Express Bus Operator

Not all of them were in good shape. Some of the RTS buses when it rain water would leak inside, and countless breakdowns. Yes they were easy to fix and get the bus back into service.

Im glad @Via Garibaldi 8 Cleared some things up. These RTS were only at a certain depot like Quill, Ulmer, ENY, Flatbush and Jamaica. Some of these depot filled in their replacement and even so the RTS had to go especially since the elderly passengers or passengers with disabilities use to struggle climbing up them stairs. The next batches to go will be the OG's following with The NG's when the time is right.

it might of been due to the fire. My bus was suppose to leave the bridge but since I was the first bus block in causing 9 others behind me paling up there were no buses leaving William's to knapp for a good hour until some of the attics managed to turn right on to Myrtle Ave to head back.

What time was that?... Because this morning myself and a few SBS44 was locked in due to the 6 alarm fire on Bedford Ave between Myrtle and Park Ave. So chances are if this was the hours between 9 - 10:30am there were no SBS44 coming from the bridge since I was block in and 9 other buses and they probably used the local buses to do a quick SBS trip

@New2this The only time you can go to another TA/OA depot within Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan is during the general system pick which starts October - December in seniority order through-out the bus operator system pool. If you want to go to a Queens or Staten Island depot, you have to see your union or depot Gen Supt Transportation "aka The Boss" to fill out a request form for a transfer to Qns or SI depot. It will also be based on seniority order and when they're if an opening they will offer you. At the moment the depot you were able to pick to start off your probationary period will be your current home until you decide to pick out during the general system pick or a request transfer to the other two boroughs. If you pick out, You will start to report to your new home in January.

First Congrats! 👏 What 3 depot was available and you can only request for a transfer to either Staten Island or Queens based on seniority order.

I believe it did have the UP sticker on it

Bus # 4572 was spotted a few minutes ago on the B6 on Glenwood heading towards ENY

WOW!! This is the first time me knowing Bustrek was actually sharing the buses information to the public. This feature is more of an management tool which the Surface Line Dispatchers uses to monitor the bus route and etc, but of course dispatchers has more features add on's and controlling options. Sorry to say, But I'm glad they took that feature down, because that was too much information sharing with the public, and I would be damn if a passenger came up to me using the bustrek features to try to question me why I'm late based on my paddle report and etc.

Wow... I never tried bustrek but for an operator prospective point of view that info was sharing too much with the public 🙏😉😝

And how was this being done?

It could have been 3 possible reasons why you were seeing more XD40 on that day instead of OG. Bus operator preference Some of the OG are temporary OOS Or on that specific day, they needed some of xD on a specific route for long distance driving for Maintenance purpose.

It looks like these devices are probably not being reported that they are not 100% on point especially the way it states the destination stop or upcoming stops. I'm not quite sure if that's something the Bus operators should alert the depot when filling out the OVCR card just so the right department that is in charge for that specific area can review it. Sometimes that device confuse passengers and while you at the current stop it mention another stop name. For example I'm sitting on St.Johns Place on Rogers avenue, The minute I open the doors, It says "Fulton Street B25, B26 and A C". lol If I don't quickly pickup the phone to make the correct announcement, you should see people face look totally lost or some come ask me "If this is fulton street stop?"

Some of these XD60's buses already having a few malfunctions. This is the third bus I had for the week where the STOP REQUEST bell and light comes on when you close the doors. The Automatic announcement on some of the XD60's at FB the buses that actually work its so delayed and offset compared to the XD40's on the SB46+. I feel these buses were rushed and not properly setup. I also noticed the 2017 Buses VS the 2018 Buses on the XD60's are not the same. The 2018 XD60's are the updated version with the Display announcement screens.

I don't know, @East New York use to update the first page with great information tools. I tried to email him and still no response from him.

Awesome!! 👍💪

Like @+Young+ Stated, you will be learning other type of buses. You were giving instructions today where to report tomorrow "Most likely @ Jamaica Depot". The stress is over for now, so no more test unless you have a CDL permit.

Yup, Yesterday I had 6133 throughout my day until it was time for me to go home and I ended up giving the bus up to another operator that was waiting for an articulated bus to go out in service since there were no buses available at the time.

Flatbush Update: Yesterday morning a few of articulated buses were OOS "LFSA and XD60's " for maintenance. Some of the operators throughout the day had to pull out the xd40's sbs buses in order to start normal services on the SBS44+. Bus #6130 operator seat had issues where the seat would not go back all the way compared to the other XD's buses. I made sure the yard dispatcher contact the maintenance department to take a look at the seat. "Reminding me of an RTS operator seat situation" Bus #6134 Starting to make Automatic Announcements and the Interior Screen is currently working on the SBS44+. I believe some of the XD60's that was OOS and at the shop yesterday were probably being updated for automatic announcement service on the bus. Grand Ave, Fresh pond, and Yukon NG buses that has been transfer to the bush are all out in service throughout the Flatbush depot routes. So far I have operated both the 5300's LFSA and the XD60's in service on the SBS44+, and I can say that based on my experience, The XD60's have a tendency to roll back a little bit when you first accelerate either at a traffic light or after disengaging both the interlock or parking brake. The LFSA 5300's operator seating position seems be much more comfortable compared to the XD60's, but the LFSA is a lot more heavier when operating through traffic and can cause the right knee discomfort after awhile. Backing up the XD60's is annoying, since every FT the bus rolls back the brakes automatically locks in. The passengers rear doors on the XD60's opens outwards towards the curb side and its very hard to tell when passengers are on the curb still trying to board versus on the Nova LFSA the doors opens from the inside and you can see everything on the mirrors on the curb side.

Not sure, but they were parked at the back of depot near the maintenance shop area. I heard these buses were not perfect since they have a history of break downs.

Two Shifters today from flatbush confirmed with me that flatbush RTS were goned and we received a few buses out of Yukon.

It looks like Flatbush depot has 0 RTS! I will confirm that later on when I clear from work.👨‍🏭

At 15:00 I spotted 3 Flatbush depot RTS buses on the Belt heading towards the Van Wyck expressway. I figure its heading to the Bronx.

Requalified........ When you're hired with MTA as an operator with a CDL, every birthday calendar year you will have to be re-certified for 19a. The depot general dispatcher will give you a memo a month ahead when you have to go get re-certified. The two location is at Zerega or Spring creek depot. On the day you attend for 19a re-certification, you will be out of customer passenger service and attend a class and watch videos and etc. At the end of the day you will go on the road with a 19a Dispatcher to make sure you are driving the way you suppose to drive the bus and take a 25 multiple questions DMV test at MTA.

The SBS44 will be back to normal when Falls returns back. Its always like that as Summer time is about to hit, they reduce services by cutting a certain run.