EastFlatbushLarry

THIS. especially after dark. not saying during the day is any better. that whole setup around west farms depot is peculiar.. the Sheridan, the Q44 layover, the Bx9's... its piss poor imo ...especially if they aren't going to split that line between 2 depots. I'm sorry, I'm not a fan of Casey Stengel potentially doing pull outs to Fordham or this continuous splitting of the 44 at 39 Avenue. I'm all for a separate Fordham - flushing line. it's a similar situation imo when they talk about sending Q6's to Queens Village via combining it with the Q1 or sending Bx41's to LGA... just leave it be. by the way, it doesn't really take much for the Q44 to ish the bed on any given day. friggin butterfly effect that line: someone sneezes on archer... aaaaand bunching occurs in flushing, and they want to add Fordham to the mix? if they think bronx riders were mad about bx15's being stuck on 125 street because of the triboro, wait til the 44 implodes trying to traverse to Fordham I've been yelling from that mountain for quite some time... at times, it's been my argument that at bare minimum, the 44 Parkchester short sign should be implemented alongside or in place of the Whitestone am runs. but as you stated, the 11's there now. honestly, i don't know how feasible this is but i always felt they could've tried having Bx9's & Q44's layover by morris park av & 180 (the 180th station) especially now that 40/42's are running on 180th

i must say, shoutout to y'all. all respect due for dealing with that overnite on any consistent basis. you said it best: endurance challenge indeed. long distance driving, be it bus, truck, subway t/o's... it's not something to take lightly in any way. sitting for long periods of time is about as abnormal to the human body as a pitcher throwing overhand. we're supposed to take breaks every 2 hours according to most doctors... get up, stretch, hydrate, etc. for example, my ex wife ended up getting blood clots in her legs & lungs because of not stretching and keeping her blood flow correct over the course of less than 5 years (that M101) so for anyone that says it's not a "big deal" operating a bus (or train) for approx. 2 hours or more one way, i beg to differ. people get lost in their fanaticism and forget there are human beings operating (NOT driving) damn near million dollar pieces of equipment with real life consequences, not just potentially to the general public, but to ourselves, our health and family/families. yes, we signed up for it and qualified, but you can't be a fan of something or someone and also be completely dismissive of the human element. getting back to the Q44, personally I'm not necessarily a fan of the Fordham to Jamaica idea. you're basically creating the Queens/Bx version of the M101 imo, but I'm not ignorant: there's been a demand for it for quite some time. i work in the bronx division, and where the current Q44 ends is a bit odd, connection wise to the rest of the bronx, i get it. meanwhile tho, a line like the B60 in the brooklyn redesign will potentially be chopped in half at fulton street. oddball shit. I'm sure you have examples of weirdo GO's that have been implemented downstairs just as i can speak to weird ass detours upstairs... it's the nature of this beast. i get that people may have these grandiose ideas but we have to somehow color within the lines of reality.

I heard a rumor that southbound 96 street short-sign pull-ins have been sorta curtailed especially later at night on the M101/2 specifically, with there being more of an emphasis on buses pulling in from 147 and fort George to 100 street. i was wondering if this was legitimate. personally, i wish i had that paddle some years back, instead of getting cursed out in Spanish as soon as you bust that right turn into the m96 bus stop 🙄 any valid info provided would be more than appreciated

pretty much. I'd prefer to see LTD's on the 102 from cooper union to 147 with a possible 8-10 minute headway (I'm considering the layover situation in the area around M.C. Hale) and 103's from city hall to 125 at 6-8 minute headways for the most part. i will submit that built in short signs will make the paddles and headway set up messy

Kingsbridge (the M100) was absolutely applying pressure back in the day, especially northbound. there were plenty of customers who'd pass up on my packed m101 artic run for a bone dry m100... as they should've. however, as you stated, they tried to take advantage of the artics on 125 & Amsterdam by way of the 101, thinking that Washington heights residents weren't savvy enough to peep game or thinking they'd voluntarily take the m101 to 161 and wait for a m100 there. boy were they mistaken, especially when they had no choice but to cut alot of M101's short at 161 to send us back downtown in service. this is when they came up with rush hour m100 artics, and given it's popularity, i am firmly of the belief they sabotaged the 100 because they didn't want 101's, Bx15's AND 100's, all with artics, crawling across 125.

it's funny. in those days, before and after being laid off, we despised the M98 b/o's .. we absolutely felt that they could've been of more service to us in the pm rush (when they ended and started at 34th street) don't get it twisted: they weren't carrying air northbound, but a quill or Manhattanville 38xx NG with a standing load doesn't hit the same at 5:42pm on a Thursday like a d60hf with a standing load does, especially if he/she is flying by you 😒

in a word: yes the 102 doesn't empty out the way the 103 does in & around 99th street or to be kind 106th. there are several riders who ride from 3 av across 116 to points on lenox... and definitely southbound from lenox to lex (and points south of 116 & lex) well, imo when i worked in 100 street (around 2010/2011 or so) they started drastically cutting runs on the 101 runboard (which includes the 101/2/3) the 101 used to go well over 160 runs, but incrementally, they (as you alluded to with the 100) kept nibbling away at the 101... i mean every pick we lost runs within the course of a year (or more).. to the point where the union was beside itself, almost begging b/o's not to drag the line, stop the bunching, pass your leaders (there used to be a MaBSTOA rule where we were NOT allowed to pass our leader(s).. but that's another story for another time) after a point, they (Manhattan division) started camping out/roaming around fort George with "jimmys" (road ops AND road control slds/superintendents) making sure we weren't taking extra layover time/partaking in other "extracurriculars" (i mean well into the night like 9-11pm... btw they had issues with Manhattanville around this time period, but the focus was to whip 100 street into shape) anyway, they started cutting any runs that showed up to 99/3rd or 125/Amsterdam carrying air.. not pieces of runs (like if you had a 101/103 split and you only carried air on your 101 piece) your WHOLE run... 103 runs in those days more than likely always split with the 101... it usually went 101/103 or 101/102.. barely were there any all-local all day runs (102/103, which imo would be suicide on wheels) what management didn't account for was screwing over ridership south of Cooper union. as I've discussed before in the past, i had runs (especially on weekends) where i was on the 101 and was instructed by the sld at Cooper union to do "shuttles" to/from city hall & Cooper union due to the lack of 103's. now, traffic on delancey doesn't help on time performance on the 103 at all, but scheduling 103's to run upwards of 12 minutes below Cooper union was/is despicable. 12 minutes is doable above Cooper union barring a 101/2 lying in wait for a unsuspecting/unsavvy 103 b/o to take advantage of. i say all of that to say that I'm assuming the results of what you currently see today is a direct result of management punishing 100 street's runboard back in the day and putting the primary focus on cleaning the road on 3rd/lex, while leaving Chinatown/the Bowery to figure it out. it used to be a pleasure to operate the 103 specifically on the bowery when we had quality operators on 101/2/3 working in unison. it got messy real quick, and going to city hall wasn't worth the hassle or late slip.

following B35's lead, I'd personally have the 101 terminate with the 100 on the west side ("Manhattanville") or send it to 1 ave/127.. and reallocate runs to the 102 & 103 making either the 102 or 103 the 3rd Av/Lex limited. having personally suffered many a run on lex/3rd, there definitely needs to be limited service of some kind... especially if one or both services run to city hall

I'm holding out "hope" (for what it's worth with this organization) that the Manhattan redesign (if there'll be one) finally brings about cutting the 101 in half (so to speak) around 125 on the east side. i don't know how (or why) the 101 is still a thing... even going back, the city hall - fort George thing was bonkers in the bad ol' days of true OG MaBSTOA

I'm glad you said it. no offense to anyone on here, but the fantasy bus lines people conjure up are NOT logistically possible or plausible. I'm not expecting anyone to think from the mindset of management, but from an aspect of living, breathing human beings operating a line from Fordham to jfk 24/7/365 is insane. there's no way to adequately account for runs/run pay, personnel/extra list personnel, equipment wear & tear... even with built in short signs, there's no way an operator is doing a full trip both ways without that run being at minimum over 8 hours. if a line like that did exist, it would suffer from the worst case of bunching, b/o's "abusing" personals at each end, incomplete trips, etc. i would know... i left 100 street to get away from the m101 for these reasons (and more)

most states constitute felony theft as stolen property value that may exceed a certain amount, with that beginning range being anywhere from $200 to $2,500. there's no way in hell that not paying the bus/subway fare should constitute a felony. hell, most stores won't even attempt prosecution under a certain amount, so spare me the lunacy 😒

I'm so glad it was pointed out that the B2 would be eliminated without any increase to service provided by the B100. the lame excuse that the 100 is "underutilized" and can absorb B2 ridership is a disaster waiting to happen, regardless of how stubborn or proactive they are in providing service on fillmore, which apparently won't be by much since they're clearly keeping service at spring creek depot (which is another topic for another time).

i could be operating off of old information. i never claim to be an expert. if that's in fact the case, i appreciate the correction.

because Private Transportation was never discussed as part of the DOT franchises the city wanted to unload. also, the Jewish community would never allow that to happen. more than likely, Jackie Gleason will get that work. they're really not about showing any love to Spring Creek Depot... not by a long shot. by design alone, that's a NYCTA line. no, however i personally know of people along 101 Avenue that do a 3 legged transfer of either Q8-B15- or Q8-B84- (3). may not be the majority, but it's got more potential than running buses carrying air to/from gateway. I'm shocked they haven't adjusted paddles to run more Euclid short signs to be honest. i have alot of criticisms about this redesign, however, i don't hate the Q8 to new lots avenue. I personally hate the current setup around new lots once you leave the train. B15, B6.. and nothing else? because they want to cram this B53 garbage down people's collective throats the point of calling it the B10 is to signify to people that it's NOT serving downstate & kings county hospitals and is staying on empire, as opposed to having bus operators explain the difference to people who are too careless to pay attention. no one in that community goes to coney Island for anything, that's first of all. if they want the beach, they drive to jones Beach or the jersey shore. people who live in Bensonhurst/Gravesend view coney island as ghetto. secondly, the only people who utilize the 82 are home health aides & nurses down that strip of cropsey. the 82 carries air south of Ulmer Park Depot. passenger service has consistently taken an absolute nosedive to/from Stillwell over the past decade. I'm shocked they're still doing that. i remember being at east ny depot and lateness on that run would cause most of our runs to be short turned at Ulmer Park. Stillwell terminal wasn't that big of a deal back then (2009) hence why 82 sbs's don't go there. for the time being they need to cut overnite service from Stillwell imo. the 82 now reminds me of the B12 back then. they barely sent buses to Cypress hill to the point it service cut and never came back.

i just took a look at the entire B46 Local - School Open run board, more than likely, that's a run adjustment for lateness. there are no scheduled 46 local runs starting at church, for north or southbound service. the problem with the 46 local around them times (pm/pm rush) is that runs are only scheduled to go to the bridge or eastern pky northbound. it would help if there were scheduled trips to flushing, DeKalb or Fulton, but they'd rather have oddball adjustments or simply not adjust operators at all. with that being said, the pick just started a month ago. whatever run number that is (i wish i knew) im assuming that run is trash, and for at least 3 weeks, they haven't had to make at least one trip to the bridge 😂 there are scheduled southbound trips from Eastern pky to Avenue H and scheduled deadheads from H to eastern pky around 9pm, however no scheduled H to eastern pky around that time. more than likely, another case of run adjustment for lateness.

the way things were explained to me (and it could be incorrect) is that employees who were hired before the creation of MaBSTOA (prior to 1962) and were then absorbed into MaBSTOA had to retire before any consolidated seniority list could be truly cultivated with NYCTA. IINM the acquisition of the Avenue B & East Broadway company by NY State (via MaBSTOA) also caused the merger process to be delayed (strictly from a workforce standpoint in regards to a "super" seniority list) i say all of that to highlight the uniqueness of the PBL/MTA Bus situation. there are current employees who were hired before the takeover whose contracts must be honored, and any new contracts procured by their union potentially may not be retroactive (hourly wage not included) as to create an easier avenue toward full TA/OA/Bus Co. consolidation. for example, the union contract Local 100 had with the city of New York in regards to Queens Surface Corp. & Liberty Lines Express were marginally different from each other AND from than the Local 100 contracts procured for Jamaica Buses, Triboro & NY Bus Service. there are certain nuances, practices & language that cause that to be the case. currently, the TA/OA/Bus Company contracts are supposed to be full parity across all brands, however they are non retroactive to my understanding. and furthermore, there are bus operators who worked for PBL's who shouldn't be penalized by losing seniority just for being employed by PBL's rather than NYCTA or MaBSTOA. 100%. you (and others such as VG8 via the Express Bus Advocacy Group) highlight exactly what I'm saying. it's been spoken about ad nauseum in regards to Spring Creek Depot and the atrocities going on at that yard from the BM's standpoint. i was deeply angered by the allowance of part time employment practices to be conducted at SC by ATU1181, simultaneously selling out their members and killing off-peak services (even on the B100 & 103... moreso the BM's & the 100) even tho management offers SC part timers full time employment at JFK/Far Rock after a years' time or whatever, that's beyond the point. you're reallocating resources because you intend on killing (or critically injuring) whatever SC provided. admittedly, they didn't need part timers to kill SC as a depot (definitely helped) all they needed were deviously concocted network redesigns. and if don't believe me, the brooklyn & queens redesigns spell it out imo. there are several depots (College Point for example) and neighborhoods (central/eastern Queens) that will be severely hit by losses to currently provided services, and it's deliberate. and what happens when you have more bus operators than you have work? forced relocations/retirements or layoffs/terminations. relatively speaking, it's not "expensive" for MTA to run Bus Company, since they're not footing the entire bill. however, they know (and knew back in 2005) that if there wasn't this "blank check" policy they have worked out with the city of New York, there wouldn't have been any takeover. if the state took over the PBL's outright, the service (and labor) cuts would've been (eventually) catastrophic. the state knows damn well that eventually this blank check policy with the city WILL end. that was the whole point in the first place: public transportation in NYC to be completely managed & funded by NY State. so, management has been (slowly) preparing for the inevitable: whittling down ALL services provided to a "manageable" financial number (labor costs, equipment, etc) the goal since the takeover has been to cut as much service as they can legally get away with. the network redesigns are absolutely a part of that goal.

firstly, any Bus Company/TA/OA merger will take MANY years to come to fruition. won't happen anytime soon. based on history alone, the TA/OA "merger" took about 40+ years (1962-2002(ish)) as far as the Queens Bus Redesign & these line combinations involving TA Queens (ATU1056) and Bus Company (insert union Local here) it's clear in this scenario that the Q1/6 combo will be a JFK Depot line using artics on runs (btw it's my humble opinion they've been wanting artics on Sutphin ever since D60 Galaxies showed up at JFK on the Q10... but anyway) it's also apparent Queens Village won't have any part of the Q1/6 combination, which could create a union issue, however seeing as it's hella early in the process for lines/runs to receive depot assignments, who knows? maybe local 1056 won't give AF about losing work on the Q1, as those runs may be reallocated elsewhere in the boro redesign. only time will tell, and imo it's in the best interest of all locals involved to pay close attention, because i firmly believe that these redesigns are being orchestrated in part to thin out the workforce, specifically on the Bus Company (non civil service) side of the coin. from what I've seen and pieced together in regards to potential depot assignments, it seems like Bus Co. will lose more than it gains. i hope I'm wrong.

true. yet it kinda makes logical sense to have 'A' & 'B' designations for a loop route, as opposed to wasting a different route number designation

typical. just typical. I'm not surprised one bit.

Thank you for the correction.

apologies in advance if this has already been reported... unit #4174 at Baisley Park from East NY. personally saw it operating in revenue service on the Q112 at liberty & 117 street earlier today WITH BP depot logos.

that run 309 is a Hale run... specifically, run 309 on the m35. 100 street's run 309 (from the m31) doesn't currently interline with the m35, and didn't in the past. going forward, m35 runs (runs 301-309) are all assigned to OF (hale). 100 street will still loan units to hale for the 35 as they've done over the past few years.

yeah from when i worked there in 2011 they've been entering that yard the same way. several times i (and other 100 street b/o's) hitched rides with SC operators into the depot to get to our cars on the 3rd floor... to the point where our general superintendent (S. Gatling) instructed us & SC b/o's to end that practice. that's why I added my 2 cents... i know SC & FR layover there, but they NEVER went thru the fuel line or the bus wash at 100 Street. and i used to pull buses up on the fuel line at different hours during the weekdays.

SC express units aren't "refueled" at 100 Street. last time i checked, they do not enter the depot via the fuel line on the park Avenue side. they enter thru the Lexington Avenue side and head to the 4th floor for midday layovers only

i really hope that hasn't picked up steam that quickly. i saw a YouTube video last night from someone (I refuse to plug that page) referencing the Queens redesign and suggested that albatross... that's all I've heard of it. i truly hope no one co-signs that gob shite.