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Restore The B41 Petition by the TWU Local 100 Petition by TWULOCAL100 The B41 Bus, serving the heart of Brooklyn, has lost 5 million riders in the last decade because of traffic congestion, double-parking, and other problems that can be fixed. The B41 is a critically important public transit resource in deep distress. But we can restore the B41 by putting in place bus-only lanes with a physical barrier keeping other traffic out of the B41's path, painted bus-only lanes with enhanced enforcement, and bus-priority signal technology to reduce time spent at red lights. We need Mayor de Blasio and the New York City Department of Transportation to work with the MTA to create a fast-moving bus corridor for the B41 from downtown Broooklyn across the borough to Kings Plaza. We need dedicated bus lanes and enforcement so that double-parkers and "dollar vans" don't impede bus traffic and don't steal revenue from the transit system.

Get bus lanes in Get the SBS in and Artics and actually crack down on dollar vans Boom problem solved

I think some depots (such as Ulmer, Quill) have higher priority over what fleet they want, would explain why all the remaining ZFs are still at Ulmer and the final batch of RTSs is at Quill. That said, this article is just inflammatory and whoever wrote it probably has no knowledge of how the bus system works. Not surprising being from one of the tabloids, but still poor journalism nonetheless. Gleason doesn't have any RTSs because they aren't CNG. Speaking of which, Gleason operates many routes in the poorer areas of Brooklyn, including Sunset Park and Brownsville.

Multiple reasons: Lack of enforcement by the NYPD has allowed dollar vans to fester out of control. The prevalence of dollar vans (nowadays almost exclusively cutaway vehicles) has taken ridership off of the B41. Runs get cut as a result of decreased ridership (but the demand is there as shown by the dollar vans). What I see needing to be done, in no particular order: Any XE60 buses should be dedicated to Flatbush Depot for the B41 (which would warrant it with stop and go traffic) for increased capacity. State Trooper/MTA Police crackdown on the dollar vans (since the NYPD won't do so) with a contracted towing company for impounding vehicles. Bergen Beach service would be designated B40 as a distinct route. Select Bus Service introduction to the B41 and an Eagle Team/MTA Police/State Trooper enforcement. (On the B82 SBS, some Eagle Team stops have resulted in as many as 12 people being removed from a bus for fare evasion.) Modifying the schedule for fare evasion as follows (bullet points) First offense: 50 times the base fare (currently that would be $137.50) Second offense: 100 times the base fare (currently that would be $275) Third offense: Class A misdemeanor (Section 165.15 of the NY State Penal Code). Checks due to the person could be intercepted to pay the fines. As for why I would want police enforcement---oftentimes, farebeaters are people committing other offenses. As for what route should be highlighted next, after the B41...I'd probably say the Bx9 or B15. Notice how the dollar vans have all but disappeared from Utica Avenue since SBS began.

because not only has the B41 lost passengers, runs have been cut to borderline dismal levels. in Flatbush, the "big 3" on the run boards used to be the 41, 44 & 46, all having over 100 runs. the 41 is barely in the high 80's now. at least 20 runs disappear over a decade? unacceptable.

It's just you.

Frankly if I were in charge, I would have these "audits" (for lack of a better phrase) on every trunk on a regularly scheduled basis as part of the subway on-time performance metrics

I just want to say that you're doing an excellent job helping express bus riders get the service they deserve. We need more individuals like you to stand up and fight for what's right. Things aren't perfect, but your efforts have and are making an impact. Keep it up!

(I wasn't sure if this required its own thread and it features a lot of the proposals that we have discussed in detail in this thread so I'll mention it here) The Permanent Citizen's Advisory Committee to the MTA (PCAC) released a study today in which they commuted between Astoria (Broadway station) and Lower Manhattan (Bowling Green station) for 100 days in 2017 and 2018. The data they collected is interesting enough but the recommendations in the study are the main reason I thought it was worth posting here https://www.pcac.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/100_100-Final-Report.pdf The recommendations begin on page 42 and include maps @RR503 @Union Tpke

Latest developments: -Former Board Member Allen Cappelli has joined our group. -There are some riders that remain pissed with the for poor express bus service and are pushing us to push for a laywer to consider a lawsuit. We are open to the option and are currently seeing if we can locate a lawyer to consider the case and take it from there.

They really need to concoct a metric that can speak to service performance in absolute terms, not relative to a (changeable) schedule. Something like network velocity, or percent adherence to the comfort speed curve, or just runtimes for each stopping pattern. Because right now, I fear all the metrics are being somewhat muddled by changing schedules.

At least it's not Gun Hill dirty

10 Years ago today 3/18/19 Back on 3/18/09 The last R38 ran in service on the Car # was 4099/98 in a mix consist with R32s. Car #4099/98 was reef on 4/16/2009 just off the coast of Virginia. Today the only saved R38 Is 4028/29. Here is a short video I took of the R38 between 2007-2009

Whether its by coincidence or not, these are the facts, and there is some truth here. The areas that scream the loudest tend to get the newer fleet first. We have express buses that are over 10 years old, but they are kept in pristine condition. One night waiting by 63rd and Broadway, our BxM2 express bus rolls up and the signage wasn't working. A guy gets on (one of the Lincoln Center crowd types) and he was quite cranky about the signage not working and he let the driver know about it too. Never saw that bus like that again. It was pulled and immediately addressed. In my neighborhood, people feel quite free to make a note of going to community board meetings of all sorts to express their feelings about the smallest issues, and it makes a difference in how the community is kept up and the service you receive. When we had a garbage issue with bins overflowing, I immediately wrote to my elected officials until it was addressed, and when it became a problem again, I did the same thing. You have to speak up to keep your neighborhood looking nice because no one will do it for you. Same is true with bus fleet. I don't complain about our buses because they are clean overall and very well maintained. I don't ride the local buses often, but they are not very old either. The last buses we received are from 2015 or so and they are fairly quiet.

Was that comment really necessary? Yeah, dumb people do dumb things. That does not mean we wish for their deaths here. Don't instigate. It helps no one here.

Imagine if people said the same thing about rolling stock on subway lines... you'd hear complaints at practically every angle

There’s a presumed foamer in the back of the bus that’s playing the automated announcements to himself from his phone on a bus that doesn’t have the new screens on it. Its on a local Bx12 too so I don’t even know where he got all the audio files from 😄 He’s keeping to himself and not bothering nobody tho. I’ll just sit back, relax and enjoy the experience.

I guess here's one more individual who is unqualified to be Mayor. Good to keep track. "I cannot recall a time that two political candidates tried to outdo each other over improving transit." Where in any of this do you see that transit is going to be improved? Since you are so excited about demolishing transportation infrastructure, why don't you show me exactly how the transit situation in Red Hook and Cobble Hill would improve with this "plan"? FYI, the highway can be decked over without screwing over drivers for no reason.

The yard issue is overblown. For years, we operated 15-18tph of Astoria service to/from Bay Ridge, using CIY and the assortment of spurs/express tracks along the route to hold trains. Wasn't perfect, but it worked.

Oh please with that. I get so sick of employees bullshitting us and telling us that it's OUR fault that the damn system is falling apart!! Put the blame where it belongs!! We have a system that is in disrepair with a signaling system that is a century old!! If the damn trains ran on time people wouldn't be so apt to hold the doors the first place. I've been riding the subways for over 15 years now, and the system has been allowed to descend into the abyss!! I don't hold the doors and more times than not I don't see people holding the doors. What I DO see is trains holding in the stations and CRAWLING because of "train traffic" even when there are large gaps between trains. That one always gets me. There is just a lot of frustration with this system because we are a City that depends on public transportation and the system is FAILING taxpayers overall. The is allowed to run with no accountability whatsoever. The buses can run however as can the trains and it's okay. Meanwhile we have other transit systems as old as ours that are making serious strides. I run an advocacy group and people are just so fed up with the service. Day after day it's a crap shoot.

You can attempt to make your announcement as as audible possible, it doesn’t help when these trains are 30+ years old with broken PA’s. I wish your fellow riders would take their frustrations elsewhere, it’s not our fault they’re broken nor do we have any way of finding out unless it’s reported to us (and in this case it would obviously be too late) OP skips happen everyday, especially during rush hours. When you have lines like the 1 and 6 which run tight 4 min headway’s it’s imperative that things run smoothly. When people constantly hold doors it delays that train and others behind it. The system isn’t perfect by far, but I’m willing to bet that a large percentage of skips during rush hours are caused by passengers.

Oh it's been happening regularly. I had it happen some weeks ago on an uptown train. We crawled crawled and crawled. Then at 175th street an inaudible, garbled announcement was made which at least half the car couldn't hear and NOT repeated. Doors were closed and then BOOM, no stops until 207th street. Myself and several other people were FURIOUS. Of course we had to take the same stupid train back to where we were getting off. All of that made me 20 minutes late!! If they're going to do it, make AUDIBLE announcements. Worst off is when they say they're going from express to local only to then go back to express when you've gotten off of the train. Just ridiculous...

That's correct. You'll also see a lot of training going on in Manhattan because of all of the stop and go traffic. I'm guessing they like to put the drivers in difficult situations and see how they handle them since you may be placed anywhere and will need to adjust accordingly.

The Q58 was moved to Grand for the reason of eventual artic conversion and operation, since FP can't handle artics. Nothing surprising there.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy life.

here ya go

Students here aren't the issue. School's can make it hell for Students to get replacement MetroCards' and in essence Students are no longer being targeted according to an Internal NYPD Memo. The thing is that a student shouldn't be punished for not having a MetroCard, mind that Students with MetroCards don't have to pay for a ride, while adults have to. So it isn't fair in both senses. Adults are curbing this bad habit, and they are the one's who deserved to be punished to the fullest extent. Students have nothing to do with Fare Beating increasing, they're just kids. Most of these kids come from struggling families who can barely put food on the table, and putting shit on their record for not having a MetroCard is just insane too. This shouldn't even have to be a conversation, it's quite clear that the adults curb this bad behavior and they should be the ones reprimanded for it.

I’m in air brake right now. I saw nobody cry.

The ongoing service issues along Union Turnpike remain UNACCEPTABLE, and we will continue to press until these trips are filled and filled regularly. A special thanks to Assemblyman David Weprin for his assistance in this matter: @QM1to6Ave Please DO report back if you continue to have issues with your service. Thanks!

don't get me wrong. i understand your point completely: there are several lines that need to be paid attention to or restored to former glory, so to speak. yet there isn't one bus line that has been or currently is considered a major people mover in this system that has had runs slashed the way the 41 has. bar none... not among the ATU's, the TWU former PBL's... MaBSTOA, nowhere.

I got this via Interlibrary loan, and scanned it before I have to return it. These are the pages related to subway improvements made as part of the Fare Deal. The bus improvements are in the bus forum. Scan 3 by Union Turnpike, on Flickr Scan 4 by Union Turnpike, on Flickr Scan 7 by Union Turnpike, on Flickr Scan 8 by Union Turnpike, on Flickr Scan 10 by Union Turnpike, on Flickr Scan 12 by Union Turnpike, on Flickr Scan 13 by Union Turnpike, on Flickr Scan 14 by Union Turnpike, on Flickr Scan 15 by Union Turnpike, on Flickr Scan 16 by Union Turnpike, on Flickr Scan 38 1 by Union Turnpike, on Flickr Scan 39 1 by Union Turnpike, on Flickr Scan 40 by Union Turnpike, on Flickr Scan 41 by Union Turnpike, on Flickr Scan 42 by Union Turnpike, on Flickr Scan 43 1 by Union Turnpike, on Flickr Scan 45 by Union Turnpike, on Flickr Scan 46 by Union Turnpike, on Flickr Scan 50 by Union Turnpike, on Flickr Scan 51 1 by Union Turnpike, on Flickr Scan 52 by Union Turnpike, on Flickr Scan 53 by Union Turnpike, on Flickr

Nice but unnecessary capital project: Replace the els with concrete viaducts that reduce noise and vibrations, and require fewer stanchions. Three birds with one stone.

It's pretty simple, and I'm not sure what's so hard to understand about this... It comes down to FUNDING and MONEY. Westchester residents PAY TAXES for their transportation. Therefore, they should PAY for their own bus service as they do now. City services should serve NYC, not unless Westchester wants to PAY NYC to extend bus service into Westchester. Metro-North is different because it's a railroad. Before people go on on about how "horrible" it is that the Bx9 stops at the City borderline, learn how the funding of the service works. It has NOTHING to do with being "cruel" or any of this other nonsense going on. We can't have an integrated regional network unless the funding sources are overhauled and everyone pays their FAIR SHARE. As it stands, the people in Westchester get a good deal because Metro-North is HEAVILY subsidized from monies from the boroughs. People on Staten Island complain about how monies from the Verrazzano tolls go to subsidize Metro-North or the LIRR and they have a legitimate gripe.

Not this open door express bus bit again.... Nobody ever looks at this nonsense from the perspective of the current express bus commuter... The assumption is always that current riders will willingly put up with intra-outerborough usage & the fact is, is that they wont..... Local bus riders wont flock to this type of service either... What you essentially end up with, is a service that would be even less patronized than current express bus service.... There is much of nothing to be gained by having some sort of cohesion with express bus service & local bus service.....

Here's more DSC_3008 by Matty Tang, on Flickr DSC_3013 by Matty Tang, on Flickr DSC_3016 by Matty Tang, on Flickr DSC_3020 by Matty Tang, on Flickr DSC_3023 by Matty Tang, on Flickr DSC_3030 by Matty Tang, on Flickr DSC_3050 by Matty Tang, on Flickr DSC_3077 by Matty Tang, on Flickr DSC_3082 by Matty Tang, on Flickr DSC_3086 by Matty Tang, on Flickr DSC_3095 by Matty Tang, on Flickr DSC_3099 by Matty Tang, on Flickr

Bronx? Rich? I think the only thing is that the Bronx has more artic routes than any other borough while Brooklyn carries way more passgengers than any other borough. But I don’t think it’s really something against a depot or anything but it’s how mangament sees or treats “priority” of course things happen like west farms where they needed extra 40 footers. But at the end of the day it’s gonna come down to politics and if they uncover that shit may hit the fan.

I'd prefer if these audits and reviews actually led to some real changes. Every so often, we have line reviews done by either outside agencies or internally by the MTA and almost every time, they all lead to the same result: nothing changes. It's good to know what's preventing optimal efficiency in the subway. It doesn't help if all these reports just sit on a desk somewhere.

I appreciate the social justice angle of the piece and there's certainly a grain of truth to it when it comes to Manhattan division hybrid depots versus the rest of the borough / MTAB hand-me-downs versus NYCT, but to do the comparison within Brooklyn on such a short timeline involving depots currently receiving new fleets is pretty whack and ahistorical. JG just got replaced; their fleet age was high for many years, and DD50s were hardly the greenest engines. All the RTSes are already on the way out; this is just shoddy reporting that any discussion with the MTA would have mitigated.

Your name is on the roster, bro. We know who you are. You better have a thick skin when you come out, lol. Good luck.

Just feed them pizza and they'll be happy.

It really just comes down to priorities. There are a lot of ways to reconfigure service in the system that get you more capacity in the system but don't end up maxing out all Manhattan trunks. Given ridership needs, I'd argue it's high time we did use all our capacity, and there's really only one way to do that, which is the oft-proposed to 96, to Astoria, via 63, via 53 pattern. You'd replace part of ConEd with it, not build over ConEd... The number of people who think fumigation somehow will work better at 179 is scary. The limit on capacity at Forest Hills has nothing to do with that terminal's physical infrastructure, and has everything to do with the way that terminal is operated. 179 would be no different -- assuming you bump to 30tph, you'd be turning 45tph at 179, which, at 22.5 tph/track, would mean that 179 would need operations reform just as much as Forest Hills, at which point you're really just better off keeping at Forest Hills.

Interesting! I appreciate the insider info. I didn't known that

Coming in fast! 6142 to the bush also. -doesn't look like it's ready for service just like 6137- also 7763 to jam

If you get to choose your division I strongly advise you choose which division is more convenient for you travel wise rather than what lines you want to work. Trust me it’s a pain working in the A division and living in Brooklyn. When you’re new you’ll be extra extra which means any line in your subdivision is fair game. If you end up in the A get used to working the 6...

There is global precedent for highway eliminations reducing car trips; that alone is a massive positive in and of itself. This principle does not of course apply to truck trips; it’s great they were cognizant of that. 4 billion dollars isn’t an insignificant sum of money, and it isn’t a sum of money that we can duplicate easily to achieve some middling “everyone’s happy” solution. If not spent on non-essential, inefficient, high cost infrastructure, it could be spent on real, beneficial improvements — like high frequency off peak bus service, or better subway service, or new routes, or accessibility treatments. or transit improvements for (gasp) Red Hook and Cobble Hill (BRT to Red Hook, anyone?). The fact of the matter is that the areas most dependent on the BQE all have majority transit modal mixes; to spend such an outrageous sum of money on a minority while the majority’s mode is less than perfect (and, I hate to say it, when everyone is being placed in danger by the pollution of said minority) is bad planning.

....you should probably refer to the first link at the very top of this page which I added a while back.

3222-25:6-9, 3230-3:4-7 = 2 more trains = 4

I'm going to put this here... I don't know who it is that keeps e-mailing the advocacy group, but I want to be clear about something. We do this as VOLUNTEERS. We are NOT paid to run this advocacy group, and we have full-time jobs. Whoever wrote to the group most recently with suggestions and questions... We welcome them, but at the same time, telling us that you didn't get a response a few days ago when you wrote... We'll get back to folks when we can. We are doing this for the good of all passengers because we need reliable transportation. To be clear, on Staten Island, we are focusing on the following ONLY for now: -Supporting the local Staten Island group in improving the current routes, and restoring the X4, and X7 -Additionally, we have agreed to focus on specific projects to help out, and in addition to supporting the current efforts, we are focusing on the following: -Restoring the X14, X18 and SIM2 off-peak -Restoring bus stops where feasible, such along the SIM30 west of Richmond Avenue These projects are PRIMARY. Anything else being suggested would take place later. For now the focus is on alleviating the biggest problems given budgetary constraints. For the person that wrote to us most recently, since you are here on the forums, we're going to answer your questions here: 1. Restoring the old X14: We have been speaking with the about bringing back the X14 and we made it very clear in our most recent meeting with them that we need it back. We discussed possible routing as well. We're open to have it start along Forest Avenue (Forest and Jewett perhaps) and then run with the SIM35 on Staten Island, to then take the old X14 routing with some modifications, which is via the FDR, via 23rd street and then have it terminate at Central Park South and 6th Avenue if they don't want it going all the way to 57th and 11th Avenue as it used to. We understand the added cost to the old route and the additional time it took having it run across 57th to 11th so it can be cut back for that reason. When we hear more about updates, we'll post them here. As we noted earlier, more improvements are coming soon for the April pick. 2. SIM33 along the old X10 route Bradley Av & Richmond Av: As we have more improvements, we will follow up on this. I do know that some SIM31 riders have been unhappy and if service can be tweaked to help more people, we will certainly ask that the have a look at it. 3. Creating a Midtown variant of the SIM15: There was never a Midtown variant of the old X15. That said, the reasonable thing to do would be to see if there is demand for such a route, and if so how much and how many riders would benefit, otherwise the existing services may work. We are here to make service EFFICIENT and cost-effective where possible, not propose a gazillion different routes. Funding is NOT endless.

When I see the comments about work trains I wonder exactly what the posters are referring to. A diesel with a flatcar is a work rain, likewise a diesel with a crane car. A CWR train or a Roadmaster consist are also work trains. What I’m saying is that there is no standardized rule about them. Westchester yard and 36th St yard were the home bases when I worked them. Westchester had a separate diesel barn where those units were serviced but I have picked up work trains there, at 239th, 240th, East 180, Concourse, C.I., Corona, Lenox, and Livonia. I have transferred work trains from Corona to ENY, 36th to Prospect Park to Concourse in sub-freezing temperatures. Each instance was different. Diesel pulling a flat car is a different speed from operating from a flat being pushed by a diesel. Same applies to a diesel crane combo and if the crane car is carrying rails that’s another restriction. The CWR train obviously can’t speed up because of the weight it’s carrying. A Roadmaster is/was a heavy duty work train with diesels on both ends Ain’t no CWR or Roadmaster barreling down the road at 20+mph unless the operating crew is suicidal or already dead. That type of consist takes forever to stop on level ground. As someone pointed out earlier if those trains were queued up on the West End, Culver, Pelham, WPR, or Concourse lines, and a service disruption happened each one of those corridors would be screwed up instead of just the 4th Avenue line in Brooklyn. BTW a question for the folks who are being screwed over in south Brooklyn. If the line is unreliable because of it’s length on Queens Blvd. does it make sense to extend the down there? Run the from Astoria and turn the into the old from Whitehall to Forest Hills. Just my opinion. Carry on.