Burrstone

Is 1756 back in service

When buses like this are impounded where does the Nassau County Police keep them?  Do they have some sort of warehouse or yard were they keep large vehicles?  I mean look at all the CMV's that have been involved in fatal crashes  Nassau County over the past year.

I just seen 1833, I haven't seen it in nearly a year. Lol on the n22

I've seen it a lot on the n19, I guess that's why you haven't seen it.  I see a majority of the same buses on the same lines these days.

There's a reason its still in livery. I just haven't figured it out yet.

LOL

Maybe there's a problem with the bus and they don't feel it'll last as long as the others?

Or maybe she's wild at heart, can't be tamed by nice colors, 4 life!  lol

Buses not showing up is because NICE is low on drivers and what buses show up depends on the picks each driver takes. But thats not NICE's fault. NICE wants to hire, but nobody is applying because of the wage and the benefits that aren't that good. And what NICE offers to their employees isn't their fault because that depends on the money Nassau County provides.

 

What is nice paying drivers once they are out of training (to start) Atlantic Express pays around $14/$15 hour with benefits and around the $19 mark if they decline benefits, and according to a long term friend who works with EBT they pay School Bus drivers (and they have a big contract with the Massapequa school district) around the same but don't have a pay option to opt out of benefits. 

I'm told EBT drivers are paid the same for transit.  It is possible to get full time but they interline the drivers schedule with school/transit...  The driver will do transit/school in the morning or afternoon.  Lets say a driver will do a AM S1 roundtrip swap buses at the yard and do a school bus run (or vice versa), midday break off, then do the same thing in the afternoon.

EBT is also the company that took over Inter-County's SCT contract over...  From what I was told Inter County drivers lost their pay and seinority and had to start over.  People reported EBT employees bid the Inter County routes and got lost.

NICE offers fulltime, a good benefit package and seems to offer around the same pay as the other bigger companies in the area. 

I've heard some LIB drivers left NICE and went to EBT, I have no idea if tehy chose to leave but if you were making top pay or anything near it why would you leave by choice and make less, lose your senority and take whatever EBT has?  Seems odd...

I know, I know Hound represents the mass of pissed off drivers who hate nice (even all no one else has found this board).  If you can collect your pension I understand, collect it and work somewhere else if Veolia rubs you the wrong way, but if you can't collect your pension you're going to cut your pay in hald?  It doesn't make sense.  But I don't need to understand it...

I know people woork for Atlantic Express if they have a spouse (or are former military, retired etc) because the have health coverage and make a lot of money declining benefits, plus they get summers off with unemployment paying top rate of $405 a week! 

IMHO now that this is not a job with pension and a job where you can bank some serious cash with over time, it has become just an "average job" competing with other "average jobs" in the area.  IMHO, people don't want to deal with the shit (traffic a sshole drivers, a ss hole passengers etc) when the they make the same somewhere else. 

Just posting for people to comare starting pay and benefits not to start an argument....

Oh oh-wait til that Burrstone guy reads this. He's not gonna like what you said about NICE.

Hound, I really don't care...

NICE is doing a great job IMO, we all had our worries at first and some of us (even myself a bit) wouldn't mind the return of the good ol' MTA, but they really are doing great with the restorations/expansions and marketing. As long as they keep up the good work and the buses are clean, on time and accept my MetroCard, NICE gets my approval.

Comments like this must burn Hound like a vampire in the sun!

I thought I saw a ghost I saw 1808 on the n19 when I was out picking up stuff for dinner, good thing I saw this posted here the other or I may have stood a good change of shitting myself this evening.   (just kidding )  lol  It looks good in person!  ...and to think I was gonna take the LIRR from the city to Freeport, hang around, take some pics and then take the n19 home...     Oh well, I decided to take the train straight home instead.

BTW has anyone noticed, the turn announcments have made it to the Orion V's (can't remember if this was mentioned or not) but it was on 1601 this morning.

Yesterday, when I was waiting for 9:54 n27 Roslyn Station bus at Greenvale, one female passenger called "Legislator Carrie Solages" and sent voice message, "Veolia sacks. We need MTA Back" in loud angry voice."

She sounded like a real tool!  You should've asked her how her and the other passengers would benefit from a skeleton system under the MTA?

I love people like this who want to be loud but don't understand what they're talking about...

When it was the MTA in charge MTA sucked, when Veolia is in charge Veolia sucks and tehy want the MTA back (but don't even comprehend MTA LIB was planning a mass elimination operating what they called a skeleton system).  Priceless.

I'm just saying pleace lets not turn this into Vs. round 116...  Or into "if Nassau just paid their fair share.  Please, please, please!

Oh, nice!  Looks good

u guys have seen it in service?

Don't they have customer service rep by the name of Latoya Pippins?

 

The Facebook page provides valuable near-real time updates and they often respond to service questions. But most of these updates never make it to the NICE site, which could be a problem given the high senior/disabled/poor ridership of NICE who may not have Facebook to "know before you go", let alone on the go.

What difference would it make to these people if it was on facebook, but not making it to the nice site.  If you feel they can't get to facebook can they can get to nice's website?

I'm familuar with the CNG cut off valve and the people shutting them off in traffic, that's why the newer MTA buses come with a "lock" although if I remember correctly its just an allen wrench on the C40LF the same "key" locks the engine compartment and compartment that you put coolant in.

Is the connection to fill up the CNG also behind that compartment?

I have heard horror stories of the CNG hose some how disconnecting during the fueling process (hose breaks, it wasn't properly connected) I have also seen CNG leak out during the fueing process, I wonder if this could've damaged new paint, or if te paint was new possible the CNG made the paint rubbery or expand causing the door to get stuck?

I'm wondering if there was damage to that panel of some sort, or pried open.  What is behind that panel on the Orions?

According to what we have, 1713 is painted. But I'm stumped as to what that is. Is NICE using cheap paint too? lol

Are there problems with any other painted buses or is this isolated to panel on this bus?

1717 has been repainted.

1748 hasbeen repainted...

LOL!

X2!!

They telling about northbound n15 will be diverted to SB side of bridge from Long Beach this weekend.

Tmrw tv shoot on long beach bridge only 1 span will be open on Saturday and Sunday.

News 12 said N/B and S/B traffic will be on the S/B side...

...anyone know what movie this is?  Can you see anything cool when driving on the S/B side?  I'd take a ride Sun afternoon but figured it would be flooded with people gawking, I remeber how much of a mess Massapequa Park was when they were shooting movie scenes in the bar, and the people slowing down to see what was going on. 

***EDIT***

...anyone know what movie this is?

Never mind, I see it's a pilot for NBC called The Black List starring James Spader.

1827 on the N25 headed north had an almost-white strobe light on top above where the B/O sits, it flashed every 3-5 seconds.  Anyone know what this is?

http://www.nyctransitforums.com/forums/topic/39326-nices-latest-changes/?p=637448

It caught me by surprise too, I thought it was new, I guess I'm just unobservant. lol

I saw one of the NICE Coach & Equipment para buses we talked about (I don't remember where, I looked and looked but gave up) on Sunrise HWY today in the new scheme...  Actually it looked like a victem of livery experiment, I know I saw one that looked simular months ago in Garden CIty but passed by too quick but it looked unfinished.  I don't know if this was the same bus but it dodn't look unfinished just like it was patched together...  The thing had blue and orange strips, a large wheelchair/para logo near the service door, and on the back it had large strips on the left and right, one was blue, one was orange.  I really can't explain how strange and horrible it looked.  It looked like something a one guy operation starting a medical shuttle out of his garage would be rolling around in not something owned by the County and powered by one of the largest transportation company in the world.

Has anyone else seen this thing?

Maybe instead of a debate we can see Mangano and Suozzi battle it out in a ping pong or pool game at NICE Bus?!

Yes, I heard this on a bus recently and it was very annoying.  It actually sounded louder in the bus than outside, every time the driver used his turn signal to exit the roadway for a stop and re enter the roadway the "warning" sounded.

Veolia will provide samples but Contractor is responsible to create a Microsoft Excel file for each route which includes location of each
sign, and exact sign content.

That is a lot of work for the company that is making the signs for NICE. Veolia should be a bit more easy, considering not many companies bid on their procurements as it is. The dates keep getting extended.

Serioulsy!  Am I reading/understanding this right?  They expect a contractor to go out, gather information of where every sign is, what that sign should contain, and then make a spread sheet?  That sounds very expensive and time consuming.

Woahh! I like this! Is this on a train? Or London Bus?

I'm not sure, I just found it surfing around.

Found this on photobucket, maybe nice should put something like this on the seats....

Credit:  http://s614.beta.photobucket.com/user/xqhk/media/gm-graffiti-bus-seat-poster.jpg.html 

Still curious to why 1833 is the only 18xx that still hasn't been repainted.

Very interesting.

I'm gonna guess that the reason 1808 is still not returned but is out of the 's hands is because it is being painted.

Also very intersting.  Where is it being painted, how did you find this out?

Where are all the nice buses being painted?  At MF or did they contract a paint shop?

If NICE was on better terms with the MTA, perhaps they could purchase used seats from MTA's retiring fleet. 

 

 

Hell, maybe they could get them free.

NICE does have a good working relationship with the MTA that has been stated by many people on this forum and has been reported on in news sources like Newsday around the time of the takeover.

I think PP is referring to the fact that many complain that the seats are uncormfortable on the 1700's, the cost would be huge to replace all of the seats on 90+ buses (the money could be better spent elsewhere).

Are you certain the bus seats from the retired MTA buses would fit in nice 1700 buses?

If NICE was on better terms with the MTA, perhaps they could purchase used seats from MTA's retiring fleet. 

If that were true and Veolia was on such bad terms with the MTA why would that stop them from doing anything?  If tihs was a project Veolia wanted to do and the MTA wouldn't play ball why couldn't NICE buy seats from any fleet it manages that uses Orion buses?

Interesting that it's mostly the shitty ass 1700s that are the bulk of unpainted buses. I guess not even NICE likes those things. I wish they had the $$ to overhaul 'em, new suspensions and replacements for those godawful seats.

PP, I have been thinking about this recently.  Do you think it's a coincidence the shitty 1700's have not been painted or wrapped?  ...and now we hear plans for 200+ new buses?  I'm hoping this means the shittier 1700's get overhauled when the 200+ new buses start to roll in!  Somebody should ask about this at a meeting...

I'd rather drive a 1700 than a V any day if I drove for NICE.

You can't really say which you'd prefer until you actually drive them, you might think one looks better but prefer to drive another.  Besides they might have some nice new toys by the time you drive for them.