BM5 via Woodhaven

Looks like Brooklyn went to shit: Service Change Posted: 04/19/2019 10:21PM , , and service is extensively delayed while we repair a switch problem at Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr. Southbound trains will end at Whitehall St-South Ferry. Southbound and trains are running on the line from DeKalb Av to Coney Island-Stillwell Av. Some southbound trains are ending at 2 Av on the line. Some southbound trains are running local from 42 St-Bryant Park to Broadway-Lafayette. Delays Posted: 04/19/2019 9:54PM and trains are beginning to make normal station stops after we repaired a switch at Jay St-MetroTech. Expect extensive delays in and train service. There is still very limited train service in both directions as service returns to normal. Some southbound trains are making local stops from 168 St to Euclid Av to provide local service.

Here's the changes in routes and service occurring either April 21st (Bronx, Queens) or April 28th (Staten Island): The Bronx BxM11 - Cost Neutral Practices (Service Cut North of Gun Hill Road) Service north of Gun Hill Road will operate every 15 minutes instead of every 8 minutes between 6:45 AM and 7:45 AM. Short-turns will now start at Gun Hill between 6:52 AM and 7:45 AM. Buses starting in Wakefield will skip the Bronx Zoo stop between 6:45 AM and 7:45 AM. Queens Q33 - Weekday AM Service Increases Service towards Jackson Heights will operate every 5 minutes instead of every 6 minutes from 6:45 AM to 7:15 AM. Q66 - Weekday AM Service Redistribution Service towards Woodside will operate at a constant 5 minute headway between 6:15 AM and 7:10 AM instead of every 8 minutes from 6:15-6:38 AM, and every 3 minutes from 6:38-7:10 AM. Southbound service between Woodside and Long Island City will operate every 10-15 minutes during the same period, instead of every 8-20 minutes. Q70 SBS - Weekday AM Service Increases Service from 5:40 AM to 7:40 AM will operate every 8-10 minutes instead of every 10-15 minutes. Q100 - Weekday AM Service Increases A new 6:50 AM trip has been added from Steinway towards Long Island City. The 7:00 AM trip originating in Steinway will now depart at 7:05 AM. The 7:20 AM trip originating in Rikers Island will now be split into a 7:15 AM bus and a 7:25 AM bus. Q104 - Weekday AM Service Increase The 7:30 AM trip from Sunnyside will be split into a 7:25 AM and a 7:35 AM trip. QM5 - Cost Neutral Practices A new weekday 5:30 AM trip from Glen Oaks will be added. The 6:20 AM and 6:30 AM trips from Glen Oaks will be consolidated into a 6:25 AM trip. QM7 - Service Span Increase The first bus from Fresh Meadows will now depart at 5:40 AM (instead of 6:00 AM). Staten Island SIM1C - Net Service Increases Weekday inbound service from 8:22-9:35 AM will operate every 8-9 minutes instead of every 10-15 minutes. The 8:38 PM Outbound bus from Central Park South will now depart at 8:40 PM. The 8:46 PM Outbound bus from Central Park South will be eliminated. Outbound service from 9:02 PM-9:50 PM will operate every 12 minute instead of every 10 minutes. Outbound service from 11:14 PM-12:06 AM will operate every 10- minutes instead of every 12 minutes. Less Outbound service from 12:15-1:15 AM SIM2 - Additional AM Service Service from 5:45-6:15 AM will operate every 10-15 minutes instead of every 15-20 minutes. SIM3, SIM3C - Weekday Service Reductions Outbound Service operates every 12-15 minutes in the PM rush instead of every 10-12 minutes (SIM3). The 9:35 AM and 9:55 AM inbound trips will be consolidated into a 9:45 AM trip (SIM3C). The 6:25 PM and 6:40 PM outbound trips will be consolidated into a 6:35 PM trip (SIM3C). Evening service will now depart Central Park South at :15, :35, :55, instead of :00, :20, :40 SIM4 - Weekday Service Increases The first trip from Annadale will now depart at 5:10 AM instead of 5:15 AM. More frequent service will be provided in the AM rush. PM service from 4-5 PM will operate every 8 minutes instead of every 10 minutes. SIM4C - Weekday Service Increases A new 2:00 PM outbound trip from Central Park South will be added. The 2:30 PM outbound trip will now depart Central Park South at 2:20 PM. The 3:24 PM trip outbound trip from Downtown will now originate from Central Park South at 2:35 PM. SIM5 - Additional AM Service The 7:07 AM inbound trip will now be split into a 7:05 AM and 7:11 AM trip The 7:15 AM inbound trip will now depart at 7:17 AM SIM6 - Cost Neutral Practices Service will operate every 4 minutes instead of every 3 minutes from 6:00-6:45 AM. Additional outbound trips from Central Park South will be added at 2:00 PM and 2:15 PM. Less frequent service between 5:37 PM and 6:03 PM. SIM10 - Additional PM Service Service will operate every 12 minutes between 2 and 3 PM, instead of every 15 minutes. SIM11 - AM service Reduction Less Frequent Service from 7:20 AM to 9:00 AM SIM25, SIM26 - AM Service Additions More frequent service between 7:00 AM and 8:00 AM SIM30 - Cost Neutral Practices The 5:23 AM inbound trip from Sunnyside will be split into a 5:15 AM and 5:30 AM trip. The 7:38 AM and 7:50 AM inbound trips from Sunnyside will be consolidated into a 7:45 AM trip. SIM32 - PM Service Span Increase The last outbound bus departing Warren Street will now depart at 7:05 PM (previously 6:45 PM).

Andy Byford, the transit executive hired to rescue New York City’s foundering subways, has clashed with the governor over management of the system. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/19/nyregion/cuomo-andy-byford-mta.html Andy Byford, the transit executive who was hired to rescue New York City’s foundering subway, has had growing tensions with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo over management of the system, and several of his colleagues said they feared he might quit. The two men did not speak between January and April, even as Mr. Byford was seeking to move forward on a sweeping $40 billion plan to overhaul the subway in the next decade. If Mr. Byford were to step down, it would be a major blow to efforts to improve the system, which has been plagued by antiquated equipment, cost overruns and rising complaints from riders about chronic mismanagement. In recent years, New York’s subways have had one of the worst on-time rates of any major rapid transit system in the world. Mr. Byford and Mr. Cuomo have disagreed over the plan to fix the L train, new technology to upgrade subway signals, the high cost of Mr. Byford’s “Fast Forward” overhaul plan and Mr. Cuomo’s regular criticism of the authority. Mr. Byford’s colleagues said he was troubled that he did not have the support that he believes he needs from Mr. Cuomo to carry out ambitious plans for the system. Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, in turn has felt that Mr. Byford has been reluctant to embrace new technology and needed to understand the governor’s role as the elected official most responsible for the performance of the subways. Contacted this week, Mr. Byford and a spokeswoman for the governor sought to downplay tensions, and said Mr. Byford had no plans to resign. But the spokeswoman, Dani Lever, said, the “leadership team must deliver real results in real time,” referring to Mr. Byford. Several people who have spoken with Mr. Byford, including colleagues at the transit agency, said they were deeply worried he would leave. Richard Ravitch, a former chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority who is credited with turning around the system in the 1980s, said he had dinner with Mr. Byford in February and was struck by how unhappy he was. “I’m afraid he’s going to quit,” Mr. Ravitch said of Mr. Byford. Andrew Albert, a longtime M.T.A. board member, said he tried to assure Mr. Byford that he had the support of subway riders, who are rooting for him to succeed. “I’m very concerned — I don’t think that he would be fired,” Mr. Albert said. “I’m worried that he would quit.” Mr. Byford appeared to be frustrated with “interference in his daily duties” from Mr. Cuomo and his aides, Mr. Albert said. “He wants to be able to get on and do the job he was hired to do,” Mr. Albert said. Asked in an interview whether he was frustrated, Mr. Byford said “any job has its frustrations.” “I know what needs to be done here,” he said. “I need to be allowed to get on with what needs to be done, and I’m very happy to be held accountable for that.” Asked when he had last spoken with Mr. Cuomo, Mr. Byford said: “Sometime in January.” Mr. Byford later said by email that he had not “seriously considered quitting.” “I love New York, I love this job, I believe in this system, I believe in this agency, and I’m here for the very long haul,” he wrote, before adding: “The governor and I are partners in this fight and I want to stay in this job until it is done.” Ms. Lever, the spokeswoman for Mr. Cuomo, said he had not lost faith in Mr. Byford or tried to sideline him. The two men had not spoken since January, she said, because Mr. Cuomo had been focused on the state budget and congestion pricing, a plan to toll cars entering the heart of Manhattan to raise money for the subway. “We do not understand your fixation with personal drama,” Ms. Lever saidin response to questions from The New York Times, noting that Mr. Cuomo primarily spoke with the authority’s chairman, Patrick J. Foye. Mr. Byford is president of New York City Transit, an arm of the authority that runs the subway and buses. Mr. Cuomo, who controls the authority, interviewed Mr. Byford and helped hire him for the job. Only a year ago, the pair were photographed on the subway tracks together showcasing a new “magnetic wand” that removes steel dust from the tracks. Mr. Byford, who is British, had received accolades for leading the Toronto transit system, where he won an award for transit system of the year from the American Public Transportation Association. He has also worked on both London and Sydney’s transit networks. Some of Mr. Byford’s colleagues said his rock star status — with profiles in The New Yorker and on 60 Minutes — may have irked Mr. Cuomo. They compared the dynamic to Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and his police commissioner, William J. Bratton — men who fought for the limelight. Mr. Bratton resigned in 1996 shortly after being on the cover of Time magazine. The subway has improved under Mr. Byford, though some riders say it is still unreliable. The on-time rate has increased to 78 percent from 65 percent — the highest rate in years. Mr. Byford said he wanted to keep pushing the rate higher past 80 or 90 percent. But Ms. Lever said the $40 billion price tag for Mr. Byford’s overhaul plan was “an incredible sum to come by.” She also said Mr. Cuomo expected more progress from the transit authority after he secured new funding through congestion pricing. One of the biggest rifts between the two men occurred over the repairs to the L train tunnel between Brooklyn and Manhattan, which was damaged by Hurricane Sandy. The transit authority had originally planned to shut down service in the tunnel to do the renovations. But in January, Mr. Cuomo called off the L train shutdown and announced a different repair plan that would keep the service in the tunnel running by allowing for work at night and on weekends. Days later, Mr. Byford said he wanted to hire an independent team to assess the safety of the new plan and that he would not be “steamrolled” into rushing his review. The M.T.A. board eventually hired a consultant to monitor the work and Mr. Byford has said he supports the new plan. But Mr. Byford was suddenly unavailable for interviews with reporters and did not appear at hearings with state lawmakers to lobby for congestion pricing, which will allow the state to raise $15 billion for the transit system. “Maybe the governor didn’t realize how independent he was going to be,” said Mr. Ravitch, the former chairman of the authority. Mr. Cuomo is known as a demanding boss. During a visit to the Second Avenue subway in 2016, he grew angry about a faulty escalator. He walked around shouting, “Who is working on the escalator?” until the person appeared. Mr. Byford is not the first transit leader to tangle with Mr. Cuomo. The authority’s former chairman, Thomas F. Prendergast, a respected subway veteran, stepped down in 2017 after also growing frustrated with Mr. Cuomo’s management, according to several colleagues. Mr. Byford and Mr. Cuomo have disagreed over other issues. The governor has pressed Mr. Byford to focus on a new technology, known as ultra-wideband radio, for signal repairs. Mr. Byford prefers a proven approach, known as communications-based train control — a technology Mr. Cuomo has mocked as archaic, though it is being used in cities like London. Mr. Byford says he needs $19 billion over the next five years for his “Fast Forward” plan. Mr. Cuomo has said the authority was asking for too much money for its next capital plan. Even the recent subway improvements have been a point of conflict. Mr. Cuomo credits his “Subway Action Plan,” which is spending roughly $800 million on subway upgrades. Transit advocates say Mr. Byford’s “Save Safe Seconds” plan — to streamline train operations, increase speed limits and fix faulty signals — has been equally important. Mr. Foye, who was recently named chairman by Mr. Cuomo, said he supported Mr. Byford. “I think he’s even more of a rock star than I thought when he came here,” Mr. Foye said in an interview. Still, Veronica Vanterpool, an M.T.A. board member, said she was also worried that Mr. Byford would resign. “I’m fearful that now that we have someone who has worked so tirelessly to restore public confidence,” she said, “that if he leaves, it would be a significant setback for the agency.”

Borough-centric only works up to a certain degree. In the case of Queens, thinking only borough wise might be a bit of an issue. Although there are multiple interborough ridership bases on the Queens local buses, I believe that this should have been done in three parts: 1. Queens and Northern Brooklyn Local 2. Queens and Brooklyn Express 3. Southern Brooklyn Local There are enough routes in the Queens Express Bus Network to warrant a separate overhaul. I feel like doing local and express, they'll try to ram whatever they feel is necessary and just go with it, instead of actually taking the time to come up with a decent network for both local and express routes. With respect to the express bus network, I've shared (and had a subsequent discussion about) my plan for revamping the express buses. I would change several things there, thinking about it now more, but it more or less are still my sentiments. Doesn't have to be from Forest Park, but I agree with something running from the Forest Hills area to Flushing. I believe it can catch on. IDK about routing though. Perhaps to eliminate buses turning around in Flushing, it can replace the Q34 to the north. They can still address their comments regarding route changes. Then again, don't know if everything is going to be considered considering the grand scheme of things. This is on a much bigger scale than just Staten Island Express Bus. Not only the local, but the express bus routes also need to be looked into, because there is a lot which can be improved there too. The former Staten Island express bus routes got nothing on the inefficiencies/missed ridership opportunities plaguing the Queens express bus system. Bronx only really needs to pay attention more to the local bus routes, and we'll see what happens with Manhattan. Either way, Why? Virtually everyone who used the Q33 to the airport got on at 74th Street.

For the B92, one would think it would head south on Union Avenue, and then head up Broadway, connecting to the at Hewes Street (stopping at the B46 bus stop). Of course, we don't know the exact routing yet, but IDK if they would really separate an extra stop just for the B92.

These antics have getting annoying as of lately.

Ideally, that shouldn't have been the case. Even with a lot of people getting on at Roosevelt Island and subsequent stops, it shouldn't have produced the bunching to that effect. But I do think it was the lack of additional service which made everything go south. Some intervals, there were no trains in between the . Too bad the Q102 was no where to be found (for it couldn't even enter the island-go figure). Since that was the case, I wonder if those 63rd Street trains should have stayed on the express until below 14th, in order to reduce gaps. But then again, it would be a merging headache. LOL!

I read that escalators and elevators were OOS. The station wasn't the only thing closed; all vehicular traffic on the Roosevelt Island Bridge into Roosevelt Island was not permitted either. It was so bad that Hospital staff couldn't get to work. https://www.twitter.com/Heilemann/status/1117179266100338688 http://gothamist.com/2019/04/13/crowd_subway_roosevelt_island.php

1999-2003 Kawasaki R142A Car 7800 on the at 149 Street-Grand Concourse by BM5 Photos 2019, on Flickr 2005-2010 Alstom R160A-2 Car 9238 on the at 23 Street-6 Avenue by BM5 Photos 2019, on Flickr 2005-2010 Alstom R160A-2 Car 9648 on the at 23 Street-6 Avenue by BM5 Photos 2019, on Flickr

Service Change Posted: 04/13/2019 4:53PM NYPD has allowed trains to resume service at Roosevelt Island. Some trains are running on the line between 36 St (QNS) and 57 St-7 Av in both directions in an effort to help provide additional service for the attendees of the Cherry Blossom festival. Expect delays in train service in both directions.

No n79 service on Saturdays from roughly 2-5 PM??? Better than nothing I suppose, but more people are bound to travel in the mid-afternoon compared to weekdays. Either way, midday service on weekdays (and that gap on weekends) needs to be filled in. Hopefully they do that soon.

I think you'd see more demand from an express bus in Brighton Beach. The thing with Brooklyn is that it's hard to design an express bus route east of the Brighton Line that catches both enough riders and has notable time-savings. Ocean Parkway exists, but getting buses onto Ocean Parkway becomes more of an issue the further North you go, because not only are there less underpasses in the area, but virtually none of the underpasses are high enough for MCI buses to travel under. So you basically have to have them run up Ocean Avenue to Cortelyou. There are suitable underpasses south of Avenue K, but the catchment area is smaller.

Putting a stop by the is not really necessary. Most people take the and , which combined already serve the same areas the serves. In addition, considering traffic conditions on both Flatbush Avenue and Cortelyou Road, you'd have better luck on the subway from Nostrand.

1) The B103 wasn't always the way it currently is. For the most part, people are not riding from end to end, so the indirect part doesn't really hold. Nowadays, it just does a lot, but there are specific groups of people riding, the Flatbush/Flatbush-Canarsie group being the biggest one. There is also those who take the route from Flatbush into Downtown Brooklyn (although there's more SB ridership than NB). 2/5)Previously, the B103 had the LIMITED designation, but ran weekdays only, non-stop from Downtown Brooklyn to Kensington. IIRC, it also had pick-up only and drop-off only segments, which made it an intraborough express route. There were portions of the day (middays for the most part) when service ran hourly. This bus was never meant for riders to connect to the subway, as it was more for workers in Downtown Brooklyn. Obviously, all the restrictions have been removed, and the bus also makes more stops. Few pieces of the old B103 service pattern remain, with the lack of a direct connection to the being one. 3) It is a high frequency route because it serves many areas which are more transit dependent. Except for several sections of Canarsie where the B103 runs, most people heavily utilize mass transit in the Flatbush-Canarsie section. IDK if Spring Creek can hold artic buses, but for the mean time, it'll have to do with what they have. The C40LF's can only go so many places, and there aren't enough CNG artics to just transfer to SC. Maybe when the C40s get replaced, we might see something, but that's still years up ahead.

That M34A pic, the B/O kinda looks like Drake. I had to do a double take. Nice stuff!