IAlam

On 12/8/2023 at 7:07 PM, JORDAN10293 said:

Curious…. What date did you go

to the initial open house on?  

Nov 16th

Question if you're invited to the S&D overview at the Hillside Support facility, can you take the LIRR to the Hillside Support facility station? I've been invited but haven't received a response to my confirmation or question from HR. I'm not even sure where the visitors' entrance is.

On 11/23/2023 at 6:04 AM, Kamen Rider said:

Tell that to the E crew who took a train full of passengers into the Continental Relay last week because they weren’t paying attention…

under normal circumstances, taking the wrong lineup, of which punching wrong is a subset of, the conductor is required to pull the cord at the next station as per rule. You punch for 8th when you’re supposed to be going down 6th, that’s a CHOW! the moment you get to spring street and stop. 

 

the only exception is taking a local lineup when you’re supposed to be on the express. Express on the local is express unless told otherwise. I personally prefer to be told directly ether way, but that’s just me…

So, what does the crew do next if they end up at the wrong station and the E-brake has to get pulled?

22 hours ago, darkstar8983 said:

I know that at Rockefeller Center there are big signs that say "what you punch is what you get", indicating that you as the operator have to know where you're going. (automatic tower)

I remember seeing signs like this all over the IND.

In a lot of cases though punching the wrong route probably isn’t the end of the world. The IND has a lot of redundancy. Ie. an  train that accidentally punches for 6th Ave will be able to rejoin at W4, same thing if an  accidentally goes to 8th Ave. You definitely will piss off a lot of passengers and the dispatchers though.

12 hours ago, RSMG106 said:

https://new.mta.info/doing-business-with-us/procurement/new-york-city-transit/sole-source

 

Between October 2022 and October 2023, they made a procurement for 5 Van-Hools.

Oh wow this slipped by me

11 hours ago, RSMG106 said:

I wouldn't know if there will be the commuter version of the CX45E.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a commuter VanHool I’m excited as to what that could be like. Though I’d expect the demo unit’s won’t be very customized for the MTA. That might not happen unless a full order comes around.

2 hours ago, Cait Sith said:

Proterra's bus manufacturing business is now owned by Phoenix Motorcar. Purchased for 10 million dollars.....that's astonishing.

wow that’s insane that it was sold for that little. But what happened to VanHool? I thought they were going to purchase it.

On 11/12/2023 at 5:39 AM, Calvin said:

Q50 - Main St by 39th Av, right by GNC

Q17 - Main St by 38th Av

Q48, I believe remains at Main St by Roosevelt Av, close to the US 1 Supermarket. 

On 11/12/2023 at 9:11 AM, NewFlyer 230 said:

I’m surprised they are going to keep the Q17 two blocks away from the  when it used to stop right in front of one of the entrances. I expect a few more people to pile up on Q25/Q34 as a result. 
 

I’m actually glad about this change the Q50 and the Q17 stops are in better locations now and if possible I hope the move up the Q27 stop. People who want the first bus the comes can continue to use the stop in front of the library. Now if only they could replace the bus stop signs with modern day ones. 

This twitter thread is a gem iykyk

On 11/6/2023 at 12:44 PM, MysteriousBtrain said:

So according to a (UlmerPark) operator, 2 out of the 5 Electric mta VanHools were spotted. Not comfirmed as of yet if they were mta but an investigation is going underway on this sighting

As to not clog up the delivers thread I'm replying here.

But since when was the MTA getting VanHools? Also are they coach or transit buses? 

On 11/4/2023 at 10:53 PM, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

 

This year, it seemed that it initially wanted the M60 to travel via 86th Street Crosstown. They had the map and everything listed for that detour but changed it sometime this week. 

What's new this time around is that the M60 is making an actual stop in The Bronx at 149th Street - Grand Concourse (it used to get on the Deegan to then head to the Triboro bridge). That, and the Harlem - Astoria shuttle that they used to provide between Lexington Avenue and 31st Street is no longer being done.  

I got to ride the M60 detour, they actually did a good job making use the detour stop was marked. Most people were going to Lex 125 so they ended up having to walk from 7th Ave.

7 hours ago, Calvin said:

I wonder what ever happened to the vintage buses that used to make stops along 42 St with the M42 during the holiday seasons. This was in my mind as just now, the city is starting to put decorations in prep for December and the tree by Rockefeller Center. 

5 hours ago, trainfan22 said:

1)The vintage buses were driven by senior b/o's who drove the fishbowl and Flex New looks when they was everyday buses, retired. Most if not all of the current day B/Os at Quill aren't trained on anything older than a RTS or Orion hybrids.

2)Someone credible said the museum buses get no maintenance, I'm assuming most of them don't even start up which is why we see the same 5 or 6 buses at every event. In the video below (NOT my video) it looks like some of those buses haven't moved in years by how dusty they look, look at 5117 windshield..

I think these are the reasons we don't see holiday vintage bus run anymore. I could be wrong.

That’s disappointing to hear I loved the vintage buses more than the vintage subway rides. The subway trips are always packed. At least with the buses it’s possible to get a fairly empty bus or at least a normal crowd.

Anyone know any interesting detours for the marathon on Sunday?

I know the SIM buses are going via Holland and the M60 via the Bronx but is there anything else that’s interesting?

So CS has been putting up paper notices about the delays due to the street closure. To what degree is this affecting service? I can imagine route like the Q32 having major delays due to this, but I can’t imagine this affecting other lines that much right?

1 hour ago, Calvin said:

I saw one XD-60 out of Casey Stengel today on the Q44-SBS, 6005. The rear of the bus has two clips attached like the other XD-60s that Ulmer Park has in appearance. 

Honestly the entire New Flyer fleet at CS isn’t doing to well. From a passenger POV those NG’s are much better than both the XD40’s and XD60’s. It feels like those buses are weren’t built well to begin with. The XD60’s in particular need to be removed from the Q44 ASAP otherwise they’ll be run into the ground soon.  

On 10/11/2023 at 8:42 PM, limitednyc said:

But is there a market for Flushing to harlam?

I wouldn't say there's a market from Flushing to Harlem, but there is a market from Flushing to Astoria. Frankly, I don't particularly appreciate how they're slowing down the Q19, and people touting that as an improvement. The change in itself adds quite a bit of runtime to the route about 10-15 min, and they're aren't many fast east-to-west bus connections in Northern Queens (except the current Q19). This results in most people piling on to the , as getting to places like Steinway is usually faster by taking the subway rather than the Q66. But I'm skeptical if the M60 could fill in that gap solely because of the airport service. Even if the route was streamlined and Terminal A was cut, I feel like the amount of time saved over the proposed Q19 wouldn't be significant. On top of that the M60 would be more susceptible to unpredictable traffic patterns, which could negate any time savings. 

On 10/10/2023 at 8:08 PM, Fire Mountain said:

Love your idea, but a couple things.

1. About the M60 to flushing idea: The current 48 which currently runs from flushing to LGA dosent exactly have excellent ridership, so I think that will be a bit of a waste.

Comparing it solely to the current Q48 ridership would be a mistake as it would more likely appeal to the Q19 ridership base.

Even though the route is long I wouldn't be fully against the idea of having a terminal outside LGA the M60 having a terminal inside the airport leads to bunching or buses having to wait at Terminal C which messes everything up. But would an M60 to Flushing have a comparable runtime to the proposed Q19? If not people would stick to the Q19, as it's a more direct route.

23 hours ago, NewFlyer 230 said:

How I see things, I don’t think it matters what route you have coming from points east of Flushing to serve LGA, because there will still be a high turnover at Flushing. I don’t think a Whitestone or Bayside connection to LGA is needed. The longer a route is the more it is prone to delays anyways.

The MTA wants to give Bronx riders access to LGA they should consider connecting the Bx15 or Bx41 to LGA and call it a day. The Q50 should continue to terminate at Main Street and there should be some kind of shuttle route that runs between Flushing and LGA whether it’s a new route or one of the airport shuttle buses from the Port Authority. 
I like how the Q19 is taking over most of the current Q48’s routing in Corona via 108th street and Roosevelt Ave and I hope they don’t opt to keep the Q48 around because it is a waste of resources in my opinion. The Q48’s airport usage isn’t all too high as it is and the Q19 wouldn’t get slowed down too much by a Corona detour. 

There is no through route from Flushing that would generally be popular for direct service to LGA. That being said, I believe Corona to College Point is a pair that would be useful for reverse commuters considering the high number of passengers transferring from the  to the Q25/65 in the mornings. 

But one thing I will be firm on is even though the Q48 is not the highest ridership route to LGA I could care less about what this form thinks I'm fighting for a Flushing to LGA route to stay. From a ridership perspective, it does better than the Q72 and I don't hear anyone crying about that route. Not too long ago I had to catch a flight from LGA and missed the Q48 since I was running late already, I made a desperate attempt to take the  and the Q70. Not only did the fact of having to carry luggage around the station slow me down a lot the poor accessibility between those 2 stations meant I had to drag them down the stairs and that took a lot of time. Ultimately I only saved 5 minutes compared to waiting for the next Q48, which was 20 min after the one I missed. That eastern connection to LGA is needed otherwise taking transit from NE Queens is just unattractive. 

On 10/1/2023 at 10:37 PM, Calvin said:

For now, I noticed the recent loans that’s happening at this time is out of Tuskegee Airmen and at College Point. Not sure if College Point has CNG units short on units but, Tuskegee Airmen has been cycling units due to poor maintenance via the transfers thread.

Honestly, it's nice seeing NG running on CP routes on their final days. But as for CP, I believe this has happened in the past when they do scheduled maintenance of the fleet.

9 hours ago, Travis Mcnonald said:

Enjoy them while you can as the they are likely done after 1st quarter 2024.

 

Anyway, anyone know why the n20G is not showing on Transsee? It's been like that for months now.

https://www.transsee.ca/stoplist?a=nice&r=n20G seems fine to me

On 9/28/2023 at 2:28 PM, Amtrak41 said:

PATh already has a tap card that can be replenished on one's PC. I don't see any reaosn to change it other than to use one's bank card or phone. That alone is not worth spending $99.4 million to replace. 

That doesn't stop them from accepting both especially considering they're going to cubic for their contactless alternative. 

Between laughing and wheezing I have so many questions.

10 hours ago, Gintz said:

Hey there,

  I work for Amtrak and I know we make deals for other transit employees on our regional trains, and that some shortlines give us discounts.  I'll be going up to NY to go to LaGuardia airport soon.  I'm taking the regional from New Carrollton to Moynihan using my Amtrak ID for a flash pass, and was planning on taking the E line from Penn Station to Jackson Heights/Roosevelt Ave then hopping the buss into LaGuardia from there.  Are there any discounts or "professional courtesies" we offer each other for Amtrak employees riding the MTA, or should I just go ahead and buy the tickets ahead of time?  Thanks for any info you can give me, and have a safe day!

You'd have better luck getting a courtesy from the LIRR going to Woodside for the Q70 than the . I've heard that the mainline railroads usually let employees from other railroads go for free when in uniform, but even then it's not a guarantee. You can buy a city ticket for $5 and a peak city ticket for $7. Often times the train is so busy you don't even get checked before getting to Woodside. 

Well looks like they were dumb enough to record themselves. But with how many time this has been recorded over I wouldn’t know where the original comes from. 

6 minutes ago, Lawrence St said:

I think you vastly under-estimate how good artics are. There's an operator up here who takes an artic on the W30 route, with the tightest turns in all of the county and does it without breaking a sweat.

Bee Line is a whole different system with different operating conditions the W30 isn't the Q27. The basically throw artics on any line because those buses have the same turning radius as a 35ft xcelsior. But that doesn't take into account the operational hazards. You're comparing apples to oranges The W30 goes down quiet streets without as much traffic or double-parked cars. The Q27 is dealing with a high-frequency bus, on roads with a decent amount of traffic and double-parked cars. 

On 9/25/2023 at 8:23 PM, Fire Mountain said:

Random thought: So I take the Q27 a lot (I’m actually on one right now as I type this), and I notice how the 27’s stay super frequent, so here’s my question? Who else thinks the 27 should just start running on articulated buses? I always see the 27’s bunched up during the day and not all of the time is it due to traffic.  It would be dope if they have the 27 start doing so once this redesign happens. If it stays in CP (which I hope it doesn’t), it could also help cause the 65s themselves always be crowded along CP Boulevard no matter the time of day 

Would say the same for the 17, but the only time that bus is crowded is between Main St and 188th and 30-40% of the time it be the kids getting out of school…

The Q27 including the proposed version is not a very artic-friendly route. Even with the narrow turning radius the rear doesn't follow the front and has a wider radius. It runs a greater risk of hitting something or being unable to maneuver around a double-parked car.