7-express

Maybe they were desk cops who aren't used to being outside...

Fortunately, they were smart enough to re-rpute the QM2 through Mitchell-Linden a few years ago to provide express bus service through the area again and help boost the weekend ridership numbers for the QM2.

If it's on the official published schedule now, shouldn't it be the official route drivers follow now? The new driver that came with the summer pick does not follow it and keeps going down 59th Street...and getting jammed in the mess that comes with it. It's not as bad since it's summer traffic patterns now but still not great.

In your talks with the city DOT, have there been any talks of making 59th Street No Standing Only curb to curb from 5th Ave to the QB Bridge? Additional lane capacity during the afternoon rush can definitely help here. Also, I noticed there was one cop this afternoon standing on the corner of 59th and Madison milking it by pulling over cars for turn signal violations. Problem is, it was blocking the bus stop there with all the cars he pulled over. Also did nothing for the delivery trucks double parked killing lane capacity.

I read somewhere else that they're rolling out automated people counters on all newer buses (or retrofitting newer existing buses). I think it uses infrared to count people entering and exiting. It's not 100% accurate but it's better than relying strictly on MetroCard swipes, especially with farebeaters, back door borders, etc. Granted an express bus is a somewhat more controlled environment than a local bus or articulated bus.

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...

Well I can see why the return AM trips would take forever on Northern because the lights are synced for Manhattan-bound traffic at that hour. But I do agree, the PM rush hour has been very slow between 82nd Street and 108th Street lately. I'm pretty sure this has to do with deBlasio's Vision Zero policy of slowing down traffic by retarding traffic signal timing. Traffic through the area used to flow fairly well but they tweaked the signals 3 or so years ago and just killed any chance of gaining speed in the area. They also did this with Astoria Blvd too. I think I had one driver who got frustrated with Northern in Jackson Heights and found his way north to Astoria Blvd instead for some relief.

Just for historical perspective, why was the monthly bus pass discontinued way back when?

I managed to get 2209 this afternoon as a QM2. It had strong AC but holy crap that thing is old. The stop request light didn't work and neither did the ding so people had no idea if the bus was stopping or skipping.

Looks like those ESI station half-height emergency exit doors weren't a really great idea... https://nypost.com/2019/06/18/mta-to-overhaul-subway-exit-gates-after-installing-easy-to-hop-model/

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.

Hopefully there will be some announcement in the future about new express buses for Queens to replace some of these mobile roach motels.

How common is it for a bus to change routes after operating for a portion of their run? I saw a northbound Q65 kick off all of the passengers at Main Street and change into a Q34. Is this just dynamic bus re-routing or just managing driver OT?

I've seen plenty of rotting seat cushions on the CP express buses and the occasional floppy/busted overhead console. But at least I haven't noticed too much in the way of litter. Or roach bait.

So this is what the MTA has to say about tonight's express bus commute. I guess everyone should just give up and take the 7 or Queens Blvd line home... Express bus customers: In order to keep you moving, dispatchers may make real-time decisions to send buses on other streets based on traffic conditions. If possible, consider taking the subway to bus stops outside of midtown Manhattan to catch your bus on its regular route.