B44 +SelectBusService+

[aemoreira81]

The B44 SBS to me has a lot of problems that need fixing.

 

1. Service in Midwood. With the unreliability of local service, customers who used to take the B44 Limited to Avenue L, R, or S now have to deal with major delays.

2. Failure to think outside of the box. For obvious reasons, it would make no sense to run the B44 SBS on New York Avenue north of Empire Boulevard. But did anyone think of possibly turning New York Avenue into a one-way street northbound from Farragut up to East New York Avenue/Lincoln Road, where it becomes a one way, which would permit the installation of a bus lane on New York Avenue? This would have maintained service to Kings County Hospital...as local buses are now overloaded with customers who used to take the Limited to get to Kings County Hospital.

3. Better communication overall. The B44 SBS makes a lot fewer stops than the B44 Limited, and at stops that used to be Limited stops but did not make the SBS cut (i.e., Myrtle, Gates, Bergen/Dean, Avenue L, Avenue R), crowds built up at those stops not aware that the SBS doesn't stop there anymore.

[Interested Rider]

The problem with projects such as this is how the project was framed in the minds of the different stakeholders. When a community resident looks at an issue, it i s from the perspective of what is good for himself and in many cases what is good for the community. A person in government looks at totally differently as to where the funds are and who will pay for it. The government mindset has become do not use local funds for the program at all cost but use federal funds. Thus cash-strapped government  agencies are reluctant to ask for capital funding when the federal money is so enticing even though it comes with the total loss of individual rights and sovereignty.

 

Brooklyn Bus (in response to my previous post) correctly pointed out about the use of federal funds to pay for bathrooms that if it was built with city funds would have cost considerably less with far fewer restrictions. The problem is that local governments are giving up their rights to the federal government for money. What happens is that local control is lost and the local governments have to kowtow to every federal whim in taking the money even if it is totally irrelevant or unnecessary. What has happened here is that the local interests are sacrificed by being totally ignored for the money. This is called centralization of power and it comes at a price, namely loss of the rights of the individual and the local government power to influence decisions.

 

This is what happened when the B/44 SBS plan was developed and placed in operation as it is another example of centralized planning and decisionmaking which has become all too common in this city and throughout this country. This is what Mark R. Levin discusses in his various books including Ameritopia as well as gives a possible solution to how to stop the loss of individual and local government control in his latest book "The Liberty Amendments".

 

 

[BrooklynBus]

The B44 SBS to me has a lot of problems that need fixing.

 

1. Service in Midwood. With the unreliability of local service, customers who used to take the B44 Limited to Avenue L, R, or S now have to deal with major delays.

2. Failure to think outside of the box. For obvious reasons, it would make no sense to run the B44 SBS on New York Avenue north of Empire Boulevard. But did anyone think of possibly turning New York Avenue into a one-way street northbound from Farragut up to East New York Avenue/Lincoln Road, where it becomes a one way, which would permit the installation of a bus lane on New York Avenue? This would have maintained service to Kings County Hospital...as local buses are now overloaded with customers who used to take the Limited to get to Kings County Hospital.

3. Better communication overall. The B44 SBS makes a lot fewer stops than the B44 Limited, and at stops that used to be Limited stops but did not make the SBS cut (i.e., Myrtle, Gates, Bergen/Dean, Avenue L, Avenue R), crowds built up at those stops not aware that the SBS doesn't stop there anymore.

The problem with turning NY Av into one way is Kings County Hospital and Holy Cross Cemetery which prevents finding another street to pair it with. Perhaps it could be done by reversing traffic flow on other streets. But as I stated, the MTA always looks for the simplest solution, not the best one, and that would interfere with their plans to truncate the B49 at Foster Av and move the B44 local to Rogers which I really believe will happen in a year or two when the dust settles on the new SBS.

[bobtehpanda]

The B44 SBS to me has a lot of problems that need fixing.

 

1. Service in Midwood. With the unreliability of local service, customers who used to take the B44 Limited to Avenue L, R, or S now have to deal with major delays.

2. Failure to think outside of the box. For obvious reasons, it would make no sense to run the B44 SBS on New York Avenue north of Empire Boulevard. But did anyone think of possibly turning New York Avenue into a one-way street northbound from Farragut up to East New York Avenue/Lincoln Road, where it becomes a one way, which would permit the installation of a bus lane on New York Avenue? This would have maintained service to Kings County Hospital...as local buses are now overloaded with customers who used to take the Limited to get to Kings County Hospital.

3. Better communication overall. The B44 SBS makes a lot fewer stops than the B44 Limited, and at stops that used to be Limited stops but did not make the SBS cut (i.e., Myrtle, Gates, Bergen/Dean, Avenue L, Avenue R), crowds built up at those stops not aware that the SBS doesn't stop there anymore.

 

I'm actually quite confused as to what they used to determine where to stop and where not to stop.

[Acela Express]

Ok guys - take it from me as I'm one of the operators on the SBS:

 

The SBS is successful, however the drawbacks with folks still becoming familiar with the system, myself and a friend who was riding out pamphlets and maps in each seat on my bus, every trip... To inform folks how the new service will operate, and how to pay your fare. I also explained on the PA to study the new map so they are not late to work the morning, as many folks expressed how badly late they were on Monday-- (one saying 40 minutes late)... I also explained Rogers Avenue scenario.

 

As time goes along, they will learn to use Rogers.

NY Av is too congested with traffic and with one lane delaying service... The. You have to deal with Fulton Street and it's f**kery.

 

I had plenty folks get off at Fulton saying this ride was actually faster along Rogers compared to being stuck on New York.

 

My trip along Rogers was pretty light.. I maybe carried no more than 20 people on the corridor, and then 1 or 2 trips with no more than 4. However on Monday I had folks waiting at Parkside for me (about 7); 1 or 2 from Av D and Church; 1 at Empire; 2 at St Johns - most of my people were on board prior to getting on Rogers...

[aemoreira81]

Ok guys - take it from me as I'm one of the operators on the SBS:

 

The SBS is successful, however the drawbacks with folks still becoming familiar with the system, myself and a friend who was riding out pamphlets and maps in each seat on my bus, every trip... To inform folks how the new service will operate, and how to pay your fare. I also explained on the PA to study the new map so they are not late to work the morning, as many folks expressed how badly late they were on Monday-- (one saying 40 minutes late)... I also explained Rogers Avenue scenario.

 

As time goes along, they will learn to use Rogers.

NY Av is too congested with traffic and with one lane delaying service... The. You have to deal with Fulton Street and it's f****ry.

 

I had plenty folks get off at Fulton saying this ride was actually faster along Rogers compared to being stuck on New York.

 

My trip along Rogers was pretty light.. I maybe carried no more than 20 people on the corridor, and then 1 or 2 trips with no more than 4. However on Monday I had folks waiting at Parkside for me (about 7); 1 or 2 from Av D and Church; 1 at Empire; 2 at St Johns - most of my people were on board prior to getting on Rogers...

 

On the New York and Fulton issue...what about turning New York Avenue into a 1-way street and then having the B44 SBS use Rogers north of Empire? Along Rogers, the reason why ridership is so light is because the SBS completely misses Kings County and SUNY Downstate hospitals. Albany likely could handle its southbound traffic, and south of Lenox Road, Brooklyn Avenue could be its one-way pair to Clarendon, where Brooklyn Avenue would become two-way.

[Acela Express]

On the New York and Fulton issue...what about turning New York Avenue into a 1-way street and then having the B44 SBS use Rogers north of Empire? Along Rogers, the reason why ridership is so light is because the SBS completely misses Kings County and SUNY Downstate hospitals. Albany likely could handle its southbound traffic, and south of Lenox Road, Brooklyn Avenue could be its one-way pair to Clarendon, where Brooklyn Avenue would become two-way.

It's still a lose-lose situation.

The point of sending the 44 up Rogers from the Junction was to streamline the route, without all those ridculous turns.

 

In time, folks will use Rogers, and gain ridership - as the corridor is much more dense with business and residents.

I think of Rogers as a Nostrand in reverse. In a few years, businesses will see a boost along Rogers.

 

Folks are afraid of change.

When I got to Fulton St on Sunday night, a local bus was in the stand with me, and when I came, they tried boarding my bus, but warned them they needed a ticket, and instead of going to the machine, they WAITED with the other 50 people waiting to board the already crowded local 44 bus.. smh It's a work in progress.

[Mtatransit]

It's still a lose-lose situation.

The point of sending the 44 up Rogers from the Junction was to streamline the route, without all those ridculous turns.

 

In time, folks will use Rogers, and gain ridership - as the corridor is much more dense with business and residents.

I think of Rogers as a Nostrand in reverse. In a few years, businesses will see a boost along Rogers.

 

Folks are afraid of change.

When I got to Fulton St on Sunday night, a local bus was in the stand with me, and when I came, they tried boarding my bus, but warned them they needed a ticket, and instead of going to the machine, they WAITED with the other 50 people waiting to board the already crowded local 44 bus.. smh It's a work in progress.

Yeah the MTA needs to make a huge sign saying PAY OUTSIDE AT THE MACHINE,or an automatic annocement when doors opening saying PLEASE PAY AT THE MACHINE LOCATED AT THE STREET IF YOU HAVENT GOTTEN YOUR RECIEPT. But people wont lesson to it anyway.

[BrooklynBus]

On the New York and Fulton issue...what about turning New York Avenue into a 1-way street and then having the B44 SBS use Rogers north of Empire? Along Rogers, the reason why ridership is so light is because the SBS completely misses Kings County and SUNY Downstate hospitals. Albany likely could handle its southbound traffic, and south of Lenox Road, Brooklyn Avenue could be its one-way pair to Clarendon, where Brooklyn Avenue would become two-way.

Why don't you give us the bus routes you propose for the SBS and the local and other routes if any you think should change.

[Fresh Pond]

It's still a lose-lose situation.

The point of sending the 44 up Rogers from the Junction was to streamline the route, without all those ridculous turns.

 

In time, folks will use Rogers, and gain ridership - as the corridor is much more dense with business and residents.

I think of Rogers as a Nostrand in reverse. In a few years, businesses will see a boost along Rogers.

 

Folks are afraid of change.

When I got to Fulton St on Sunday night, a local bus was in the stand with me, and when I came, they tried boarding my bus, but warned them they needed a ticket, and instead of going to the machine, they WAITED with the other 50 people waiting to board the already crowded local 44 bus.. smh It's a work in progress.

 

Yo remember the lady at Kings Hwy lmao

 

Yeah the MTA needs to make a huge sign saying PAY OUTSIDE AT THE MACHINE,or an automatic annocement when doors opening saying PLEASE PAY AT THE MACHINE LOCATED AT THE STREET IF YOU HAVENT GOTTEN YOUR RECIEPT. But people wont lesson to it anyway.

 

There's 3 (albeit small) signs at the door telling people to pay at the machines, plus the 2 signs on the farebox telling people to pay outside. You could even block off the farebox and people will still try to pay inside the bus/

[BrooklynBus]

It's still a lose-lose situation.

The point of sending the 44 up Rogers from the Junction was to streamline the route, without all those ridculous turns.

 

When Nostrand and Rogers were made one-way, I never understood the logic of using Bedford and New York. It seemed obvious to me then when I was about 15, that the B44 should have been rerouted to Nostrand and Rogers and the B49 moved to go straight on Ocean. Even today, I think that would be the right move. So I agree with you about the fewer number of turns. However, back then, there were Natural Gas Structures east of New York Avenue. Now there is Downstate, and Kings County Hospital has expanded with new buildings. Service is needed on Nostrand Aenue. Two long blocks in a neighborhood that is not that safe is too much to walk. New York Avenue service is needed and needs to be provided by a new north-south route. I once proposed an eastward extension of the now defunct B23 to New York Avenue and north to Kings County Hospital. alternatives are a route on New York or Brooklyn to Clarendon and south on Albany where there is no service. The southern terminal would be open for discussion, either Kings Plaza or to hook up with the B44 to the Junction. It could incorporate a rerouting of the B43 to extend further southward with Empire Blvd service replaced with an eastern extension of the B49 to Utica.

 

Before someone mentions how expensive that would be, I say it woudn't, because there were a north south route between Nostrand and Utica, you wouldn't need so much B44 and B46 service. Slight service reductions on those routes coud pay or an additional route. The goal should be to reduce walking distances to encourage bus trips, not increase the walks to provide SBS, and inadequate local service to force people on to SBS who don't want it. Then brag how many more people are using SBS and how successful it is when the riders woud rather be on the local in the first place.

 

Common sense says if you run artics on the SBS and 40 footers on the local, you should have more locals than artics to avoid overcrowding on the lcals, not run more SBSs than locals.

[BrooklynIRT]

Common sense says if you run artics on the SBS and 40 footers on the local, you should have more locals than artics to avoid overcrowding on the lcals, not run more SBSs than locals.

I beg to differ. if they made the slower bus (the local) more frequent than the faster bus (the SBS), then that could create a huge problem because then the transit users who want speed would not like it, and we would wind up with long waits for the faster service and short waits for the slower service. ridership levels on the two services could then stagnate since the advantages and disadvantages of one service are balanced by the advantages and disadvantages of the other one too much. the majority of transit users are able-bodied and can walk 10 minutes max to an SBS stop. honestly I find the complaints about walking distances a bit absurd when it comes to able-bodied persons, who are the majority.

 

I also find it a bit absurd that planning has to be done around these walking distance guidelines like no more than 5 minutes to a local bus stop or 7.5 to an SBS stop, especially in situations where throwing the walking distance guidelines out the window, which is something I often do and sometimes am forced to do as a transit user, helps the transit user take advantage of multiple services that pick him up at the same destination and drop him off at different transit stops but all the transit stops are within 0.5 mile or so of his destination.

 

something has to give in order for service to be faster. if you want to live no less than 0.25 mile from a stop served by the faster service, you have to make an effort to move to a building that is there. if one service is faster and more frequent then eventually the people will build new travel patterns around it because of its speed and frequency. then the slower and less frequent service might become faster because fewer people will be getting on and off it (and there should be more people on an SBS than a local because the SBS is more efficient when it comes to dwell times, which are the main concern here).

 

the main problems here are that people do not like change, MTA sucks at telling people what new travel patterns they should use to minimize inconvenience and travel time, some people will complain bitterly if they feel that the new travel pattern they are told to use sucks even if it really does not when you look at what the average transit user normally deals with (I should know since I eschew cars at all costs and thus must use the transit system or a bike to go anywhere, and normally it is the transit system, and I currently live in a neighborhood that is a bit of a transit desert; it certainly has less desirable mass transit than any neighborhood along the B44 north of about "L" or "K"), and some people do not know the transit system well enough to know alternate routes to use. this is partially MTA's fault for being bad at informing people/advertising a lot of local bus services in general as B35 has said before, but could also be people's fault for not informing themselves in some cases.

 

and may I remind you of the need to have fast and frequent bus service on Nostrand most hours of the day at all southbound SBS stops south of St. John's or Empire so that people who have to get to IRT Nostrand Ave stations and connecting buses at those IRT Nostrand Ave stations can take advantage of the or local to B44 SBS connection (B44 local is only good when traffic and ridership/bus stop dwell times along Nostrand are low) when the train is acting up? and how that problem with the train has been going on for decades and probably will not be fixed for another 20 to 30 years? I never expect it to go away. it absolutely will not stop unless MTA gets more money to spend on these trains or Harlem is willing to give up subway service at W 148 St-7th Ave and W 145 St-Lenox Ave at certain times.

 

the impossibility of fixing these problems reminds me of Sarah Connor dealing with the Terminator in the first Terminator movie. and when she said "you don't know what it's like to try to kill one of these things" in Terminator 2.

 

well, at the end of the day if they wind up doing something that winds up eliminating the benefits that SBS brings, at least I still have a bicycle. c'est la vie.

[BrooklynIRT]

also, and I do not mean to say this just to put down your suggestions; I am being entirely honest and (I think) logical here: I see a problem with putting a north-south route between Nostrand and Utica and then cutting service on Nostrand and Utica.

 

it could create a situation where instead of having everybody attracted to one part of town (Nostrand or Utica) where service is frequent and those who live in another part of town (where service is less frequent or nonexistent or not easy to walk to, like Albany Ave) desiring to move to the part of town where service is frequent, we would now have a situation where fewer people are attracted to the Nostrand or Utica part of town because of service cuts there.

 

and more people would be attracted to the Albany Ave part of town than before, but the transit use there would wind up leveling off faster than transit use on the Nostrand or Utica side, and this combined with the detrimental effects of service cuts on Nostrand and Utica (in the long run service cuts to faster services are worse than service cuts to slower services; another reason that I think the B44 SBS is being attacked a bit too much although our points about the poor communication still stand, I think) could cause another form of stagnation in transit services.

 

population becomes too spread out because of a new Albany Ave service taking riders from Nostrand and Utica, further motivated by service cuts on Nostrand and Utica that were required to pay for the new Albany Ave service. when the population is too spread out and this is motivated by an Albany Ave service attracting people from Nostrand and Utica, each individual north-south service might be less effective or helpful than whatever the previous situation was. it is a bit similar to urban sprawl.

 

especially since neighborhoods along Albany are less dense (and more supportive of personal automobiles, which compete with mass transit, due to the increased presence of driveways on people's property and the lower population density which makes on-street parking less of a hassle as opposed to high population density neighborhoods where so many people unfortunately want to have personal automobiles and thus parking problems abound) than those along Nostrand and Utica.

[BrooklynIRT]

Utica is one thing since it has no subway and the B46 is pretty nasty when it comes to crowding, but Nostrand and Rogers are another story since Nostrand has a subway and the unidirectional roads allow for bus lanes and traffic signals that allow buses to move faster than the other north-south roads in the area. there is also more capacity available for additional passengers on the B44 overall than on the B46 overall.

[BrooklynBus]

@Brooklyn IRT

 

You really are reading more into what I wrote than what I meant. Of course demand on Utica and Nostrand will always be greater than on Nostrand. I wasn't talking about a new service to compete with the other two that woud run just as often. But one where its really needed but would run at maximum of every 15 to 20 minutes. Service on Utica and Nostrand would of course always be much more frequent. Running a few less buses on those streets at times when they are not needed, could pay for the new service I speak of. For example, why do you need to start the SBS from Knapp at 6 AM? Those buses will be nearly empty until they get further down the line. The first two Knapp Street trips could be put in at Flatbush and Nostrand and run north. The next four could be put in at Avenue U with the following trip beginning at Knapp St. 6:30 or 6:45 is early enough for SBS to begin at Knapp Street. There is plenty of waste in the existing schedule regarding SBS. Also, why are there so any cabs always waiting at Kings County Hospital. I would bet that most are short trips to the immediate area where a cab is much quicker than having to walk all the way to Utica or Nostrand or (now perhaps Rogers), then back to Albany.

 

According to the MTA boarding is so quick with SBS, so why would adding back a few necessary Limited stops back that we're removed slow the SBS down more than two minutes?

 

Also, you talk of walking 10 minutes max to an SBS stop as if it were nothing. (And don't forget how much more difficult it is in bad weather with six inches of snow on the ground or during frigid weather or when it is pouring or the temps in the 90s). The service area to the B44 is a quarter mile or a 5 minute walk for most. An extra 5 minutes at each end is a 10 minute extra walk for the trip. The MTA claims that the bus saves 15 minutes in running time from end to end. The average local bus trip is 2.3 miles, for SBS probably a little longer. The route is 9 miles. The average SBS bus passenger's bus trip is no more than 5 to 6 minutes shorter. So if someone walks 5 minutes extra at both ends, he actually loses 4 minutes with SBS. If the 5 minute extra walk is only at one end, he only breaks even. The people who gain with the B44 SBS are only those who do not have a longer walk at both ends of the trip which will be less than half the patronage. So walking distance to and from the bus becomes an important factor in determining if SBS is worthwhile or not, and we haven't even begun to discuss those who drive whose trips will still be faster than taking SBS because of their origins and destinations and are greatly inconvenienced by it.

[BrooklynIRT]

ok, sorry if I read into it too much.

 

-see post #745 for my response to service starting at Knapp St at 6 am on a Saturday or Sunday. in light of how they could remove such excessive service (if it is excessive), I suppose you can do that to create a new route running every 10-15 minutes..

 

-bad weather is less common than good weather, and the worst example of bad weather that you mentioned, 10 inches of snow on the ground, is very very uncommon and is not a big deal if a person is wearing waterproof boots. how many man-made defenses against bad weather do we really need? I think most people make a bigger deal out of this than it really is.

 

-you said those who drive whose origins and destinations are inconvenienced by the SBS; those are travel patterns that can change. as I said in post #762 the people can adapt.

 

-where did you get the average time savings for the SBS from? the online B44 SBS schedule? something else MTA stated? I think that schedule has way too much running time on weekdays and Saturdays.

 

-I have no problem with the adding back the deleted stops; I said before that I have no problem with whatever they do with the route south of "H" as long as it does not negatively impact service north of "H".

[BrooklynBus]

The average travel time savings are either from MTA documents or were stated at meetings. Now they realize that six minutes doesn't sound like its so great, so now they keep saying trips will be reduced by 20% because it sounds more. Even if that statistic were accurate, it is still wrong, because most B44 riders riders require a transfer. The B44 is not their complete trip. A six minute savings is accurate if you are talking about a whole trip or just the SBS portion of it, but when you deal with percentages, you have to talk only about origins and destinations of the entire trip, not just the SBS portion. If the B44 portion is reduced by 25%, that percentage is greatly reduced when you add in the subway portion or connecting bus portion. See how sneaky they are? Most people getting off at the Junction are not ending their trip there. It is merely a transfer point so to consider that as your destination would be wrong.

 

When you consider all the factors that make walking uncomfortable, snow, rain, excessive winds, very cold, very hot or humid, you will find the number of days to be considerable, like between 20 and 40%, not to mention those having difficulty walking which is more common for bus passengers than subway passengers. Okay, if your trip is discretionary, you can make it on another day. But most people can't choose te days they want to work. And I didn't say 10 inches of snow. I said 6, but even three or slushy conditions can make walking uncomfortable. And when you consider that snow makes service less reliable, with increased waits, increased walking also makes the trip even worse.

[BrooklynIRT]

yes, I made a mistake about 10 inches of snow instead of 6. sorry again.

 

if people know that there will be snow outside they should leave earlier so they are not late. even if the forecast says no snow they should leave early because of whatever delay might occur. this holds true for the subway in case of a breakdown or sick passenger or switch or signal malfunction, it holds true for any bus line not physically separated from other traffic and held true with the B44 before SBS began, and it holds true for the B44 now. it holds true in all these cases because of the possibility of a motor vehicle accident that greatly slows things down. or heavy traffic combined with illegal parking or something.

 

once again I question how many man-made defenses against bad weather we really need and think most people make a bigger deal out of this than it really is. especially if the time aspect of the problem can be fixed by leaving earlier, which is something that should be done even if you have to use the subway or had to use the B44 before SBS began and you live 5 minutes from the subway station or B44 bus stop or any bus stop you need/needed to use to get to work.

[BrooklynBus]

yes, I made a mistake about 10 inches of snow instead of 6. sorry again.

 

if people know that there will be snow outside they should leave earlier so they are not late. even if the forecast says no snow they should leave early because of whatever delay might occur. this holds true for the subway in case of a breakdown or sick passenger or switch or signal malfunction, it holds true for any bus line not physically separated from other traffic and held true with the B44 before SBS began, and it holds true for the B44 now. it holds true in all these cases because of the possibility of a motor vehicle accident that greatly slows things down. or heavy traffic combined with illegal parking or something.

 

once again I question how many man-made defenses against bad weather we really need and think most people make a bigger deal out of this than it really is. especially if the time aspect of the problem can be fixed by leaving earlier, which is something that should be done even if you have to use the subway or had to use the B44 before SBS began and you live 5 minutes from the subway station or B44 bus stop or any bus stop you need/needed to use to get to work.

Of course you are correct about leaving earlier, but that still doesn't solve the inconvenience factor of extra walking in bad weather. It's not something you think of in the summer when the weather is usually nice when some walk even if they see a bus like I do just because they want the exercise. But it's totally different in the winter. Sometime in the mid-90's during a blizzard the southern part of the Brighton line out. I remember taking the B49 to Avenue U and walking four little blocks to the Brighton line. I don't remember if the train was running from Avenue U or if I had to get back on the bus to go to the F. All I remember is how miserable and cold I was walking those four little blocks and how long it took because of the huge wind and how difficult it was just to get on and off the curbs. Half mile walks under those conditions are no fun at all no matter what type of boots you are wearing. When that happens, they should just suspend SBS and have it make all stops or the locals will just be intolerable and the SBSs will be empty and a lot of people will be cursing when empty buses pass them after they are waiting a half hour in the cold.

[BrooklynIRT]

and I forgot that they already run SBS/LTD service as local service in such conditions. they should do the same thing with the B44; that should not be any different from other SBS/LTD lines.

[BrooklynIRT]

also MTA may be sneaky when it comes to their estimates of time savings, but I do not pay much attention to that for several reasons:

 

-people are still getting used to SBS, and until the regulars are used to it, it will be delayed by many people who do not yet know how to use it.

 

-I think that once most of the regular riders are used to it and they finish redoing Nostrand b/w Flushing and Atlantic, the travel times at least between Flushing Ave and Flatbush Ave will be much shorter than the garbage that currently appears on the B44 SBS schedules.

 

-the lack of communication on MTA's part that makes people think there is still LTD service where there no longer is and hinders people from learning new travel patterns.

 

-I prefer to focus on how we can make the B44 SBS faster (regardless of whatever bus stops get added, as long as they are not bus stops that the LTD never made) rather than focus on how fast the B44 SBS currently is and how sneaky MTA is being while speaking of the B44 SBS in its current state. I have in mind several things (some of which are drastic) that could be done to really speed up the B44 SBS north of "H" without cutting any bus stops and while adding back the stops at Myrtle, Gates, and possibly Bergen. basically attempting to put back as many LTD stops as possible north of JCT (except Glenwood). the route would then be more appreciated than it currently is. same goes for other bus lines.

[LTA1992]

Why do people keep blaming the for "Communication" problems?

 

Why not blame the riders for not being proactive? They saw the changes, I'm sure they read the signs, there were people giving out pamphlets that detailed the service, all in the weeks before service started. Then there's a little something called Google. 

[Trainmaster5]

Before everyone gets too caught up in the pros and cons of the B44 SBS stop and think about the (MTA)s promises and the actual use of the B44 by real riders. To all my B/O brethren out there this is not a slap at you. You work hard and I appreciate you all. The goes on and on about time saved by the SBS route. Unless you are boarding at an SBS stop in south Brooklyn and traveling to another SBS stop  in northern Brooklyn or Bridge Plaza itself the numbers are basically bogus. In other words your "home" stop was or is an SBS stop and your final destination was or is an SBS stop quite a distance away, ie, Ave U- Flushing Ave. All other riders either have to walk to an SBS stop and /or walk from an SBS stop. That's added time no matter how you slice it. If that rider must transfer to another bus or train to continue to their destination where is that savings? Wait until the ridership learns the SBS system and how to use it. IMO the average bus ride isn't long enough for the time saving benefits to outweigh the negatives. Simply put the real savings go to the . I'd also ask how long before the truncates B49 service to no longer serve Rogers  and Bedford Avenues ? My guess is 24 months maximum but if things work out with the present ridership base north of Flatbush-Nostrand to Fulton Street the will drop the hammer after 12 months. Carry on.

[aemoreira81]

Why do people keep blaming the for "Communication" problems?

 

Why not blame the riders for not being proactive? They saw the changes, I'm sure they read the signs, there were people giving out pamphlets that detailed the service, all in the weeks before service started. Then there's a little something called Google. 

 

The changes were poorly communicated to the riding public. It's not so obvious here because we are all transit enthusiasts, but given that many stops were cut and that there was a route revision, there should have been posters on the buses at least a month ahead of time.

[BrooklynIRT]

Trainmaster, did you see my posts about train problems? especially in this thread?