TomaszSBklyn

According to : https://ppiaf.org/sites/ppiaf.org/files/documents/toolkits/UrbanBusToolkit/assets/3/3.1/35(vii)b.html A bus depot "is a transport system’s operating base. It provides parking accommodation, servicing and maintenance facilities for vehicles, an administrative function, and facilities for staff. A fully enclosed depot is sometimes referred to as a garage". All other MTA Bus and NYCT depots do have servicing facilities, although as I understand not all types of servicing and maintenance is available at all depots, hence the existence of specialized shops such as Zerega Avenue CMF. Therefore, one would be hard-pressed to call Mermaid, I mean Meredith Avenue a "depot". A "storage for buses" or perhaps a glorified parking lot (with a valet perhaps?) seems a more appropriate term to describe the facility.

Not to mention the fact, that Transsee is totally helpless when trying to locate any bus suffering from the Wonky Tracker Syndrome.

Welcome back.

Yes.

Thanks for the clarification. I kind of suspected that, but was not completely sure.

The timing of retirement does not seem to make much sense, at least to an outsider to the MTA, yet the taxpayer like myself. For example, the MCI flipdots long time ago removed from depots other that CP served for years until recently. Many of them stayed even longer due to delays in delivery of the Prevost units caused by the pandemic. Similarly, the 2004-2006 MCI CLs are limited to a few depots, but all of a sudden are transferred back to CAS, since there is a need for them, and they seem good enough for the job. The Orions are retired en masse from the NYCT depots, but are holding fine for now in the MTA bus depots. Is it the case that the MTA bus gets the best older buses and the NYCT keeps the worst ones? Not that I know of. The only logical explanation is that buses are retired when the new replacement units come, otherwise they are kept pretty much for as long as needed. Does that make economic sense? I would argue not always, but this may be a topic for another discussion.

Thanks great news. I wish more retired buses were preserved as well.

4 days in a shop does not seem like a long time. I have seen longer periods of inactivity time, at least based on information widely available. It would make sense for the MTA or NYCT to announce retirements of their fleet, so that the public can be informed.

While I am not a fan of those at all, perhaps it may be a good idea to implement drones to patrol bus lanes and bus stops. People park wherever they feel like and drive with total disregard to rules and safety and bus lanes and bus stops are no exceptions.

The B6 buses are overcrowded and could use bigger vehicles. However, this may be difficult to implement, considering that the B6 runs through areas that are nightmare to drive through, even for for a driver of a compact car (e.g. Midwood section along Ave J and Brooklyn College). Places infamous not only for heavy traffic but for large number of double parked cars that, as I imagine, makes it very difficult to drive a large vehicle though. I can imagine driving an artic through these places will be exponentially harder. Even now, at the B1 route where the UP artics are common, there is a stretch of route below the elevated D-Line running along the 86th Street between New Utrecht and Stilwell. In my humble opinion any BO who needs to drive an artic through this stretch should be paid double time while there.

I am confused. So the only type of information that belongs to this post is the type: "XXXX (bus number) from Depot A to Depot B"? What about historical information relevant to transfers in general? How is that a "nonsensical drivel"?

Thanks. It is good to know that these issues are limited to a few new units, but all or most of them are pulled out of service as a precaution. Somehow I got an impression that new problems are widespread. Speaking about the R179s, I relied on news coverage, where the new subway cars were simply described as "lemons". Apparently big overstatement, but many news presenters and writers or anchors like big and oversimplified words as they perhaps improve ratings. I read about the Grumman Flxible 870 disaster in NYC Transit decades ago. From what I was reading problems with this particular fleet looked like way bigger and more dangerous than the issues with the most recent Novas and Prevosts. But from what I read, even these Grummans were rebuild and successfully used by other transit agencies.

Thanks for your response. It looks like buying second hand, not too old of course (preowned certified) may be a way to go if one wants more reliability. From my experience, not with vehicles but computers, I have seen many hot and brand new systems have issues that get fixed with firmware and drivers updates. I wish one could apply the same strategies to deal with the "teething issues" on buses and subways.

Forgive me, but your response seems to defy common sense. Why would something "brand new, emphasis on brand new" develop problems serious enough to warrant pulling it OOS? Minor issues, I could understand. But big ones that can potentially result in injuries. In my humble opinion anything that is safety related should have been thoroughly and exhaustively tested by the manufacturer before sending it to the client/customer.

In response to the "AirTrain" topic posted by multiple members in multiple discussions, let me bring the latest from the NYT (Oct. 12, 2021, 9:05 p.m. ET). https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/12/nyregion/laguardia-airport-airtrain.html