooklyn & Queens. Brooklyn & Queens residents weren’t having that shit with their bus routes being cut for supplementary and long unreliable bus routes. Ffs this is what BrooklynBus was trying to tell y'all before everyone bitched at him for it.

[IAlam]

On 8/24/2023 at 11:51 PM, checkmatechamp13 said:

@IAlam Definitely not on Day 1...they had giant gaps between peak and off-peak service (a few of which remain to a certain extent today). They copy-pasted a bunch of old schedules onto the new routes without double-checking.

Now that they fixed most of the issues, I do believe that it is somewhat better than the old system, but still nowhere near as good as it should be. There was too much "Give them what they had before" which defeats the whole purpose of a redesign. 

Yeah, day one wasn't great but at least they were constantly tweaking it until it got better. One complaint I kept getting was how the north shore was underserved and now it's a lot better off-peak. The one thing I still want to see is a SIM2c just with reduced service. Having it run hourly would finally give them a viable service, I feel like they gave it too much service for something people weren't used to yet. the old X17 was just a disaster that no one could really benefit from so for them the SIM2 was the first time they were getting real off-peak service. The other issue with that line was the fact it was downtown only during off-peak.

On 8/25/2023 at 11:17 AM, Nitro said:

It was a service cut in disguise. This is what they did to Staten Island before moving on to Brooklyn & Queens. Brooklyn & Queens residents weren’t having that shit with their bus routes being cut for supplementary and long unreliable bus routes. Ffs this is what BrooklynBus was trying to tell y'all before everyone bitched at him for it.

I can't speak for the peak service cause I rarely use it at all and when I do it's almost exclusively on the South Shore which I still feel had an overall win. But I mainly remember him complaining about the stops being eliminated more than anything else.

[checkmatechamp13]

On 8/27/2023 at 9:13 PM, IAlam said:

Yeah, day one wasn't great but at least they were constantly tweaking it until it got better. One complaint I kept getting was how the north shore was underserved and now it's a lot better off-peak. The one thing I still want to see is a SIM2c just with reduced service. Having it run hourly would finally give them a viable service, I feel like they gave it too much service for something people weren't used to yet. the old X17 was just a disaster that no one could really benefit from so for them the SIM2 was the first time they were getting real off-peak service. The other issue with that line was the fact it was downtown only during off-peak.

I can't speak for the peak service cause I rarely use it at all and when I do it's almost exclusively on the South Shore which I still feel had an overall win. But I mainly remember him complaining about the stops being eliminated more than anything else.

I mean they create a huge problem and attempt to fix the mess...can't give them too much credit on that.

Definitely don't want to see a SIM2C. That route was just fine running Downtown, and ridership-wise it didn't perform too poorly. (Also, people tend to forget it serves Travis, which also lost its off-peak service when it was cut).