Theorem Ox

Hey listen, I'm sure that Delta and US Air considers you a "needy idiot" the next time you dare think (much less speak to one of their employees) about missed connections, missing luggage and long delays on the tarmac. I mean, what do you possibly expect from public air transportation? If I routinely confiscate YOUR MONEY on threat of imprisonment/gunpoint (call it a "tax" or a "fee" if it makes you feel better) under the guise of providing a "public service" that you may or may not use AND duly fail to deliver on that (or otherwise do a miserably poor job of it), would the whole situation sit well with YOU? Yeah, you'd happily fork over more money without a single comment or thought the next time I come back for more, wouldn't you? You personally might have no standards and expectations, but speak ONLY for yourself. Tables can turn quicker than you think. --- It's painfully evident that the operating company has virtually NO control over employees that are running amok and making a mockery of the company's missions and goals. The company shows generally POOR grasp of the needs of core customer ridership - constantly screwing around with routes and schedules, more misses than hits. One would think that if they're in above their heads, they should GET OUT OF THE RING! But I'm sure there's a lucrative enough reason why they're still sticking around despite all the pummeling from the public and the lack of "official help" from Nassau County. (I'm thinking "off the books").

I had a chance to ride Bus 1019 running on route N20L on Friday. Not because I wanted to, but because the donkey driving the modestly full (about 5 standees on my count spread throughout) N21 about 12 minutes earlier didn't feel like stopping at Northern & Middle Neck. Apparently, that particular driver is notorious for doing that according to what I overheard from the 2 others waiting at the stop with me. --- The engine is definitely quieter - looks like Foothill's contractors did a better job maintaining than the MTA and Nassau ever will. Highback cushioned seats with armrests throughout. The seating configuration is definitely not suitable for accommodating many standees, especially if the bus is operating at a crush load. I expect to see exposed styrofoam and heavy soiling in short time if maintenance's track record holds. Passengers were having a hard time opening the back door. The doors open inward and it looks like there was no air assist mechanism (or otherwise not operational) judging by how hard everybody was laboring with the vertical mounted pushbars to open.them. --- I got a better idea for NICE's acronym... Never Intended Contention (for) Excellence. I'm glad I don't have to ride out to Nassau now as often as I once did.

Yep, I saw that bus on Friday afternoon at HTC. I heard somebody on the bus say "Damn, are they that desperate with buses to pull out that rusted hunk of junk?"

His eyesight is probably fine. The ridership profile changes depending on the time of day. Speaking with some of my past elderly neighbors (many lived and worked in NYC during the 70's and early 80's), they said riding through some of the rougher neighborhoods on the subway was just fine during traditional rush hours. Just don't get caught dead getting off at those stops or riding in the non-rush, off-peak hours.

I've seen advertisements placed on the N4 and N15 buses that I took today advising passengers of the January 12th timetable change too. Didn't see any new printed timetables at Hempstead either (still have the September 2013 on the racks) and I can't find anything on their website either. Then again, I end up wondering if it's even worth picking up copies anymore. I don't go to Nassau County by bus as often as I used to and the intercounty bus routes that I do ride (e.g.: N4, N20/N21) almost never follow the listed schedule anyway.

I do remember the lower ridership at Roosevelt Field for Jamaica-bound 22A buses under LIB. It had a serious problem getting stuck in traffic near Glen Cove Rd & East Jericho Tpke intersection. Sometimes the traffic can be so bad around that intersection, later 22's could beat the 22A's to the Hillside/Willis stop even with the Mineola LIRR stopover. The prevailing riders attitude prior to MTA's last year of LI Bus operations was that buses on a high volume route like the 22 could be trusted to come frequently at peak hours on a nice day. So for those who knew their routes well, it was a worthwhile gamble to avoid 22A's and catch the following 22 at certain times of day for a slightly faster ride. From what I can tell, the situation is quite different now. Traffic doesn't seem to be nearly as bad as it used to be at Glen Cove/East Jericho Tpke and drivers don't seem to have as hard of a time making left turns onto Jericho now. The problem now seems to lie more with the way NICE conducts its bus operations. NICE particularly struggles to maintain consistent service on high volume, intercounty routes even with relatively forgiving traffic. Not too big a surprise when they're still operating with very tight internal schedules (perhaps impossible to follow even for excellent experienced drivers) and with virtually no provisioning for adverse conditions (no relief buses at strategic locations that can be deployed for mechanical breakdowns or a bus seriously behind schedule with no realistic possibility for making time). Now, it makes sense to board the 22A at Roosevelt Field at all times from a Queens-bound riders perspective. Why risk waiting for the later 22 or 22X which will most likely to arrive significantly later than scheduled and probably overcrowded at that? If one of the 22A runs is skipped, it's very miserable for those waiting along Hillside now. --- From my memory of riding it, the 22L is effectively a modified version of the 22A. It makes all stops as the 22A, but simply bypasses Roosevelt Field in addition to Mineola station.

Well, I'll give points for the novelty factor. You certainly don't see that style on transit bus destination signs around here. But that's probably for a good reason. Aside from use (briefly) at terminals or at stops where the bus has a long dwell time, it doesn't strike me as practical. (Could you imagine having that style of signs on the N15 or N25, which also feature multiple roads that the bus traverses?). Ideally, I'd think that destination signs should have the final destination visible permanently or otherwise have a very prominent place in a cycle. Otherwise, what's the point of having destination signs? As a fashion statement?

If NICE/Veolia can actually follow through (as opposed to simply having a service increase "on paper"), the changes generally sound like good news for many Nassau County residents and those who commute/travel there for school, work, etc. That said, I can't help but notice the way NICE/Veolia is going about some of these changes resemble the behavior exhibited by certain teenage students (which we teachers semi-affectionately called "knuckleheads") in a somewhat dysfunctional high school I used to teach in. We (teachers) usually figured that the "knuckleheads" have it all in them to be competitive, smart and become the pride of the community. But for some awful reason, they just cannot do things right the first time or at least come close to the mark. If they do manage by some miracle, they always seem to find a way to undermine themselves and their work to everybody's frustration. For what it's worth, my two cents on the proposed changes (I'll limit my thoughts to which I've had a chance to ride extensively in the past): N4X - I agree with others on this thread who stated that it would probably be prudent to add a few more stops on this new route. As is, it looks to me like that the new route bypasses some "major stop" locations and will adversely impact the local buses trailing the expresses. Since I have never ridden past Rockville Centre on the N4, the only extra stop I can confidently nominate is Central Avenue in Valley Stream (connects with N1, almost always has passengers waiting to board/alight at the stop all times of the day, near South Nassau Community Hospital and reasonable walking distance to nearby retail stores,). N6X - I agree with Brett all the way here. Just bring back the damn N6 Limited and call it the "new and improved N6 Express." I promise nobody will roll their eyes on that one. It was one of the few things from the old regime that still worked very well to the end. I would suggest having more N6X buses starting/terminating at HTC (perhaps as a slight majority) than N6X buses terminating/starting from NCC. Ideally, tweak the service proportion based on academic year and timing based on a fair margin before the majority of morning classes start and after the majority of afternoon/evening classes end. N21 - Last month, I finally got a chance to go to Glen Cove on public transit. Damn, are visitors/residents there who rely on public transit screwed if they ever have to go there or leave during off-peak hours! (The LIRR won't help much either, with once every other hour service!) Perhaps off-peak only, the N21 can be re-routed to serve Greenvale and otherwise duplicate the N27 route going into Glen Cove (ideally so that there is an offset between the N21 service and N27 service). Yes, it will add some running time, but I figure it may be justified by picking up more passengers that way than going along the scenic Sea Cliff, Glenwood Landing and Roslyn Harbor route.