PinePower

Take it upon yourself to open the roof vents, so that at the very least some air is entering.

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... 

So apparently drivers on the 3rd Gens can in fact keep the new Clever Device (which is coming to the rest of the fleet) off by logging in with the MTA farebox instead. I didn't think they could since I never saw a sign controller and never saw them off until just last week.

 

Not good, with the new GPS coming in the drivers are gonna have to log in with the Clever Device in order for the bus to show online. I hope when the GPS is all set up the dispatchers can still see the bus on their end and determine whether or not a bus has signed in with the CDs (even if they didn't) and if necessary call the driver to log in. If they still don't sign in when the GPS is all set up just to avoid the damn announcements BusTime is gonna be a miserable failure.

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.

The N21 would do better if it was extended further east in Glen Cove up Forest Ave instead of ending by the police station in the ghetto part of town. It could continue to Locust Valley, terminating at the train station.

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.

You just don't get it do you? There is not sufficient ridership on the n21-only part of the n21 to bring the n21 back any other time than rush hours only. NICE is throwing money away as it is with full-day service, but that's only because you were annoying the hell out of them and they gave in, which they shouldn't have. Please don't mention anything on the n21 again.

 

Even those are too many runs. You don't need the n21 going until 8 pm in the evening, nor do you need it going until 10 am in the morning, especially when the n20 LIMITED stops running from Flushing at 9 am. A three hour span of the n21 during rush hours is enough.

 

N21 midday service needs to be scrapped too. NICE's funding is low enough as it is.

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. 

Yeah, they can scream all they want but no one is gonna use it anyway, hence why they scrapped it. I believe PinePower was the one who explained that in a bit more detail

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!

Lately every n6/n6x i've been taking hasn't been too crowded as usual lately... hmm wonder why? lol

 

I catch the 6:08am n6x out of HTC and every other bus that goes to HTC other than the n15 has been showing up late the past week (that's rather interesting too). I feel bad for all those other people (which is why I love the n15, its always early or on time)

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

Well, I see security still harasses photographers. Video here was recently uploaded by somebody. Listen to the dialogue:

 

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.

HTC is why buses like N47/46 that run in middle class areas DO NOT GET USED.

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!

Stop spamming.

 

That's exactly what I chalked it up to also (since I was last there).... Lost ridership.

 

As for waiting inside HTC, I've never done it, and with good reason.....

I would argue HTC is worse than 165th, as far as the wretchedness goes.... 165th suffers from some serious neglect; if they revamped the place & added at least 1 decent store inside the terminal, I think it can be turned around overnight - (I) can't say the same for HTC.... Don't really hear about crimes goin down @ 165th.....

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.

I got one of the new schedules this morning, they're using cheaper paper.

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...

Your welcome. Now you can stop with the sarcasm and the derogatory comments if you know what's good for you.

 

The N22L was not empty and after the changes that added stops to it, it didn't bypass most of the ridership. There was a fair amount of people on it, just not as much as the locals. If NICE rearranged the N22L and the N22x to have proper well-thought routings, things would be in balance. To answer your question, the cuts to the N22L will have an effect on ridership. It's either going to drop or the locals are going to be jam-packed with many being left behind.

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. 

Not too get too off-topic but I don't know even one railroad company in the Western hemisphere that doesn't charge peak fares. Not that that makes LIRR look good but hey, it's quite common overall to charge peak fares.

 

Btw: NICE is getting new buses, not only to replace the old fleet but also to expand a little bit on it so that may lead to extra runs in the future.

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.

Yeah, my optimism has wore off a bit now that they still haven t posted them...

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.

To me "Crush loaded" means there is no additional room for people to board, so the bus driver starts to skip stops.  The LIRR charges outrageous fares and many many many people cannot afford them, so they are forced to wait for a crush-loaded bus that accepts their free transfer from the subway.

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.

I made a typo in the schedule, :58 n6X trips exist for the 16, 17, 18 hours.

 

Westbound n22/n22X departing Hicksville (to Jamaica unless noted):

 

4 54

5 24 55

6 26 41

7 09 36

8 01 31

9 01 31 59

10 29 59

11 20 50

12 20 50

13 13 33

14 09 39

15 05 23 45 54

16 12 27 42

17 02 12 27 40

18 20 43

19 20 54

20 24 54

21 24 59

22 24

23 04 (to Mineola only)

 

Only 2 westbounds out of Hicksville an hour during the AM rush doesn't sound too pleasant.

 

n22A's out of RFM:

 

5 06 41

6 11 45

7 02 27 40 55

8 17 46

9 15 31

14 29

15 00 48

16 16 38

17 00 38

18 08 31

19 01 31

 

n22 westbound short turns depart Mineola at 4:19, 4:31, 6:14, 6:44, 7:29.

n22 westbound short turn departs RFM at 4:50.

No PM n22 westbound short turns except for that night Hicks-Mineola trip.

 

All n22X's in both directions add a stop at Cherry Lane.

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.

That's a 4 1/2 mile walk from CI station to the Islip station. For those who don't know the area it's about the same distance from Main St to the Sutphin Blvd , , LIRR station. From the Central Islip LIRR station if you catch a cab early in the morning I'd guess 95% of the time they would only take you to the court complex. That's not even halfway to the other station and rest assured you will pay big bucks just to go to the court complex. From the court complex if you're lucky you might be able to catch another cab toward Islip. The cabs make their money between the Central Islip LIRR station and the court complex. Most people in the Islip station area don't go near the courts unless they're on jury duty. There's a shopping complex near the courts and the LI Ducks baseball park but people frequenting those locations always drive. To be honest I'm not sure SCT has a bus route connecting the two LIRR stations.

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!!

Today, at Roslyn Station, I observed my 15:25 n23 Manorhaven made connection to 16:27 n27 Glen Cove, which was female driver who wasn't not friendly, so I decided not to get on, however she was 15:54 n27 Roslyn Station, which she was suppose to arrived at 16:20, but she arrived 11 minutes late, forcing n27 riders to miss 16:00 n23 Hempstead bus, which left 1 minutes early from 14:31 at 14:30.

 

Then 17:54 n27 Hempstead missed 18:00 n23 Hempstead at 17:31 connection because new male driver came at 17:32 and same driver 17:27 n27 Glen Cove didn't wait for 18:37 n23 Manorhaven when he saw the n23 arriving at 18:31, and he left without n27 rider.

As result of that n27 riders were CURSING AND ANGRY for forcing them to wait for ANOTHER HOUR FOR BUS!

It's useless, the n27 on weekends, can't understand what the big deal is about extending it to RF. All they need is two buses, that's one more bus in addition to the one used on it now, for hourly service between Glen Cove and RF.

However I will say you're a sucker if you take the shuttle to nowhere. I know what goes on, and you're better off getting the LIRR (and paying extra), or if you're coming from/going to Greenvale getting the n20 and changing at Hicksville. It's never gonna change, unless the n27 is extended back. If people are so angry they should be calling NICE Bus, posting on their Facebook, and calling their elected officials. They can bitch all they want in Roslyn but if no one hears them its not gonna do any good.

Or they could start their own "Jitney" service like they have in Bergen County. I know I want no part of it, so to me the n27 doesn't run at all on weekends. Roslyn is not a destination and therefore it is completely useless.

Good thing I dont need to go to Glen Cove on weekends or live over there in the boondocks.

Been burned enough, these people still take it they're asking for trouble. Most of the time they don't even check tickets on the LIRR to Mineola. If everyone just stopped riding and took the train NICE would probably fix it due to lost ridership.