RailBus63

12 hours ago, Lekith said:

My permit reads, 

Class: B, 

Restrictions: A3 *  M* P 

Endorsements: P 

 

Is that correct????  I thought there was suppose to be an endorsement for air brakes, but I see there is no such thing. Just want to make sure the DMV got it right. 

I had the same reaction when I got my CDL permit!  I was at the window at the DMV after passing the test and I thought they had screwed up - the woman was very helpful though and quickly explained it to me.

Congrats on passing the test and good luck!

14 hours ago, 40MntVrn said:

I wouldn't take the test either, honestly. The PR front of "conducting a quick investigation" can easily switch to culpability. But this is coming from my paranoid ass.

Did he have a right to refuse?  

33 minutes ago, B35 via Church said:

So I take it you've heard of this dude before....

He started out as a teenager riding and reviewing MBTA routes in Boston for his blog.  I guess he's down in the Philly-South Jersey area now. 

On 12/24/2020 at 12:16 PM, B35 via Church said:

Just wanted share this on the forum.... This was brought to my attention by @checkmatechamp13

There's not too many NJ guys here, but for those of you that are, what are your thoughts about this random guy's assessment of the NJT #419? This is proof that you shouldn't assess an entire route off one freakin trip..... It's basically, train good, bus bad.

• http://milesintransit.com/2019/02/04/njt-419-camden-route-73-pennsauken-station-riverside/

All of the route assessments on his site are like that.

11 hours ago, +Young+ said:

This is why, like I previously stated, if you're able to, I would sound off by sending a formal letter to Governor Cuomo elaborating on your situation. (In the event you need the address, click here and scroll to the bottom of the webpage.) The reason why I am suggesting this is because I highly doubt you're the only one who has this problem. In addition, if you bring your problem to their attention, perhaps the folks in Albany can do something which will benefit all of us who are still waiting to get hired.

In addition, when you said "I'm just confused ... if they are the ones who messed up," I would encourage you to view some of the videos on this webpage. Although these videos are irrelevant to our situation, perhaps some of those videos will explain how other people are also "confused ... if they are they ones who messed up" as well.

Good luck!!

You many want to also consider contacting your local Assembly member or State Senator to see if they can help.

Nice shots.

What is it with so many of the 9600's having non-functioning front signs?  The 9500's don't seem to have nearly the same problem with their signs. 

18 hours ago, Cactus683 said:

Hey all made my year yesterday,clean off probation now.When I popped that brake last night and got to the yard it was just a weird source of pressure and anxiety that left my body .If any of you new folks need any help or any advice with anything don't be afraid to reach out to me.I was here bothering @+Young+ last year and he was the biggest help through alot it stuff.Thanks again for all that help .

Congratulations and best of luck out there!

Those are great resources!

Remember, practice practice practice!  Memorize those - you should be saying them in your sleep by the time the road test comes around!  

On 11/3/2020 at 6:43 AM, Princess03 said:

They all failed on the road test, both times.

How often do they practice the skills test (backup, offset and parallel parking)?  If you're not doing that every working day in the week or two leading up to the road test, I could see why people fail it.  I found the backup and offset to be pretty easy once you got the hang of it, but parallel parking a 40-foot bus in a 55-foot 'box' takes time to get it down so you can do it consistently. 

On 10/31/2020 at 2:11 PM, Cactus683 said:

I was slapping myself in the face for not getting my cdl before I got called for transit,but in the end as long as you study hard for that pretrip,which is the worst part of the test in my opinion you will be fine.Transit teaches you all the tricks while your out in eastchester practicing.

The Pretrip is all about memorization of course, but it's also about doing it confidently so that the DMV examiner thinks you know what you're talking about.  The other trick is to be ready to start anywhere and not get flustered - we had one woman at our place who the examiner asked to start her inspection outside the bus, and when she got to the in-cab inspection she forgot to do the static brake test and failed (she later passed on her next try).  

20 hours ago, Princess03 said:

mta will pay for you to get your cdl license. all you need is your permit. I myself, and 20+ other students all only had out permits and obtained our actually license through the Job. 

I agree with this - why pay for CDL training when an agency will pay you to get your license?  If you are skilled enough to get through the 10-day training, you will be qualified enough to pass the DMV road test. 

On 10/24/2020 at 8:08 AM, Diceman225 said:

To take the cdl permit test in NY, when do we need to get the medical examiners certificate complete? do we have to get it done and bring it with us when going to dmv to take the permit exam? Thanks

The medical examination is only required if you self-certify as 'NI' (Non-Excepted Interstate) or 'NA' (Non-Excepted Intrastate) when applying for your CDL permit.  If you select 'EI' (Excepted Interstate) or 'EA' (Excepted Intrastate), you will not need to have the medical exam completed prior to taking the permit test and they will add the A3 restriction to your permit.

Good luck on the permit test - study the DMV Commercial Driver's Manual well. 

About giving your current employer no notice if you pass the 10-day training - maybe I'm just old school, but I believe in not burning any bridges with previous employers if at all possible.  Getting an MTA job is a big deal, like entering the police or fire academies.  In my life experience most people respect that.  I would recommend being honest with your employer if you feel comfortable doing so and tell them what's up and when you are going for training.  Some employers might be jerks and show you the door, but if you are a valued employee then others will likely be willing to have you come back if things don't work out with the B/O training.   Just my two cents worth. 

13 hours ago, Bill from Maspeth said:

There is a pic on facebook that just made my blood boil.  At least 20 railfans waiting for a J at B'way Jct.  NOBODY wearing a mask endangering the safety of our t/o. 

Someone should have called 911 on those idiots.

There is no reason for railfans to be rushing to the J/Z in the middle of a pandemic if the R32's come back - you've had since 2013 to get in all your RFW rides and take pictures and video of the 32's on these lines.  Respect the transit workers who are trying to do their jobs and stay healthy. Hopefully we can come out of this sooner rather than later and you can get your last R32 ride in during a proper farewell run.

18 hours ago, Trainmaster5 said:

Attention Subway Historians. Remember the R11 cars ? Pilot order w 10 cars delivered. Don't think for a minute that the R211 contract can't be cancelled. There may be a cancellation provision in said contract (hard to believe it's not there) where either party can back out. Financial penalty provision written into the contract. How many of the base order cars are even being built yet ? I don't know the answer so it's all speculation IMO. My take. Carry on.

I get your skepticism but that would be unfortunate - Kawasaki is two and half years into designing and preparing to build these cars, so if the order was curtailed the MTA would have to pay them many millions for this work with little or nothing to show for it.  My guess (and that's all it is) is that the base order cars will be delivered and that the MTA will find money for enough option order cars to fully replace the R46's and the Staten Island R44's, but that will be it. 

7 minutes ago, MHV9218 said:

Again, per my post earlier, I would confidently wager that not even the MTA knows what level of service will be necessary over the next week or two. This all depends on public choice and public sentiment, which will translate into political pressure. If ridership is within the range of current levels, present equipment will suffice. If there is a significant increase – or even the perception of a significant increases due to SRO cars, etc. – the 32s will be necessary to make ends meet. It's a math problem.

Just the resumption of in-store retail alone will increase ridership in my opinion, as more employees return to work.  I hope the MTA is prepared. 

21 hours ago, mediccjh said:

The R32s are retired and are NOT coming out to play. Sorry to get your hopes up (including mine, since I told my boss I was gonna take one for a joyride).

Trains will be running normal, with some adjustments since the junkboxes, er, 179s, are having their lemon issues (again). 

Thanks for the update. 

Just curious - by 'normal', do you mean the same level of service that has been operating during Phase 1 of reopening?

48 minutes ago, Bill from Maspeth said:

Just hold on here.  MTA is not going to throw away $300 million dollars, or whatever they cost, just like that and spend just as much more on replacement cars when there is a great possibility where their issues can be fixed?  And don't tell me "Sue Bombardier".  First Bombardier will declare bankruptcy and transit won't get their money back and secondly Bombardier will have litigation tied up in court for years since they'll blame the subcontractors for the problems.  To my knowledge, Bombardier crafts the car body, does wiring and installs everything else from the sub-contractors.

Exactly - also, if the MTA tries to screw over Bombardier and pull some nonsense, they will very likely have some other carbuilders refuse to bid on their contracts. 

It is ridiculous to suggest that the R179's may not return to service.  The MTA certainly has the right to require Bombardier to make the necessary fixes, but the expectation will be that the fleet will return to service as soon as satisfactory repairs are completed.  I have not seen the contract between the authority and Bombardier but I have negotiated numerous multimillion-dollar business contracts myself - a purchase of this size will have a lengthy contract which will no doubt stipulate in detail how any defects or disagreements are to be resolved.  There would be no language or provisions in a contract of this magnitude that would allow the MTA to simply walk away and send the cars back to Bombardier and get their money back - that is just not how it works. 

1 hour ago, RTOMan said:

They do not lay them up unless its a scheduled lay up..

They run lite(scheduled intervals) pick up essentials and other employees first responders..

The terminals are the cleaning area...

How do those essential riders get into the stations?  

This plan is OK I guess as a quick stopgap measure, but they are going to have to come up with actual replacement service if this is going to be in effect more than a couple of weeks.  I can only hope that the lack of serious effort at running replacement routes along the rail lines means that they are intending to resume overnight rail service fairly quickly.

IMO, the solution is for Nassau County to do a better job of funding NICE Bus, not have it taken over by a larger entity.  

4 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

I don't see the city all of a sudden becoming sympathetic to the plight of the sect of homeless people that choose to fester the subways... Which segues into:

It'll make it conspicuous to more people just how bad the homeless situation in the city is.... While I am seeing isolated cases of that around this time of day on the B35 & B46, it will be a microcosm to what you'll see freely/increasingly roaming the streets.....

I don't know about generating sympathy for the homeless on the subways, but this crisis is definitely shining a strong light on the homeless issue in general.  I also believe that there will be a demand to address it in some manner because I don't see how people will be able to resume 'normal' activities with fears of infected homeless people wandering the streets.  I only hope that it is done compassionately and that citizens hold our leaders and institutions accountable to look for real solutions and not just get the homeless out of sight.

7 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

This is less about actually scrubbing the cars clean and more so about keeping out the homeless, who are seen as mass viral vectors since they don;t wear masks, don;t follow hygiene protocol, are all at high risk of infection due to medical issues, and quite frankly, scare the hell out of everyone now. Maybe one positive out of all of this horror is that the city will finally get real on helping the "subway homeless" through court mandated treatment, supportive housing, etc. 

Exactly this - it is also about restoring a sense of order to the system and instilling confidence in riders who will need to use it, as well as for the safety, health and well-being of employees.  The images of homeless encampments on trains became a national news story and no doubt would have depressed ridership even more had it not been addressed.  The city and state do need to seriously address the health and shelter issues which have driven those poor people into the subways as part of the overall drive to end the spread of the virus.