IAlam

The current Q38 is kind of just 2 routes wearing a trench coat I think the proposed Q14 actually does a better job serving the area and connecting places people are actually trying to go between compared to the existing and proposed Q23 which seems like it exists just for coverage. I feel like instead of the Q47 going down Calamus it should be the Q80 and have that route end at Woodside. I feel conflicted about it, one one hand it will get bogged down but all the congestion around the 82nd St station, but on the other hand it's actually something I can see myself using as the neighborhood around the 82nd St station is just as busy as 74th St. I was looking at the plan the reason the Q88 goes to Little Neck over the Q75 is because the Q88 would be 24/7 while the Q75 is from 5:00 AM - 12:30 AM. The MTA really needs to reevaluate express vs local service, especially during different times of the day because some of these changes are absurd, especially with Kissena Blvd. The Q25 is supposed to be this godsend catch-all route, but it doesn't even get a service increase. So frequent corridors like Kissena and Merrick basically lose a significant amount of local service. In the case of Kissena towards Flushing the Q25 is the sole route as the proposed Q17 is 24/7 nonstop from the LIE to Flushing and the other nearby alternative the Q27/65 gets shifted over further east.

Does anyone know anything about LGA units running on CP routes? I saw an NG on the Q65 today and an XD40 on the Q25 a couple of days ago

The same reason it was combined with the Q48 and the Q10/64 combo was made, to cut costs. But something I want to add to the convo is, the reason why a lot of the routes look a bit weird in this current draft is that they want to preserve every major point-to-point travel that can currently be made. If a standalone route gets eliminated then another route comes in to fill its place. I think the reason it was done this was as due to the backlash from the original proposal which basically gutted the entire system and changed where people's buses would go entirely. People making the same commute for years would now have to take a completely new route going to different neighborhoods and hubs. Additionally, a lot of their limited express and local bus-stopping patterns and frequencies didn't make any sense. In the end, they reverted a lot of those changes and now for the most part if the bus you normally ride goes to so and so hub, whatever new bus you get should do the same. Whether that's for better or worse is everyone's own opinion but that's why you get some of these weird combination routes. Honestly, all that debate over the last couple of pages that I don't want to recap, is why NYC needs a regional bus transit agency like GO Transit or Sound Transit. That way we could have a bunch of routes that don't solely focus on getting people to and from the city.

From Google Maps it appears that the tracks allow a train from GCM to go via Hells Gate. However, as also mentioned by @trainfan22 I highly doubt an M8 could fit in the tunnels due to additional clearance required by the equipment on top of those trains.

I'm surprised the MTA-uploaded photos on Flicker aren't mainly used for promotional material.

It looks pretty bad from the comments someone said it was T-boned.

I'm surprised to see the MTA advertising this on socials, but it's good for regular people to see that new equipment is coming.

This is really bad, there aren't many options for reputable bus builders in NA. This can basically turn NF into a monopoly.

It doesn't really matter that passenger notice a difference, all that matters is a train shows up when scheduled. The MTA doesn't shift trains around so certain passengers can get newer or older trains. They shift them around based on the needs of the line, ie capacity, size, frequency (number of available trains), etc ...

I guess we now know what happened to those seats now.

Out of all those manufacturers if a new one were to enter the ring Stadler would make the most sense. Like Siemens, they're known to make decent rolling stock but as you mentioned they're still new on the subway side of things. Instead, I can see them trying for new commuter rail car orders for the MTA. But for anyone that hopes Siemens makes a bid, it's probably unlikely due to the fact that they're focusing on selling their charger/venture combos to replace most of the regional rolling stock in the US and Canada.

Today’s CP story involves a trip with B/O doing everything in their power to avoid picking up passengers. I’m riding the Q65 LTD and this bus for some reason had its back door stuck. The driver spent a couple minutes trying to close the door which was ultimately achieved with restarting the bus. During that time 3 more people wanted to board and where waiting at the front door. As soon as the door closes the B/O just takes off without allowing the new passengers to board. Then later in the route there was a kid at a local stop where the bus obviously wouldn’t stop. But the kid ran all the way to next LTD stop the B/O sped up before the kid could make it to the pole. He was maybe about 20-30 ft away from it. The op did nothing wrong in the eyes of the MTA but still makes me double down on why I do not want CP near any of the routes I regularly rely on after the redesign.

It seems like the MTA is now putting digital mirrors on buses. I found this video on TikTok

Considering people are pushing the MTA to install platform screen doors there is no reason the MTA would deviate from the current design. A-division trains already have wider doors. For more capacity, platform extensions to 12 cars would be needed to make A-division trains about the same length as their B-division counterparts.

Q12 is fairly overrun with both 40ft and Blue and gold XD60's rarely even seen the intended fleet on it nowadays.

paper tickets might be the way to go if you're going long distance, I actually had my e-tix time out on me when I was coming back to the city from New Haven. I had to explain to the LIRR conductor my situation when leaving Grand Central. Yeah, a combo city ticket would be handy but I really doubt we'll see any functional changes to the fare policy until OMNY rolls out. The current $8 add-on seems like a last min slap-on because they weren't ready in time for the OMNY rollout. The current LIRR schedule is not really great for these trips since service is split between NYP and GCM with the exception of those who live near busier stations like Jamaica or Woodside. But if you can find a good itinerary it can save more than an hour compared to the express bus.

This honestly with the MTA eager to use the redesign to cut most of their express runs they’ll be lucky if they have work to do. But alas I’m pretty sure the nastiest drivers have seniority and the newer ones will be affected. But honestly it’s this constant dilemma because the reason that NE. Queens express buses are suffering is because of how poor services from this Depo. Cutting it would show them the consequences of their actions. But at the same time that comes at our expense because we lose service. So we’re basically having to defend subpar service so that we’re not left stranded. But that’s why I said a while ago in the Queens redesign form. Regardless of what the routes look like in the end, whoever ends up with CP as their operator looses.

I saw that on the Q113 yesterday I was so confused for a bit.

Passengers in most of NE Queens and most of CP's service area are far better behaved than passengers in other parts of Queens and the city. I see much nastier passengers in Southern Queens yet their B/O's are nowhere near as awful. CP bus ops are by no means operating in the worst parts of the city where that excuse would fly by me. CS share a lot of the same operating areas and their B/O's are far better, on the MTA Bus side I've never had any major issues with B/O even in the worst parts of Queens. Compared to CP bus ops on the regular playing games, avoiding passengers, and intentionally leaving terminals very late. (This is a well-known issue on the express side, I suspect it happens on the locals too but it's harder to verify.)

When it's a CP route don't get your hopes up some of these B/O's will get mad at you for expecting them to do their job. This depo whether local or express for some reason seems to have the most number of B/O's breaking rules and being extremely rude to customers, at least in my experience. IIRC there might be a CP B/O on this form, and if you read this please know that none of what I or others say is directed toward you, if CP management reads this on the other hand...

For Staten Island that seems more normal, diver and passengers seem to know each other better and are more aware of their community.

I have yet ever to experience anything like this, but since it's CP anything is possible. They're the equivalent of Florida Man for B/O's.

Yeah, it's really bad today wearing a mask is probably the best bet today and tomorrow.

Before upgrading to my current phone the eTix app would constantly crash on my old phone. It would always run out of RAM and or battery so it was always too unreliable and unpredictable for me. My current phone doesn't crash but I've had my payment get rejected a couple of times which can get frustrating because the same card will work fine other times, but even then I am a heavy user so I'm pushing my current phone until it's dead, so I prefer not to use eTix unless it's a last resort like I don't have enough time to buy or the machines aren't working. I feel better knowing I have the ticket on me without having to worry about any phone issues. Also, I prefer to just stick the ticket on my seat and not interact with the conductor.

I'm actually a big fan of that, feels more spacious than the previous design. Seems like CS is getting the better passenger layout for now with the extra seat and the better layout. I hope the MTA makes the changes with the other ones soon.