BrooklynBus Posted September 29, 2015 Share #1 Posted September 29, 2015 MTA's Response on how they intend to improve service to the Rockaways. http://rockawaytimes.com/2015/09/03/ideas-for-smarter-transportation-the-mta-on-the-record-with-the-rockaway-times/ The MTA Needs to Explain https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=16B101054C13A9CB!1595&authkey=!ABNLhz6cvHgqU0U&v=3&ithint=photo%2cjpg The Q35 Then and Now http://rockawaytimes.com/2015/09/17/ideas-for-smarter-transportation-3/#comment-207277 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NY1635 Posted September 29, 2015 Share #2 Posted September 29, 2015 Why is a Van ride from the Rockaways to Brooklyn six dollars? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R10 2952 Posted September 29, 2015 Share #3 Posted September 29, 2015 The only way for Queensrail to become a reality is if enough Council and Assembly politicians throw their support behind it. Then again, our Godfather-esque governor wants the thing turned into a park, so who knows... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrooklynBus Posted September 29, 2015 Author Share #4 Posted September 29, 2015 Why is a Van ride from the Rockaways to Brooklyn six dollars? The vans or at least the one I saw ran from Riis to the Barclay Center and to Williamsburg so I guess they considered it sought of express bus service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewFlyer 230 Posted September 29, 2015 Share #5 Posted September 29, 2015 It seems like the MTA's answers to fixing some problems is to throw SBS on a line or making some changes that aren't necessary. The Q35 is another example of a route that has been looked down on similar to how the train is looked down on. I know for a fact some buses that are scheduled to show up don't show up at all and that is a shame on a route that has 15 min headway throughout the whole day. Now combine that with a huge crowd of beach goes and there you go an easy 40+ minute wait just like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrooklynBus Posted September 29, 2015 Author Share #6 Posted September 29, 2015 It seems like the MTA's answers to fixing some problems is to throw SBS on a line or making some changes that aren't necessary. The Q35 is another example of a route that has been looked down on similar to how the train is looked down on. I know for a fact some buses that are scheduled to show up don't show up at all and that is a shame on a route that has 15 min headway throughout the whole day. Now combine that with a huge crowd of beach goes and there you go an easy 40+ minute wait just like that. Plus it was Labor Day so instead of providing additional buses, a holiday (Sunday) schedule was provided so there was less service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrianQ60 Posted October 2, 2015 Share #7 Posted October 2, 2015 The Q35 bus sucks waited a half and hour for that bus on a weekday in the morning i dont think that bus needs to extend or nothing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrooklynBus Posted October 2, 2015 Author Share #8 Posted October 2, 2015 The Q35 bus sucks waited a half and hour for that bus on a weekday in the morning i dont think that bus needs to extend or nothing Didn't say the route needs to be extended. But if there were other routes to supplement it, riders would have additional choices plus tere needs to be some route management. It's as if it has been totally forgotten about. A 90 minute wait is just inexcusable and should not be tolerated. If all unsatisfied users compained to the MTA and elected offals something woud be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B35 via Church Posted October 3, 2015 Share #9 Posted October 3, 2015 The Q35 doesn't need an extension, it needs to be restructured & quite frankly - managed better..... As I like to put it, the MTA gave themselves an attaboy by mildly improving the Q35 post GBL (forget about the deplorable conditions of the physical buses for a second).... Which, to be honest, isn't saying much... It's like ridding yourself of colored toilet paper for white toilet paper to wipe your ass...... For starters, during the summer, there should be point-to-point trips at given times running b/w Riis & B 116th (these should be free, being that the Q22 also does this, but we know that's not going to happen) & fixed-route trips running b/w Riis & the Junction (in other words, a short turn).... This would happen concurrently with Q35 service running the full route from B. 116th to the Junction..... Just having regular Q35's stop off at Riis isn't enough.... Flatbush av. traffic isn't getting any better these days, so during summers, it's only adding to the delays that the Q35 normally undergoes... Which is why you hear of these 40+ min. waits, and I'm not at all surprised at it, being that I know how the MTA operates/handles the route..... I abhor any plan suggesting extending the Q35 - especially the one that entails a combination with the Q22, which quite frankly to me is f***ing stupid (for lack of a better term).... I get the sense that the MTA sees the Q35 as a "throwaway" route; don't really know how to put it.... They know where the riders are at & where they're going along the route, yet they still run the route like complete & utter shit..... It's almost as if they don't want to operate the route.... Side note.... the MTA underestimates how many are xferring b/w the Q35 & the Q53, but yet got both of those routes leaving their respective terminals in the Rockaways ~ the same time..... Waiting for the Q53 isn't much of a problem, but the Q35 OTOH, forget it.... You may want to count how many buses go OOS upon reaching B. 116th to kill time b/w waits.... ....Most I counted one time was FOUR... This was around 7:30-8pm (would be around the time the QM16 would get to Rockaway Park when I used to take those buses after work some time ago)...... Think I waited about 45 mins. for that bus.... What is your agency currently doing to improve transportation to the Rockaways? ...... ...... ...... New buses on the Q53 in 2014. I'm so done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BM5 via Woodhaven Posted October 3, 2015 Share #10 Posted October 3, 2015 ...... ...... ...... I'm so done. The Q53 also IIRC is slated to go back to LGA anyhow, so those "new buses" would be replaced by the same Hybrids that used to run on that line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrooklynBus Posted October 4, 2015 Author Share #11 Posted October 4, 2015 The Q35 doesn't need an extension, it needs to be restructured & quite frankly - managed better..... As I like to put it, the MTA gave themselves an attaboy by mildly improving the Q35 post GBL (forget about the deplorable conditions of the physical buses for a second).... Which, to be honest, isn't saying much... It's like ridding yourself of colored toilet paper for white toilet paper to wipe your ass...... For starters, during the summer, there should be point-to-point trips at given times running b/w Riis & B 116th (these should be free, being that the Q22 also does this, but we know that's not going to happen) & fixed-route trips running b/w Riis & the Junction (in other words, a short turn).... This would happen concurrently with Q35 service running the full route from B. 116th to the Junction..... Just having regular Q35's stop off at Riis isn't enough.... Flatbush av. traffic isn't getting any better these days, so during summers, it's only adding to the delays that the Q35 normally undergoes... Which is why you hear of these 40+ min. waits, and I'm not at all surprised at it, being that I know how the MTA operates/handles the route..... I abhor any plan suggesting extending the Q35 - especially the one that entails a combination with the Q22, which quite frankly to me is f***ing stupid (for lack of a better term).... I get the sense that the MTA sees the Q35 as a "throwaway" route; don't really know how to put it.... They know where the riders are at & where they're going along the route, yet they still run the route like complete & utter shit..... It's almost as if they don't want to operate the route.... Side note.... the MTA underestimates how many are xferring b/w the Q35 & the Q53, but yet got both of those routes leaving their respective terminals in the Rockaways ~ the same time..... Waiting for the Q53 isn't much of a problem, but the Q35 OTOH, forget it.... You may want to count how many buses go OOS upon reaching B. 116th to kill time b/w waits.... ....Most I counted one time was FOUR... This was around 7:30-8pm (would be around the time the QM16 would get to Rockaway Park when I used to take those buses after work some time ago)...... Think I waited about 45 mins. for that bus.... ...... ...... ...... I'm so done. As I stated in my letter or article, when Green Lines ran the route, in the summer every other bus terminated at Riis. The MTA added stops increasing demand and also eliminated the summer supplemental Riis Park service. The service now is worse than ever and it was never great to begin with. The MTA service guidelines which call for seated loads during off peak hours are just a bad joke when bus after bus passes your stop because there are too many standees for the bus to stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grand Concourse Posted October 9, 2015 Share #12 Posted October 9, 2015 Having rode the q35 before and after the mta took over it from the pbl, i can say that now as imperfect as it is, the line is much better and more consistent. Which makes it hell of a lot more reliable than the b41, which is like hit or miss with the traffic north of the junction and why i really wished they'd add in a few short turn b41s to help ease the madness at the junction. The q35 at 10-15 min intervals rush hours and regular respectively, it is easier to know when the bus is coming instead of having to guess when the next will show. A few times there is as long as a 30min wait either due to a bus not making its interval or a b/o not showing up to drive the bus at the junction. These have happened around the time school lets out after 3, which makes things much worse for a lf o7 og bus. Cutting the stops in brooklyn to make it a limited stop only bus helped as before sometimes the q35 b/os will skip the stop unless you were to 'flag it' to get their attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrooklynBus Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share #13 Posted October 9, 2015 Having rode the q35 before and after the mta took over it from the pbl, i can say that now as imperfect as it is, the line is much better and more consistent. Which makes it hell of a lot more reliable than the b41, which is like hit or miss with the traffic north of the junction and why i really wished they'd add in a few short turn b41s to help ease the madness at the junction. The q35 at 10-15 min intervals rush hours and regular respectively, it is easier to know when the bus is coming instead of having to guess when the next will show. A few times there is as long as a 30min wait either due to a bus not making its interval or a b/o not showing up to drive the bus at the junction. These have happened around the time school lets out after 3, which makes things much worse for a lf o7 og bus. Cutting the stops in brooklyn to make it a limited stop only bus helped as before sometimes the q35 b/os will skip the stop unless you were to 'flag it' to get their attention. I will have to disagree with your conclusion that the route is better since MTA takeover although I agree with everything else you said. The problem is that you have to look at the big picture here before you conclude the MTA made improvements here. Green Bus Lines operated the route with supplemental summer service to Riis Park and the MTA does not. It was most needed. When the MTA took over operations, they made it a local for several years so they could eliminate B41 shuttle service from the Junction which until that time had been a regular feature of that route. Around 1976, I did a survey of bus service at the Junction for the Department of City Planning. One of my conclusions was the shuttle service was definitely needed because it kept the delays during rush hours for people boarding at the Junction during rush hours down to 20 minutes. Without those buses I concluded that passengers would regularly have to wait up to 45 minutes for a bus because of delays elsewhere on the route. I believe in one occasion the delay was nearly an hour. The survey was repeated for three consecutive days. After several years, the MTA decided to return to Limited service but I believe did not restore B41 shuttle service or if they did, it was reduced. The results of course would be increased delays for the B41 and a shifting of more passengers to the Q 35 making that route worse also. Then to make matters worse stops at Avenue P and S were either added or never removed when Limited Q 35 service returned. Also added were three stops south of Avenue U increasing Q35 demand further in the summertime. The only good thing the MTA did regarding the Q 35 was revise the terminal at the Junction so the bus saves ten minutes making its turn. All in all the MTA worsened service on the B41 even with the addition of Limited service, as well as worsening the Q35. The B41 used to be the most heavily traveled route in the borough by far. Nothing even came close. Now it is number 6 with van services taking up the slack in response to the poorer service and the MTA responding by reducing service other. Now the B41 is about sixth in the borough's list of traveled routes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B35 via Church Posted October 10, 2015 Share #14 Posted October 10, 2015 To the both of you.... I would not go as far as to say the route is "much better" now, but the Q35 is definitely not worse off now than it was back then (GBL) overall either.... The route having better service to/from Riis back then is one thing... Outside of the summer season however, the problems with the Q35 were worse then (and the terminal/turnaround situation at the junction wasn't the only thing either, although it was the most noticable)..... I don't see how anyone can honestly argue the contrary and/or claim there weren't any improvements made the the Q35 after the MTA took the thing over..... The MTA did what it could to spawn ridership on that route; - to the point where people started taking it, over the B41 (and dollar vans)... The declination of B41 service came well after the MTA takeover of the PBL's..... I mean shit, GBL was known to run most of its bus routes like sheer crap anyway, and the Q35 was no exception..... I most certainly remember more emptier Q35's on average back then, compared to now.... So yeah, the MTA improved the route compared to when it was GBL ran, but it still has ways to go, as the route is still rather problematic... I find that was/is the case of quite a bit of the routes the MTA took over that was previously PBL ran, but that's neither here nor there.... Simply put, I'm not coming to the conclusion that the Q35 was better back then, due to service to Riis being better back then - and that's what BrooklynBus' stance resembles to me thus far in this discussion..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrooklynBus Posted October 10, 2015 Author Share #15 Posted October 10, 2015 To the both of you.... I would not go as far as to say the route is "much better" now, but the Q35 is definitely not worse off now than it was back then (GBL) overall either.... The route having better service to/from Riis back then is one thing... Outside of the summer season however, the problems with the Q35 were worse then (and the terminal/turnaround situation at the junction wasn't the only thing either, although it was the most noticable)..... I don't see how anyone can honestly argue the contrary and/or claim there weren't any improvements made the the Q35 after the MTA took the thing over..... The MTA did what it could to spawn ridership on that route; - to the point where people started taking it, over the B41 (and dollar vans)... The declination of B41 service came well after the MTA takeover of the PBL's..... I mean shit, GBL was known to run most of its bus routes like sheer crap anyway, and the Q35 was no exception..... I most certainly remember more emptier Q35's on average back then, compared to now.... So yeah, the MTA improved the route compared to when it was GBL ran, but it still has ways to go, as the route is still rather problematic... I find that was/is the case of quite a bit of the routes the MTA took over that was previously PBL ran, but that's neither here nor there.... Simply put, I'm not coming to the conclusion that the Q35 was better back then, due to service to Riis being better back then - and that's what BrooklynBus' stance resembles to me thus far in this discussion..... I'm not going to disagree with you on your overall conclusion because you see te route in operation more than I do. The only thing I will add is that if the reason more use the Q35 today than before is due to a degradation of B41 service by elimination of the shuttles from the Junction, I would not consider that to be an overall improvement. Adding stops at Avenue P and S was not an adequate substitute for those shuttles. I also believe additional routes are needed from southern Brooklyn to the Rockaways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B35 via Church Posted October 10, 2015 Share #16 Posted October 10, 2015 I'm not going to disagree with you on your overall conclusion because you see t[h]e route in operation more than I do. The only thing I will add is that if the reason more use the Q35 today than before is due to a degradation of B41 service by elimination of the shuttles from the Junction, I would not consider that to be an overall improvement. Adding stops at Avenue P and S was not an adequate substitute for those shuttles. I also believe additional routes are needed from southern Brooklyn to the Rockaways. - Of course that's not an improvement..... That's not what happened though. The worsening of B41 service came afterward, not before the increase in usage on the Q35.... - As for your last comment, yes, I know about the suggested route (singular) to Sheepshead & all, but now you're pluralizing it.... Routes. Instead of expounding on a point, I want to make, I'll just ask the obvious question: Where else in (southern) Brooklyn do you think buses should be running back & forth from the Rockaways to??? (I won't even castigate you for w/e answer you give - I just want to know where/what you possibly could be thinking of.....) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrooklynBus Posted October 11, 2015 Author Share #17 Posted October 11, 2015 I pluralized it because there is more than one option. They all need to be investigated. In the summertime there probably should be more than one. If the B2 is not extended to the west then it could be extended to at least Riis. Then there could be a route from Sheepshead Bay station either va the Belt or Knapp Street and Ave U. As for other routes, I would reinstitute on summer weekends the B46 extension that ran for two summers from 1981 to 1982 which was jam packed. The B9 wasn't crowded and wasn't necessary so I would not bring that back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
East New York Posted October 16, 2015 Share #18 Posted October 16, 2015 My assessment, which is now a proven fact..... Green Lines definitely ran the Q35 better with the equipment they had. MTA is insane for allowing what I have witnessed every summer get worse for the last 3 years straight. 2015 was the worse I have seen to date. A 90 minute wait is nothing for the Q35! I once waited 2 hours 16 minutes, only for the first 3 buses that pulled up back to back NEXT BUS PLEASE. Why did I wait that long? Because I was on Riis Beach, there were no cabs, and I wanted to see what all the people with dead cell phones would do.... How many people would actually wait? How many people had no other option. All my friends left me and I waited..... You could not have paid me to believe I would wait 2 hours and 16 minutes for a bus. That is hands down along with the Q22 and quite a few others some of the wore service in the city. For the first time in all my life, I have been completely disgusted with MTA bus and subway service overall as a whole. I have countless Q35 stories. On one instance, I counted 92 people waiting at the bus stop at the Junction... Long lines are common, but this was absolutely insane. I have a picture to prove it. 92 is NOT an exaggeration by any means. And lets not forget the beaches were open longer this year. Out of a 7 day week, at least 5 of those days have some kind of MTA travel issue. Flatbush bus service is just so random now it makes absolutely no sense day or night. Buses on the Hawk are early 99.95% of the time, and if I didnt have a tracking app I probably would have gone postal by now thinking buses were never showing up, when they are actually ridiculously early. I don't mean 1-3 minutes, but more like 4-9 in most cases. This evening for example. I track 7308 as a northbound 41 LTD. I'm waiting at The Junction I see it coming with a Q35 behind it. Stops at Av H, and the sign changes to NEXT BUS PLEASE. Lets everyone off in the middle of the block, then speeds past us, only to stop at Glenwood, and go back in Regular service. No more Limiteds in sight. What do I have to do? Waste money like I do 2-5 times a week on a dollar van. It's becoming a lot harder to justify an Unlimited Card if you have to spend extra money constantly on car service. I felt so sorry for all the people who swiped in (pay-per-ride) on the Q train with me last week at Newkirk, only for an announcement to come on as soon as we walk onto the platform that there are no Coney Island bound trains at this station because of a rail condition. 2015 has NOT been a great year for on time service. The MTA severely miscalculates on-time performance. The standard is a train or bus is deemed satisfactorily on-time if it is within 5 minutes of the scheduled time. However, if my Q train arriving to Av. H is 3-5 minutes early every day for 75% of an entire year, that is not even over yet might I mention, is NOT my idea of on-time performance at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewFlyer 230 Posted October 16, 2015 Share #19 Posted October 16, 2015 I agree with you ENY. On time performance sucked as a whole. Waiting over 15 minutes for a M72 and never showed up there was a bunch of people waiting at 72nd and 3rd Ave. My bus that I take to school the Q64 sometimes is taking a while to even show up. The other day the line was so long on Queens Blvd it went around the block that is just how bad service was. Sometimes I'm waiting 10-12 minutes during the AM rush just for the Q64 and this bus was always known to come fast every 3 minutes. So I don't know what happen but I don't want to deal with this poor service the MTA is giving us. This is unrelated to the topic but I've notice perform on the Lexington Ave lines has dropped. Waiting for a for 17 minutes one time. What is all the lateness for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BM5 via Woodhaven Posted October 18, 2015 Share #20 Posted October 18, 2015 I pluralized it because there is more than one option. They all need to be investigated. In the summertime there probably should be more than one. If the B2 is not extended to the west then it could be extended to at least Riis. Then there could be a route from Sheepshead Bay station either va the Belt or Knapp Street and Ave U. As for other routes, I would reinstitute on summer weekends the B46 extension that ran for two summers from 1981 to 1982 which was jam packed. The B9 wasn't crowded and wasn't necessary so I would not bring that back. So with the SBS that's coming on the B46 soon, and the proposed terminal at DeKalb (meaning that buses shouldn't be mixed with the traffic on Broadway), can that be extended to Riis Park? It would be summers only obviously, so that wouldn't justify putting SBS machines there. That would be the one stop where riders would actually have to pay on the bus (unlike the other SBS stops). Don't know if that will work or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrooklynBus Posted October 18, 2015 Author Share #21 Posted October 18, 2015 So with the SBS that's coming on the B46 soon, and the proposed terminal at DeKalb (meaning that buses shouldn't be mixed with the traffic on Broadway), can that be extended to Riis Park? It would be summers only obviously, so that wouldn't justify putting SBS machines there. That would be the one stop where riders would actually have to pay on the bus (unlike the other SBS stops). Don't know if that will work or not. They would need special fare machines on the buses that woud spit out receipts for it to work. Don't know if that would be feasible and dont know if the demand would be there for during the week. On weekends the buses would be crowded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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