PinePower

Yeah I'm abit skittish about messing with some of these people. We're talking gangbanger types. They used to just sit in the back and I'd sit in the front but they sit in the front now too. Can't reach the windows in the front of the VII's anyway.

The passengers would yell at me though. Or just close it. Many don't seem to want fresh air. I'd open the window on cooler summer days when the air is off and the pax would ask me to close the window, even if the bus was stifling inside. I don't get it either...

Its just like with the HVAC. It's supposed to always be on but many just keep it off, letting the bus fill with the stagnant air carrying all the germs ppl exhale and the odors of the trash on the floor. They really need to get a handle on quality control, but at the same time, they're so short on drivers they're afraid to discipline any.

That would help, also consider all the major shopping centers & supermarkets in Glen Cove are up on Forest Ave where there is no bus service. It's quite f*ed up really, Glen Cove is probably one of the most messed up towns on LI transportation wise. I would not be surprised if local cab companies bribe elected officials to keep the buses off Forest, as they do quite a brisk business with the stores there.

Problem is the n27 got overcrowded from transfers at Greenvale, the 3pm trip from RF got hammerred at Greenvale at that time with SRO all the way to Glen Cove. Remember the n27 is hourly middays. When the n21 does run rush hours it should only be hourly. First trip out of Flushing was 4pm and it was jammed all the way to Glen Cove, but the next one 30 min later fairly empty, often they got bunched up because of this. So start the n21 at 3pm but run it only every hour till 8pm. The last trip was 6pm out of Flushing which was way too early. I'd have the trips leave Flushing at 3pm,4pm,5pm,6pm,7pm, out of Glen Cove 4pm,5pm,6pm,7pm (ok 8 is pushing it). Another idea is to just restore 30 min service on the n27 middays or start it earlier, it would carry more than the n21 in Glen Cove for sure.

I think they are way too many n21 runs now. All they needed to do was have trips between 6am and 10am and 3pm and 8pm weekdays only, instead of having it run all day.

Like I said earlier the lights need to be fixed. There's backups out of NCC because the lights are not timed for the exiting traffic. Traffic lights need to be "smart", all too often you're sitting in a backup a 2 minute long light while the road that gets the longer green has less traffic. This is a classic example at places like Uniondale Ave & Front St, it delays the n43&45 buses up to 10 min waiting 2 min for each cycle in a backup yet traffic on Front st just sails on by with its 2 min green time. Adding transponders on buses is another good idea, but would have a cost. Adjusting traffic lights properly for traffic flow shouldn't cost much, some even use little camera sensors to monitor traffic conditions. Ideally, all lights should be linked together.

Heck fixing the lights alone would be a huge benefit w/o BRT. They are all out of sync and it not only delays buses but traffic too. They should be green at the same time!

Well college is off for now, that could be a reason.

I saw that one. Pretty pathetic to harass a photographer but do nothing about the shady characters hanging around, it shows the security has no b@lls. You got that right. They need more buses serving RF instead, I bet the n46 & 47 would get used more if they went to RF. And now with the n6x @NCC students dont have to deal with a transfer to the n6 at HTC anymore. You can get rid of the n45 and just run the n46 to RF instead of HTC, have it travel down Uniondale Ave via the n43 route!

Sadly it seems HTC is a product of a County that could care less about funding transit. I bet most of the legislators wouldn't ever set foot in there let alone actually know where it's located. Used to see alot of ppl waiting for the n6 and always lines, but no lines there tonight, wonder how much n6 ridership has dropped?

Today decided to change buses at HTC instead of RF like I usually do because RF has no heated area and it's cold tonight. I hadn't been to HTC since, well, I think the days. It was around 7pm and the place seemed to be full of bums and thug-type people up to no good & drinking. Couldn't even use the restroom, the stench of cigarette smoke was nauseating. I saw no security around at all. And there weren't any new schedules to take either, the place where they used to be on the wall didn't exist, and another rack just had written "new schedules available Jan.13.2014" in messy magic marker. This place seemed much busier years ago with commuters, but for whatever reasons, either lost ridership or whatnot, I didn't see many. This place seemed more ghetto than 165th st and that's saying alot. Don't plan on returning to change buses here for a long while, if ever. Some have said still owns the property, but it definitely seems like security has been cut back a great deal. Not surprising about all the robberies and crime I read in the police blotter at Hempstead Term. Not a way to make riders feel comfortable & safe that's for sure. Certainly not a "nice" place that's for sure.

They probably realized the other paper cost too much, and went back to using more traditional paper.

Saw what appeared to be a Designlemon Ecocrapper stuck on the NJTP by Rahway n/b truck lanes, with an MCI behind it passing by around 8am. I guess Howell is forced to run those things due to the shortage of equipment...

And that's what I worry about. Many people complained the n22L skipped RF and I understand why it needed to be discontinued, but there should have been some n22 or n22x trips in it's place. I dont see it to the point of flagging but its definitely gonna be more crowded and some riders won't put up with it. As another poster said, they could take the n24, some have migrated over to it, but many still choose not to. They do seem to have more n22 trips in the early part of the afternoon when crowding was a problem. I'd just like to see the n22 run much more often since it's a route that does well for it's full length. As far as those 20L trips they seem to be light in the "traditional" peak direction, I see way too many empty n20L's passing thru Greenvale headed toward hicksville, like one every 15-20 mins, too much. More ridership goes reverse peak.

I actually was coming up with an idea last night about the n45, since it doesn't do as well as the n43. It seems the bus is empty once it turns on to Park ave. Since we know the n40/41 & 43 need more help further down, why not have the n45 continue down Babylon Turnpike all the way to Sunrise Highway going east, then terminating at the Bellmore LIRR station. The n51 would be discontinued as the new route would serve Merrick LIRR going west. From Merrick LIRR this bus would travel up Merrick Ave, then left on Camp, left on Meadowbrook and a right back onto Babylon Tpke (loop). I notice most riders from the LIRR on the n51 get off by Camp anyway. The loop would run in the reverse direction in the AM, and would be rush hours only, like the n45 is now, but it would have later trips at Bellmore (the n45's that arrive in Bellmore at 6:15 & 7:15pm go OOS, thats NICE logic for ya).

Yes the n22x is much slower because of Mineola Term, gets slowed down by Old Country Road traffic and that light at Herricks & Jericho. See I would have the n22x skip Mineola, run via the n22a west of RF and stop only at Willis/Hillside (transfer to n23), NHP/Hillside (transfer to n25), and City Line/Cherry Lane, then non-stop to 179st. I know, I meant to say I dont know of any other railroads not honoring reduced fares for seniors/disabled on peak trains, I know NJT did away with that practice several years ago. I know the purpose of the peak fare, thats why they want to push the monthlies, but asking ppl in a limited income situation to pay it is assinine (and at the very least discrimination). My relative on a limited income (senior) has to pay it to see his doctors in one of medical centers in the city, he often has to be there in the morning because the treatments can take awhile.

A driver told me Nassau County doesn't want the chains. My feeling on their use is mixed, but I think in the hours after the storm before the roads are cleared they should be used, its not like they're able to go much faster on slippery roads anyway.

Unless they're making some last minute changes, though thats doubtful. Maybe they know the n22 changes are gonna piss alot of ppl off and they are. I was really starting to like NICE more and then they blow it again by making some boneheaded move like putting only 2 buses an hour on the n22 from Hicksville in the AM RUSH.

You got that right, and lets not forget the LIRR makes seniors & disabled pay peak fare in westbound AM PEAK trains. It's really quite out of control. The LIRR is not living up to it's end of the bargain by taking traffic off our roads, thats for sure. And Elmont & Franklin Square aren't even that near to the LIRR anyway. The n6 needs more buses at these times, or NICE needs to invest in articulated buses to handle the crowds. I know this isnt the LIRR section but LIRR really needs to do away with peak fares completely. It would help balance out the loads and take more cars off the road. Sometimes I think they use the Hampton Jitney philosophy to charge high fares to keep poorer people off the service, it amounts to discrimination in the end.

The problem seems to be they eliminated the n22L and never added any n22's in its place. AM rush sounds like a disaster too. Looks like it's gonna be a $12.50 LIRR PEAK fare for me, I aint dealing with those conditions...man WTF was NICE thinking. The n22L did carry some ppl and the n22s were crowded as it is, now its gonna be crush loaded. This is a major cut in service and its going to be a DISASTER.

If that's the new schedule appears to be alot less buses e/b to Hicksville, not good, they're gonna be more jammed than ever. I've been hoping NICE realizes how much impoverished New Cassel depends on the n22. Of course I'm still waiting for the official schedule. Dropping the n22L was a good idea as it skipped RF (where most ppl were going) but it appears they converted those n22L's to n22a's which means less buses along Prospect. Prospect needs every 10-15 min rush hours and every 20 mins all other times, I take the n22 often and they're jammed east of the mall. Looking at my schedule from Jamaica they cut service to Hicksville in half from Jamaica departures around 5pm (4 buses to 2 buses), 6pm from 4 buses to 3 buses, ditto for 7pm. HUGE MISTAKE!! n22's east from RF get crush loaded in the PM rush, sure is gonna be even more fun now!

The 22 has severe OTP & crowding issues throughout it's entire route. And yes the RFM-Hicksville leg can get VERY crowded. Bunching is a huge issue, often in rush hour it will be an hour wait between buses, esp e/b from RFM in the PM, then a few come at once, the leader is crushloaded and the follower is empty. People will jam onto the 1st bus even when the next bus is right behind, not sure why, maybe they like being jammed? Middays is surprisingly heavy too, I rarely even get a seat on the w/b buses in Westbury at this time. As for the n22x, it was better when it skipped Mineola. By having it stop at Mineola it gets bogged down in traffic, and often behind n22's ahead of it. Since most people at Mineola will take either an n22 or an n22x, it often leads to the n22 getting jammed while the n22x behind it is empty. I think loads were more evenly distributed when the n22x skipped Mineola and ran non-stop to Jamaica. Out of sync & mistimed lights also cause delays and bunching. Remember a bus running behind schedule, perhaps from just missing a couple of lights, will get extra people, make more stops, causing it to run even later. Eventually the next bus catches up. The satellite tracking system can help dispatchers direct buses to keep moving, esp when there's a 2nd one behind, no need to stop for a pickup. As for the n22, the RFM-Hicksville leg needs buses every 10-15 minutes most times, the 30 min gap in middays makes the buses pretty crowded. Remember New Cassel has alot of poor ppl that rely on the bus, there's no LIRR there which also puts more ppl on the n22. As for the n22x, I think the old routing needs to be restored, but with a difference. It should run in both directions, and the n22L's should just be turned into regular n22's. West of RF the n22x would follow the old (n22a) routing, making stops at Willis Ave/Hillside (n23), NHP Road(n25), City Line, and then express to 179st subway.

The S42 I believe goes to Islip. As far as cabs, I'll walk for 3 hours before taking one, they're robbery on 4 wheels. Guy should've just taken the Montauk train!

Excellent news!!