Could holding buses at major stops help with bunching?

[JubaionBx12+SBS]

I was watching a YouTube video in which a transit planner (or something of the sort) was discussing a system of addressing bus bunching in Santiago, Chile. Not to get into specifics the system basically involved identifying buses that are on track to be or are already bunched and holding said bus at a major stop. The durations ranged anywhere between 30-90 seconds. The logic is that the hold would work to provide some needed spacing between the held bus and it's leader. It would also lessen the crowds that have to wait in between bunched buses and the next bus. At busy stops these crowds can be exceptionally large.

 

I would personally want this to be tried out on our buses (doesn't hurt to see if it works). Besides it's not like the MTA has a herd of ideas to work with. They have the technology to see where the buses are at (BusTime anyone) so what would be the trouble. Besides there's another issue with buses that no one likes to point out (although it is highly tied to bunching itself) that holding at busy stops could solve. That is the distribution of riders between buses. It's almost ubiquitous with buses for buses that are nearly empty (or have plenty of space available) to be tailing behind sardine packed buses. If said load were spread evenly between the 2 buses running together both would carry healthy loads so it makes sense to run both. But when said conditions gets surveyed by traffic checkers the latter just goes down as an empty bus and if there's empty buses running on a particular line the MTA will want to reduce service.

 

If you hold buses at major stops they can pick up some riders that would otherwise have to cram onto the next bus in line. That allows the bus being held to avoid being empty because it's tailing a bus and doesn't have unique crowds to pick up and reduces the stress on the bus behind that would have to pick up more passengers.

 

I ask why not give it a try. What would be the consequences ultimately?

[Via Garibaldi 8]

We need to keep buses moving.  I don't support the idea.  The best way to get buses back on time is to have some buses skip portions of the route.

[NewFlyer 230]

What the MTA needs to do is have buses layer out at major points where service is suffering due to traffic and other problems. Bus drivers also need to get their act together because around 10:30-11:00pm I take the Q25 and there is always some bullcrap going on. There is always a bus that doesn't show up forcing us to wait 30 or more minutes and it's so annoying. A few weeks ago a Q25 operator got mad at the driver who was suppose to be before him and said he was playing games and so on. Our bus was packed while the driver who was late only had a few people. When crap like that goes on it only discourages people from taking mass transit and that is what is happening to NICE bus. This nonsense happens every week at Jamaica and Parsons. The Q65 sucks during the evening where you may be waiting 40 minutes for a bus because they don't show up at all. Sometimes you may magically see two buses bunched up on the other side. Drivers need more consequences for purposely being late.

[MysteriousBtrain]

Apparently you never saw the reason why our buses bunch up a lot, especially with the farebeaters that sometimes make it worse when they sneak onto a crowded bus....

If more people began holding doors in our city, then it will be a living hell for people who don't have cars and delay ones who do as well.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

I don't care if the buses bunch because with BusTime, I can avoid sardine packed buses.  There's always one guy driving as slow as molasses and another guy hauling ass. I'm getting really good at timing my buses now so that I will wait if I see a pack of buses let one pass and get on the next one which is nice and empty. 

[R188 7857]

I don't care if the buses bunch because with BusTime, I can avoid sardine packed buses.  There's always one guy driving as slow as molasses and another guy hauling ass. I'm getting really good at timing my buses now so that I will wait if I see a pack of buses let one pass and get on the next one which is nice and empty. 

I wish that would work for me, but the bunching happens at the first stop for me, in which this is how I think it goes for the Q28:

 

Most of the times, if the Q28 is late, there would be a long, long line there.

Once the late bus comes, there is either one straight behind it that will stop if there is no bus in the stop behind it (Q13 I think) and it would skip the stop if there is a bus in the stop.

Once, this happened, and the next bus just skipped the stop leaving everyone to pack like sardines into the bus with a driver that didn't exceed 20 mph the whole time I was riding. However, there are other times where the next bus comes right up behind the bus that is starting to get packed and I just get on it and get home in a matter of 15-20 minutes, compared to the usual 30. 

Other times, only one bus comes, and it takes 40 minutes to go home because the driver stops at every stop, even on Northern even though people could just take the Q13 that is barely packed. 

 

I also think that if a bus that is early skips ahead of a bus that is late, the early bus has to wait all the way until it is the correct time in order to pick up passengers at the last stop, instead of going straight back in the other direction or following the schedule of the late bus to prevent delays. The only reason I say that is because I was on a bus that skipped past one that was late and packed, and got to Bay Terrace long before the late bus did. When I checked bustime later on, the late bus was ahead of the one I was on (the supposedly early one) when returning to Flushing. It makes me think that if a bus arrived 10 minutes early and the bus that is supposed to be ahead of it is 10 minutes late, there would be a 20 minute interval between buses, and two would come at the same time. However, I could be wrong. 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

I wish that would work for me, but the bunching happens at the first stop for me, in which this is how I think it goes for the Q28:

 

Most of the times, if the Q28 is late, there would be a long, long line there.

Once the late bus comes, there is either one straight behind it that will stop if there is no bus in the stop behind it (Q13 I think) and it would skip the stop if there is a bus in the stop.

Once, this happened, and the next bus just skipped the stop leaving everyone to pack like sardines into the bus with a driver that didn't exceed 20 mph the whole time I was riding. However, there are other times where the next bus comes right up behind the bus that is starting to get packed and I just get on it and get home in a matter of 15-20 minutes, compared to the usual 30. 

Other times, only one bus comes, and it takes 40 minutes to go home because the driver stops at every stop, even on Northern even though people could just take the Q13 that is barely packed. 

 

I also think that if a bus that is early skips ahead of a bus that is late, the early bus has to wait all the way until it is the correct time in order to pick up passengers at the last stop, instead of going straight back in the other direction or following the schedule of the late bus to prevent delays. The only reason I say that is because I was on a bus that skipped past one that was late and packed, and got to Bay Terrace long before the late bus did. When I checked bustime later on, the late bus was ahead of the one I was on (the supposedly early one) when returning to Flushing. It makes me think that if a bus arrived 10 minutes early and the bus that is supposed to be ahead of it is 10 minutes late, there would be a 20 minute interval between buses, and two would come at the same time. However, I could be wrong. 

It's obvious you take the train to that bus living in Bay Terrace.  The QM2 is a much better alternative. Anytime I go to Whitestone or further into Northeast Queens I take that.  It's very reliable (I use it outside of rush hours and on weekends when shopping in Queens) and it's usually right on time.  Either use that or take the LIRR to Bayside for the bus there.  You can track it while you're on the LIRR.  Depending on your location in Bay Terrace, there's also the QM20 via Clearview.

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

I wish that would work for me, but the bunching happens at the first stop for me, in which this is how I think it goes for the Q28:

 

Most of the times, if the Q28 is late, there would be a long, long line there.

Once the late bus comes, there is either one straight behind it that will stop if there is no bus in the stop behind it (Q13 I think) and it would skip the stop if there is a bus in the stop.

Once, this happened, and the next bus just skipped the stop leaving everyone to pack like sardines into the bus with a driver that didn't exceed 20 mph the whole time I was riding. However, there are other times where the next bus comes right up behind the bus that is starting to get packed and I just get on it and get home in a matter of 15-20 minutes, compared to the usual 30. 

Other times, only one bus comes, and it takes 40 minutes to go home because the driver stops at every stop, even on Northern even though people could just take the Q13 that is barely packed. 

 

I also think that if a bus that is early skips ahead of a bus that is late, the early bus has to wait all the way until it is the correct time in order to pick up passengers at the last stop, instead of going straight back in the other direction or following the schedule of the late bus to prevent delays. The only reason I say that is because I was on a bus that skipped past one that was late and packed, and got to Bay Terrace long before the late bus did. When I checked bustime later on, the late bus was ahead of the one I was on (the supposedly early one) when returning to Flushing. It makes me think that if a bus arrived 10 minutes early and the bus that is supposed to be ahead of it is 10 minutes late, there would be a 20 minute interval between buses, and two would come at the same time. However, I could be wrong. 

I've seen that happen too on the Q28. I took it to Bay Terrace, and there were 3 buses the opposite direction. The bus that I was one had a lot of people, and there was barely anymore room to go. This was during the shoulder time period to Bay Terrace, so it makes sense. I wish there was a better way to run service on that line. Now that the school year is over, the route won't be slammed in both directions, so it would make better sense (in the case of bunching, given that one is doing a trip back to Bay Terrance after Flushing). Just send it back to Flushing as a DH to get it back on track, or at least skip part of the route.

[R188 7857]

It's obvious you take the train to that bus living in Bay Terrace.  The QM2 is a much better alternative. Anytime I go to Whitestone or further into Northeast Queens I take that.  It's very reliable (I use it outside of rush hours and on weekends when shopping in Queens) and it's usually right on time.  Either use that or take the LIRR to Bayside for the bus there.  You can track it while you're on the LIRR.  Depending on your location in Bay Terrace, there's also the QM20 via Clearview.

I've taken the QM2 once, and traffic on Northern was hell. Well, I don't really use the Q28 to the that often as most of the time I don't find myself needing to get to Manhattan, however, every time I do it is terrible luck for me on the return trip. In my part of Queens, the LIRR is pretty close so I would still rather take that instead of dealing with Northern Blvd on the QM2 (wasn't a pleasant experience the first time). 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

I've taken the QM2 once, and traffic on Northern was hell. Well, I don't really use the Q28 to the that often as most of the time I don't find myself needing to get to Manhattan, however, every time I do it is terrible luck for me on the return trip. In my part of Queens, the LIRR is pretty close so I would still rather take that instead of dealing with Northern Blvd on the QM2 (wasn't a pleasant experience the first time). 

Northern outside of the rush is fine.  I tend to use the QM2 late nights and on weekends. The only time I had a problem was coming back last month when I went shopping in Whitestone.  The Midtown Tunnel was a mess, but it's a breeze late nights. I'm in and out with what I need and usually can transfer to the BxM1 or BxM2 to Riverdale right away as the QM2 arrives into the city early.

[JubaionBx12+SBS]

We need to keep buses moving.  I don't support the idea.  The best way to get buses back on time is to have some buses skip portions of the route.

What would you say about maintaining gap integrity (or some semblance of it) in the intermediate portions of a route? I would assume most riders would care more about the spacing in between buses than if they're making the terminals at a certain time. 

 

Also buses shouldn't be nice and empty during peak periods. The loading guidelines don't call for that. If you're getting nice and empty buses on highly used routes, there's likely an excess of riders on other buses. If I'm trying to make planning decisions with buses I want to be able to safely predict their loads and the way our buses are run allows far too much variance with loads between buses. If you have a solution for those issues than please propose it. 

[bobtehpanda]

We need to keep buses moving.  I don't support the idea.  The best way to get buses back on time is to have some buses skip portions of the route.

 

Skipping stops on a bus would be a lot more problematic than doing it on the subway, because people who need to get off at intermediate stops would have to switch to another bus on the same route, which the current fare system has no way of accommodating.

[GreatOne2k]

Skipping stops on a bus would be a lot more problematic than doing it on the subway, because people who need to get off at intermediate stops would have to switch to another bus on the same route, which the current fare system has no way of accommodating.

 

Continuation transfer good for (30 minutes?) on the same route, the driver can issue this special transfer.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

What would you say about maintaining gap integrity (or some semblance of it) in the intermediate portions of a route? I would assume most riders would care more about the spacing in between buses than if they're making the terminals at a certain time. 

 

Also buses shouldn't be nice and empty during peak periods. The loading guidelines don't call for that. If you're getting nice and empty buses on highly used routes, there's likely an excess of riders on other buses. If I'm trying to make planning decisions with buses I want to be able to safely predict their loads and the way our buses are run allows far too much variance with loads between buses. If you have a solution for those issues than please propose it. 

 

 

Skipping stops on a bus would be a lot more problematic than doing it on the subway, because people who need to get off at intermediate stops would have to switch to another bus on the same route, which the current fare system has no way of accommodating.

 

Let me clarify.  I often see two BxM18's running back-to-back in the evenings heading to Riverdale.  Those buses usually come down as BxM1's or BxM2's or other Southbound BxM express buses out of Yonkers and then deadhead Downtown to start their trip.  In those cases I would have one BxM18 start at Trinity Place and another at 29th street.  Dispatch may be thinking that since the BxM18 runs every 30 minutes it's better to have both of them run together but it's not necessary.  Dispatch needs to be out in the field to see the conditions on the street.  The other day I saw a Bus dispatcher vehicle parked by the Deegan.  I guess he figured he could get more bang for the buck that way.  He could check on the Super Express BxM1's, the BxM2's, BxM3's, BxM4's and BxM18's.  In other words, where possible, efforts should be made to get buses back on time. 

[B35 via Church]

We need to keep buses moving.  I don't support the idea.  The best way to get buses back on time is to have some buses skip portions of the route.

I don't support the intentional stalling of buses to attempt to maintain uniform headways either.... He's not going to get the masses in this city to side with that.... Riders only care about getting from point A to point B once they're on their bus, not that bus A is x minutes in front of bus B & x minutes behind bus C....

 

What would you say about maintaining gap integrity (or some semblance of it) in the intermediate portions of a route? I would assume most riders would care more about the spacing in between buses than if they're making the terminals at a certain time. 

 

Also buses shouldn't be nice and empty during peak periods. The loading guidelines don't call for that. If you're getting nice and empty buses on highly used routes, there's likely an excess of riders on other buses. If I'm trying to make planning decisions with buses I want to be able to safely predict their loads and the way our buses are run allows far too much variance with loads between buses. If you have a solution for those issues than please propose it. 

Here comes the, if I don't agree with what's being laid out, then you come up with one bit.....

If something doesn't make sense to someone, it's not up to said naysayer to one up the original idea.....

 

Aside from that, I don't know where you get off saying most riders would care more about the spacing between buses either.... If I'm on a bus, it doesn't matter if uniform headways are maintained or not... I simply care about getting to where I'm going - I'm quite certain I'm not in the minority with that either.....

 

Alright, say you're one stop away from a major stop & you see a bus stalled at the preceeding stop.... Even worse - You're on that bus.... You would be fine with that bus in the distance that isn't moving? Anxiety/Eagerness & impatience wouldn't kick in? I seriously doubt that, judging by some of what you've said on this forum in the past....

 

And to answer a question you posed in the OP.... A consequence, for starters, would be what's currently going on in this city - a loss of ridership on buses system-wide to people resorting to biking it out, taking cabs, having some friend/relative drive them to the subway, etc.... That consequence would only be exacerbated, have buses being intentionally stalled....

 

Skipping stops on a bus would be a lot more problematic than doing it on the subway, because people who need to get off at intermediate stops would have to switch to another bus on the same route, which the current fare system has no way of accommodating.

You know what would happen then? More people making their way to getting to a major stop....

 

I'd rather make my way to a bus that's going to be moving, than to be on a stalled bus or waiting for a stalled bus....

 

I mean, with what's being presented in the OP, what's going to be the cutoff point - How many buses are going to have to be held at how many major stops on a certain route so that buses can run uniformly to/from their given terminals.... There would be buses stalling all over the place in this city....

[Via Garibaldi 8]

And to answer a question you posed in the OP.... A consequence, for starters, would be what's currently going on in this city - Loss of ridership on buses system-wide, to people resorting to biking it out, taking cabs, having some friend/relative drive him/her to the subway, etc.... That consequence would only be exacerbated, have buses being intentionally stalled....

 

You know what would happen then? More people making their way to getting to a major stop....

 

I'd rather make my way to a bus that's going to be moving, than to be on a stalled bus or waiting for a stalled bus....

My proposal was to not have two buses running together from the terminal. If the guy who is on time can handle the loads, have the other guy run up and start further up.  You can look at my BxM18 as an example.  What's starting to happen is passengers give up on the BxM18 Downtown and make their way to the BxM1 or BxM2.  By the time the BxM18 gets up to Midtown you can be almost home to Riverdale.  I've done the same thing myself.  Made my way to a Super Express BxM1 and tracked the BxM18.  We were past 96th street by and the BxM18 wasn't even at 33rd street.

[B35 via Church]

Just went back & saw this...

 

.....Besides there's another issue with buses that no one likes to point out (although it is highly tied to bunching itself) that holding at busy stops could solve. That is the distribution of riders between buses. It's almost ubiquitous with buses for buses that are nearly empty (or have plenty of space available) to be tailing behind sardine packed buses. If said load were spread evenly between the 2 buses running together both would carry healthy loads so it makes sense to run both. But when said conditions gets surveyed by traffic checkers the latter just goes down as an empty bus and if there's empty buses running on a particular line the MTA will want to reduce service.

I assume we're talking about buses running on low to intermediate headways.... Look at the trailing emptier bus as an extension of the packed bus that's in front of it.... This is why having packed buses skip stops makes sense.... I have no qualms whatsoever with being flagged if I can look at a passing bus & see that I can't feasibly fit on that shit.....

 

If buses with intermediate headways (10-15 min range) are notoriously bunching, then the MTA needs to stop being so frugal & provide the necessary increased service at that timeframe where buses are bunching on that route.... To be honest, we also need to know what is causing said bunching, because it's not always heavy passenger activity is causing it.... On a route that runs on a street where bumper to bumper traffic is the norm (esp. during peak times), what can really be done about that?

 

Holding buses so that each bus can potentially be a sardine can isn't going to do current riders any justice, and we can forget about spawning ridership..... But it will most certainly have the current riders so fed up with that practice that they resort to getting around by other means.....

 

My proposal was to not have two buses running together from the terminal. If the guy who is on time can handle the loads, have the other guy run up and start further up.  You can look at my BxM18 as an example.  What's starting to happen is passengers give up on the BxM18 Downtown and make their way to the BxM1 or BxM2.  By the time the BxM18 gets up to Midtown you can be almost home to Riverdale.  I've done the same thing myself.  Made my way to a Super Express BxM1 and tracked the BxM18.  We were past 96th street by and the BxM18 wasn't even at 33rd street.

That shouldn't be happening on express buses at all...

 

I only support 2 buses running together (or close enough) from some point is if one bus is a LTD/SBS, and the other, a local.... In other words, 2 local's shouldn't be leaving together, 2 SBS buses shouldn't be leaving togethers, 2 LTD's shouldn't be leaving together, and for certain, 2 expresses shouldn't be leaving together.....

 

I guess my opinion is biased, being that I live by a route (B35) that has real low headways that bunch like mad & basically not much of anyone around here cares that buses come in 2's/3's/and even 4's, because the next bus(es) behind the bunched buses will arrive in like 5 minutes anyway.... Same can be said for the B46.... The B44 used to be like that before SBS was implemented (locals/LTD's arriving like wildfire)..... The B41, IDK what's going on with that route nowadays, but I would imagine the same practice of bunching & buses following closely to said bunched buses is still apparent.....

 

Bunching isn't necessarily too a bad a "thing" for low headway routes....

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Just went back & saw this...

 

I assume we're talking about buses running on low to intermediate headways.... Look at the trailing emptier bus as an extension of the packed bus that's in front of it.... This is why having packed buses skip stops makes sense.... I have no qualms whatsoever with being flagged if I can look at a passing bus & see that I can't feasibly fit on that shit.....

 

If buses with intermediate headways (10-15 min range) are notoriously bunching, then the MTA needs to stop being so frugal & provide the necessary increased service at that timeframe where buses are bunching on that route.... To be honest, we also need to know what is causing said bunching, because it's not always heavy passenger activity is causing it.... On a route that runs on a street where bumper to bumper traffic is the norm (esp. during peak times), what can really be done about that?

 

Holding buses so that each bus can potentially be a sardine can isn't going to do current riders any justice, and we can forget about spawning ridership..... But it will most certainly have the current riders so fed up with that practice that they resort to getting around by other means.....

 

That shouldn't be happening on express buses at all...

 

I only support 2 buses running together (or close enough) from some point is if one bus is a LTD/SBS, and the other, a local.... In other words, 2 local's shouldn't be leaving together, 2 SBS buses shouldn't be leaving togethers, 2 LTD's shouldn't be leaving together, and for certain, 2 expresses shouldn't be leaving together.....

 

I guess my opinion is biased, being that I live by a route (B35) that has real low headways that bunch like mad & basically not much of anyone around here cares that buses come in 2's/3's/and even 4's, because the next bus(es) behind the bunched buses will arrive in like 5 minutes anyway.... Same can be said for the B46.... The B44 used to be like that before SBS was implemented (locals/LTD's arriving like wildfire)..... The B41, IDK what's going on with that route nowadays, but I would imagine the same practice of bunching & buses following closely to said bunched buses is still apparent.....

 

Bunching isn't necessarily too a bad a "thing" for low headway routes....

Yeah if headways are low, I don't see the point.  On the X1, when I would get it along Hylan, buses would run every 5-6 minutes in the AM rush.  Stupid dispatcher would hold our bus.  Then we'd have an empty bus pulling up to Hylan and Narrows Rd South and be passed by a packed bus. 

[Gotham Bus Co.]

Besides there's another issue with buses that no one likes to point out (although it is highly tied to bunching itself) that holding at busy stops could solve. That is the distribution of riders between buses. It's almost ubiquitous with buses for buses that are nearly empty (or have plenty of space available) to be tailing behind sardine packed buses. If said load were spread evenly between the 2 buses running together both would carry healthy loads so it makes sense to run both. But when said conditions gets surveyed by traffic checkers the latter just goes down as an empty bus and if there's empty buses running on a particular line the MTA will want to reduce service.

 

Are you suggesting that, in a platoon of buses (some crowded and some empty), traffic checkers would record only the empty buses? What is your basis for that? It's more likely that they would record all of them. To continue your example, there would still be a total of two buses' worth of people on those two buses even if the riders aren't distributed uniformly.  

 

 

 

If you hold buses at major stops they can pick up some riders that would otherwise have to cram onto the next bus in line. That allows the bus being held to avoid being empty because it's tailing a bus and doesn't have unique crowds to pick up and reduces the stress on the bus behind that would have to pick up more passengers.

 

I ask why not give it a try. What would be the consequences ultimately?

 

The problem with holding buses (and trains) is that you're punishing those who are already on board for something that isn't their fault. Once you're on a bus, you want it to move.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

The problem with holding buses (and trains) is that you're punishing those who are already on board for something that isn't their fault. Once you're on a bus, you want it to move.

Additionally, you already have to factor in additional time for traffic and delays, so holding a bus for 5 minutes is just prolonging that commute even more.  That's precisely why I stopped using the X1 and switched to the X2, X12 or X17J when possible, which didn't have buses being held.

[trainfan22]

Skipping stops on a bus would be a lot more problematic than doing it on the subway, because people who need to get off at intermediate stops would have to switch to another bus on the same route, which the current fare system has no way of accommodating.

Just have the driver put up the "Next Bus Please" sign and only drop people off at stops.

 

 

I once ridden a bus in the Bronx and some kids threw something at the bus which penetrated the window and the dispatcher said to continue the route but drop the remaining people off, pretty nice ride as I had an entire bus to myself on either the Bx11 or 35 from Webster  Ave to Wash Heights to myself 

[bobtehpanda]

Continuation transfer good for (30 minutes?) on the same route, the driver can issue this special transfer.

 

They're not issued particularly often though, and the proposal to express stops to make up time would cause more of these to be issued, potentially slowing down the buses and drivers that have to issue these for passengers.

 

I don't support the intentional stalling of buses to attempt to maintain uniform headways either.... He's not going to get the masses in this city to side with that.... Riders only care about getting from point A to point B once they're on their bus, not that bus A is x minutes in front of bus B & x minutes behind bus C....

 

Here comes the, if I don't agree with what's being laid out, then you come up with one bit.....

If something doesn't make sense to someone, it's not up to said naysayer to one up the original idea.....

 

Aside from that, I don't know where you get off saying most riders would care more about the spacing between buses either.... If I'm on a bus, it doesn't matter if uniform headways are maintained or not... I simply care about getting to where I'm going - I'm quite certain I'm not in the minority with that either.....

 

Alright, say you're one stop away from a major stop & you see a bus stalled at the preceeding stop.... Even worse - You're on that bus.... You would be fine with that bus in the distance that isn't moving? Anxiety/Eagerness & impatience wouldn't kick in? I seriously doubt that, judging by some of what you've said on this forum in the past....

 

And to answer a question you posed in the OP.... A consequence, for starters, would be what's currently going on in this city - a loss of ridership on buses system-wide to people resorting to biking it out, taking cabs, having some friend/relative drive them to the subway, etc.... That consequence would only be exacerbated, have buses being intentionally stalled....

 

You know what would happen then? More people making their way to getting to a major stop....

 

I'd rather make my way to a bus that's going to be moving, than to be on a stalled bus or waiting for a stalled bus....

 

I mean, with what's being presented in the OP, what's going to be the cutoff point - How many buses are going to have to be held at how many major stops on a certain route so that buses can run uniformly to/from their given terminals.... There would be buses stalling all over the place in this city....

 

A better solution would probably be some sort of suggested speed display for a driver to follow instead of waiting at stops, with it faster or slower depending on how much they need to catch up/fall behind, but the TWU would probably not be happy with how Big Brother-y that would get.

[B35 via Church]

Just have the driver put up the "Next Bus Please" sign and only drop people off at stops.

This is what VG8 & myself are referring to when we speak of "skipping stops"..... If there's no one wishing to get off, continue keeping the bus in motion - regardless if there's anyone waiting to board a bus along the way..... It's a practice that's currently done anyway.....

 

A better solution would probably be some sort of suggested speed display for a driver to follow instead of waiting at stops, with it faster or slower depending on how much they need to catch up/fall behind, but the TWU would probably not be happy with how Big Brother-y that would get.

I'm not sure I exactly follow your train of thought on this one.... Care to elaborate a little further?

 

The speed limit would have to be taken into consideration for that speed display the driver would have to follow, unless I'm grossly misunderstanding what you're presenting here.... Well, at least it's something that doesn't deal with intentionally halting buses outright, I'll give you that.....

[JubaionBx12+SBS]

Looking at it from the Bx12 Select point of view you have a route where skipping stops just won't work because each stop will have riders seeking to get off in some capacity and the headways (while low enough that the service should be dependable) aren't low enough where the bunching won't throw a serious wrench in the service. That's a route in my eyes where the bunching is a problem and there aren't any obvious ideas besides letting a couple of buses just sit for a minute or so longer than they would at Hotspots like WPR or Fordham Plaza. The buses dont move that slow on the route where the minute long hold would frustrate riders more than 15 minute plus gaps before the bunching.

[bobtehpanda]

This is what VG8 & myself are referring to when we speak of "skipping stops"..... If there's no one wishing to get off, continue keeping the bus in motion - regardless if there's anyone waiting to board a bus along the way..... It's a practice that's currently done anyway.....

 

I'm not sure I exactly follow your train of thought on this one.... Care to elaborate a little further?

 

The speed limit would have to be taken into consideration for that speed display the driver would have to follow, unless I'm grossly misunderstanding what you're presenting here.... Well, at least it's something that doesn't deal with intentionally halting buses outright, I'll give you that.....

 

As I understand it, the CBTC system on the and the future one on the can display a recommended speed for the trains to maintain decent spacing, and the subway system has a speed limit as well. If we could have a display like that installed on buses, perhaps we could suggest to bus drivers that they should speed up a little bit to catch up or slow down to widen a gap as necessary.