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BZGuy

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Everything posted by BZGuy

  1. The 166 needs all the help it can get. And don't sleep on those Neo's....the Fairview guys keep up with traffic on the turnpike when they use them on the 321. I don't think they are weatherproofed very good. All our MCIs with the door announcements sound like crap, plus it's a low priority replacement item.
  2. It's the weekend.....they have reduced service on the weekends plus with this being a Labor Day weekend they probably needed everything that could run. NJT made their bed now they have to lay in it.....no sense decimating other peoples commutes. It's the weekend.....they have reduced service on the weekends plus with this being a Labor Day weekend they probably needed everything that could run. NJT made their bed now they have to lay in it.....no sense decimating other peoples commutes.
  3. I think the 2 D4000s that are retired are: 8519 (Coach USA/Olympia) - Fire 8613? (Academy) - Accident on Rt. 9 Anybody know whats going on with Howell's 7475, the one that caught on fire at the beginning of the year on the 139?
  4. They never worked right...I think it has to do with the programming NJT used than something being wrong with the signs.
  5. ShortLine has been great for me. The money is here for the taking if you want it. However there are a couple things that may deter you, we are moving to Chester,NY sometime in the spring. They are building a huge facility able to park 100+ buses inside! As we know right now, Mahwah will close but that may change. Plus you have some time invested at NJT, dude I would stay and get your pension (only 401k here at ShortLine), plus our benefits pale in compared to NJTs. I would see if you could get a transfer somewhere....I'm thinking about going to one of those tests that NJT is giving out to see if they will take me. If I could get Wayne,Oradell or Washington Twp I would really have to think about jumping. And BTW, I thought it was just me that thought that the new drivers are dumb! I didn't want be like ViaG8 but I ride the 161 to/from work and the new people are horrible. Always late, never have change and they all drive like they are afraid of the bus! And that's BS that they are trying to hold you responsible for the trainee coming up short.....that's why I handle the cash when I have a newbie, I'm not hearing shit about being short.
  6. I heard once the Neo's retire that there will be no replacement for them....or I should say the option for 150 more NABIs are their replacement. If that's true then Fairview is gonna be in a world of hurt on the 150 lines.
  7. It's all entirely possible that Academy kicked in the cash to get them outfitted with A/V equipment. We don't know the details of that agreement. Like I said, for all intents and purposes those buses are Academy's.....they can do with them what they wish.
  8. 8951 and 8952 are no different then our Orange County buses that are spec'd with DVD players. I assume they plan on purchasing the buses once the county decides to replace the current fleet. Academy is looking long term as well.
  9. Here's the deal with that. NJT has never specified that the bus had to be used specifically on a Jersey run, this is why you see the buses outside of their footprint. Now as far as ShortLine and the County buses, Rockland County gave us the buses with the agreement that the buses only be used for Rockland runs, which for us is Exit 14. Orange County buses can pretty much go anywhere except PA, however the company does try to keep them on runs that primarily serve Orange County although the buses do end up in Sullivan and Ulster Counties quite a bit. Quite frankly, IMO these subsidized buses are more of a pain in the ass because it restricts how the runs are set up. Another thing....people seem to be pissed that Academy got 8951 and 8952, those buses got funded out a grant because Academy expanded service into Jackson and Manchester,NJ. That's why they have those 2 buses and outside of them being used for A.C. you don't see them on any other runs.
  10. I said it when those buses were ordered.....The X3 will not take neglect at all. You have to stay on top of those buses.....the MCIs will take the abuse and ask for more. The 2200s have gotten better now that they are at Castleton......the issue is Yukon,not the buses.
  11. Rockland Coaches also has 2-3 of their D4000s with the new signs. 553, how was it having a NABI out there? I would think it would be like putting a NABI on the 166.....just not a good idea!
  12. Looks like they are starting to replace the signs in the 40ft MCIs. I saw a Ironbound D4000 with a Luminator on the 114 tonight....looked good!
  13. And the commuters on the 139 have already started bitching about it. When they get their way (notice that I said "when" and not "if") those announcements will be silenced. Don't underestimate the Route 9 commuters.
  14. I don't know if anybody has noticed but 8519-8523 has not been seen for MONTHS! Once the NABIs and Nova's started showing up on the Newark Airport Express these buses have been MIA. Transferred to Community, Suburban or even back to NJT is my guess. Anybody seen these buses?
  15. 8559 to Howell. Seen on the 137 8068 might be at Wayne seen on the 161
  16. Meadowlands does the 139 when there is an emergency. Truthfully Meadowlands is like the cover garage for all the New York runs. I've seen Meadowlands buses on the 168 and the 111 recently.
  17. Hey 553, Do you guys have a driver named Charlie Grant at Egg Harbor. He would have started 3 years ago...he's one of the guys who left Peter Pan and went P/T at NJT. I though he was working out of Newark but another driver said he works out of Atlantic City which would be you guys.

    1. 553 Bridgeton

      553 Bridgeton

      Ill find out for ya, we have 400+ drivers. Any idea what he looks like?

    2. BZGuy

      BZGuy

      Older(50s)Light skin Jamaican guy. Kinda short.....real nice guy if you talk to him.

  18. The 304 is the variant of the 194. I heard there were issues last year with people getting on the wrong 194.
  19. Yes they do. ShortLine runs from the PABT to Mahwah,Ridge Gardens,Upper Saddle,Darlington,The Wycoffs and Oakland. That's why they have those buses.
  20. I kinda understand what you are trying to do but I don't see them doing that. ShortLine service area is up and down Rt. 17. I'm not sure of the history behind the PA route but I don't see them expanding too far out of that niche. Back in the late 90s they tried running Middletown-Newburgh-Danbury and had no luck finding riders. The OWL is funded by the NYDOT....the service levels you see is proportional to the funding ShortLine gets. To be honest the buses should not be starting/ending in Middletown because they are practiaclly empty past the Central Valley P/R however it makes sense from an operational standpoint. There is plenty of parking for the buses in Middletown....there is barely enough room in Monroe,Chester or Goshen for whats there and having the bus come out of Newburgh would cause people from those towns to xfer at Central Valley possibly causing delays in service. The X-495 truly should be a Friday/Sunday schedule as it's only really carries when the college kids travel back and forth. However I do think there that ShortLine is getting some kind of subsidy for running that line. The locations of the stops on LI are IMO, poor. I think they could do a better job in respect to that, lots of people see the buses come and go but don't know exactly where they stop. Unless you are a regular it's hard getting info. They could do a better job advertising their service out there and possibly run a LI-NYC schedule.
  21. I don't know how much more streamlined it can get. For the most part the commuter specials run express from Port Jervis. Again they also help out coming down through Orange and Bergen counties when those buses go over. And there are no PA to NJ commuters because again the buses go express. What is the point of sending buses all the way to Scranton. For a a couple more people. You would have to find more buses and drivers, something that ShortLine is short both. Then you have to worry about hours of service and what do you do if a driver has to book sick or a bus shits the bed out there? Scranton is well covered by Martz, ShortLine has enough problems covering what they have now. With every extension comes more costs. Sussex Transit may be funded by NJT but it doesn't mean they will take it over. Again I don't see them bringing Sussex Transit employees up to NJT pay and benifits just to extend the 194, which may not be sucessful. Plus the longer a line is the less reliable it is.....the full 197 is a bitch to run ontime, most Wayne operators start running behind between Warwick and Willowbrook.
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