ViaWaterViaChurch

Is anyone else enjoying this brisk "Mid-October" day? Maybe the MTA is gonna release the plan on Halloween so that we can get a nice scare.p>

20 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

I find the QM7/8 can also get slowed down by FDR issues, or any issue downtown, which cascades like crazy across those tiny streets. Even the 3rd Ave variants can get totally screwed up by a single broken down truck on 57th and 3rd blocking the median area (that has happened to me a few times)

Yeah, all things being equal, you’re better off taking the 6th Avenue bus, it’s about 15 minutes faster. The downtown loop takes around the same amount of time as the 6th ave pick ups except when you’re done with 6th ave you can jump right on the bridge to Queens where as the downtown buses stil have to go up the FDR and get to the tunnel which just eats up more time. 

The only time it actually pays to take the downtown bus is if you do in fact work downtown by its stops.

Shouldn't be much longer that we'll get the finalized Bronx Redesigns. I'm curious to see if the MTA has made any changes.

Just got on the 3:45pm QM2 heading back to Whitestone. This bus must be on loan from LaGuardia, 3303.  We’re turning onto 59th Street from 6th.

15 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

That would drive me crazy, especially since it is one of the old ass buses. Is this an older B/O who has been around a long time?

I saw your post in the Facebook group. I appreciate it. He’s an older white guy, definitely seems like he’s had some time on. He does the 6:55am and 3:45pm QM7 runs. 

My wife took him this morning and said he used another bus with a working GPS, 31XX I think. We’ll see what happens this afternoon. 

While I’m on a hot streak, what’s the process for alerting MTA to looking at schedule changes. I remember talking with 7-express about the 5:45am Qm2/20 runs being packed and how they would benefit from an earlier bus. I know that he’ll would have freeze over before the MTA added another bus, but what about playing with the start times to shift the first few buses 20 minutes apart instead of 15 minutes. This way you’d have a 5:30, a 5:50, a 6:10, a 6:30, and then resume the regular schedule instead of 5:45, 6:00, 6:15, and 6:30. I took the QM2 this morning and I think all of only 2 seats were filled.

I can't complain so far this week.  My 3:45 QM7 has been zooming up the FDR when in past years I remember extensive delays to get to the Midtown Tunnel.  

As a side note, what your guys' opinion on a bus driver who purposely takes a bus that doesn't have a working GPS tracker.  The way this pick worked out, I have the same driver in the morning and at night and he constantly picks the same bus (2824) for all his runs.  He knows the gps tracker doesn't work because multiple people have said things to him over the course of the week and he plays dumb.  He's always on time so I can't complain, but it just seems ridiculous to take the bus out, especially considering he is constantly raising the bus kneel anytime we come to a stop (I guess the right front of the bus will sag down as he's driving?)

1 hour ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

QM24, QM25 and QM34 riders: I just spoke with a DOT rep. via conference call that is involved with the bus lanes project along Fresh Pond Road. If you support the project or know someone in the area of Ridgewood, Middle Village or Glendale that does, please reach out to me either here or in a DM. It is very helpful if members of the community show support for it so that this can be given a chance to see if it can not only improve the service for commuters, but for those in cars as well. Thanks!

@QM1to6Ave @QM17ofTheRockaways @ViaWaterViaChurch @BM5 via Woodhaven

I don't use these buses anymore since I moved to Whitestone.  I know some residents and business owners are against the bus lane.  From what I had read of the proposal it would be a southbound only lane for PM use.  I think this is a good idea and don't really see much harm in putting this lane in and making it effective from 4pm to 7pm so that express buses and local buses can be quicker during the rush hours.   The PM trips can take 30-45 minutes to get from the first drop off on Eliot Ave and 85th to the last stop in Glendale because of this brutal stretch on Fresh Pond Road. 

I can't really speak for the local buses, but the AM express buses seem to do a good job of sticking to the schedule so I really don't think there's a need for a morning lane.  I think a bus lane active during the week from 4 to 7 that would be parking spots at all other times would be a good compromise between the neighborhood and for bus riders.  How do people even park at these spots during these times anyway on Fresh Pond.  It's such a mess over there at that time.  

On 8/6/2019 at 5:23 PM, 7-express said:

They posted this article about the QM5 and QM7: https://qns.com/story/2019/08/06/northeast-queens-commuters-gain-two-additional-express-bus-trips-during-morning-rush-hours-rozic/

If only they could also add early morning buses to the QM20.  A 0530 run would be beneficial because the current first run at 0545 is pretty full.

You weren’t kidding. I got off the QM2 at Park today and walked past the QM20 that has just dropped off its passengers at the stop and the bus was still packed. Usually the Whitestone buses are half empty by the Park Stop. 

Are the new Bronx Redesign routes going into effect in September?

25 minutes ago, 7-express said:

Better than last year when they axed the last 9:30PM trip to Midtown.  And when they killed off the 12AM run of the QM2...

They'll probably save any real changes for the Queens Bus Redesign at this point.

On ‎6‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 9:25 PM, 7-express said:

Some QM2/20 drivers later in the evening just forget about going over the Queensboro.  They just head down 2nd and make a beeline to the Midtown Tunnel/LIE/GCP in order to make it back in good time.   Better than dealing with the non-synced lights and the Jackson Heights traffic on Northern Blvd.  They should have more flexibility for reroutes like this.

I agree completely.  Buses crawl off peak on Northern Boulevard, stopping every 3 or 4 blocks because the lights aren't synced up.  I took an early AM QM32 bus back to Whitestone once and it took over an hour to get to Cross Island/160th with absolutely no traffic on Northern because of the lights.   And something needs to be done over in that Jackson Heights area, lately it's just been a complete crawl from 80th Street all the way to 108th Street at seemingly any hour of the PM rush.  It seems that the lights aren't synced up as well over there, but what really kills the traffic are lots of double parked cars and trucks unloading.  There also seems to be lack of enforcement in the no standing from 4 to 7pm in the parking lane.  Ironically enough, this is all within an earshot of the police precinct on Northern.   If they're adamant about keeping buses on Northern Boulevard, they should put a bus lane 

I think MTA should seriously consider sending buses via the BQE and Astoria Boulevard/GCP even during the PM rush.  Have buses run down 2nd Avenue to the tunnel or put them back on the upper level of the bridge and take Van Dam street to the LIE/BQE.  It doesn't save any time, and probably even adds some time if they send buses via Northern to 51st Street to 31st Ave to the BQE service road.  

On the whole, is the Deegan generally faster than the Harlem River Drive or vice versa?

19 hours ago, Uncle Floyd Fan said:

A Queens Express Bus rider here....

Regarding the BxM17 - Is it possible that the MTA is looking to ultimately add stops in Queens to the route once the Queens Bus Redesign is under way? Based on the proposed routing, it looks like they could add a stop or two along the Whitestone Expressway. After all, it would be cheaper to have QM 2/20/32 passengers transfer to the BxM17 rather than start a new Wall St route from Bay Terrace.  As for the route itself, it is a long one which would likely get caught up in all sorts of traffic. At a minimum, why wouldn't they send the AM peak trips down the GCP as they already do for the QM 2/30/32? For the PM trips, why don't they use the Super Express routing of the BQE North to Astoria Blvd (I think this is still used for the QM2 and QM20 SX routing)? If needed, the MTA should allow the drivers flexibility to use alternate routes to get to the Throggs Neck Bridge - which is less likely to have heavy north-bound traffic vs the Whitestone Bridge.

Or, the MTA could use other routing for the BxM17 through the Bronx and Manhattan and keep the route out of Queens altogether. I'd be curious to know if the MTA has actually tested the run in a company car or a training bus - that would make some sense.

I’m a fellow Queens rider as well and have some further input. The problem with sending buses via the Throggs Neck bridge is that there is no way to get straight onto the Van Wyck from there without taking local roads through Whitestone which would probably negate any time savings from taking the route as an alternative to the Whitestone bridge. The Throggs Neck leads right into the Clearview Expressway and would give the bus some options to get to Manhattan such as taking Northern Blvd to the Van Wyck (same route as the QM3) or going down the Clearview to Union Turnpike and then running to the city like how the QM8 (or maybe QM8 super express would). Both of these trips would probably be much longer than taking the Whitestone expressway in the morning. 

Buses should definitely run via the Grand Central and Horace Harding as you suggested in the morning.  If this is done, I’d realistically say that door to door most people should be around 90 minutes to an hour and 45 minutes in the morning,  not much worse than the poor souls who take the QM8 in the morning. 

The afternoon will most certainly be a disaster. I’m pretty familiar with the downtown Queens runs and it would probably take anywhere from an hour and a half to an hour 45 just to get to the Whitestone expressway and linden boulevard on a good day. Drivers should be taking the BQE and Astoria Blvd to the Whitestone Expressway, getting off at Linden Blvd and then taking the Whitestone Expressway service road to the entrance to the Whitestone bridge on 14th Avenue.  

Regardless, it will probably be at least two hours back to the Bronx on an average day and possibly 3 hours on a bad day. There should definitely be some experimentation with running the buses via Manhattan and over the RFK for the PM rush to see if that’s faster. I’ve seen some suggestions of running the route via the Cross Bronx       (I-95), this would be an awful idea, there is way too much traffic and you will literally be crawling across the Bronx for hours at 5 mph. 

Some fantasy QM revisions I've been thinking about:

All Queens bound QMs run via 2nd Avenue to the Midtown Tunnel and take the Long Island Expressway off peak (8am to 3pm and after 7pm to the end of service) too much time is spent on Queens Boulevard or Northern Boulevard stopping every 5 blocks when lights aren't synced up off peak (especially on Northern Boulevard).  Whitestone bound buses should be going via BQE and Grand Central Parkway back to Whitestone, QM5 and QM6 should be going via the LIE to Grand Central and getting off at Union Turnpike.

During the peak PM rush all midtown buses that run down Van Dam to the LIE should stay on Queens Boulevard to Woodhaven Boulevard though drivers should have the freedom to go via 2nd Avenue to the Midtown Tunnel if they wish.   

The QM4/44 should be extended up 164th to 46th Avenue to serve parts of Flushing.  Added stops would be Parsons Blvd/46th Ave, 46th Ave/162nd St, 164th/Oak Ave and then resume regular pickups and route to the city.  

During AM peak, Manhattan bound QM5/35 and QM8 buses should run via the current Super Express route making regular pick ups to 73rd Avenue, then turning North and going via either the LIE or Booth Memorial Avenue with transit priority signals and synced green lights.   On the PM rush Queens bound QM5/QM8 should run via LIE service road to 188th Street and resume regular stops. Union Turnpike will be served during the peak rushes by QM1/6/7/31/36  

New Lines:

Peak service only Qm22 - Bay Terrace - Downtown Loop First stop: Bell Blvd/212th street, down Bell Blvd to 26th Avenue, via Utopia, to 166th Street and Powells Cove, via 160th Street to Cross Island Parkway West via 14th Avenue via Whitestone Expressway and resume regular QM2/20 route to Manhattan via FDR to the Downtown Loop.  For the return trip, FDR to Midtown Tunnel to BQE to Astoria Boulevard to Whitestone Expressway.

QM24/34/25 should be split into two lines, people in Glendale and Ridgewood should not have to be sitting on the LIE to get off at Woodhaven Boulevard when the bus regularly passes 69th Street on the way back to Queens.  In the morning buses would make regular pickups on Myrtle Avenue, Fresh Pond Road, and Eliot Ave/Fresh Pond and a new stop would be Eliot Avenue and 67th Street, then left on 69th Street to the LIE toward Manhattan.  On the way home the bus would get off at Maurice Avenue (these buses would have to go via LIE, not Queens Boulevard) and right onto 69th Street to Eliot Avenue and then make regular drop offs.

QM9/QM19/QM39 6th Avenue, Wall Street, and 3rd Avenue respectively.  First stop 80th Street/Cooper Avenue, 80th Street Metropolitan Avenue, Juniper Valley Rd/79th Street, Juniper Valley Rd/75th Place, Furmanville Ave/77th Pl, via 78th Street to Juniper Blvd South, Juniper Blvd S/77th Pl, Juniper Blvd S/71st St, 69th St/62nd Ave, right on Eliot, resume pickups along Eliot Avenue 69th, 74th, 80th, remove 83rd Street stop, 85th Street, regular route.  

I'm interested in seeing if the West Side Highway will speed things up for some of these buses.  I don't know if Riverside Drive will be helpful, I've only ever driven down it during the weekends and the lights definitely need to be synced up to make it worth changing the route if they're not synced up for the rushes. 

The bus that catches my eye the most is the new BxM17.  I'm not crazy about the routing via the Van Wyck, that area gets really congested in the morning getting on the LIE (there's a reason why those QM2/20/3s) go via the Grand Central in the morning, and coming home will easily be over two hours, if not two and a half or three hours for these people with the current routing.  It takes about an hour to an hour fifteen to get to Woodhaven Blvd on the LIE from downtown on an average day, and it's going to be a slow crawl all the way to the Whitestone Bridge between the awful mess that is getting onto the Van Wyck and the wall of traffic on the Whitestone Expressway to get to the bridge.  The bus drivers will have to learn to take the service roads if the depot is adamant about them staying on route.  

Thursday night all around was an absolute traffic nightmare.  It took my QM7 two and a half hours (3:45pm bus) to get back to Fresh Meadows.  There were two accidents on the LIE between Maurice and Woodhaven, then a half hour to get down Queens Blvd to Union Turnpike and there looked to be major problems on Northern Blvd in Corona (it's always slow once you get to 80th street).  I bet a lot of BOs didn't get back in time for their PM runs and the traffic in Queens was still awful around 8pm.  Just an all around awful night for commuting.  

This morning I was taking the 6:55am QM7. The guy was due at Peck and Pearl at 7:43am but got there 14 minutes late because he was taking us on a scenic tour on the lower level of the FDR drive. I've taken both the 6:40am bus and 7:07am bus right before and after this guy and they're packed and on time. This bus had maybe 15 to 20 people on it and now it makes sense. The FDR was wide open and there was no detour in effect, it seems like this guy just loves to take the lower level because I've been on the QM7 that leaves 12 minutes after this guy and we've beat him to Peck and Pearl on multiple occassions. I could at least excuse this if he was ahead of schedule, but we're sitting at lights somewhere between 34th Street and 23rd Street's service roads and he should been at Peck and Pearl 3 minutes ago. Whose brilliant idea at CP was it to tell B/Os to take the lower roadways in the morning?

Lots going on in the city today for express buses: BxM buses are detoured down Lexington Avenue between 72nd and 23rd; BM buses will pick up along 57th to Lex, then pick up on Lex until 49th street when they will go back to 5th and resume regular route all due to a POTUS visit.  I'm sure 6th Avenue QMs running across 57th Street will have some delays.  Looks like it'll be 3rd Avenue for me today.

Downtown will be an absolute mess, there are major changes for our folks who don't get off on Water Street.  Downtown QM buses will make corresponding pickups on South Street, and I'm assuming will then U-turn at South Street and get onto the FDR back to Queens.  It is totally possible they will not pick up at State/Battery, Morris, Trinity, Vesey, Park Row, and Frankfort that way this reroute makes it seem, combined with the fact that M55 and BxM18 are starting their runs at Chambers Street today.  This will be starting at 3:30pm and last until the end of service tonight.

SIM1, SIM2, SIM4/4x, SIM32, SIM34,, X27, and X28 are not making any pickups on Broadway after Barclay Street most likely.  It will be turning left onto Park Row from Broadway and taking Frankfort to Water Street, though the reroute details are unclear because the reroute makes it seem like the buses will be going straight onto the FDR South after it turns onto Park Row, yet it also says Buses run via Pearl and Water Street and make corresponding pick ups.  This is supposed to start at 6pm tonight.  This will most likely be a mess of confusion and I would encourage any patrons of these lines to either leave work before 3pm or have alternate plans to get home tonight.  

No BxM18 service between State Street/Greenwich and Chambers/Church.  Pickups will start at Chambers and Church starting at 3:30pm.  No M55 bus running up Greenwich/Trinity/Church on this section either so I doubt Express buses will be making any pick ups here.  

No specific word yet on BM buses downtown, as of right now it only says to expect delays due to a local event in Lower Manhattan (the Wall Street run).

Godspeed everyone. 

2 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Ok folks, the new express bus schedules are out!! Some interesting things for sure... NEW BxM11 Super Express trips, NEW, EARLIER QM5 service, NEW, EARLIER QM7 service, NEW EARLIER SIM6 service back to Staten Island are some of the highlights.

http://web.mta.info/busco/schedules/bxm11cur.pdf

http://web.mta.info/busco/schedules/qm001cur.pdf

http://web.mta.info/busco/schedules/qm007cur.pdf

http://web.mta.info/…/s…/bus/spcl_APR17_2019/sim006APR17.pdf

Reminder that the new SIM6 trips start on April 28th. BM, QM and BxM service starts this weekend. X27, X28, X37, X38, X63, X64 and X68 riders should check the schedules for any changes.

The BxM11 Super Express trips are a VERY good idea. We like this a lot. Smart thinking. They used to exist in fact...

I'm surprised they didn't get an earlier bus on the QM8, I feel bad for those people, they have such a long ride downtown.  Getting up at the crack of dawn to get the first bus and by the time they hit 188th street, 3 QM7s have already come.

There was no 6:57am QM7 this morning, I'm sure some drivers took off for the holidays coming up and they either are short drivers are just aren't bothering to fill the trips.

Does anyone know how fast the diesel trains go out on the North Fork? 

It looks like the MTA finally wised up and closed the Park Place stop on the downtown loop for the QM buses.  It's bad enough the downtown loop takes a half hour or more to do during the heights of the rush, but buses going up to Warren Street just added even more time.  Before they added that stop at Park Place last year , some drivers would turn onto Vesey and go straight to Park Row instead of going up around and down Broadway with all that traffic.  

Now if only they could figure out a way to get buses down Queens Boulevard faster...

7 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Northeast Queens to receive $3 million dollars for increased express bus service

Northeast Queens lawmakers announce upcoming transit improvements for outer-borough commuters

File photo/QNS

A Long Island Rail Road train arriving in Bayside

By Carlotta Mohamed/ cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com / Wednesday, April 3, 2019 / 12:30 PM

Transit improvements will be made in northeast Queens after state Assembly members Edward Braunstein and Nily Rozic reached an agreement during this year’s 2019-2020 state budget negotiations to offset the impact of congestion pricing on outer-borough commuters.

The lawmakers announced on Wednesday upcoming transit improvements including a 20 percent reduction for a Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) monthly pass for commuters in northeast Queens, $3 million in funding for increased express bus service, and $6 million for first-mile/last-mile connections.

Rozic said relief in the outer boroughs is long overdue for northeast Queens transit riders who are far too familiar with increasing fares and travel times.

“As part of this year’s state budget, it was critical for us to ensure that the needs of our communities were not neglected and that our transit system is fully funded,” said Rozic. “I am grateful for Assemblyman Braunstein’s partnership and look forward to seeing these improvements through their implementation.”

The agreement includes a 20 percent reduction in the monthly pass for commuters traveling to and from the following stations: Auburndale, Bayside, Broadway, Douglaston, Flushing-Main Street, Little Neck and Murray Hill.

A commuter traveling to and from Penn Station will save nearly $50 a month on their monthly pass. The funding for this fare discount was allocated from the Outer Borough Transit Fund, which was created by the state Legislature last year to assist those who live in areas with limited transit options.

“A significant number of northeast Queens LIRR commuters pay over $200 dollars for their monthly pass to travel to Manhattan,” said Braunstein. “I am proud to have joined with Assemblywoman Rozic to secure a 20 percent reduction for these commuters, which will result in a savings of over $500 a year.”

https://qns.com/story/2019/04/03/northeast-queens-lawmakers-announce-upcoming-transit-improvements-for-outer-borough-commuters/?fbclid=IwAR3gAcJoqPaMnIncYbuzbUD5vxD7nn-xMomvYmycJIx70VD0n6r32gchXUE

@QM1to6Ave @T to Dyre Avenue @ViaWaterViaChurch

I wonder what they're gonna spend this money on, is it too selfish to ask for downtown service from Whitestone?  It's a welcome break for LIRR riders, if this drops the price of a zone 3 monthly with metrocard to around the same price as an express bus pass, you might catch me circling around Auburndale for parking in the mornings.  

The Midtown bound 2:50 QM2 was 20 minutes late today, causing me to have to pay for an Uber to take the LIRR.

The guy on the current pick loves to play games with bustime, he often doesn’t show up on the tracker until he’s made it past the Clearview Expressway.

I also figured out that he does the Queens bound 1:45 pm QM2 run back to Bayside, and that was the reason he was late. He still had a bunch of stops to make on Bell Blvd by the time his bus should have been going Manhattan bound. What genius thought it would be a good idea to schedule a QM2 run with only an hour and five minutes to get back to Bayside, have a quick break, and get right back on the road to Manhattan.  Those buses usually always take at least an hour from 6th and 36th to get to 160th Street.

EDIT: Also, on my way home on Queens Blvd today there was a QM1 stopped in the left lane right before the turn for Union Turnpike that appeared to have rear ended a car. Lucky if there were 5 people on that bus, what a disgrace. That bus just can’t seem to have any luck. 

I saw a pm QM1 today that appeared to be from LaGuardia. I’m pretty sure the depot sticker was red. I believe it was 3285. It just made a drop off at 188th and 73rd Avenue around 5:40 so maybe it was the 4:30 bus? 

At least the MTA isn’t full of it when they say that CP is short on buses to make runs.