NYC Express Buses: What buses should be cut and which ones should be expanded?

[B35 via Church]

well the downtown trips from the rockaways could go via brooklyn. even if it goes via LIE/BQE, it would still be an easier commute than the subway. Ive lived in FAr rock 19 years. ive commuted on the QM17 to east midtown back in HS for around 2-3 years. Downtown service from Rockaway would have its loyal riders. and advantages vs. the subway

 

bro...

 

no sane person that lives in the Rockaways (esp. out in Far Rockaway) would take a bus clear across the Gowanus & the Belt, up until Flatbush av... then going on to making stops in the Rockaways from Neponsit to Far Rockaway... that is absurd.

[Far Rock Depot]

bro...

 

no sane person that lives in the Rockaways (esp. out in Far Rockaway) would take a bus clear across the Gowanus & the Belt, up until Flatbush av... then going on to making stops in the Rockaways from Neponsit to Far Rockaway... that is absurd.

 

it wouldnt use the belt. Just straight up flatbush to the manhattan bridge. and it would be non stop thru brooklyn. Im not sure if it still runs because i no longer wake up at 7am, but there was a private route(not DOT) that began on 73rd st, went along rock bch blvd and up flatbust to lower manhattan and it was utilized. and being a resident of rockaway for almost 2 decades and commuting on the QM17, people did like the idea of a downtown express bus. taking that train, well thats absurd! LOL

[Shortline Bus]

it wouldnt use the belt. Just straight up flatbush to the manhattan bridge. and it would be non stop thru brooklyn. Im not sure if it still runs because i no longer wake up at 7am, but there was a private route(not DOT) that began on 73rd st, went along rock bch blvd and up flatbust to lower manhattan and it was utilized. and being a resident of rockaway for almost 2 decades and commuting on the QM17, people did like the idea of a downtown express bus. taking that train, well thats absurd! LOL

 

Flatbush Av has gotten much worse w/ traffic in recent years as well especially the parking lot between the Junction(Nostrand/Flatbush station) and Empire Blvd when the lanes narrow from 6 lanes to 4. Tons of Dollar vans and double/triple parked cars.

 

Until that issue is raised, traveling thru Flatbush is bound for that route to fail.

[B35 via Church]

it wouldnt use the belt. Just straight up flatbush to the manhattan bridge. and it would be non stop thru brooklyn. Im not sure if it still runs because i no longer wake up at 7am, but there was a private route(not DOT) that began on 73rd st, went along rock bch blvd and up flatbust to lower manhattan and it was utilized. and being a resident of rockaway for almost 2 decades and commuting on the QM17, people did like the idea of a downtown express bus. taking that train, well thats absurd! LOL

 

Say what you will about the A train....

Lot of other residents wish they have direct subway service, period.

 

Anyway, you want express buses traveling down the length of flatbush av? Seriously?

and two, getting from Chinatown to the more lower part of manhattan (where all the other x buses serve) can be a pain in the neck by itself.... Have you ever drove on & around Canal st lately?

 

Now you are reaching.... Face it, there is no quick way of getting to/from the Rockaways from/to lower manhattan by bus... either way, you're gonna have around a 2 hr. bus ride on your hands...

[Forest Glen]

Too bad the Belt Parkway can't handle commercial traffic. That would solve a lot of problems.

[Far Rock Depot]

Say what you will about the A train....

Lot of other residents wish they have direct subway service, period.

 

Anyway, you want express buses traveling down the length of flatbush av? Seriously?

and two, getting from Chinatown to the more lower part of manhattan (where all the other x buses serve) can be a pain in the neck by itself.... Have you ever drove on & around Canal st lately?

 

Now you are reaching.... Face it, there is no quick way of getting to the Rockaways to lower manhattan by bus... either way, you're gonna have around a 2 hr. bus ride on your hands from far rockaway to lwr manhattan...

 

i fully understand where youre coming from. ive lived in a two fare zone. i know that feeling.

and that train made me fail 1st period classes 3 semesters straight! LOL

Hudson River brought up a good point about Flatbush traffic as of recent. another good point.

although this service may take up to 2 hours, on anygiven day, let 3 things happen and the could also take upto 2 hours.

 

IMHO, ill take a two hour ride on a coach bus then an hour and 15 to 1 hour 30 minutes on a crowded subway anyday.

 

B35 and HR, it was a pleasure discussing this. i look forward to our next one.

:tup:

[B35 via Church]

Too bad the Belt Parkway can't handle commercial traffic. That would solve a lot of problems.

 

Agreed.

 

B35 and HR, it was a pleasure discussing this. i look forward to our next one.

:tup:

[Shortline Bus]

i fully understand where youre coming from. ive lived in a two fare zone. i know that feeling.

and that train made me fail 1st period classes 3 semesters straight! LOL

Hudson River brought up a good point about Flatbush traffic as of recent. another good point.

although this service may take up to 2 hours, on anygiven day, let 3 things happen and the could also take upto 2 hours.

 

IMHO, ill take a two hour ride on a coach bus then an hour and 15 to 1 hour 30 minutes on a crowded subway anyday.

 

B35 and HR, it was a pleasure discussing this. i look forward to our next one.

:tup:

 

 

Peace out brother:cool:

[Shortline Bus]

Still await B35's express bus ideas for the bronx and SI:cool:.

[Grand Concourse]

I've always thought it should be like this:

For SI at least there should be a central hub before going over the VZ. Here all the lower used buses would end here and return back to pick up more riders, while the main 'trunk routes' would take riders directly to either Lower manhattan or Midtown. This would free up buses from the lesser used lines and allow the more heavily used lines like the X1 to run more buses into the city [buses like the X1 and such would bypass this hub since it is well used]. This way at least all buses heading into Manahttan would be full/mostly full and less waste espeically since the buses have to go thru Brooklyn polluting the area to get to Manahttan. I mean why should Brooklyn residents have to put up with pollution from SI buses bypassing the borough?

Cut the waste.

[R32 3348]

 

Still await B35's express bus ideas for the bronx and SI:cool:.

If you keep saying you're waiting for him, that doesn't mean B35 is going to make his list any faster. Just wait for him to post his list and then comment.

[EE Broadway Local]

Discontinue rush hour X25.

In place of X25, X90 should add two stops at 1st Av & 39th St and 2nd Av & 42nd St, so X90 could remain thru 1st Av tunnel.

X25 passenger transferring from M42, M104, M27/M50 east to X90 will be able to change without additional charge.

 

The X25 runs a short, Manhattan only route. Is it very fast?

[R62A 1991]

The X25 runs a short, Manhattan only route. Is it very fast?

 

Somewhat. Because I was the only person on the bus for the time I took it, we skipped all of the other Downtown Manhattan stops and went straight to the WFC. Took about 20 minutes as opposed to 30. It's probably not that fast when it gets people (my driver said that all of the other trips actually get ridership, but mine was the 9 AM).

[BJC]

half of SI express route should be cut....like the X 20.

[Q101viaSteinway]

Which route, what you want to cut. That is so vague

[S78 via Hylan]

half of SI express route should be cut....like the X 20.

 

I agree and the X13 as well.

[Shortline Bus]

My picks on MTA 'express' buses that should be canned totally or reduced in no order based purely on ridership(or lack of on these lines)usage. I wont comment on the Queens NYCT/MTA express buses since i only rode on them a few times.

 

X13

 

X25

 

X20

 

BM4(Should be a Rush hour only peak direction route)

 

BM5 (should be a weekday only peak direction route ie To Midtown 5am-12 Noon and to Spring Creek 12 Noon-8pm)

extend the BM2 to Starret/Spring Creek weekday evenings and saturdays when the BM5 does not run.

 

 

BXM2-weekends imo should be canned. Riverdale Avenue residents mainly the senior citizen/ada community if they can't use the train should use either the BX7/M5 combo or use the BXM1 East Side line and transfer to a crosstown route for West Side Manhattan service.

 

BXM18-Just merge it with the BXM2 for Lower Manhattan-Riverdale service.

 

BXM6(merge it with either the nearby BXM10 or BXM11)

 

 

BXM4a(weekends should be gone)

 

BXM7a(merged on weekends with the Coop City BXM7 route)

 

X27/28(Sundays should be gone but there enough riders on Saturdays to operate it)

 

Just my takes.

[Luis1985]

Make the BxM3 service to operate 24/7 from Yonkers to Manhattan.

 

Make the BxM7, BxM7A, X1 and X10 as 24/7 buses, especially the X1 and X10 because it serves Staten Island 7 days a week.

 

Expand BxM1, BxM4C (Operated by BeeLine), QM1, QM1A, QM2, QM15, QM16, QM17, X17, X17A, X17C, X17J, X22 service being that they are the most busy lines, especially the X22 being that it serves Tottenville.

 

Get rid of the X25. No need to operate express service from Downtown Manhattan to Grand Central for $5.50 when people can use the for $2.25.

 

thats just my opinion.

 

i dont know about the X90 too much. all i know is that it runs between Yorkville and Downtown Manhattan. should they keep it or get rid of it? i really dont know.

[RokuSix]

BXM6(merge it with either the nearby BXM10 or BXM11)

 

Just my takes.

 

How would that work? Just curious.

[NX Express]

Get rid of the X25. No need to operate express service from Downtown Manhattan to Grand Central for $5.50 when people can use the for $2.25.

 

thats just my opinion.

 

i dont know about the X90 too much. all i know is that it runs between Yorkville and Downtown Manhattan. should they keep it or get rid of it? i really dont know.

 

Heard that it has ridership. Anyway, a compromise would be cutting the X25 and giving the X90 a stop at Grand Central.

[Shortline Bus]

My replies in red.

 

Make the BxM3 service to operate 24/7 from Yonkers to Manhattan.

Why? The BM3 on late evenings especially weekends manhattan bound is lucky to get any riders after 9pm. Meanwhile late evenings BXM3 Yonkers-Bound barely most of the passengers are off by 262 St/Bway.

Current hours of about 5am-1am 7 days is more than enough and if anything the last Midtown Bound BXM3 on weekends should be at 9pm.

 

FYI. I agree with a 24-hour bus service between NYC and Yonkers but it should either be Metro North running 24/7 between Croton Harmon and GCT; or a local NYCT line like the BX10 extened to Getty Sq. or the Bee line #2 running 24/7/

 

Make the BxM7, BxM7A, X1 and X10 as 24/7 buses, especially the X1 and X10 because it serves Staten Island 7 days a week.

 

MY reply. The was rumored prior to the current fiscal crisis according to my newspaper articles i read, was on the verge of making the X1 and BXM7 operate 24/7. Now it might be at least couple of years before it happens. I agree Luis with only the X1 and BXM7(COOP City) being 24/7 routes. However the X10 late evening ridership is not great so the existing hours of running from about 5-1am 7 days a week is fine imo. Plus the BXm7a Pelham Bay Branch often on weekends and late evening weekdays has *zero passengers.* IMO The BXM7 & BXM7a on weekends and late evenings should merge as Forest Glen suggests running off hours on Bruckner between White Plains Road and Coop City. However on this proposal not a bad idea.:tup:

 

Expand BxM1, BxM4C (Operated by BeeLine), QM1, QM1A, QM2, QM15, QM16, QM17, X17, X17A, X17C, X17J, X22 service being that they are the most busy lines, especially the X22 being that it serves Tottenville.

Ok here my replies on routes listed above i been on.

 

BXM1-Ridership on weekends especially Sundays is very low. The only time period the BXM1 gets people on the buses during weekends is Saturdays between 12 Noon-9pm for shopping. Sorry Luis disagree and the existing hours is fine.

 

BXm4c-This is a joke why Bee line/Westchester County has not renamed this route but that another discussion. Ridership on this route is that it gets busy during rush hours and other times weekdays. Weekends the only time periods from times i been on it in last 2 years going to White Plains is Saturdays who people going to Midtown to shop or events during the day. A new trend is so riders from Manhattan getting off at Empire City Casino/Yonkers Raceway.

If ridership continues to increase mainly due to Empire City, i would only expand the BXM4c headways to every 30 minutes on Saturdays from 12 Noon-9pm.

 

X17c-Saturday service i agree should be expanded and run until about 11pm (last bus leaving 57th St) and also create Sunday service running between appx. 7am-8pm.

 

X17J-I would create a trial in which hourly midday X17j Bus service via New Jersey would operate in peak direction. If succesful i would run the X17j to Midtown Mornings 5am-12 Noon and to SI Afternoons/early evenings 12 Noon-9pm. Weekend X17j is not needed imo and if South Shore SI residents want expanded service i would expand the X22.

 

X22-If enough funding is created when the crisis is over, for South Shore SI Residents i would create limited Saturday service running 4 trips in each direction to/from Midtown

 

Get rid of the X25. No need to operate express service from Downtown Manhattan to Grand Central for $5.50 when people can use the for $2.25.

 

I agree 100%. Plus as NX suggested maybe have the X90 or even the BXM18 stop at GCT as alternatives.

 

 

 

i dont know about the X90 too much. all i know is that it runs between Yorkville and Downtown Manhattan. should they keep it or get rid of it? i really dont know.

 

My Reply. The X90 actually gets occasional SRO in both direction on certain trips as some Yorkville residents wanting to get away from the crowded Lex Subway line. So leave it as it is.

 

Just my takes.:cool:

[Forest Glen]

My revised express bus ideas 1/7/2010

 

Staten Island

 

X3-eliminated (its basically a X1 short run); additional X1 and X4 service

 

X17-new Sunday service, hourly from 7 AM to 8 PM

 

X18-eliminated

 

X20-eliminated

 

X22-possible additional service, contingent on ridership

 

Queens

 

I would streamline all of the QM1 and QM1A routes

 

The QM1 would run from NST to Midtown via Union Turnpike

 

The QM1A would run from NST to Lower Manhattan via Union Turnpike

 

The QM5 would run from Glen Oaks to Midtown. At 188 street it will head north towards the LIE and then operate nonstop to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel

 

The QM5A would run from Glen Oaks to Lower Manhattan (also via the LIE)

 

There would be no more Fresh Meadows buses. The QM5 and QM5a would make stops in Fresh Meadows

 

QM3-merge with X51

 

QM4-rush hour, peak direction only (to Manhattan 6:30-9:15 AM. To Queens 4-7 PM)

 

QM10 and QM12-merged

 

QM21-rush hour, peak direction only (the reverse peak runs from Rochdale between 3 and 7 PM would be eliminated. The last run from Manhattan would be 8 PM)

 

QM22- eliminated

 

QM23- eliminated, additional QM15 service

 

X51- see QM3

 

X63- last bus from Manhattan 9 PM, service every 20 minutes from 7-9 PM

 

X68- last bus from Manhattan 8 PM

 

Brooklyn

 

BM4- rush hour, peak direction only

 

B103-restored to its pre-takeover route

 

X29-eliminated

 

Bronx

 

Obtain special permit from DOT to allow buses to use Henry Hudson. I've seen the highway. There's nothing that prevents a MCI D4500 from using it. OOS buses deadhead on the Henry Hudson

 

BxM2- via Henry Hudson from the Bronx to Columbus Circle

 

BxM4A/B- rush hour, peak direction only

 

BxM6-merge with BxM10 (select BxM10 buses would operate via BxM6 route and Unionport and White Plains road before resuming BxM10 route)

 

BxM7- offpeak merge with BxM7A

 

Manhattan

 

X25- eliminated

[LRG]

My revised express bus ideas 1/7/2010

 

Staten Island

 

X3-eliminated (its basically a X1 short run); additional X1 and X4 service

 

X17-new Sunday service, hourly from 7 AM to 8 PM

 

X18-eliminated

 

X20-eliminated

 

X22-possible additional service, contingent on ridership

 

Queens

 

I would streamline all of the QM1 and QM1A routes

 

The QM1 would run from NST to Midtown via Union Turnpike

 

The QM1A would run from NST to Lower Manhattan via Union Turnpike

 

The QM5 would run from Glen Oaks to Midtown. At 188 street it will head north towards the LIE and then operate nonstop to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel

 

The QM5A would run from Glen Oaks to Lower Manhattan (also via the LIE)

 

There would be no more Fresh Meadows buses. The QM5 and QM5a would make stops in Fresh Meadows

 

QM3-merge with X51

 

QM4-rush hour, peak direction only (to Manhattan 6:30-9:15 AM. To Queens 4-7 PM)

 

QM10 and QM12-merged

 

QM21-rush hour, peak direction only (the reverse peak runs from Rochdale between 3 and 7 PM would be eliminated. The last run from Manhattan would be 8 PM)

 

QM22- eliminated

 

QM23- eliminated, additional QM15 service

 

X51- see QM3

 

X63- last bus from Manhattan 9 PM, service every 20 minutes from 7-9 PM

 

X68- last bus from Manhattan 8 PM

 

Brooklyn

 

BM4- rush hour, peak direction only

 

B103-restored to its pre-takeover route

 

X29-eliminated

 

Bronx

 

Obtain special permit from DOT to allow buses to use Henry Hudson. I've seen the highway. There's nothing that prevents a MCI D4500 from using it. OOS buses deadhead on the Henry Hudson

 

BxM2- via Henry Hudson from the Bronx to Columbus Circle

 

BxM4A/B- rush hour, peak direction only

 

BxM6-merge with BxM10 (select BxM10 buses would operate via BxM6 route and Unionport and White Plains road before resuming BxM10 route)

 

BxM7- offpeak merge with BxM7A

 

Manhattan

 

X25- eliminated

 

WAIT A MINUTE....

 

I thought you liked express buses...

Why would you want to see them cut?

Seems farfetch'd that a person who likes something so much would want to negatively alter it...

But that's just my say-so...carry on!

[Forest Glen]

I like express buses, but if a route has 5 people during the middle of rush hour then it doesn't make sense to operate it. The majority of changes I proposed are service increases

[BusOperator3319]

I must say after looking over the Timetables on the website someone isn't doing their job I find it incomprehensible that the last Bus on the majority of the BxM routes depart for Manhattan @ 11PM with the exception of the BxM7B & BxM18 I think there should be a drastic reduction in service on those routes same with some of the QM routes is it necessary is the question

 

that would fix part of the problem with Staten Islands aging fleet because when you drastically reduce the times you can displace Buses where they are needed