aemoreira81

After Electric Zoo is over, Hale should not need any LFS buses anymore, or maybe by next week. Their original allotment for the M15 SBS was 53 buses (1233-1285). When will 6166-6182 be delivered though?

I know that this is looking a bit down the line, but would the MTA ever consider articulation joint replacements at mid-life rehab to extend the life of the current articulated bus fleet to 17-18 years? Keep in mind that bus 1200 is already 10 years old. (The XN60 fleet is likely tank-limited to 20 years, and so that should take an XN60 to close to tank expiration.)

1000-1015 and 1072 are SBS livery. I doubt they'll be taken off SBS duty. But why would Gleason get XD60s?

S40/90: is the 30 minute frequency for each branch (15 on the combined sector)? Even though Richmond Terrace is mostly industrial, that route does carry a fair amount of traffic, especially to Mariners' Harbor, as an alternative to the much slower S46. I would actually propose splitting the service: 1. Matrix Park (some trips serving The Teleport before Matrix Park), numbered S40. These trips would also serve Arlington via Holland Avenue and Arlington Place. 2. Broad Street-Elizabeth NJT, numbered S41. S42: I actually like this plan as it makes the route useful, it brings people to where they want, it would also provide adequate local bus service to the Todt Hill Houses, and it means that Seaview Hospital is served with a route that's not just network coverage. S44: a bit torn with this one, but I'm somewhat okay with this as it provides a daily connection with HBLR...BUT you have the problem of needing a route serving Castleton and further east that runs to the Staten Island Mall. I would leave this alone. S46: I would terminate this route at Goethals Homes (Goethals Road before Western Avenue). With your S40 proposal, and how I propose rerouting the S40 down South Avenue all the way, you need something serving that. I would have that served every 30 minutes weekdays and hourly on weekends, with all other trips terminating at Forest and South. The S40 would replace it to West Shore Plaza and The Teleport, as the S46's market is the dense residential areas in West New Brighton, Elm Park, and Mariners' Harbor. In running time, the S46 is blocked for nearly 15 minutes more than the S40 between St. George and Mariners' Harbor. I'm actually surprised you chose to leave this as it is. S48: local route works, but the route to The Mills at Jersey Gardens does not with the speed cap on the local bus fleet, unless contracted. That would have to be a premium express bus service that also serves EWR, and that should likely start at Eltingville Transit Center instead. (I also object to the S98 for the same reason.) Additionally, to Jersey Gardens and EWR, hourly service would work with a long span of service. I would leave this as is, maybe even rerouting it to West Shore and Matrix Park along with the S40. S51/81: agree with leaving as is. S52: that plan can work if you reroute the S53. S53/83/93: disagree on the S53 local routing in your proposal. With the Department of Labor no longer present by Hylan and Clove, I would instead reroute the S53 near its current routing, but to serve the South Beach Houses. Instead of turning onto Sand Lane, I'd have the local S53 continue along McClean (becoming Reid) and then turning back to Clove Road. As for rush hour S83 service, I would propose that while it runs to Port Richmond, local service starts and ends at the Staten Island Zoo. As for the S93, it badly needs Saturday service, but not Sunday service, from about 7 AM to 5 PM, along with two extra trips on weeknights departing CSI at 9:52 PM and 10:08 PM (returning to Staten Island as S53 buses) to accommodate the late evening classes ending around 9:55 PM. Also, your proposed service plan is actually less frequent than the current S93 weekday plan (where buses are scheduled at no worse than 12 minute headways). S54: I don't see any reason why it should exist in this form. Todt Hill, with a median income of $120,000, does not need a bus route, and before there, it's too close to the S42 route you propose, which is actually useful, without even coming close to Petrides. I'd actually reroute something else for your Amboy Road service. S55: Good idea, but also requires the MTA to reconsider its 40/45 mph local bus speed cap, or that will not be fast enough on the Outerbridge Crossing, especially on the return trip, unless service is contracted. I also would say that only weekday service is needed, as the connecting opportunities are not nearly as good as in Elizabeth. The only buses that serves Perth Amboy on Sundays as it is are the 116 to Port Authority and the 815 from New Brunswick to Woodbridge Center (weekday service is on the 48, 116, 813, 815, and 817). S56: No bus can enter CSI from the Forest Hill Road gate...it's way too tight a turn. I would leave this as is, as weekday-only network coverage, but also serving Staten Island University Hospital South (SIUHS). S57: With your S42 proposal being very adequate, this probably should be reduced to weekdays only, 6 AM to 9 PM (Port Richmond departure)...with no weekend service (the S42 providing coverage). S58: I would not implement this. Service to South Beach can be handled by a rerouted S53, and Petrides can be served (via Renwick and Little Clove) by a restructured S66. That route is like a jack of all trades, but a master of none. (This route is also out of violation with the numbering scheme as S5x is north-south crosstown.) S59/S89: Restructure so that the S59 ends at all times at the end of Richmond Avenue. S89 should instead be SI University Hospital South to 8th Street HBLR, full-time...you only need to get the bus to the HBLR. New stops on the S89 at Richmond and Signs, and Hylan and Arden, Huguenot, Luten, Seguine, and SIUHS. S61/91: agree with leaving as is. S62/92: agree with leaving as is mostly, but some weekday trips should go to The Teleport as was once the case. S66/7: I would have this as one uniform route, except through Graniteville and Bulls Head (S66A via Graniteville and S66B via Bulls Head). Both should operate via Petrides and all of Howard. The S66A would end in Graniteville at the Regal Cinemas, and the S66B would end in Travis, operating in Bulls Head via Arlene Street and Signs Road. I would propose this for daily on the S66A and weekdays only for the S66B. Your plans in the South Shore are a mess though. I would instead propose this instead: S73 (weekdays and Saturdays only): from New Dorp (where the S57 terminates) via Amboy Road to Great Kills, then via Giffords Lane to Arthur Kill, then Arthur Kill (and ETC) to Rossville Avenue, serving Rossville and then the sparse remainder of Arthur Kill to Bricktown Mall. S74 (full-time): Regular to Woodrow Road, then via Woodrow Road, Rossville Avenue, Correll Avenue, Bloomingdale Road, Sharrotts Road, and Veterans Road West, via Bricktown Mall, to Tottenville. As for the S78, I'd operate it with 3 branches: S75: to Arden Heights via Huguenot Avenue: weekdays only (service span may be too long) S78 short-turn ending at SIUHS: all times, no worse than 30 minute headways S78 to Bricktown Mall: full route, but not all times...with 60-minute headways on weekends and 30 on weekdays (that area is a lot of nothing between Prince's Bay and Tottenville). Any trips to New Jersey, except for the S89, should be contracted, with a top-up order of LFS or XD40 buses leased to the contractor (preferably a New Jersey-based contractor, hopefully Academy) rather than by the MTA itself, as these buses need to be wide-open.

Why I disagree with that is that: What serves Father Capodanno and Midland Beach local traffic that goes anywhere useful? Also, only St. George, Dongan Hills, Great Kills, Arthur Kill, and Tottenville are wheelchair accessible, and in an odd twist, bus service is what killed much of the Staten Island Railway's ridership postwar, causing the discontinuation of service to South Beach and the North Shore line. Also, crosstown does not really work in Staten Island; the major ridership generators in Staten Island are St. George Ferry Terminal, West Shore Plaza, Staten Island Mall, Eltingville Transit Center, and the College of Staten Island...an example of the last one is: without CSI, the S66 would likely still be a 24/7 route as it was before CSI moved from where Petrides K-12 is now (in Sunnyside) to the site of the former Willowbrook State School, and the S62 would be a shuttle. The only reason why the S57 is daily service (it has the lowest ridership citywide of any 7-day route) is to serve Seaview Hospital. There is a reason why transit is heavily concentrated along the older northern part of Staten Island and Hylan Boulevard (Southfield Avenue) corridors. I really would like to see an old B&O Staten Island timetable.

After being reported as scrap here, 6670 was tracked in service. It's not dead yet.

As I see it, a major reason why SI is car-centric is because a lot of its development is very new---only dating back to the 1960s, 1970s, and later. Before the Verrazano Bridge was built, the only permanent connections were via New Jersey, which is why historically it was the North Shore that was built up and along the SIR. Before the Verrazano was built, much of the South Shore and central Staten Island was undeveloped, especially beyond New Dorp. (Staten Island Mall was built on previously undeveloped land.) It would be really interesting to see what the service levels were like on routes like the R4 (now S59 and part of the S54), R103 (now S78 and S79), and R108/R113. Keep in mind that the R115 was a rush-hour circulator for Tottenville High School at the time, and the S66 (then R6) was the full-time full-length Victory Boulevard route, with the R112 (now S62) running only from Castleton Corners to Travis, except during rush hours and Saturdays (with special Saturday service to what was then Willowbrook State School, now CSI). When the Staten Island Expressway (working name during construction: Clove Lakes Expressway) was being built, what little development there was beyond Clove Road was largely rural. Remember, Staten Island only has a population of about 0.48 million...in a city of 8.55 million. I know it's unpopular to say, but there are some parts of Staten Island on the South Shore where local bus service every hour would not be overkill. To that end, one proposal I would make is: S55. S59 and S78 provide direct service to Staten Island University Hospital South (on Seguine Avenue), via a loop. S59 and S78, both directions: turn off at Seguine, loop around via Seguine, Kingsland, Trenton, and Memo back to Seguine before returning to Hylan. S55 to Rossville: turn left at Seguine instead of right, then back north along Seguine. S55 to SI Mall: continue on Seguine before going east on Hylan. One new stop would be established: at the hospital's front door (parking space loss would be negligible as most parking is at adjacent car parks). To that end, however, I would also propose cutting S78 evening service to Tottenville (after 7 PM) and weekend service (except 10 AM to 6 PM) to hourly, with other trips ending at SI University Hospital South. I would also have to seriously ask if at this time, the S74 warrants a restructuring west of Rossville.

3800-3959 have lead acid batteries too. 3960-4278 and 4330-4702 have Li+ batteries, but those batteries are made by a Chinese company (Wanxiang's A123 Systems)...and that could be affected by tariffs. Then again, a different supplier could be found not affected by tariffs.

Hybrid batteries generally last only 7-8 years. I have to wonder if the reason for accelerated retirement is that the MTA doesn't want to pay for replacement lead acid batteries (although four Li+ buses have been retired---6401-2, 6468, and 6485). I have to wonder if hybrids older than 3960 will be retired before age 15.

And remember---MTA stands for Money Thrown Away! Another great example...when bus operators were laid off in the budget crisis in 2010, the MTA could simply have furloughed drivers and recalled them as other drivers retired or were let go.

That might be bad dispatching as I see it. A good dispatcher would put one of them in place, rather than telling them all to "keep going".

Penny-wise, pound foolish! More money would be saved with articulated buses (on which the MTA is going all-in to grow that fleet in Brooklyn at long last) to reduce drivers via attrition.

On the B14 of all routes! This was not long after BusTime expanded citywide. Separately, discounting the Orion 7 CNGs (which were life-limited by their tanks---the last ones were scrapped right as their tanks expired)...I notice that the lifespan of the Orion buses the MTA has gotten isn't nearly as long as that of other rigids...especially with the 6365-6489 batch completely gone and the 6490-6689 batch on its way out after just 14-15 years---some likely before their next battery replacements are due. (This while the 1996 Nova batch went 22+ years for some units and the 1999 Novas went 20+ years for many.) The 1995-1996 batch of Orions were scrapped after just 13-14 years as well, and the last batch (the 6000-6349 batch) after 15-16 years. If there wasn't such a push to Buy New York, might the MTA have considered New Flyer instead? (I recall that one of those orders was actually placed as a sole-source procurement which was laughable.)

That might make sense if the MTA didn't cap the local bus fleet at 40 mph (45 for the blue-and-yellow LFS rigids). That's the problem. That would be pretty slow for a long distance on the Grand Central. Queens and the Bronx were the first places where the 40 mph cap was introduced.

With St. John's University in the middle of that nonstop section of what was then the Q44A (now Q46)...what about this service pattern on weekdays only to actually do it? Q45 (currently Q46 Local): Union Turnpike to Springfield Boulevard local, with half of trips continuing on to Glen Oaks. Q46 to LIJ, one pickup at Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike , then nonstop to Utopia Parkway via the Grand Central. First stop at the main gate to St. John's University (near the law school tower), then Union and Utopia, 188 Street, Francis Lewis Boulevard, Bell Boulevard, Springfield Boulevard, and then all stops to LIJ? Buses would be signed as: SJU First Stop Q46 to Kew Gardens: all stops to Springfield Boulevard, then Bell Boulevard, Francis Lewis Boulevard, 188 Street, Utopia by SJU Gate 1, and then nonstop to Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike only. Evenings after 9 PM, and weekends, the Q46 would operate only via Union Turnpike. You cannot miss St. John's University...and I would also argue that the Q46 should be the candidate for articulated buses out of QV...with two major ridership generators, St. John's University and North Shore-LIJ, along with perhaps one of the largest reverse commutes in the city on the local bus network. That said, that illustration is SO bad, but the point exists today...the Q46 might be one of the few routes where it's necessary to segregate longer riders from shorter riders. When MSBA existed, the N5 served that purpose for Green Acres, but Green Acres is more a shopping destination than a work destination. BTW, why that express Q44A made a stop at 149 Street? Because the Q44 previously ran via 150 Street. The nonstop to Springfield would be unwieldy today because the local fleet is capped at 40 mph (45 mph for the blue-yellow LFS rigids).

There are no turns from Main Street allowed at Roosevelt Avenue. That turn would have to be off of Bowne Street. But otherwise, I love that plan, as it finally solves the issue of having a bus route serve The Shops at Skyview that goes through Flushing. I would also argue that perhaps the Q12, once converted to articulated service, and Q27 should terminate either at Skyview or at the front door to Stengel. (The advantage of terminating at Skyview is avoiding a narrow two-way 39 Avenue on relay.) This is also why the Q48 was shifted at the Flushing end, to avoid the two-way part of 39 Avenue. There are some streets down which a bus should not be run.

Ironically, my post was originally only going to be on the Q27, but then I looked at Google Maps (satellite) to see how wide Bowne Street is (or isn't) between Franklin and 45 and added that to my post. The Q17 piece was an addendum as I considered traffic in that area...seeing a need to extend the short turns to serve the entirety of the complex...perhaps I should have also titled it as a Q27 issue as well, as I agree that the Q17 south of Fresh Meadows is a bit overserved. The question is how to best serve it.

In Flushing, the Q27 uses Holly Avenue and is a pretty high frequency route. However, that street isn't really conducive to two-way traffic, and elsewhere, where possible, the MTA has routed buses off of narrow streets onto wider streets (such as the Q10 Local from 131 Street onto 130 Street in Ozone Park). The MTA likely might have considered the same for the Q40, but the wider 143 Street dead-ends before Rockaway Boulevard, and completing it to Rockaway Boulevard would require the DOT to condemn property between 120 Avenue and Rockaway Boulevard. Likewise, the Q65 uses the ultra-narrow Bowne Street, which is also not really suitable for two-way traffic between Franklin Avenue and 45 Avenue (south of 45 Avenue, Bowne is a one-way street). Thus, I would propose the following changes: 1. A route swap between the Q26 and Q27 through Flushing, given that even without the Q27, Kissena Boulevard is already well-served (north of Holly Avenue) with the Q17, Q25, and (weekdays only) Q34. The Q26 would assume the Q27 segment west of Parsons. 2. The Q65 would not turn off Sanford onto Bowne, instead operating along Sanford to Parsons Boulevard. 3. Service on the Q17 short-turn segments would be increased, and the last stop on short turns shifted downward to 69 Avenue and 188 Street. 4. To facilitate these short turns, the Q17 stop would be moved to the current stops of the Q25/34 and Q65, since some short-turns would be dispatched from Stengel, allowing for a bus starting from Stengel to make a right turn onto Main from Roosevelt. The Q25/34 southbound stop would move to the far side of Main and 39 (current Q27 stop), while the Q65 stop would take the near side of Main and Roosevelt (current Q17 stop). The Q17 would take the stop between Roosevelt and 41, with the Q26 sharing the stop. 5. As for the Q27, it would take the current Q26 stop, with the Q12 stop being moved back and lengthened. Advantages: the Q65 and Q27 would be sped up by not being bogged down by double-parked cars or contraflow traffic (Q27 on Holly, Q65 on Bowne). The Q26 being sacrificed on Holly is needed because of the Gold City Supermarket at Holly and Kissena, and riders along the western part of the historic Rocky Hill Road (which consists of present-day 46 Avenue to Utopia, Hollis Court Boulevard to 47 Avenue, 47 Avenue to Francis Lewis, that short street still named it, 48 Avenue to Luke Place, all of Luke Place, 56 Avenue from Luke to Springfield, Springfield to Braddock, and all of Braddock) that would shop at Gold City and need that link. Also, Flushing Hospital gets more service.

The Q27's problem is Queensborough Commmunity College. It would be a tight turn inside the bus stop space, plus I'm not sure a bus could fully align into the stop.

Right now, SIR is suspended west of Huguenot, possibly because of flooding. Shuttle bus service is serving beyond Huguenot.

Just say it went Cheech and Chong...up in smoke!

I read the title in a Spongebob voice and then thought: wanna see me do it again? More seriously though, that bus will need a deep cleaning, and that may be salt water. A few years ago, a SEPTA bus was completely flooded to its roof, but the Schuylkill River is fresh water, and the bus was repaired (although the powertrain had to be replaced). The Kill Van Kull is salt water.

Based on how narrow the streets are, I can't see how a 40-foot bus can negotiate those streets. Also, I can't see how this works at the pay scale of MTA drivers. A paratransit contractor or school bus company could make it work though. That said, how dire are MTA finances that this is being considered?

One would only need to paint blue and yellow...and turquoise. Everything else is shrink wrap or decals. Speaking of new buses though---8583 is missing a large panel on the door side.

I'm not laughing at you...I'm laughing at the MTA's credibility.