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More Money alone won't cure frequency and reliability problems


BrooklynBus

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I agree with you 100%.  Personally it would be great if those video cameras on the buses could be integrated with the technology dispatchers currently have to see just how crowded each bus is.  They could then have buses hold or so on and so forth.  They could definitely hold drivers running hot too, but they refuse to.  When BusTime first came out on Staten Island, they were doing just that.  I don't know if the union complained or what, but they stopped doing that shortly after.  It's as if on-time service isn't important.  I for one am extremely frustrated by it and refuse to accept the current status quo.  Outside of rush hour, I see no reason why buses can't run on-time.  The technology is there and the (MTA) needs to use it and stop using traffic as the culprit.  

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Penner is a good guy and tries not to take sides and just present the facts. I usually always agree with him but I felt I had to reply because he is just one of many who believe if the MTA just had more money, all its problems would go away.

 

Your last sentence is right on target.

 

Someone on SubChat who is an MTA bud dispatcher once wrote that those in front of the screens who supposed to monitor reliability are playing video games instead. If that is one of the problems, it only highlights how poor management is. There is no incentive for the MTA to improve relability. Their only incentives are reducing overtime and watching the budget. The passenger just isn't important to them, certainly not as much as real estate interests.

 

I am lucky that I now have the option to drive for most if my trips but I never forgot what it feels like to be dependent on the subways and buses.

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Rush hour frequencies are decent across the system. The most you could see is a 1 or 2 BPH boost on the most crowded routes. Where there's a frequency problem is off-peak. Most routes aren't seeing enough BPH to attract commuters during the midday hours and on weekends. A vibrant, mature city should have such a huge drop-off between peak and off-peak transit service. I would look into ways to increase off-peak service nearly systemwide. 

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Rush hour frequencies are decent across the system. The most you could see is a 1 or 2 BPH boost on the most crowded routes. Where there's a frequency problem is off-peak. Most routes aren't seeing enough BPH to attract commuters during the midday hours and on weekends. A vibrant, mature city should have such a huge drop-off between peak and off-peak transit service. I would look into ways to increase off-peak service nearly systemwide.

 

Actual frequencies are more important than scheduled frequencies. If only two buses bunch an acceptable frequency can become a non-acceptable frequency.

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Actual frequencies are more important than scheduled frequencies. If only two buses bunch an acceptable frequency can become a non-acceptable frequency.

It depends, Im talking from a riders perspective but if the bus is 15 minutes I'm okay if the bus is late, but if it's 30 min I'm not even gonna wait for the bus. Perception is key
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It depends, Im talking from a riders perspective but if the bus is 15 minutes I'm okay if the bus is late, but if it's 30 min I'm not even gonna wait for the bus. Perception is key

15 minutes actual is okay, But 15 minutes scheduled and 30 minutes actual is not okay. If it's 30 minutes scheduled, anything greater than 35 minutes is not okay. Also if you want to increase patronage, the guideline for ncreasing service from 30 minutes to 20 minutes need to b lower. Buses during the off peak should not need to be 125 % of seated capacity to have service increased.

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Penner is a good guy and tries not to take sides and just present the facts. I usually always agree with him but I felt I had to reply because he is just one of many who believe if the MTA just had more money, all its problems would go away.

 

Your last sentence is right on target.

 

Someone on SubChat who is an MTA bud dispatcher once wrote that those in front of the screens who supposed to monitor reliability are playing video games instead. If that is one of the problems, it only highlights how poor management is. There is no incentive for the MTA to improve relability. Their only incentives are reducing overtime and watching the budget. The passenger just isn't important to them, certainly not as much as real estate interests.

 

I am lucky that I now have the option to drive for most if my trips but I never forgot what it feels like to be dependent on the subways and buses.

What's troubling to me are the people on here that continue to call for more cuts.  There's barely any bus service running as it is.  They look at areas with duplicate service and make all sorts of stupid assumptions.  They don't use the service either, so it's easy to call for cuts when you have no idea how bus service runs.  There should be a concerted effort to fight the (MTA) to keep what service exists and then add to it because they are hell bent on NOT providing service. They just don't give a damn, and there are so many neighborhoods that NEED bus service.  It's pitiful quite frankly. We can't all pack onto the subways. It's simply not practical, especially considering the lack of subways in some areas.  Our bus system is complimenting the other services here in the city, and that's the biggest problem.  Aside from that the (MTA) 's continued passive behavior on the matter is not helping.  That's why I continue to file complaints and write my elected officials. I am paying for service and I intend to get what I'm paying for.  Simple as that.

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What's troubling to me are the people on here that continue to call for more cuts. There's barely any bus service running as it is. They look at areas with duplicate service and make all sorts of stupid assumptions. They don't use the service either, so it's easy to call for cuts when you have no idea how bus service runs. There should be a concerted effort to fight the (MTA) to keep what service exists and then add to it because they are hell bent on NOT providing service. They just don't give a damn, and there are so many neighborhoods that NEED bus service. It's pitiful quite frankly. We can't all pack onto the subways. It's simply not practical, especially considering the lack of subways in some areas. Our bus system is complimenting the other services here in the city, and that's the biggest problem. Aside from that the (MTA) 's continued passive behavior on the matter is not helping. That's why I continue to file complaints and write my elected officials. I am paying for service and I intend to get what I'm paying for. Simple as that.

I will also tell you what is troubling. All the money spent on Not in Service miles of buses traveling to and from depots. When will they ever combine MTA Bus and NYCTBus to reduce these miles. Why should the B100 which passes directly in front of Flatbush Depot have to travel all the way from Fresh Creek?

 

Some of these off route mile lengths of traveling halfway across a borough to go into or out of service is ridiculous and terribly wasteful. I just traveled by car on Kings Highway from East 98 Street. There was an EAST NY Not in Service bus in front of us the entire way until past Bedford Avenue. I figured it was a B17, but it did not turn off at Remsen. So what else could it have been besides a B82? Was it going to turn around at Corey Island Avenue to go into service? Or was it going all the way to Ulmer Park or Coney Island before entering service? Does anyone know?

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15 minutes actual is okay, But 15 minutes scheduled and 30 minutes actual is not okay. If it's 30 minutes scheduled, anything greater than 35 minutes is not okay. Also if you want to increase patronage, the guideline for ncreasing service from 30 minutes to 20 minutes need to b lower. Buses during the off peak should not need to be 125 % of seated capacity to have service increased.

Yeah your right we need different guidelines during off peak hours, because right now

More and more buses are becoming 30 min frequency off peak and that would further the decline of bus service.

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