7-express

Thanks for that. I do recall seeing an old pic a while back of the Lights On sign. I definitely haven't seen the practice in the last decade, especially since newer trains showed up. I do notice lights going off on the express bus but that's usually on the express segments at night when folks want to sleep.

In the 90s and 00s when the Redbirds were on the 7, I remember them occasionally turning off the ceiling lights on the above ground segments. Was there any particular reason this was done or was it more of a relic of the energy savings measures from the 70s/80s?

I can't find any information about this but does it mean anything when a control ID on a bus is two digits followed by an X? This was observed on an express bus from College Point Depot.

The same thing was posted by PIX11. Seems like a regurgitated post that some bot/AI is churning out that's not based on anything new. It was already previously documented that MetroCard would stick around till 2025.

1010WINS has a brief story about it: https://www.audacy.com/1010wins/news/local/youth-took-subway-trains-on-joyrides-in-queens-nypd

The last time they tried dropping the names in the late 90s, local Sunnyside folks opposed and restored the old names. Demographics of the area have changed a bit in the last 20ish years so an attempt now may not see as much opposition. Especially since there wasn't a peep when the Astoria stations dropped the alternate old names.

One of my previous suggestions was to have the Q61 just follow the QM20 to Bay Terrace on Willets Point Blvd/Utopia Pkwy/26 Ave as the local compliment. It'll make it more useful than the tail end that goes to Fort Totten.

It was already stated by the MTA that MetroCard will be around into 2025. I assume next year is the inflection point to put more momentum into converting the remaining MetroCard users to OMNY. If OMNY/Cubic can get their programming straightened out.

Fits in line with my prediction from earlier this year...they'll start it at the very end of the year just to say they crossed the line but it'll realistically take much of 2024 to roll out. Can't wait to see what a fiasco student OMNY will be with the next school year.

It should since the existing Q34 does act like a school bus for kids going to the schools around Memorial field. But they're desperate to maintain the Q61 as a rush route and will likely keep it on Union. Only advantage is Mitchell-Linden folks will get a bus all weekend long instead of needing to go to Union Street. The only concession they made was adding 26th Ave as a stop for the people who live in that part of Mitchell-Linden and act as a transfer point for folks who want to transfer to Union Street buses.

I think they're desperate for an E/W route to service the 20th Ave corridor so the the Q62 was born out of it and will shaft Beechhurst riders. They also really didn't want a 20A/B situation even though it works since neither branch warrants that much service. But they might be hoping that the Q62 as a rush from Flushing will help drive traffic to the shopping center.

On the remix map, it shows the Q26 has a few different service patterns. The overnight service pattern seems to be just the current Q65 route between College Point and Flushing only. Not sure if the southern part past Flushing will maintain the current service span.

More NE Queens thoughts now that I've had a bit more time to digest the changes Q15 - This route makes sense instead of the combo with the Q19 that would've hurt service reliability on such a long route. Q16 - This route makes sense now that they got rid of that weird tail that went past Flushing to Fowler Ave Q20 - Would still be better if they maintained the A/B branch instead of putting all service on the B/14th Ave branch. Likely will be too much service on that lightly used portion but an upgrade for existing Q20B riders who contend with 20-30 min headways currently. Q61 - 20-30 min headways will really hurt on this line, though they seem to insist it maintains or enhances current Q16 service to Clearview Q62 - It could work but Beechhurst folks may not like going further west before going to Flushing. 20th Ave can be a crapshoot with traffic, as existing Q20A riders probably know. Express bus thoughts QM2 - Loses 30 min midday frequency. I figured this would happen to better match actual demand and pair up better with the QM20 that is already hourly midday. Also seems to lose its weekend service to Mitchell-Linden, which is not a good thing if they wanted to drive additional ridership. QM3 - Big loser here as the MTA is still trying to cut the line. They'll probably try to argue the $7 peak city ticket should make this line redundant but without a free transfer, it's a net con for riders of this line QM20 - They came to their senses and kept midday/evening service on this route. Largely unchanged except for a slight frequency adjustment. Would make sense since the earlier AM buses tend to be full now while too much service runs between 7-8am. Rerouting buses to 57 instead of 59 - I thought the DOT wouldn't allow this many buses to run on 57th at the same time? I do prefer it on 59th but if 57th will speed up service, so be it. Still need to dig into the bus stop spacing to see what stays and what goes.

The biggest con of the new Q61 is the 20-30 minute headways versus the current 10-12 the route currently has. To be expected though since the southern part of the route that drives a lot of traffic is gone but it will be a bit of a downgrade. At least they realized operating it for only 3-4 hours during the rush was a terrible idea and gave it a normal service span that mirrors the existing Q34. I still think it should make all the Bayside Ave and 35 Ave limited stop along Union Street but they probably wont change that.

Q20 serving 14th Ave seems like providing a lot of service for a little used corridor versus 20th Ave...but that's just me.

Yeah it just seems like they need to add in an additional authentication step that verifies that you have a valid account linked to a particular card and then another type for customer support to view all transactions. Doesn't seem like rocket science but it will probably take a while for them to rebuild since it wasn't originally specced out and will need to go through many levels of testing and validation before being rolled out again. I don't expect to see it back till the end of next year if I was a betting person.

How typical is it for buses to randomly start their route mid-run just because they are late? Reason I ask is because I was waiting for the Q34 in Whitestone with no signs of it showing up. Only to see on BusTime that a bus started its run several stops away closer to CP depot heading south to Jamaica. So it seems like the bus ran on time and made service while it missed a bunch of stops from the northern terminus to where it ended up starting it's run.

I just noticed that too, which is very unfortunate because it's the only way for me to know if I've been overcharged or not for a bad tap. I do hope they restore it soon. I wonder if this has to do with that security issue they noticed a while back.

Article about OMNY on the AirTrain. Weird only a few turnstiles will get it for now: https://www.amny.com/transit/omny-finally-installed-jfk-airtrain/

Another article about OMNY with tidbits from the board meeting yesterday: https://www.amny.com/transit/omny-use-nyc-gentrified-neighborhoods/ The more interesting bits are about the lack of adoption among reduced-fare, students, bus riders, and lower income areas, since the barriers to entry are relatively high now. Doesn't help OMNY is shooting themselves in the foot with a slow physical card roll out and lack of public awareness. It's not surprise that most of the uptake is from folks who use the subway as their main mode of transport and don't rely on transfers.

Not a single machine has been installed yet, missing their planned summer deadline. But they apparently plan to install some this week so I guess it's technically still summer? https://nypost.com/2023/09/18/more-omny-delays-as-new-mta-vending-machines-are-months-late/

It also acts as a school bus at the northern end bringing kids to and from the schools by Memorial Field. If you look at the trackers during around 8am and 2:30pm, the buses are packed with students.

Pretty bad start for the new pick today. My AM bus suddenly decided to stop at local bus stops and actually pick up people (strange sight) and my PM bus driver got lost and end up taking the 20th Avenue exit, requiring a backtrack all the way to Linden Place. Definitely some greenhorns running around today.

This may have been discussed previously but why has CP depot been running a few NYCTB 4xxx Orion VII NG buses lately? They normally only have the New Flyer C40LFs.

Not surprised that there will be no student OMNY cards till next year. https://www.amny.com/news/ask-the-mta-u-s-open-service-ada-improvements-and-student-metrocards/ Q: Will the student MetroCard program be incorporated into the OMNY system? Shawnda W., Longwood A: Students will be able to tap into the system next year. We are working with our partners at the NYC Department of Education to finish testing and planning. – Jessica Lazarus, Senior Director, Commercial Initiatives