R188 7857

6850 repainted

Damn! 6109 was running on saturday on the Q28 last time I checked, it's a great bus too. 6143 got in an accident recently (and by that, I mean within a year??) and got fixed up as well. Sad to see them go.

Or, it could be students who can care less when they take the bus..

6848 repainted

They're making good progress on the Q44 SBS. Main St has already been repaved from Elder Av to Kissena Blvd. It's still a really bumpy and uncomfortable ride from Northern to Kissena, and from Elder to Booth Memorial. The road has been destroying these buses, I'm pretty sure that the roads are the reason why the joint (or whatever you call it) squeaks on some buses, and makes loud noises on others (the type of noise you hear on trains when they come to a halt).

Seems like ENY is going to slowly give their LFS to JA, and at the same time QV's order will be handed over as well (8403 was in service, I mentioned that earlier - it was on the Q17).

8403 on the Q17...not sure if mentioned get. Posting from my phone.

I started to notice minor cracking on the Orion VII NG's, atleast the ones running out of CS. Is this cracking from slight accidents, or is it just the bus itself deteriorating..?

He is talking about the Manhattan bound platform, how towards the back, there is a fence and then the platform extends all the way back. My guess is that it probably gives access to some sort of staff area there, as some trains do terminate at Mets- Willets Point.

Speaking of, I saw an NIS NICE bus on Utopia Pkwy yesterday morning in Fresh Meadows...

7407 to CS

7406 to CS.

Replies in red... Speaking about the Q44, bus bunching is also a problem, and so is traffic and boarding time. Riding the Q44 in the morning really is a pain in the ass. They've re-paved Main Street from Elder Av to Kissena Blvd. Looks like the new roads will be painted w/ bus lanes.

Is it me, or does the back door on their XN40 look wider than the back doors that are found on our XD40s?

BusTime has quite the glitches. Previously, it said 2291 was on the Q76. Now, it says 2788 is on the Q28. Not to mention the app is horrible after iOS 9. EDIT: It is actually showing 2788 running the route, in service. Pretty sure that's not actually happening though. EDIT #2: The service gap on the line seems pretty normal, including 2788. Without 2788, than the service gap would be pretty big. EDIT #3: So I gave someone a call who happened to be riding the Q28, #4218. He did tell me that he saw a bus pass in the other direction, which happened to correspond with the location of 2788. My guess is that it is either a GPS screw up that displayed the wrong number, or, in a 1/500 chance, 2788 might actually be on the Q28...

7403 to CS.

6846 repainted

4459 on Q16, idk if loan or whatever.

So 7385 has a different type of "case" for the stop request buttons. Instead of the usual smooth, glossy gray, they have this matte-ish yellow version of it that gets dirty easily from fingerprints.

There was actually a time where my bus operator told people to pay the fare up front and get in the bus through the back. I just hate it when there's a crowded bus and people act like they're going to die if they step up the stairs into the higher portion of the bus. Nobody ever does it, no matter how many times the driver has to yell for people to step all the way back. They aren't even that tall either.

That's sad. Never seen that done to a bus before. It probably needs a repaint. What's the #?

I really agree with you that the Nova LFS has terrible design. IMO, the Orion VII OG Gen II+, the Orion VII NG, and the Orion V feel like the most spacious buses to me and also have one of the best seating arrangements. The U-shape seating arrangement in the rear makes it so that there's more space for standees, and it also reduces the amount of vandalism at the back of the bus because people can't tag the back of a chair. Not to mention the fabric walls of the OG and NGs also makes it so that they can't write on them. The two seaters are on the driver side of the bus, which offers I think one more seat than the current design as well. The Nova LFS feels tiny compared to the Orion VII NG. The seating arrangement of the rear of the buses also prevents a problem with leg room. The XD40s are a step up from the Nova LFS, but are still smaller (IMO) than what the older buses were.

The rear doors on the LFSA's really do suck. They make this loud hissing sound (pretty annoying IMO) and then they open extremely slowly. Then, like on the Q44, when lots of people get off, they keep trying to close and people have to prevent them from closing on them. All you hear is, "doors closing, doors closing, doors closing" and with this rear door pushing against you. At least on all other buses that it was easier to keep the door open when it wants to shut, but on the LFSAs they are awful. Riding an XD40 right after an LFSA, you really do notice a difference when you use the rear doors. Do I need to mention that when someone stands remotely close to the door area when the bus is crowded, it won't close? I don't think I'm the only one who hates the rear door on those buses though..

Those 3Gs need to stay in Staten Island. They are out of shape. Recently came to Staten Island, and those 3G's aren't very nice. They are vandalised heavily and filthy. The NGs look in better shape than 3Gs IMO.