R188 7857

6109 is a great bus, I'll miss riding the Orion Vs...

7388 was in service earlier on the Q28.

There was an RTS parked at Casey Stengel when I passed by on the , I think it was 8941.

Basically, you pay the regular fare on the local bus/subway ($2.75) and I think how it works is that if you transfer to an express bus, you don't have to pay another $2.75. However, you do have to pay the rest of the express bus fare. So, pretty much, you still have to pay, but you don't have to pay the $2.75 from the subway or local bus you just took.

Well, here's what I saw...

Uhh..on Bustime, it said that 2291 was on the Q76...

6877 repainted

What's this recall about?

There were a few Orion Vs out today, I saw some on the Q12 (I think that was the only route I saw them on).

Orion Vs are slowly disappearing from CS.. I don't think they are running at all this weekend.

7378 delivered and in service at CS.

Yesterday's Q28 was real messed up during the rush. 7369 was packed above the white line (think that was a rush hour put-in), and the (dispatcher?) told that bus to go before it was crowded to the point where it was unsafe, and there was a bus right behind it, which was 4195. The bus operator always does the Q28 and I do see him quite often. I got on that one, and before that was even half full, the guy told us to leave as there was yet another bus right behind. Two more buses just arrived at Flushing, and one of them deadheaded straight to Bay Terrace without picking anyone up. As I got off my bus, 6880 was NIS right behind a Q31 and our bus. Soon, on BusTime, before 7369 and 4195 (the two buses that left together) even reached Bay Terrace, 6880 was doing the run to Flushing. And of course, behind the three buses (2 in service, one NIS) was 6068. It was a disaster. There was at huge service gap between Bay Terrace and Flushing to the point where there were pretty much no buses between 23 av and Union Street going to Bay Terrace.

Many of the R188 conversion sets in the 72xx today were mixed with a 73xx set. Just waiting on them to mix a conversion with a new set.

They're starting to un-abbreviate some destination signs. Some that I've noticed is that on the Q44, it used to say "W. Farms Sq", now it says "West Farms Sq". On the XD40s (not sure about other buses), it says "FORT TOTTEN" on the Q16 instead of "FT TOTTEN."

7832 has this ugly white graffiti tag on it (it actually looks like a tag that would be on a train from the 80's). They used this thick white marker, and it's very noticeable from a distance. I think you should wipe that up for the . If you don't see it, then Corona might have beaten you to it. Being honest though, it's probably the biggest and worst graffiti tag I've seen on trains in awhile. Pretty sure it's gonna be cleaned up quite fast, because of how noticeable it is.

4678 to CS.

So 7370 is in service in the Q28, however it is not showing up on BusTime. Guess there is either no GPS, or is it just not on?

I did see 7369 on the Q76 thru Bus Time, so I assume yes.

Hasn't that set (7860-7870) not been in service for months? Like, the last time I remember that being in service was last year.. I did get a ride on that set when it was brand new, then I really never saw it again running in service. That set does have CBTC installed, and by the looks of it (the advertisements), I think this set is going to return to service after a long hiatus. It's going to be just like new - unlike all other R188 sets that have been running for well over a year now.

I decided to pass up a Q12 at Morgan Street and take the N20 today. Oh boy, was I not impressed. I was forced to sit in the dreaded back area of the NG (a 17xx). Lets just say, that water was leaking onto the seats, and that there were graffiti tags EVERYWHERE. On the window, on the seats, on the walls, and the back of the bus was literally just a big mess. It reminds me of how SF Muni had those buses where there would be tags everywhere. The driver wasn't any better, the ride was the opposite of smooth, the way he operated that bus was terrible.

Saw Orion V #6329 on the Q28 today, man that thing is not looking too hot....

Just a synopsis of my commute: Got a ride on R62A lead car #2091, which has a Manhattan-bound RFW. Took that to Grand Central, enjoyed my (potentially last) RFW on the . At Mets-Willets Point, there was an R62A on the opposite direction towards Main Street that had the 6 singles, which meant that it also had an RFW. Coming back, I managed to get on the first to Main Street of the day. It was a nice and fast ride, nobody got on at Queensboro (one of the stations that I know of that fills up trains in an instant) because as we entered the station, the local train just left the station. I guess people thought there was no express service and they all got on the local, because barely anyone got on the train. As we fly into the Woodside station, the local train closes it's doors before most people noticed there was an express train on the opposite track. Using a speedometer on my phone, the train reached a max speed of 50 mph, the fast speed I've recorded yet on the . It was a nice and quick ride, one of the best rides I've had on the in a long time. Anyways, get them RFW's while you can.

Kinda reminds me of how the R188 just came into Main Street as I swiped my MetroCard on the 3rd day they were running..

Decent amount of 64xx loaners on CS routes today.

Add 6456 to one of the loaners. That's also on the Q28 in addition to 5169.