ViaWaterViaChurch

I took the 6:50am QM32 on Tuesday and the 6:30am QM32 on Thursday and they went via the GCP. 

11 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

That split you're calling for was vehemently opposed by other QM24, QM25 and QM34 riders and made no sense, as it also split up the service. If one line doesn't run, riders on that part of the route are screwed. You don't even explain what you like about the split and what made sense to do it. 

I wasn't aware they opposed it so much.  I was aware that they significantly slashed the run times to every hour but it's only just hitting me that they literally split the service, I was thinking of them as two independent lines.

I think the split was a good idea because people in Glendale and Ridgewood could turn up 69th Street and go straight to the LIE instead of having to double back from Middle Village.  It would have been good in the afternoon when buses could get off at Maurice and head back toward Eliot via 69th Street. I do acknowledge that it's not ideal to lose out on the HOV lane though and that might negate any real time savings in the morning of having to go down Eliot Avenue.

I can't remember if I mentioned this before but I also think it's a common sense move to have downtown buses stop at 1st Ave and 34th for the Hospital crowd.  I was thinking for years that people who work at NYU would benefit from this.  I just hope I won't be stuck sitting at 1st Avenue on the way home because the time point isn't properly accounted for.

My reaction to the express routes:

I'm glad they kept most of the pickups the same.  I think they should have split the QM24/25/34 to two portions like they did in the last plan but as a frequent rider of that bus I think the majority of the ridership comes from Eliot Avenue.

In general I like what they did with the Rego Park buses instead of having them meander all around the LIE before finally getting on.

I understand the logic behind the pickups on Queens Blvd for the QM7 but feel bad for those riders as it's already almost 2 hours to to 188th from downtown.  Most people in Fresh Meadows are probably better off taking the QM8 for more direct service.  I'm very curious to see if taking the LIE to 188th Street will be faster than going down Queens Boulevard and Union Turnpike, this is a question I've pondered for years.

I think the QM2/20/32 should be put on the BQE and GCP/Astoria Blvd.  Why do the majority of Super Express Bus runs go this way but your agency's plan puts them back on the LIE?  This makes no sense.

Also, they will seriously have to do something about Van Dam Street if EVERY midtown bus will be going down there and turning onto the LIE now.  This will cause serious backups along Van Dam and other capacity issues if this is not addressed. 

I thought I read somewhere that the Queens Bus Redesign plan will be out in Q1 2022, did I just imagine that?  If so, that should be by the end of this month. 

I saw a QM15 the other morning and it made me curious.  Does anyone know why Howard Beach doesn't have 3rd ave and/or downtown service?  It seems like those buses are just as frequent and packed as some of the Union Turnpike buses.  Does anyone have any intel or history about a demand for service?

16 hours ago, 7-express said:

The afternoon run times of the QM2/20 buses along Northern Blvd during the PM rush is absolutely abysmal now.   I've been tracking them this week and it frequently takes 90-120 mins from its Manhattan terminal departure to when it makes its first stop at Linden Place.  On the schedule, it should be getting to Bay Terrance 75 minutes or so after its first departure.  It's going to be no surprise to see these lines hemorrhaging riders with horrible run times, which will lead to the bus redesign cutting these routes even further.

I've been seeing a lot of grumblings about this in the facebook group and now even on reddit this morning too.  In all likelihood this mess on Northern Blvd won't get any better any time soon and hopefully the MTA and DOT will realize that.  Having the bus go onto Astoria Boulevard doesn't seem much better since it looks like it's been getting slammed with traffic too.  The time savings will probably be almost nil depending on how they plan to get the buses onto Astoria Blvd from the city anyway.  

Now that the re-designs are back on, I hope they will squash the change in routing for Queens downtown buses to take the Williamsburg Bridge and just keep them on the FDR.  The MTA had a 6-9 month test run on this idea when a sink hole opened up by the FDR and 34th Street exit and commute times were much worse as a result of it.  

7 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Unreal that this SIM22 is in service like this now...

Reported this for repair ASAP.

Those Staten Island riders sure put up with a lot.

21 hours ago, 7-express said:

For us NE Queens express bus riders, more changes are coming to the Northern Blvd corridor.  They're planning to get rid of the remaining rush hour-only curb lanes and restoring all-day curbside parking.  Granted the curb lane has been more useless as of late due to outdoor dining.  But they do have some design ideas of future curb extensions and bus bulbs coming up that may slow down the corridor further.

Also, they're planning on consolidating a lot of Q66 stops ahead of the Queens bus redesign.

https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/northern-blvd-broadway-114-st-cb3-jun2021.pdf

Northern Boulevard is absolutely awful during the rush hour once you get past the BQE.  There are constantly cars and trucks double parked in the right lane and you're lucky if you make it 3 blocks before the bus gets stuck at another red light.

11 hours ago, T to Dyre Avenue said:

I take the QM20 because the nearest LIRR station to me is Auburndale, which is a 30-minute walk and gets skipped by many trains. And you don't get a free transfer to the subway (why the MBTA and SEPTA can do free transfers from commuter/regional rail to the subway and the  can't/won't, I really don't know). The nearest subway stop to me is Main Street-Flushing, which is roughly three miles away, so I'd have to take the Q16 bus to get there when I used to take the  before the pandemic. The QM20 is right across the street from me, it runs frequently (but only on weekdays) and I get a free transfer to the subway. The only thing that sucks about it is the car/truck traffic on Midtown Manhattan streets and on the highways in Queens (I really hate that the car traffic had to be one of the things in the City that made a comeback). If there were a closer LIRR or subway stop, I'd probably use it because I don't like sitting in heavy traffic. But there isn't one (I've mentioned in the subway forum many times I'd welcome a Bayside  extension with open arms). Fortunately, I managed to squirrel up a lot of money on my WageWorks transit card from all the days I worked from home, so now I have enough on the card to take the QM20 full time. I got a Prevost on my morning ride yesterday and today. They sure are nice and quiet and have that nice, new bus smell - although the seats are a bit narrower and set closer together versus the MCI buses. So going forward, it'll be the QM20 with a transfer to the subway at Herald Square (33rd/Park if I'm running late) for most of my commuting needs. Maybe once in a blue moon, I'll take the railroad and a leisurely walk home from Auburndale if the weather's nice enough.

But I still remain a train/subway guy at heart and if that's the best option, then I will use it. When I lived in Forest Hills, that's exactly what I did. I always took the  or  in the morning. I left a little earlier because I didn't want to ride crush loaded on an overcrowded  or  train. The only times I took the express bus when I lived there were on very hot summer evenings when I didn't want to wait in what felt like a giant oven for a ,  or  train at Brooklyn Bridge or City Hall. I work in Lower Manhattan. It's kind of ironic that I was able to get a direct express bus, the QM11, from there to subway-rich Forest Hills. Yet in my current Queens neighborhood, subway-less and LIRR-less Whitestone, neither the QM2 nor the QM20 have direct express bus service to Lower Manhattan. So going home, I still have to wait for a subway train in a giant, hot oven during the summer.

I didn't see it on my last two morning buses, which were both Prevosts. I thought I saw it on Prevost bus that came three minutes before mine (which I just missed). That was the only time. I always see it on the MCI buses.

You and I both have very similar commutes from Whitestone/Bayside to lower Manhattan.  I've tried every which-way to try and speed up my commute because the QM2/20 is usually about 1hr 30min door to door for me coming home. In the morning I've found the QM2/20 is faster than the local bus to the 7 train by 15-30 minutes, coming home they're both about the same.  I was considering permanently switching to the LIRR, but like you I would have to transfer and take a train downtown so it would wind up costing me another $100 a month on top of what I already paid for my unlimited express bus pass.   

From what I understand, there is (was?) demand for Bayside to Lower Manhattan express bus service and there were planning on adding the line when they did the Queens bus redesign, but now that everything is paused due to the pandemic I fear the MTA will just scrap the idea of that route.

I know a lot of people drive to Union Turnpike and grab the QM7 or QM8 to get downtown and avoid the subway but I just find that it takes too long.  Leaving a little before 5pm it takes me almost 2 hours to get home door to door.  I actually find it faster overall to drive to/from Middle Village and grab the QM25 and deal with the LIE/Whitestone Expressway traffic then drive down the Clearview and take the QM7/8 which has to go down Queens Boulevard and all the way down Union Turnpike.

On 5/22/2021 at 10:03 PM, QM1to6Ave said:

Thank you as usual! Crazy that the bus stop was allowed to get that bad...I expect that from NJT bus stops, not MTA

Re: QM2/20, yeah, sounds like they could do the same adjustments they made to the QM5 to start it earlier but keep it cost-neutral. Those early morning rides QM5 continue to be pretty full when I take them, with everyone still trying to avoid rush hour crowds 

Yeah I was thinking the same thing with the QM2/20 that they should start them earlier in the morning.  The 5:45am QM2 gets almost a full load even now.  It doesn't get you into the city until about 6:30 which is awesome considering it leaves the last stop in Queens at 6:10, but realistically you can't take that bus if you have to be in for work before 7am.

19 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said:

Especially since the fare was always required on Express buses!

Yeah I understood it back in the beginning of the pandemic when they stopped charging to get on the local buses, but c'mon now.  They've been charging fares since last August.

I wonder when the MTA is planning on getting rid of the "FARE REQUIRED" scroll on the express buses.  I think we get the point by now.  It's so annoying to have to stare at a bus for 10 seconds just to figure out if it's the one you want, especially because unless you have 20/20 vision, you only get a few seconds to flag down the drivers.

I saw some Supervisors out on Wednesday the 23rd at Union Turnpike and Main Street and also at the downtown loop for the QM buses in the morning and afternoon.  It might have been to make sure buses weren't running hot but I wouldn't doubt it was to get headcounts for service cuts.  Queens downtown buses in particular are doing pretty bad right now with ridership.  Sometimes I'm the only person on the QM7 I take in the morning and it seems like half the time the driver doesn't pick up any on Union because I see on bustime he goes down Union and then doesn't make the trip into Manhattan.  It also doesn't help that The QM8 comes literally 3-5 minutes before the QM7 is scheduled. 

Interestingly enough, I took the 2:15pm QM7 back to Queens yesterday and that bus had the highest passenger count I've seen since I've been back 5 days a week in July.  I've taken QM7s, QM8s, QM25s at various times between 3 and 5:30pm and if these buses have 10 people on them it's a lot.  I guess people are trying to get the hell out of the city as soon as possible during the day. 

3 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

lol. I can probably find out for you and ask around.

Thanks. You used to be able to view the run sheets on CPs website through some googling but it looks like they’re gone or I just am not getting as lucky with my searches anymore. 

Anyone have access to CP run sheets? I’m looking to find out other runs for my QM7 driver 6:40am run. Finally got a good one and I’d like to stick with him through this brutal run

Is it me or are the R160s significantly faster than the R46s?

  Yesterday I got on an R train at 34th and took it down to City Hall and usually always get an R46 but was lucky to snag an R160.  It seemed like the train was flying down Broadway and even some of those sharp turns between Canal and City Hall were taken faster. 

On ‎8‎/‎2‎/‎2020 at 3:47 PM, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

I can even live with that. Past five rows that's more than 20 seats unavailable. 

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New express bus making its rounds out of Yonkers Depot. I have not rode it yet, but have seen it. Most drivers I know ao far have told me they like them overall. Should be Yonkers for about the next three weeks.

This week the CP buses I've been taking back and forth seem to have now only the first 3 rows on each side blocked off.  Thanks if you had anything to do with that.

I took a ride on 2824 yesterday and was surprised we made it back to Fresh Meadows.  The engine just sounds like it's gonna cut out at any minute, the whole bus was shaking, and at one point my wife and I thought the engine was gonna stall when we got into the Midtown Tunnel. 

18 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

Bus 3215 also had 5 rows all folded up...I think every single CP bus has this set up, to be honest. 

I've been back and forth to the city on QM7s, QM8s, QM2s, QM20s; they've all had the same set up we've been reporting.  

QM8 bus 3192 has 5 rows on the right side and 4 rows on the left side folded up.  No plastic curtain in this bus yet.

5 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

Awesome work, as always, VG8!

I can confirm that basically every CP bus I've been on for the last month (which is twice a day, 4 or 5 days per week) has all the rows blocked off up to and including the wheelchair rows (which are folded up so you can't sit on them). It is very clear that the first two or three rows are "officially" roped off with the yellow chain, and the other rows are "unofficially" roped off with electrical tape, twine, or whatever other random material was sitting around the depot. 

I haven't bothered telling B/Os to wear masks (or passengers, for that matter), because I know how well that will go LOL...I know a lady that got punched out on the subway for telling a guy to put on a mask. She needed 8 stitches from it!

Here here, I've been riding the QM7and QM8 to and from work the past few weeks and they rope all the seats off up to the handicap seats.  I've also taken the QM25 out of LaGuardia and they only rope off the first 3 rows.  This doesn't surprise me at all because CP has always had that Wild West feel...it seems like there's hardly any rules and less professionalism from those drivers especially compared to the LaGuardia guys.  Sometimes I get on CP express buses and the driver acts like he's doing me a favor driving me to where I have to go.

Has anyone heard anything about the Redesign plans?  With all the MTA cries for money we'll be lucky if there's more than half-hour peak service left when this is all said and done.  You think the MTA will still want to go forward with some of those new proposed routes in Queens?

On ‎2‎/‎11‎/‎2020 at 8:52 AM, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

The QM3 this morning... Full load with people still boarding... We have a number of QM3 riders in the group. They are all now aware that the MTA wants to eliminate their bus.

 

Looks like service should be expanded if anything.  There's clearly the demand for service in Little Neck and along Northern Boulevard.  I bet they could attract even more ridership if they added 3rd Avenue service or threw a super express or two into the mix.

4 hours ago, 7-express said:

Yeah but the DOT has seriously nerfed the signal timing on Northern Blvd and Astoria Blvd in an effort to reduce speeding.  But in turn, causing more congestion that delays buses.  It's a no win scenario here.

Yeah same on Queens Boulevard.  Sadly, I don't think Vision Zero and its subsequent DOT changes will go away any time soon.

3 hours ago, 7-express said:

https://qns.com/story/2020/01/29/jackson-heights-assembly-candidate-presents-her-plan-for-a-safer-northern-boulevard/

Interesting idea to facilitate more express buses...close Northern Blvd from the Queensboro Bridge to 114th Street to private vehicles.  Though there won't be many express buses left to use this route to NE Queens once the redesign goes through!

I know the actual goal of the plan is to curb pedestrian deaths, but that aside, the Boulevard doesn't need to be closed to traffic, it doesn't even need a bus lane.  All they need to do speed up service on that corridor is sync up the traffic lights at all times and more importantly enforce the no standing zones on the eastern lanes for the PM rush.  95% of the slowdowns on Northern are due to double parked cars or trucks unloading when they shouldn't even be there in the first place.  If that right lane was kept clear, buses would be able to cruise up the right lane and they could go from Queens Plaza to the Whitestone Expressway in 15 minutes. That would be better than putting buses back on the LIE where they'd have to sit in traffic from Van Dam Street all the way until they get on the Van Wyck.