M42 Nostalgia Bus Schedule

[Cait Sith]

They should release a schedule so people atleast have a rough estimate

That I agree with. The only con is that it's the M42. Them buses won't be on schedule anyway.

 

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[TheNewYorkElevated]

That I agree with. The only con is that it's the M42. Them buses won't be on schedule anyway.

 

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Don't forget that the Vintage Buses have to go through the heavy of traffic of 42nd Street in general (especially going through Times Square and the area around Grand Central). 

[IAlam]

It hard just to sit and hope that the bus will come without no way in telling if it will show up or not. Without a schedule or GPS it's not worth waiting for it especially when it's windy or the temperature drops below freezing. 

 

If the MTA can install modern fareboxes on these things, I'm pretty sure they can install Bus Time too. 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

It hard just to sit and hope that the bus will come without no way in telling if it will show up or not. Without a schedule or GPS it's not worth waiting for it especially when it's windy or the temperature drops below freezing. 

 

If the MTA can install modern fareboxes on these things, I'm pretty sure they can install Bus Time too. 

If they're going to advertise these things, they should make it easy to find them, otherwise it's stupid.  The GPS tracking to my knowledge was done in house anyway, so I'm not sure why they can't find a way to retrofit those buses.

[Cait Sith]

It hard just to sit and hope that the bus will come without no way in telling if it will show up or not. Without a schedule or GPS it's not worth waiting for it especially when it's windy or the temperature drops below freezing. 

 

If the MTA can install modern fareboxes on these things, I'm pretty sure they can install Bus Time too. 

 

The only way those buses will not come, or be displayed is if bad weather arises(rain/snow mostly), or if a mechanical problem occurs.

[East New York]

They should release a schedule so people atleast have a rough estimate

  

 

It hard just to sit and hope that the bus will come without no way in telling if it will show up or not. Without a schedule or GPS it's not worth waiting for it especially when it's windy or the temperature drops below freezing. 

 

If the MTA can install modern fareboxes on these things, I'm pretty sure they can install Bus Time too.

 

It's it bit more to it than what you are all looking at. For starters it's not only stupid, but a complete waste of money to wire a bus for GPS when it's only going to be used once a year. A fare box is simple. GPS is not. As far as a schedule goes, you can't make one with these buses anyway. It all depends on what drivers are qualified, and who wants to actually pull the buses out. Not everyone wants to drive them so you can't just assign it to a specific run and think that's how it will be. MTA tried that about 4 years ago and it failed miserably. For this reason, the schedule is 9-5. It's not that hard to find 2 buses on a crosstown route. All you have to do is stand at one of the terminals and wait. You are bound to see one of them within 30 minutes, and if you are anywhere along the route you will definitely see both and the wait should be 15-30 minutes max.

 

If you don't have 30 minutes to spare then maybe you shouldn't be out there.

 

If they're going to advertise these things, they should make it easy to find them, otherwise it's stupid.  The GPS tracking to my knowledge was done in house anyway, so I'm not sure why they can't find a way to retrofit those buses.

See the above statement. It doesn't work that way, and there were no complaints for the last 20 years. People need to stop being lazy. Everyone wants instant gratification these days.

 

Everyone also needs to remember that this is a privilege. MTA doesn't have to do this at all. All new buses come GPS ready. They are turned on in-house. It's not that they can't retrofit, but it's pointless and a complete waste of new hardware, money, labor, and resources.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

  

 

 

See the above statement. It doesn't work that way, and there were no complaints for the last 20 years. People need to stop being lazy. Everyone wants instant gratification these days.

 

Everyone also needs to remember that this is a privilege. MTA doesn't have to do this at all. All new buses come GPS ready. They are turned on in-house. It's not that they can't retrofit, but it's pointless and a complete waste of new hardware, money, labor, and resources.

I can understand the gripes.  I mean it's not exactly warm outside.  If it's cold out and you have to run back and forth trying to see when a bus is coming... I personally wouldn't bother with it, but then again I wouldn't bother either way. lol For the people looking for it though I'm sure they would appreciate it if it were easier to find.  I have seen them over the years along 42nd street, but never bothered since I was busy with other things.  

[nostalgia]

How often do the buses come out during the year? Brooklyn antic, maybe one day to Orchard Beach from Pelham Bay, and 15 days in December. For less than 30 days of service, why spend thousands of dollars on transmissions and other major repairs?

 

As for the waiting comment, I sat at the UN terminal on a warm December day in 2013. 9098 dropped passengers at the regular 1st avenue stop and circled around to the starting point on 41st street. The bus sat for 10 minutes (with the engine running) and then flagged all the bus fans waiting at the first stop. That was the last time I waited for a museum bus.

 

BTW, I complained through the  website. Instead of getting the usual "we will forward it to supervision," the response was "we found the driver and he was reprimanded."

[trainfan22]

How often do the buses come out during the year? Brooklyn antic, maybe one day to Orchard Beach from Pelham Bay, and 15 days in December. For less than 30 days of service, why spend thousands of dollars on transmissions and other major repairs?

 

As for the waiting comment, I sat at the UN terminal on a warm December day in 2013. 9098 dropped passengers at the regular 1st avenue stop and circled around to the starting point on 41st street. The bus sat for 10 minutes (with the engine running) and then flagged all the bus fans waiting at the first stop. That was the last time I waited for a museum bus.

 

BTW, I complained through the  website. Instead of getting the usual "we will forward it to supervision," the response was "we found the driver and he was reprimanded."

They sometimes bring museum buses out for random street fairs thought the year, as an static display though. But I agree with y'all point that its pointless to put GPS on these old buses.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

How often do the buses come out during the year? Brooklyn antic, maybe one day to Orchard Beach from Pelham Bay, and 15 days in December. For less than 30 days of service, why spend thousands of dollars on transmissions and other major repairs?

 

As for the waiting comment, I sat at the UN terminal on a warm December day in 2013. 9098 dropped passengers at the regular 1st avenue stop and circled around to the starting point on 41st street. The bus sat for 10 minutes (with the engine running) and then flagged all the bus fans waiting at the first stop. That was the last time I waited for a museum bus.

 

BTW, I complained through the  website. Instead of getting the usual "we will forward it to supervision," the response was "we found the driver and he was reprimanded."

LMAO... That'll learn ya...  I like the last part as well about the driver being reprimanded.

[nostalgia]

The puts a schedule for the nostalgia train at 2nd Avenue and Queens Plaza. Why can't they put it a schedule for the buses at the end points? It's only two blocks from Quill to Circle Line. The nostalgia train has a longer trip to 2nd Avenue from whatever yard and it has a schedule.

[DetSMART45]

  

 

 

It's it bit more to it than what you are all looking at. For starters it's not only stupid, but a complete waste of money to wire a bus for GPS when it's only going to be used once a year. A fare box is simple. GPS is not. As far as a schedule goes, you can't make one with these buses anyway. It all depends on what drivers are qualified, and who wants to actually pull the buses out. Not everyone wants to drive them so you can't just assign it to a specific run and think that's how it will be. MTA tried that about 4 years ago and it failed miserably. For this reason, the schedule is 9-5. It's not that hard to find 2 buses on a crosstown route. All you have to do is stand at one of the terminals and wait. You are bound to see one of them within 30 minutes, and if you are anywhere along the route you will definitely see both and the wait should be 15-30 minutes max.

 

If you don't have 30 minutes to spare then maybe you shouldn't be out there.

 

 

See the above statement. It doesn't work that way, and there were no complaints for the last 20 years. People need to stop being lazy. Everyone wants instant gratification these days.

 

Everyone also needs to remember that this is a privilege. MTA doesn't have to do this at all. All new buses come GPS ready. They are turned on in-house. It's not that they can't retrofit, but it's pointless and a complete waste of new hardware, money, labor, and resources.

Yes on the GPS points, on the others, no.

Keep reading ....

 

I can understand the gripes.  I mean it's not exactly warm outside.  If it's cold out and you have to run back and forth trying to see when a bus is coming... I personally wouldn't bother with it, but then again I wouldn't bother either way. lol For the people looking for it though I'm sure they would appreciate it if it were easier to find.  I have seen them over the years along 42nd street, but never bothered since I was busy with other things.  

Bingo.

Keep reading ....

 

How often do the buses come out during the year? Brooklyn antic, maybe one day to Orchard Beach from Pelham Bay, and 15 days in December. For less than 30 days of service, why spend thousands of dollars on transmissions and other major repairs?

 

As for the waiting comment, I sat at the UN terminal on a warm December day in 2013. 9098 dropped passengers at the regular 1st avenue stop and circled around to the starting point on 41st street. The bus sat for 10 minutes (with the engine running) and then flagged all the bus fans waiting at the first stop. That was the last time I waited for a museum bus.

 

BTW, I complained through the  website. Instead of getting the usual "we will forward it to supervision," the response was "we found the driver and he was reprimanded."

Yes, to a point.

 

If the MTA is going to make a big hoo-hah about these "nostalgia" buses and trains operating, then they SHOULD have things in place to pull it off and make it successful.  After all, it IS only ONE TIME per year, isn't it?

 

I dunno, but running those buses on weekdays is just plain dumb, with all the weekday traffic.  Granted, traffic is horrible in Manhattan at any time, but why not do Saturday and Sunday runs, especially for tourists?  At least traffic could be a bit lighter, allowing the buses to not simply idle and poke along the route (causing additional "wear-and-tear" on them).  It would also encourage more people to actually use them in the first place.

 

Make the nostalgia route a limited-stop one as well, not a local one.  You want to create a "special" experience for those who choose to take advantage of it.  Truncate it, post special signs at stops.  Have a schedule, and more people will experience it.  Possibly even hand out discount passes for the Transit Museum as well.

 

For it being a yearly event, then surely certain operators could be recruited far enough in advance.  If it means paying a bit of a bonus for doing it, then so be it.

 

The MTA allocates a chunk of their funds to support this overall program, and then wants to play this "we're doing you a favor" by doing this ONE TIME out of the year?  Then why do it AT ALL?

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Yes on the GPS points, on the others, no.

Keep reading ....

 

 

Bingo.

Keep reading ....

 

 

Yes, to a point.

 

If the MTA is going to make a big hoo-hah about these "nostalgia" buses and trains operating, then they SHOULD have things in place to pull it off and make it successful.  After all, it IS only ONE TIME per year, isn't it?

 

I dunno, but running those buses on weekdays is just plain dumb, with all the weekday traffic.  Granted, traffic is horrible in Manhattan at any time, but why not do Saturday and Sunday runs, especially for tourists?  At least traffic could be a bit lighter, allowing the buses to not simply idle and poke along the route (causing additional "wear-and-tear" on them).  It would also encourage more people to actually use them in the first place.

 

Make the nostalgia route a limited-stop one as well, not a local one.  You want to create a "special" experience for those who choose to take advantage of it.  Truncate it, post special signs at stops.  Have a schedule, and more people will experience it.  Possibly even hand out discount passes for the Transit Museum as well.

 

For it being a yearly event, then surely certain operators could be recruited far enough in advance.  If it means paying a bit of a bonus for doing it, then so be it.

 

The MTA allocates a chunk of their funds to support this overall program, and then wants to play this "we're doing you a favor" by doing this ONE TIME out of the year?  Then why do it AT ALL?

Exactly. Seems counterproductive if you're going to make it so inconvenient in the first place. If not GPS then yes signs should be posted with some sort of schedule. That can't that expensive.

[DetSMART45]

Exactly. Seems counterproductive if you're going to make it so inconvenient in the first place. If not GPS then yes signs should be posted with some sort of schedule. That can't that expensive.

Even if they want to run it weekdays only, the nostalgia buses should NOT be part of the regular M42 service.  They should be separate completely as just a given.  If there's already service problems (as most routes have), then you're doing no good at all to swap buses.  That in and of itself is probably a reason so many people don't take advantage of what could be a huge BOOST to the MTA and the Transit Museum/preservation programs.

 

If this was followed, then it would be possible to actually create a regular schedule, post special signage along the entire route for the duration of the program, and to actually turn it into a limited-stop so that even if regular commuters decide to hop on, then the nostalgia buses actually complement regular M42 service.  Could be even better if the MTA opted to dump all nostalgia farebox receipts into the museum/preservation programs.

 

This SHOULD be a program that would cast the MTA into a positive light, and it should be a showcase event for them.  Obviously they could REALLY care less about it, and just do it for a nice little P.R. "buzz."

 

Really, it's not even done to their usual half-assed approach, so it should just be entirely scrapped because it's obvious they don't care anyways.

[Fresh Pond]

 

 

If the MTA can install modern fareboxes on these things, I'm pretty sure they can install Bus Time too.

LMAO modern?

 

Those fareboxes are from 1994, they're older than the entire bus fleet. When a bus gets retired, they pull out the farebox and put it in another (probably new) bus

The puts a schedule for the nostalgia train at 2nd Avenue and Queens Plaza. Why can't they put it a schedule for the buses at the end points? It's only two blocks from Quill to Circle Line. The nostalgia train has a longer trip to 2nd Avenue from whatever yard and it has a schedule.

It's a lot easier for a train to stay on schedule compared to a bus. Plus with traffic on 42 St being a nightmare, they will almost never stick to the schedule. That's why they give a general time on when they'll be out and about.

[trainfan22]

They don't run on weekends cause senior drivers usually don't work weekends, haven't been on the museum buses in quite some time when I rode them it was older drivers who was around when the vintage buses were regular, everyday buses. 

[DetSMART45]

They don't run on weekends cause senior drivers usually don't work weekends, haven't been on the museum buses in quite some time when I rode them it was older drivers who was around when the vintage buses were regular, everyday buses. 

Those senior drivers probably would be OK with working weekends if they got premium pay.  And if they had actual scheduled runs, they'd probably sign up to do it.  Not saying that all of them would be enthusiastic about it, but if you had customers asking questions and bringing up "the old days," those seniors could possibly find it worthwhile.

 

And besides, if they're training newbies on RTSes, they can train others on the old fleet.  If the MTA did the program right, operators would be more than happy to see the program succeed.  But that means planning sometime during the other 11 months of the year.

[bobtehpanda]

Those senior drivers probably would be OK with working weekends if they got premium pay.  And if they had actual scheduled runs, they'd probably sign up to do it.  Not saying that all of them would be enthusiastic about it, but if you had customers asking questions and bringing up "the old days," those seniors could possibly find it worthwhile.

 

And besides, if they're training newbies on RTSes, they can train others on the old fleet.  If the MTA did the program right, operators would be more than happy to see the program succeed.  But that means planning sometime during the other 11 months of the year.

 

People around here already s*** themselves whenever they hear about drivers getting overtime; getting drivers overtime for kitschy Christmas runs would give the tabloids a field day.

 

They tried scheduled runs, it failed.

[Around the Horn]

People around here already s*** themselves whenever they hear about drivers getting overtime; getting drivers overtime for kitschy Christmas runs would give the tabloids a field day.

 

They tried scheduled runs, it failed.

THIS! The only reason the Holiday Train has a firm schedule is because the same two guys (aren't they TSS's?) always run the train.

[DetSMART45]

People around here already s*** themselves whenever they hear about drivers getting overtime; getting drivers overtime for kitschy Christmas runs would give the tabloids a field day.

 

They tried scheduled runs, it failed.

You don't necessarily have to use overtime to do it.  There's already PLENTY of overtime that needs to be addressed in "regular service" first.

 

If no additional thought can be done to improve the program from one year to another, then WHY DO IT TO BEGIN WITH?  For the "kitsch" value alone?

 

Sounds like money that can be spent elsewhere.

[nostalgia]

So what. Senior subway operators don't work weekends and they find T/Os to operate the nostalgia train. If the doesn't train replacement T/Os, what's going to happen when they retire? The nostalgia trains won't run anymore?

 

I remember B/Os telling me at Brooklyn Antic they worked special operations. One B/O said he went to a different depot to pick up the bus. So the buses aren't assigned to a specific depot which doesn't mean that only the operators where a museum bus is parked can drive it.

 

Furthermore, maintaining the logic of running the buses on weekdays, the nostalgia train should run on weekdays as well.

[Around the Horn]

So what. Senior subway operators don't work weekends and they find T/Os to operate the nostalgia train. If the doesn't train replacement T/Os, what's going to happen when they retire? The nostalgia trains won't run anymore?

 

Furthermore, maintaining the logic of running the buses on weekdays, the nostalgia train should run on weekdays as well.

 

The same two people operate the Nostalgia Trains. That's it. And IIRC they are TSS's not TO's...

 

The would never run the Nostalgia Train in between and trains. Imagine the mess it would have cause if the BIE incident on the first Sunday of this year, happened on a weekday...

[Cait Sith]

People around here already s*** themselves whenever they hear about drivers getting overtime; getting drivers overtime for kitschy Christmas runs would give the tabloids a field day.

 

They tried scheduled runs, it failed.

 

This....people actually think that the M42 would really stick to a schedule.....newsflash, it doesn't. Posting a schedule is fine, but expecting it to stick to a schedule is another thing. This is exactly why they post a general time as to when these buses are running, but folks just want instant gratification. They've been running these buses along the M42 for x amount of years and this is probably the first time I've ever read a complaint in this forum about the buses being either too hard to find, or being unable to track them...

 

When they would post a schedule, people would be pissed because it either didn't show up or it was late. That's largely why they no longer do that.

 

The only way those buses will run on schedule is if you remove all of the traffic from 42nd Street, which won't happen.

 

So what. Senior subway operators don't work weekends and they find T/Os to operate the nostalgia train. If the doesn't train replacement T/Os, what's going to happen when they retire? The nostalgia trains won't run anymore?

 

I remember B/Os telling me at Brooklyn Antic they worked special operations. One B/O said he went to a different depot to pick up the bus. So the buses aren't assigned to a specific depot which doesn't mean that only the operators where a museum bus is parked can drive it.

 

Furthermore, maintaining the logic of running the buses on weekdays, the nostalgia train should run on weekdays as well.

 

There's only two people that operate the nostalgia trains, and they operate it every year. They are supervisors, not T/Os.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

It's typical of the to just throw their hands up and do nothing instead of being active.  So they had a schedule previously and the buses were late... So now they give you NOTHING and you just stand there like an idiot waiting to see when one will show up in the freezing cold.  That sounds even worse to me.  Running anything like that will surely turn people off from even bothering.  Times have changed and the should evolve with the times, yet the consistently do the complete opposite.... The more inconvenient you make things for people, usually the fewer people will turn out.  I don't see this situation being any different.  I will say kudos to the people willing to stand out in the elements and wait for one of these buses to show up.  Better them than me. lol

[bobtehpanda]

You don't necessarily have to use overtime to do it.  There's already PLENTY of overtime that needs to be addressed in "regular service" first.

 

If no additional thought can be done to improve the program from one year to another, then WHY DO IT TO BEGIN WITH?  For the "kitsch" value alone?

 

Sounds like money that can be spent elsewhere.

 

So they deserve premium pay, but not OT. Good luck trying to sell that to TWU. They should be training operators on it, but it's a waste. You can't have your cake and eat it too.

 

It's also a handful of rides every year. Axing them probably wouldn't free up a lot of resources, given that the M42 is so short it doesn't use up a lot of service hours to run the holiday service there. I don't particularly care for these services, but lets not kid ourselves.