Cait Sith

I don't agree with any of this at all, especially when you consider how incredibly reliable the RTS fleet actually was. Also, the fleet age at Jamaica Depot prior to the next gen order was balanced, so they didn't need any new buses at the time especially when they had a solid fleet ranging from 1996 to 1999. Other depots in Brooklyn and Queens had buses from 1991 up to 1996 still in service, so they were the priority. Jamaica was fine based on fleet age alone. You can make the same argument for Ulmer Park, except they rejected their share of the next gen order and then eventually got dumped with the oldest of the 1996 RTSs. Jamaica also has a high spare factor, so they can afford to lose some buses.

PATH isn't operated like a subway....it's operated like a railroad. Their headways have always been like this even before COVID. 33rd has southern exits that's mainly used during the during the day and rush hours. The northern exits are used more due to the subway connection and the closer proximity to Penn Station. Typical fan logic. PATH has been operating with one single fleet since 2009, and they've had very little to no issues with the PA-5 fleet. PATH in general has never had catastrophic fleet failures like the NYC Subway, and you fans need to stop making that kind of comparisons. Even if PATH had issues with some of their trains, they have a plethora of spare trains available. Having one single fleet reduces costs in maintenance and makes the systemwide fleet more flexible, especially since PATH doesn't do 2, 3 or 4 car married sets. They just put cars together in any fashion. That's because there's more tighter curves and switches between Christopher and NJ. From Christopher Street going to NJ, there's several different junctions they go through and meet with other tracks from the Hoboken and JSQ branches. The Uptown Hudson Tubes were built in the late 1800s/early 1900s and was designed as such. WTC to Exchange Place is literally a straight shoot.

237th and 129th is only served by the Q84. The bus stop shelter there is one of the newer ones with the bright lighting from the ads and is on the corner next to a stop sign. It's almost impossible for a bus operator to not see a passenger there. What's being described definitely sounds blatant, especially if the bus was signed up as Not In Service, then turned the corner and changed the sign back to a Q84.

Blame the streets for that. The ride quality of every bus will deteriorate depending on the street conditions, and northern blvd isn't all that smooth.

Doesn't really sound like it.

I'm going to need you to think before you speak, because clearly your responses are on autopilot. You're sitting here telling me not to compare bus types to another when you literally did the same thing in your first response to me. Also, point out where I compared bus models to another bus model, because I clearly didn't. Secondly, just because your New Flyers in Philly are good, doesn't mean New Flyer everywhere are just as good. Every city has their bad batch of buses, our 7090-7437 batch is one of them. Operators and mechanics can attest to how bad these buses can be. Also, where the hell did I mention buses breaking down? Not once in my response did I mention buses breaking down. Buses break down all the time, but you're basically talking to yourself about that because no one else is. Lastly, I don't care if you're from the city or not. The point is that you live in Philadelphia and you're not here on a daily basis to deal with them, so you don't have a single clue how shitty some of these buses are, yet you somehow have a strong opinion of them. Imagine if I did the same thing about your buses, your response would be very similar to mine. And yes, I know better. You clearly don't, because you didn't even read my response properly, which is evident by your autopilot responses and the typical "BuSeS GeT PeOpLe tO point A tO pOiNt B sAfElY" copout statement schitck....which is common sense to virtually everyone. Anyone with common sense knows that. As for the rest of your post. Spectrum signs have been known to have problems, but the point of this discussion had nothing to do with that. Signs are also the least of the problems, as they do not equate to actual performance and overall quality(and they are easily replaceable). Also, 7366-7437 weren't rushed since those were a part of the option order and were built alongside the rest of the buses. The MTA was being wildly cheap with that entire order, especially with how low the contract was at the time of award. If you can compare these with any of the blue diesel Xcelsiors we have, you can clearly tell that they invested more into the blue buses because the difference in quality is very noticeable. Hell, 4810-4899 as a whole is better then 7090-7437.

Again, you don't have single clue what you are talking about. Have you BEEN ON the 7090-7437 batch of New Flyers? They are literal garbage(the Casey Stengel batch being the absolute worst of them). Those are the worst 40fters we have in the fleet. The ride quality is garbage, they rock and sway so much even at minimal speed, the suspensions are garbage to a point where some of them can't take bumps all that well(especially the Casey Stengel batch, again), they're slower than the rest of the Xcelsior fleet, they jerk a lot when braking compared to the rest of the Xcelsiors, the list of complaints goes on. I ride them damn near every single day. I have more of an opinion on them than someone who lives all the way in Philadelphia and thinks they know better and don't deal with them daily. On the topic of New Flyers being trash, 5987-6125 are also trash.....operators(especially the Q44 operators) don't like those buses especially at speed because the transmission throttles the performance at the 4th to 6th gears....operators have to hold the transmission at 3rd gear to get any speed, and that in itself is also dangerous because you can blow the engine like that. 5987-6029 in particular are wearing out much faster than the 5900-series Novas ever did, to the point where they've been running more 4700s on the Q44. The ride quality on those buses have gotten really, really bad. 6126-6286 are the same way, but those are slower because of the HVAC units(but they do ride better than the previous batch). The 8Ks are having parts replaced, but the issue is that it's interfering with the HVAC units. It has nothing to do with how the buses perform or ride in service. The LFS hybrids have been doing fine since the rear door issue. The issue is also being worked on by Nova Bus technicians as well. As someone who lives in this damn city and uses the buses to commute to/from my destinations 6 days a week, I have more of an input about them than you do, especially since you're an outsider looking in.

So we're just gonna sit here and act like anything new isn't supposed to have problems?

They're slow. Ride quality is trash. They rock and sway too much at speed like a boat.

To me, that very, very much depends. Subways it hasn't been as bad, but buses.....it's been a very wishy-washy experience with me as of late. One of the most annoying things that has been happening with me lately is when a farebox f**ks up my metrocard from being read, and it's even more annoying when I have an unlimited and the card is potentially damaged. And coincidentally, this has always started when I board a Q24 or Q56. I don't know what causes it, but I've only had problems with ENY's buses and their fareboxes, which then sometimes leads me to having to swipe a thousand times at the turnstile to get into the subway. I have had a total of six cards since the year started that ended up getting read errors and constant "please swipe again" messages because of some fareboxes.

Just saw 7436 for myself...definitely a Hanover sign. It looks good, but those buses are still garbage.

any images?

It's not there just to be parked. They are getting AC work done.

I want to say after a month or so but I'm not sure. I just apply and forget about it.

No it's not.... What happened with the hybrids were door issues, and it took them much longer than a week to fix. The hybrids never had AC issues. What's happening with the 8Ks are AC and parts replacement issues. Services also haven't been cut. I don't know where you're getting all of this from.

Nope, A/C and parts replacement issues. They're getting some parts replaced, but the problem is that it's interfering with the A/C and locking it out. No rear door issues on the LFSs in general. As for Quill, they only got the XDEs to make service and replace the XDs they sent to Queens.

Failures in service. For example, the R46 fleet had a total of 66 failures in February.

They had no date announced. All that was said was that it'll be released in 2023, no date or month.

Different case, since the Prevost contracts were technically awarded together under the same RFP.

Interesting MDBF stats for the month of February, as March has not been posted just yet. Unfortunately, the old format is no longer posted so a screenshot can't be provided. B Division first. R179s have overtaken the R160s in reliability. R179s shot up in reliability to 327k miles before breakdowns as compared to the 160s 285k miles before breakdowns. The 179s have been going on a consistent uphill trend ever since September 2021, where they were at 145k miles. The R160s have had a rocky 6-8 months with an upwards and downwards trend. The R179s are no longer lemons. R46s are averaging between 48,000 and 50,000 miles before breakdowns, no significant changes. R68s are averaging between 120,000 & 125,000 miles before breakdowns, no significant changes between December 2022 and February 2023. R68As have been plummeting in reliability, from 140k in last September to 101k in February. R143s saw an increase in reliability, from 179k in December to 207k in February. A Division next. R62s reliability peaked at 260k miles in September 2021, but have been going on a downhill trend ever since, hitting its lowest point at 137k miles in January, it's now at 143k miles as of February. R62As have been averaging around 135k-140k miles, showing a steady downhill trend from September 2022, where they were at 152k, but slowly going down to 137k miles as of February. R142s saw a very slight decrease in reliability, from 203k in January to 196k in February. The R142As, surprisingly, shot up in reliability, but are still below the R142s, from 159k miles in December 2022 to 181k miles as of February. Factory built R188s have tanked, peaking at 437k miles in October 2021 down to 176k miles in October 2022, but they've been going on an uphill trend, as the fleet is now at 268k as of February. Pretty significant gains. The converted R188s are at 199k, they were averaging around 160k-190k, but it looks like they'll crack the 200k miles mark.

Same. A few weeks ago while staying in Jersey City for a week, I got on the 6 to JSQ and the op told me to scan my phone. It was a little finicky, but it worked. I got so used to seeing them not in use, that she caught me so off guard when she told me to scan my ticket lol.

They're currently getting delivered.

No it hasn't. It's been less than a year. They brought I think two out last year in Harlem.

Thank you for explaining this to those that don't get it.

That will always be a issue on the LI side of the station. That's been a thing before and after GCM opened. However, it has increased A LOT on the Manhattan bound side of the station, and it was particularly bad yesterday evening, as there were GC trains on Track 1 AND 3.....with a Penn Station train on Track 2 around 6-7PM. It seemed to be extra messy on both sides yesterday evening.