TeeLow

BB if you want to find out this information then YOU go to TLC in Queens or have a chat with the Board of Commissioners. All I'm explaining is how things were back in the early 2000's. That book TLC gave me was thrown out years ago. There are dozens of vans running up and down Flatbush and Utica and throughout much of South Jamaica. If picking up passengers is violating TLC regs then TLC should ENFORCE THEM. Clean them off the streets. If they're out there running illegally why are they allowed to do so? There should be no ambiguity between what is written by TLC and what is outside those written regs. The TLC is a sweet money pot, collecting from medallions both yellow and green, fleet owners and individuals, livery bases and their drivers. They collect from vans and jitneys and charters. And don't forget the fees and fines. Make no mistake;TLC doesn't want to take those vans and jitneys off the streets. That's money lost in fees, fines and renewals. It also discourages new people from joining the game. Yeah I'm cynical. You damn skippy I am when it comes to this. I'm out.

btn Brighton Beach and 57th St via Manhattan bridge. To Astoria (R68A cars can't run via 2nd Ave) when 2nd Ave opens. Would then stop at 49th St. No night, wkend service. btn Kings Hwy. and 205th via Culver line express 6AM-2PM to Jay St, from Jay St 230PM-830PM. At Jay St, switches to/from tracks. Runs express btn Canal & 145th St. Peak rush hour express service in The Bronx. via the . Express to Forest Hills. Local to 179. Local btn Queens Plaza and 179th nights. runs in 2 sections: btn Metro & Broad (Metro & Bway nights, to Essex wkends) and btn W4th & Forest Hills via 63rd St. all times. Shuttle bus service btn W4th & Grand St. runs local in Brooklyn, express in Manhattan to 145. Nights, local btn 59th & 207. btn Bedford Pk Blvd/145th & 34th, 6th Ave except nights. Local. Shuttle bus btn Columbus Circle & 57th St, 6th Ave nights. Express in Queens all times. service suspended. via bridge days, via tunnel nights btn Coney Is. & Astoria. Stops at 49th St. To 96th St when 2nd Ave opens. to 57th St. To 96th St when 2nd Ave opens. to Forest Hills day time and weekends. Nights btn 36th & 95th in Brooklyn. btn Coney Is. via West End & Astoria days, to Whitehall St nights.

Nice to know there's still a few things that don't change with time

Then what is the sense of having a legal route if people can't be picked up? Call ahead and make reservations? This ain't Uber. So unless the TLC is doing a flim-flam, what you're saying doesn't hold water: TLC creates route; TLC creates special plates for vans to run on route; Enforcement stops, tickets, takes properly licensed van for running on route. What kind of bogus bull crap is that? Either allow them to run or eliminate the whole damn process but don't set up a front just to make money and take people down

Rarely did I come out on Amsterdam. Mostly Convent. 40 years ago the M3 ran on Convent. No Metro Cards, no free Xfers btn bus and subway. Some of us heading south walked to 125 to catch the , (AA), Black , and .

And one on Smith St. just off the corner of Livingston.

B25, B38/B38 LTD, B41/B41 LTD and B52 Southbound buses rerouted from Adams St at Tillary St to Fulton St

Thank you

Just about every bus line in Brooklyn is being affected by the Marathonfrom the B1 to the B70: B1 - No service on 86 St between 4 Av and 5 Av B11 - No service between 49 St/50 St at 5 Av and 1 Av at 58 St B16 - No service between Ft Hamilton Pkwy at 86 St and 3 Av at 86 St B24 - No service between Greenpoint Av at Jewel St and West St at Kent St B25, B38/B38 LTD, B41/B41 LTD and B52 Southbound buses rerouted from Adams St at Tillary St to Fulton St B25 - No service on Fulton St between Greene Av and DeKalb Av B26 - No service on Fulton St between South Portland Av and Ashland Pl B32 - No service between Long Island City and Manhattan Av No service between Wythe Av at Broadway to Williamsburg Bridge Plaza B35/B35 LTD - No service on 39 St between 1 Av and 5 Av B37 - Northbound buses rerouted from 3 Av at 3 St to Degraw St B37 - No service on 4 Av between Shore Rd/Marine Av, 3 St/ Degraw St and Atlantic Av/Bergen St B38 buses rerouted from DeKalb Av and Lafayette Av between Nostrand Av and Franklin Av B4 - No service between Bay Ridge Pkwy at 11 Av and Narrows Av at 77 St B43 - No service on Manhattan Av between Driggs Av and Box St B44/B44 SBS - Northbound buses rerouted from Bedford Av at Gates Av, Lynch St and Lee Av B45 - No service between Atlantic Av at Vanderbilt Av and Livingston St at Nevins St B48 buses rerouted in Clinton Hill and Williamsburg B52 - No service on Fulton St between Flatbush Av and Greene Av B54 - Eastbound buses rerouted from Myrtle Av at Washington Av to Classon Av B54 - No service on Myrtle Av between Nostrand Av and Skillman St B57 - No service on Flushing Av between Franklin Av and Nostrand Av B61 - No service on 9 St between 3 Av and 5 Av B62 - No service between Long Island City and Williamsburg B63 - No service between 5 Av at 9 St and 3 Av at Atlantic Av No service on 5 Av between 69 St and Shore Rd B64 - No service on Bay Ridge Av between 5 Av and 3 Av B65 - No service between Bergen St at 5 Av and Smith St at Fulton St B67 - No service between Flatbush Av at 5 Av to Sands St and Jay St B69 - No service on Vanderbilt Av between Dean St and DeKalb Av B70 - No service on 39 St between 5 Av and 1 Av Buses rerouted between 8 Av at Bay Ridge Av and 7 Av at 86 St B8 - No service between 4 Av at 95 St and the VA Hospital B9 - No service between 5 Av at 60 St and 3 Av at Bay Ridge Av

Since I live in Brooklyn I only know of one 'official' route; Flatbush Ave. Utica may be another. I'm sure there've been addendums since I went to apply years back. There are several routes in Jamaica Queens but I don't know what those are. As far as street hails go, a van (with bus plates) running on Flatbush can pick up and drop off passengers anywhere along its route EXCEPT at NYCT/MTA bus stops. As for your bureaucratic queries, the TLC is your go-to.

I looked at the schedule checkmatechamp provided. Imagine having just missed the bus on Convent and having to wait up to 40 mins for the next one on a cold January evening? I'd walk over to St. Nich and catch the M3. The ridership couldn't've been too high. Students from CCNY probably were the 18's main patrons. Still looking for info on M2A.

Yep, the 2A ended at 8th St & 4th Ave on the south end. I think above 110 it followed the M1 to 116th then went over to Lenox and up to 146th but I'm just not sure enough to say that definitively. I don't know anything about an M18! Thanks for the assist.

Just about all of you know about the 5th/Madison buses in Manhattan: M1,2,3&4. There also was a M2A at one time but I can't remember the route above 110/Cathedral Pkwy. Does anyone know/remember it?

There are 3 types of plates these vehicles use: a TLC plate with bus printed beneath the license#, a TLC plate without the bus print, and the Livery plate. Bus plated vehicles are the only ones authorized to pick up passengers (street hails) and only on TLC authorized routes. Anyone else can be subject to a s#it load of tickets, having their vehicle jacked and even arrest. Thing is that for every van taken off the streets, another one or two arrive on the scene, some with regular DMV plates. I was shocked to see those jitneys on Flatbush! It had me thinking the City had finally given in if they were allowing 20+ seated vehicles to operate. ATST it was cool to see the players stepping up their game of chess!

No, you need to have a 'bus' plate from TLC to legally travel along a route offically designated by or through the TLC, not just a TLC plate. My source is the TLC itself. I applied for bus plates at the TLC on Queens Blvd to put on a van that I owned in the early 2000s. At the window I was handed a book about 20 pages thick. The info in that book gave me all the requirements needed to obtain the plates. If I'm not mistaken it also listed all the designated routes I could travel on. After reading the book from cover to cover I decided it wasn't worth the effort. The biggest reason (outside of traffic infractions and reckless driving) the police stop the vans with TLC-only plates is to check the driver's paper work and license, knowing that a lot of guys are driving with suspended/revoked licenses and expired/improper insurance and registrations. There used to be (maybe still is) a special police task force who knew the TLC regs and pulled drivers over. They'd snatch and tow the van right on the spot. The thing about the TLC plated vans without bus plates is that there's not enough enforcement of TLC regs and there are so many drivers. It's rare (if ever) that you will see a TLC enforcement vehicle. I don't blame these guys at all for doing what they do. They're trying to feed their families. Out there on Flatbush and on Utica it's like a game of Russian Roulette; someone is going to get shot. Eventually it's your turn to go down.

That's basically because Utica Ave n/o Eastern Pkway hasn't been designated by TLC for commuter van service like Flatbush Ave has been. About 15 years ago on a Sunday morning around 7-ish I was waiting for a S/B 46 at Dean St. A van was going by and he honked his horn and slowed. I saw he had a TLC plate so I waved and he stopped and I got on. He took me down to Ave H and I walked home from there. Since then I hadn't seen another van above the Pkway but I don't frequent the area as much so if there is van service up to Fulton it's sparse. Not TLC designated. About 2 years back on a Friday evening I came out the subway at Nostrand and Fulton and headed for Ma's Fish&Chips up near Halsey to pick up some smothered chicken with collard greens, mac&cheese and a slice of red velvet. I wanted to catch the SBS to the Junction so I headed back to Fulton. As I approached the stop I saw a van parked just n/o it. A woman climbed in the side door with 5 or 6 others already seated. I looked at the driver and asked "Junction?" He nodded. I grabbed a seat and got off at Glenwood for the B6. In the 2 years since I haven't seen another van on Nostrand. Not TLC designated.

Dollar Vans can be semi-legit. Ever notice a van with bus plates? If you apply through TLC, meet the 1001 requirements, pass vehicle inspection, have the proper insurance, own a NY State Class B CDL with passenger endorsement (for 15 passengers or equiv vehicle weight an air brake endorsement isn't needed), a backround check, work out of a TLC regulated base and meet certain NYSDOT requirements, your plates can have the word 'BUS' placed below the plate number in small letters. Of course these are not the OFFICIAL MTA bus plates. It allows your van to run on a route designated by TLC. There's even an official 'bus stop' in downtown Brooklyn for them. A real good driver can make 70-80 grand a year and more if he owns a fleet. The key is keeping that driver's license clean.

Have you tried this one already?

It runs extremely fast too during those times. About 1000 drops a second

I read a story in Thursday's Daily News (9-22) suggesting that the use of driver-less taxis would help ease the pain during the impending L Train outage. I couldn't put into words what I thought of that. My mind is still stuttering

Actually, this whole read is pretty good and very interesting. Some cool strategies on how to get things done at the state level (and even in DC) are pointed out: http://www.masstransitmag.com/article/11658987/getting-better-results-for-mass-transit-lobbying

The auto lobby spent about 1.6 billion dollars so far this year to keep their pie under the noses of Congress. In 18 years it's 40 billion. That's a significant pie factory. The Public Transportation Lobby has outspent them by about 5 billion in that same period but that includes manufacturers like American Motorcyclists Assn, Uber Tech, Recreation Vehicle Assn, American Bureau of Shipping, National Limo Assn, Taxi & Paratransit, etc. Passenger rail is subsidized almost wholly by the Government and much of that goes to AmTrak at just under 2.5 billion. Look at what The Center For Public Integrity has to say about the Transportation Lobby: "America’s transportation policy is dysfunctional. It’s also nearly bankrupt. Now, as debate reaches a crescendo over a new $500 billion transportation bill, can the national interest trump hundreds of special interests? Don’t bet on it." What Marla Briggs, Sr Director of External Affairs for MARTA has to say is too long to quote here but the gist of her point is the system is the middle-aged woman in needs of repairs while also needing an expanded network, which creates a unique situation in balancing capital needs and getting funding to meet those needs. This basically what most mass transit agencies seem to be going through. Mass transit doesn't have its own lobby in Washington. Instead we rely on what's available in state coffers and government money for capital programs since fare collection alone just isn't enough. Some in Congress believe even those outlays are too generous and want to cut back on that! What it boils down to IMO is that the Auto Lobbyists have a stadium sized sound system to drone their message while public transportation might as well hand out a pair of ear buds to members of congress who want to hear what really needs to be heard. The quote from your post above in italics is basically true. I absolutely agree.

Congress has had multiple opportunities to pass such legislation for improving our transit infrastructure. But I guess the automobile lobbyists have too much clout, no matter how much sense it makes to do it. I believe sometime before I croak they'll have no choice. Not because it would be the sensible thing to do but because our infrastructure will be in such a sorry state of disrepair, including roads, bridges and tunnels.

Trumping the hand that feeds him Did I hear the topic calling?

You have a cool way of thinking, especially with what's in bold. Of course the Repub side of congress would vote it down quick fast and in a hurry but still your proposal shows outside the box thinking and imagination. In my opinion (which is worth about 2.3 pesos on this board) it's really good.