Uncle Floyd Fan

None of this would be an issue if the MTA still had the old scroll signs. The DOT franchise lines had them until roughly 2000. The best ones were for NYBS "Manhattan Express" and for Command's "Manhattan All Stops". No codes for that. /s/

While the QM6 and X68 appear close to each other at some points along their respective routes (like at Springfield Blvd and then at Winchester Blvd), it seems the MTA might've had different service areas and/or patrons in mind. Here's how I see it: The QM6 is being run overnight to serve (in part) the following: 1 - LIJ Hosp on Lakeville Road 2 - Creedmoor near Union Tpke 3 - Queens Hosp Center on 164th St 4 - FDNY EMS Station 50 near Parsons Blvd (an EMT talked to the NY Post about the overload they've experienced due to COVID-19) 5 - NY Presbyterian Hosp / Queens (NYP/Q) at Main St and Booth Mem. Ave. (via a Q44-SBS transfer) 6 - All QM-18 / Queens Blvd Subway stops (including 67th Ave near LIJ - Forest Hills Hosp) 7 - NYU Langone (in normal times I've seen quite a few nurses in dark green uniforms use the Union Tpke QM's to get to work; they all seem to depart at 34th and 3rd) (As a side note, I'm kind of surprised the QM6 is actually going onto the NST property in the middle of the night . . . at least that's what I thought BusTime showed. I'm sure the NST security are keeping an extra eye on the buses during these hours.) The X68 appears to be serving (in part) the following: 1 - Folks who would normally use the F Train along Hillside Ave, or for that matter those who would walk north from the E Train stations seeking transit service into Manhattan 2 - Creedmoor near Hillside Ave 3 - Bellvue Hosp or the VA Hosp near 23rd St. 4 - Some first responders who live just across the boarder in Nassau County in the New Hyde Park area (though this can be said of the QM6, too) I agree that the QM2 should ideally have overnight service as follows (in addition to the QM6 and X68 overnight services): 1 - The QM2 should run via Mitchell-Linden as it does on weekends and holidays (no need to have the QM20 if the QM2 is serving Mitchell-Linden) 2 - The QM2 should then make a provisional stop at Linden Place and 31st Road instead of the normal stop at Linden Pl and the Whitestone Expressway. 3 - The QM2 should then make a provisional stop on Northern Blvd at Main St so as to serve those who would normally use the 7 Train ( I believe this used to be a QM3 stop back in the QSC days). Ideally all of the overnight service is supposed to be provisional until things get back to normal. The point when things return to normal is anyones guess.

Sat at the same table with Jim Rockaway and also spoke to a few MTA rep's (including Lucille Songhai) in Kew Gardens. I handed them my talking points about saving the good service we presently have on the QM5/6. It was a good crowd. I might go to the Friday rally if timing permits. Pics from the Queens Bus Redesign Meeting in Kew Gardens (if you're seeing this, thanks Jim!). https://mobile.twitter.com/JimRockaway/status/1222361574809251841

Same here!

@Via Garibaldi 8 - I used the phrase relatively in comparing the concerns that some in NE Queens have vs other sections of Queens (some parts of Queens have been a little more vocal than others). I was also just agreeing with an another commenter on this forum. There is no need to say "Clearly you don’t read any of the local newspapers." I read all the articles where you've been quoted. This is not an attempt to throw shade at your groups. I think you and your groups do great work. This also NOT an attempt to upstage anything you've done thus far. All I'm trying to do is save the bus service in my neighborhood. I hope my words do not get taken out of context. I think we have the same basic goal...saving express bus service.

edit...... - FACT: The current QM6 Saturday bus at 6:00 pm generally picks up about 15-20 passengers between North Shore Towers / LIJ North Shore Hospital and Main Street in Kew Gardens Hills. I'm working on the Word doc so it is 'media ready' (or roadshow) shape.

I agree that NE Queens has been relatively quiet about the changes. I used to take the Clearview (QM2A / QM20) back in the day. It always had good ridership. It seems the MTA (and the writer of the article that is at the top of this thread) are not aware of the disappointments some have with the proposed service changes. IMO, the frequency-cutting is the worst of it. I'm ok with walking (to a point....10-15 max for a daily trip), but I don't want to wait 20+ min for a bus where I currently wait 10 (or having to wait 15 when I currently wait 7). I intend to go to the Outreach Meeting in Kew Gardens (Boro Hall on Queens Blvd) on Jan. 28th Tues at 6pm. I'm thinking of printing out a few papers and handing them to any MTA officials or media members I may encounter. I view this as handing a business card to a prospective client/manager during an elevator pitch. Whether it works is another story, but something must be said to let the MTA and the media know that these service cuts (...and these are service cuts) are unacceptable. The main points (as I see them in my area): The current service proposals for the QMT165 (QM5) and QMT167 (QM6) are unacceptable. - FACT: The current QM5 and QM6 bus routes get many weekday riders in the AM and PM rush hours. Many of the AM riders board well east of 188th St. - FACT: The current QM5 weekday bus at 5:10 am usually has at least 20 riders onboard before it gets to 188th Street. The proposed service on the QMT165 will not have the early bus service many riders need to get to work to make other connections to other forms of transit. - FACT: The current QM5 Saturday bus at 6:30 am usually has at least 20 riders onboard before it gets to 188th Street. - FACT: The current QM6 Saturday bus at 6:00 pm generally picks up about 15-20 passengers between North Shore Towers / LIJ North Shore Hospital. This bus service, and other bus trips operated on the QM6, are vital to employees/residents of North Shore Towers, relatives visiting patients at LIJ, employees at LIJ, and also serves to transport people to/from St. Johns University during weekend events. A necessary requirement for ALL Union Tpke bus services: 1) Keep the same hours of service and relative headways intact for the QMT165 (QM5) and QMT167 (QM6) as many people rely on these services. These buses are not mere means of convenience; they are essential to those who rely on them (senior citizens, people with mobility issues, etc). 2) Keep the same headways for the QT32 similar to the current Q46. More stops should be added to the QT32 at night and on weekends to allow for seamless bus transfers intersecting bus lines when buses tend to run less frequently. This is a small part of things I'm sure we all want, I (and presumably many of us) need to start somewhere. Good luck to us all with this redesign.

I'd think they're aware. The leader of ATU-1056 in Bayside spoke of his concerns in this article: https://www.qchron.com/editions/central/bus-drivers-union-has-redesign-concerns/article_d1b01ede-3979-11ea-bbf6-cbe5c1d8a77a.html An open house in Oct 2019 was held right in the union hall: https://qns.com/story/2019/10/11/eastern-queens-residents-provide-input-on-how-to-modernize-buses-at-oakland-gardens-meeting/ The bigger question is how would the union and commuters fight the pending reduction in service (through re-design) as Cuomo is the DNC governor? Would the GOP put someone up as a transit-friendly candidate? Would a faction on the left develop to fight this? All of this seems unlikely. The best we can probably do is write to our elected officials and 'hope for the best'.

Not certain if anyone posted this, yet (sorry if it's a duplicate post)... https://www.wnyc.org/story/how-one-wheelchair-user-conquers-sometimes-accessible-nyc-transit-system (audio included) https://gothamist.com/news/wheelchair-subway-accessible-nyc-transit-system-mta (text and photos) The article/audio from January 23, 2020 outlines the difficulties a wheelchair-bound passenger may have navigating the NYC subway system. In the links above, a young woman describes her commute from Kew Gardens to LIC (and sometimes into NYC) via subway. Occasionally, she'll need to use the buses to backtrack when an elevator is out of order at a given station. This is very inconvenient for her and other mobility impaired travelers (we should thank God for the ...knock on wood... good health we have). I hope the MTA is aware of the plight that some commuters face due to inaccessible transit stations. I also hope the MTA is aware of how having newly designed bus routes terminate at inaccessible subway stations can further complicate an already difficult trip to/from work/school/medical/leisure/other (i.e. places we all go to in our lives) for those with mobility issues. Maybe some lawsuits based on legitimate ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) concerns to the MTA/NY State would be an impetus to fix the faulty elevators in stations that already have them, add elevators to stations which are not ADA compliant, and re-route buses only to stations with (working) ADA amenities.

I think you might be mixing up the numbers with Pennsylvania. https://ballotpedia.org/Counties_in_Pennsylvania Local government in Pennsylvania consists of: Counties: There are 67 Counties. 7 operate under home rule charters. They are Allegheny, Delaware, Erie, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, and Northampton. For NYS - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_counties_in_New_York

Quoting directly from the NY Post (emphasis is mine) "No one is irreplaceable or should be — and Byford is not the only person in the world who understands how global subways are supposed to work. The question is: Since it’s obvious that he ran away from dysfunction under Cuomo, will any other global experts take a chance in Gotham?" Here's how I see things taking place: A true expert who has instant name recognition within mass transit rebuilds / value-added reorgs might think twice before seeking to work with Cuomo and MTA Chair Pat Foye. Many might simply pass on the chance and seek to work in a less stressful environment. As for filling the spot, that'll be relatively easy. Foye will probably poach a consultant-type from McKinsey, Alix, Boston Consulting, Accenture, etc. In turn, the older consultant will poach 2 junior consultants with the promise of good career exposure. The younger consultants will then say to themselves, "uh oh, what do we do now?".....the older consultant / friend of Foye will say "start with the run-book" (the 400+ page Queens Bus Redesign). They'll make a few changes where people complained most (ie - the QM6 gets left alone, the Q44 has late night service 7 days a week, the Q53 is somehow preserved as is, but with less service), implement the plan, claim success, update their LinkedIn page as "Senior Transit Engineer Manager", and then move on to the next one (usually back to one of the consulting houses). TL;DR - No true experts will join, but friends of Cuomo and Foye will bring their friends and their work kids onboard for resume burnishing.

Sad to see Andy Byford resign. I don't blame him, though. W/o regard to ones political beliefs, I could see it being difficult to work with Andy Cuomo, unless he really likes him/her. Who knows, maybe Cuomo will appoint a friend of a friend from Alix Partners (the McKinsey-like outfit that finds efficiency through 'reorganizations') to take Byford's place. Shame. As for the bus network redesigns, I could see some minor tweeks to the redesign to give the appearance of caring, but whoever Cuomo picks will most likely operate off of what is already in the 400+ page Queens Redesign booklet. It's awfully hard to start from scratch during a transition (from a designer's p.o.v.).

With Byford gone, the Queens Bus Redesign lacking in many areas, as well as a tendency for decriminalization of certain activities by some of the DA's, is it possible that the gray market shuttle vans (and maybe the dollar cabs) will return to areas of Queens that haven't seen them in years? I'm thinking of the beat-up Chevy's that used to ply the Q65A [Q64] on Jewel Ave. and Kissena Blvd picking up passengers. This was before the metrocard, but still, when one has to get somewhere w/o delay, two dollars is not much to ask....just look at the vans in Hudson County [I know - they have their issues, but they're authorized to have stands at the Port Authority-owned terminals in NYC (PABT Gate 51) and Jersey City (PATH JSQ)]. Who knows, I see many buses with MASS plates parked near Cunningham Park, Kissena Park by the LIE, etc - maybe those will become ad hoc express buses if the service levels (headways) aren't maintained at under 10 min during the rush hour. People will usually look to find ways to adapt.

This is good news.....NST is an active / persuasive voice in politics within NE Queens. Hopefully the QM6 will remain intact as it is. I was surprised the bus service was drastically reduced within the redesign, given that it serves NST, LIJ Hosp, St. Johns Univ. and it's a straight shot down Union Tpke. It seems US House Rep Tom Suozzi has already written to Andy Byford (and will hopefully liaise with Cuomo et al....anyone really who could stem the cuts). - - As for the open houses, that's good news, too. According to info on https://new.mta.info/queensbusredesign, the additional open houses will be held at: Korean Community Services - 203-05 32nd Ave - Bayside, NY 11361 on Feb. 20, 2020 (Thursday) from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. Cross Island YMCA - 238-10 Hillside Avenue - Bellerose, NY 11426 on Feb. 27, 2020 (Thursday) from 7:00 to 8:30 PM.

I also didn't see anything on bustime. This Google streetview from Aug 2018 shows the actual stop. https://www.google.com/maps/@40.732829,-73.7396195,3a,15y,277.95h,94.69t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sxirf05sbzoVdg-hFw3jfYg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en With that said, I can't say for sure if the Q1 is used a tripper from Martin Van Buren HS.