Express Bus Service 24 hrs - Staten Island

[Via Garibaldi 8]

The X29 sucked when it was around. Coney Island Avenue is full of traffic lights so it never really gains any momentum.

 

As for the X63, a few years ago nearly every seat would be filled on buses heading to Manhattan in the morning. Now I see half empty buses. Before the June service cuts, it ran every 6 to 8 minutes in the morning. Now it's every 10 to 12 minutes. I'm really concerned about this route.

 

And is the X63 reliable?

[checkmatechamp13]

@Forest Glen: I agree that the X63 could be in trouble. They could use the same logic that they used on the X16 and X18-that riders can take a local bus to the subway (though the X63 still has relatively frequent service-the X16 and X18 had some gaps of 30 minutes at the time of their elimination)

[Forest Glen]

Ridership hasn't dropped to the point where it's in danger of elimination, but it's definitely heading in the wrong direction (no pun intended).

[B35 via Church]

Ridership hasn't dropped to the point where it's in danger of elimination, but it's definitely heading in the wrong direction (no pun intended).

the exact opposite of the ridership situation on the x29 that you despised so much... I'll explain in my next quoted post of yours below....

 

The X29 sucked when it was around. Coney Island Avenue is full of traffic lights so it never really gains any momentum.

 

You can have w/e biases you have about the route, but the route WAS actually gaining ridership before it got cut... They got rid of it, due to it "paralleling the subway"....

 

Hell, after work when I wanted to go to nathan's or w/e, and I'm waiting @ the stop for a x28 or 29, to be honest, I'd look forward to boarding the x29... when you caught all (or mostly) green's, I'd get to stillwell/surf (from battery pl) in about 35-40 mins... compare that to a (which I still had to wait for a) sea gate bound x28, which took about 5 mins more (if there were no trouble on the gowanus, that is)...

 

far as CI having traffic lights @ every intersection... you act as if the x29 always caught red's... I'd say, the reason the route didn't get the "momentum" you continue to bring up about the route, is that, there was a stop at almost every intersection... that's where the problem was.... way too many stops in brooklyn...

 

^^ IMO, the last run of the day ended too early (IINM, it was a bus scheduled to get to stillwell/surf around a quarter to 8pm), and there weren't enough buses leaving manhattan after 6pm... the # of runs themselves waned as the years went on... the ridership was sufficient enough to keep it around... the MTA wanted to get rid of this route.

 

 

well now what I do, is wait for a sea gate x28, which runs very sparse after 6pm @ the stop I get on at, that is...

lemme show you what I mean... this is the current posted timetable for the x28 btw, not the old one:

 

look @ battery/washington... see ALLL those buses that come b/w 6-7pm... & only 3 of them go to sea gate... well, that 6:14 I never catch (too early), that 6:44 is always SRO (this is a bus I sometimes have to run to catch), and that 7:07 is never on time....

 

now look at those next 3 runs (supposedly) to sea gate, leaving battery pl... the 7:36, 7:54, and the 8:14...

No way do there be 3 consecutive x28's that go to sea gate around that time... that is a flat out lie.

 

that 7:54 you see there, that be a cropsey av/(canal av) bus half the time... So I could be standing out there til about 7:30, and see 2 x28's via sea gate arrive (the 7:07, which is crushloaded b/c it's so late... and that 7:36 that comes early b/c everyone's on that 7:07).... When I get out real late from work, and I get to battery pl after 7:30, I just take a BM bus home, instead of going to nathans... and sometimes I be in the mood for hot dogs too (don't even bother suggesting the nathan's on 86th st)...

 

yeah I could walk to broadway/prince & and catch the to the at pacific or w/e (or canal for the Q if the weather's nice enough (by nice, I mean cool)), but the broadway line around that time after 7pm, drags... don't really feel like being bothered w/ that either.... and if I take the , I'm not gonna wanna pass church av (my stop) to go to nathans... you feel funny passing "your" stop after coming home from work to go elsewhere... at least, I do....

 

 

- fin

[B35 via Church]

Like your buddies said in the B/O post, cut me some slack... I was typing fast hence the typo...

 

As far as express bus service goes in Brooklyn, the whole purpose of them is to serve more suburban areas in Southern parts of Brooklyn with no train service or areas where the train is a decent ways away. They're good in that they save on having to transfer and provide a safe, clean and relatively quick commute, especially for the elderly. The city pays for those BM lines to run, and quite frankly the BM3, which I use is far quicker than the B/Q line these days with all of the construction. While the ridership isn't through the roof, they do get some usage during certain parts of the day and can help ease some of the crowding on the subways. I say keep em.

 

You are preaching to the choir, telling me about where express buses go & the point & purpose of them in Brooklyn... You greatly misinterpreted my post if you think I'm saying to get rid of EVERY express route in Brooklyn... when in actuality, when I say service, I'm referring to the number of runs per route in this borough...

 

the only express routes that are just about through the roof here, are the NYCT expresses (x27 & x28)...

 

I advocate for the things, but I'm also realistic & can easily alienate truth from fiction...

If you're honest with yourself (you being from brooklyn and you having said you take the BM3 & all), you cannot tell me that the BM buses don't run in excess, from sun up to sun down....

 

That is why I say, that excess service on the BM buses could possibly be used in other areas (other boroughs)...

I am someone with a genuine interest for transit across the board... yeah, you know, not just throwing in little concerns where it's convenient for you to do so for other boroughs here & there, and pumping up my own backyard like you tend to....

 

b/c I gotta tell you, although I take BM1's & BM2's during the pm hrs (which are more than half full at given times)... I do not, and repeat, do not, remember the last time I been on a BM3, 4 or 5 (especially) that has been at, or more than 50% capacity... again, during the PM hrs....

 

If you (or anyone else) wanna tell me about AM ridership on the BM buses, be my guest... but I can't really fathom AM ridership being that much greater than PM ridership... it wouldn't make much sense...

[checkmatechamp13]

the exact opposite of the ridership situation on the x29 that you despised so much... I'll explain in my next quoted post of yours below....

 

 

 

You can have w/e biases you have about the route, but the route WAS actually gaining ridership before it got cut... They got rid of it, due to it "paralleling the subway"....

 

Hell, after work when I wanted to go to nathan's or w/e, and I'm waiting @ the stop for a x28 or 29, to be honest, I'd look forward to boarding the x29... when you caught all (or mostly) green's, I'd get to stillwell/surf (from battery pl) in about 35-40 mins... compare that to a (which I still had to wait for a) sea gate bound x28, which took about 5 mins more (if there were no trouble on the gowanus, that is)...

 

far as CI having traffic lights @ every intersection... you act as if the x29 always caught red's... I'd say, the reason the route didn't get the "momentum" you continue to bring up about the route, is that, there was a stop at almost every intersection... that's where the problem was.... way too many stops in brooklyn...

 

^^ IMO, the last run of the day ended too early (IINM, it was a bus scheduled to get to stillwell/surf around a quarter to 8pm), and there weren't enough buses leaving manhattan after 6pm... the # of runs themselves waned as the years went on... the ridership was sufficient enough to keep it around... the MTA wanted to get rid of this route.

 

 

well now what I do, is wait for a sea gate x28, which runs very sparse after 6pm @ the stop I get on at, that is...

lemme show you what I mean... this is the current posted timetable for the x28 btw, not the old one:

 

look @ battery/washington... see ALLL those buses that come b/w 6-7pm... & only 3 of them go to sea gate... well, that 6:14 I never catch (too early), that 6:44 is always SRO (this is a bus I sometimes have to run to catch), and that 7:07 is never on time....

 

now look at those next 3 runs (supposedly) to sea gate, leaving battery pl... the 7:36, 7:54, and the 8:14...

No way do there be 3 consecutive x28's that go to sea gate around that time... that is a flat out lie.

 

that 7:54 you see there, that be a cropsey av/(canal av) bus half the time... So I could be standing out there til about 7:30, and see 2 x28's via sea gate arrive (the 7:07, which is crushloaded b/c it's so late... and that 7:36 that comes early b/c everyone's on that 7:07).... When I get out real late from work, and I get to battery pl after 7:30, I just take a BM bus home, instead of going to nathans... and sometimes I be in the mood for hot dogs too (don't even bother suggesting the nathan's on 86th st)...

 

yeah I could walk to broadway/prince & and catch the to the at pacific or w/e (or canal for the Q if the weather's nice enough (by nice, I mean cool)), but the broadway line around that time after 7pm, drags... don't really feel like being bothered w/ that either.... and if I take the , I'm not gonna wanna pass church av (my stop) to go to nathans... you feel funny passing "your" stop after coming home from work to go elsewhere... at least, I do....

 

 

- fin

 

Actually, the X29 had one of the biggest (percentage-wise) losses in ridership of all NYCT express routes. Ridership was down 41.4% from 5 years ago (behind only the X25, X32, and X51) and 11.2% from one year ago (behind only the X25).

 

See page 14 of this document: http://www.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/100125_1031_service2010-nyct.pdf

 

That may have been due to the fact that they cut runs from the line, but the ridership was in now way decreasing.

 

By the way, I feel the same way about passing through my neighborhood to reach another place.

[B35 via Church]

Actually, the X29 had one of the biggest (percentage-wise) losses in ridership of all NYCT express routes. Ridership was down 41.4% from 5 years ago (behind only the X25, X32, and X51) and 11.2% from one year ago (behind only the X25).

 

See page 14 of this document: http://www.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/100125_1031_service2010-nyct.pdf

 

That may have been due to the fact that they cut runs from the line, but the ridership was in now way decreasing.

 

By the way, I feel the same way about passing through my neighborhood to reach another place.

 

Yup, that's what I'm saying... it was a sneaky way to ax the route...

You cut enough runs, people here & there will stop riding them...

 

just so happens that that "here & there" over a 5 yr span amounted to that 41 odd percent, and they used that %-age as a basis to say ridership is declining at a drastic rate... enough to consider discontinuing it..

 

from what I recall, before the june cuts, there were only about 8 runs per day in each direction... I remember a point & time where it was almost double that... while that much service may not have been necessary, the amt. of runs they cut all in one shot, was devastating....

 

that 41% gives people the notion that almost 1/2 the people simply stopped taking the x29 on a per run basis, which I simply don't believe... the x29's I would take, were at about 40-60% capacity... a few buses were almost even SRO at my surprise....

 

But what I always found odd about the x29 in the latter 1.5 yrs or so, was its scheduling; the remnants of service:

 

I mean, just look at those times... most ppl work a 9-to-5, and you had more than 1/2 the runs already in brooklyn before 6.... When you have buses leaving manhattan at that early a timeframe, that also discourages usage....

I dunno, maybe it's just me, bro....

 

When I used to take it, I would catch that last bus of the day, or have to end up waiting for a sea gate x28....

 

Anyway, that's a good set of statistics you pulled btw.

[checkmatechamp13]

So the remaining runs were approximately as crowded as they were before the service was reduced, correct?

 

And you're right-that doesn't make sense that frequency actually died down after 5PM. The schedule has 20-30 minute headways at the height of rush hour.

 

I think I have a Brooklyn Bus Map from 2002 or so that shows the X29 having 10-12 minute headways in the PM rush. I guess when you virtually double the headways, you'll see a significant decrease in ridership, especially if people have alternatives.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

You are preaching to the choir, telling me about where express buses go & the point & purpose of them in Brooklyn... You greatly misinterpreted my post if you think I'm saying to get rid of EVERY express route in Brooklyn... when in actuality, when I say service, I'm referring to the number of runs per route in this borough...

 

the only express routes that are just about through the roof here, are the NYCT expresses (x27 & x28)...

 

I advocate for the things, but I'm also realistic & can easily alienate truth from fiction...

If you're honest with yourself (you being from brooklyn and you having said you take the BM3 & all), you cannot tell me that the BM buses don't run in excess, from sun up to sun down....

 

That is why I say, that excess service on the BM buses could possibly be used in other areas (other boroughs)...

I am someone with a genuine interest for transit across the board... yeah, you know, not just throwing in little concerns where it's convenient for you to do so for other boroughs here & there, and pumping up my own backyard like you tend to....

 

b/c I gotta tell you, although I take BM1's & BM2's during the pm hrs (which are more than half full at given times)... I do not, and repeat, do not, remember the last time I been on a BM3, 4 or 5 (especially) that has been at, or more than 50% capacity... again, during the PM hrs....

 

If you (or anyone else) wanna tell me about AM ridership on the BM buses, be my guest... but I can't really fathom AM ridership being that much greater than PM ridership... it wouldn't make much sense...

 

I usually only ride the BM3 once every three weeks or so on Saturdays to and from Sheepshead Bay when I go the old neighborhood. Occasionally I ride it during the rush hour if I need to go down there, and as you said it's rarely even at 50% capacity, but it still enough folks to warrant running it. My personal feeling is that if the city weren't paying for these routes, a lot of them would've seen significant reduction in service.

 

Regarding your comment about my interest in transit, the fact of the matter is Staten Island politicians don't have as much clout as some of the folks just across the Verrazano in Bay Ridge. That fact and combined with the fact that we're only 500,000 strong should make it easy to see why I would be pushing so hard for more services on Staten Island. It's not saying that I'm not for the other boroughs, it's just that coming from Brooklyn, I see what the other boroughs have and we get a fraction of that on Staten Island, so it's extremely important that we are vocal about our services because it's easy to forget about us because we're closer to NJ than we are to NY and we're on an island and relatively isolated.

[checkmatechamp13]

TBH, many politicans are all talk and no action. They'll show up to meetings and start saying bullsh*t arguments such as "you'll be putting more people back in their cars" and "you'll leave us stranded"

 

Relative to our population, I still think we're pretty powerful.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

TBH, many politicans are all talk and no action. They'll show up to meetings and start saying bullsh*t arguments such as "you'll be putting more people back in their cars" and "you'll leave us stranded"

 

Relative to our population, I still think we're pretty powerful.

 

I went to CSI last year and spoke on the X16 because I was furious about the idea of that line being eliminated. It was a line that we had fought hard to get well before the X30 came into play and it was a huge loss for West Brighton and Randall Manor residents in particular not having Downtown express bus service, not because they're aren't other routes, but because the areas are upscale around Forest Ave in those areas warrant express bus service because there are people willing to pay to use them. I think the part that irritated me the most was how the MTA went about making sure that that line was eliminated running absolute shitty service to force passengers to use alternate routes and constantly using fill-ins who clearly didn't know the route. I made a point to use the X16 on the last week and sadly the last day it was supposed to run, I called myself waiting for the last X16 of the morning, which was a no show, and very symbolic of how service ran over the past two or so years on that line.

[checkmatechamp13]

Yes, I actually did. I spoke at 9:55 PM about the Student MetroCard cuts.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Yes, I actually did. I spoke at 9:55 PM about the Student MetroCard cuts.

 

I was so irritated after I got up and spoke that I just walked out. When I was speaking and accused them of purposely trying to axe the X16 some of them looked pissed and surprised by my comments, but I didn't care. I just said exactly what was on my mind.

[B35 via Church]

Well I commend you two for going to those things... b/c I know I couldn't restrain myself... my #1 pet peeve is utter & blatant stupidity... and from what I've been hearing/reading through recaps over the years I've been on these transit forums about these hearings, they're full of stupidity... not so much by the ppl. pleading their cases, but on the side of the suits....

 

If I'm gonna pour my heart out about something, there better be SOME type of consideration being shown about what I said... even if the actual implementation of w/e idea (routing/scheduling/etc.) I may blurt out, may not ultimatelycome to pass....

 

This is probably the wrong approach to take, but I feel, why waste my time goin to these things when I may not get the chance to speak... and even if I do:

 

a] It won't be isn't near enough time alloted for me to say what I have to... you see how much I type on here...

when I feel strong enough about something, you can double the content of what I type on here, w/ what I'd actually say on a mic.... and...

 

b] what the hell I say will end up falling on squinted eyes & deaf ears....

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Well I commend you two for going to those things... b/c I know I couldn't restrain myself... my #1 pet peeve is utter & blatant stupidity... and from what I've been hearing/reading through recaps over the years I've been on these transit forums about these hearings, they're full of stupidity... not so much by the ppl. pleading their cases, but on the side of the suits....

 

If I'm gonna pour my heart out about something, there better be SOME type of consideration being shown about what I said... even if the actual implementation of w/e idea I may blurt out, may not come to pass....

 

Probably the wrong approach to take, but I feel, why waste my time going to these things when I may not get the chance to speak... and even if I do, what the hell I say will fall on squinted eyes & deaf ears....

 

That's what's wrong with our society. We always think that what we say won't make a difference, so we don't bother. From my understanding, the MTA went back on some of the cuts it planned precisely because of the outcry from passengers. I felt I had a duty to go up and speak for X16 riders because quite frankly aside from myself, there was only one lady that spoke about the express bus cuts who was an X18 rider.

[B35 via Church]

So the remaining runs were approximately as crowded as they were before the service was reduced, correct?

 

And you're right-that doesn't make sense that frequency actually died down after 5PM. The schedule has 20-30 minute headways at the height of rush hour.

 

I think I have a Brooklyn Bus Map from 2002 or so that shows the X29 having 10-12 minute headways in the PM rush. I guess when you virtually double the headways, you'll see a significant decrease in ridership, especially if people have alternatives.

 

well, I'd say, before the service was reduced, to be honest, you did see more near empty buses around the 5-6pm timeframe... but like; after a quarter to 6 (pretty much, the closer it got to 6pm), you notice buses had more people on them.... So to answer your question, I'd say usage after 6, was similar to that 40-60% I said prior... the upper threshold may have been closer to 50% moreso than 60% though on the route back then... x29's then, never really got the point of being SRO... So I understood the cutting of some runs, but I think they cut way too many overall about the route, at once...

 

I remember looking at one x29 timetable, and like you said, there was a bus running about every 12 mins or so.... and then all of a sudden, a new x29 timetable popped up (which is the one I just posted a pic of), and you see service almost cut in half (which corresponds to that 41.4% in their eyes, I guess)...

 

when that timetable first came out, I was like nahhh.. they cut way too much service... these buses are gonna be jampacked, especially the later runs....

 

....but then I look up & notice there were more runs leaving manhattan earlier than what it was prior.... it's like, when I post on the forums, ppl. think I'm pulling things out of my behind when I make these revelations... my foresight is pretty good... at that moment, I came to the conclusion that this route won't be around for long.... and now where's the x29...

 

graveyarded...

[checkmatechamp13]

That's what's wrong with our society. We always think that what we say won't make a difference, so we don't bother. From my understanding, the MTA went back on some of the cuts it planned precisely because of the outcry from passengers. I felt I had a duty to go up and speak for X16 riders because quite frankly aside from myself, there was only one lady that spoke about the express bus cuts who was an X18 rider.

 

To be honest, part of the reason I went was because I didn't want the politicians (who sent members of their staff over, who cut in front of the rest of us and then left because they didn't bother to show up) to feel that they were the reason why the Student MetroCard program was saved.

 

I also figured that if those same politicians were going to make bulls*t arguments about why some routes should be saved, and not offer any real suggestions to fund the MTA (one of them actually voted to take away funding from the MTA specifically meant to stave off service cuts, and then said "I would like to let you know how these cuts will impact Staten Island bus riders"), I might as well be one of the people who came up and use arguments that actually made sense.

 

By the way, I have a copy of the trascript of the hearing and think there were 2 people who talked about the X18 (and you, who talked about the X16).

 

I have to say this-even if I feel that a line should be eliminated, I do feel sympathy for the daily users of that line-not the people who need it "just in case they might use it" or the people who are just defending the route for the sake of defending it.

[Kamen Rider]

Please, watch the Nazi Banksters Crimes Ripple Effect at http://jforjustice.co.uk/banksters

[Forest Glen]

well, I'd say, before the service was reduced, to be honest, you did see more near empty buses around the 5-6pm timeframe... but like; after a quarter to 6 (pretty much, the closer it got to 6pm), you notice buses had more people on them.... So to answer your question, I'd say usage after 6, was similar to that 40-60% I said prior... the upper threshold may have been closer to 50% moreso than 60% though on the route back then... x29's then, never really got the point of being SRO... So I understood the cutting of some runs, but I think they cut way too many overall about the route, at once...

 

I remember looking at one x29 timetable, and like you said, there was a bus running about every 12 mins or so.... and then all of a sudden, a new x29 timetable popped up (which is the one I just posted a pic of), and you see service almost cut in half (which corresponds to that 41.4% in their eyes, I guess)...

 

when that timetable first came out, I was like nahhh.. they cut way too much service... these buses are gonna be jampacked, especially the later runs....

 

....but then I look up & notice there were more runs leaving manhattan earlier than what it was prior.... it's like, when I post on the forums, ppl. think I'm pulling things out of my behind when I make these revelations... my foresight is pretty good... at that moment, I came to the conclusion that this route won't be around for long.... and now where's the x29...

 

graveyarded...

 

I've never seen a X29 with more than 15 people on it. In fact, they had super express versions of the X27 (X37) and X28 (X38) but they did not have a X39. I'm the biggest express bus supporter there is and I believe that the X29 was a useless route. It was literally faster to take the train. It didn't even feel like an express route. After making stops in Manhattan, it went through the Battery Tunnel and the block long Prospect Expressway before making all of those tedious stops on CI Avenue.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

First it was the G-athon over the summer, now it's Staten Island-palooza.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

A political doesn't want to look like a failure to those who elect them. they don't give a crap about 99% of your problems. they just stood there for the sake of saying "I did my best", without really doing anything.

 

I did a little digging and it would seem that removing some of the Express buses on the northeastern end could be justifed by the existance of the ferry. I picked a random spot on Richmond Terrace, and calulcated travel times to a random spot downtown, I picked Fulton and Church.

 

S40-ferry-subway: 1 hour, 6 mintues, which is the exact same time as if you'd walked from that spot to the X10.

 

 

Yeah, you and the MTA are the same... They make cuts based on some numbers they run. What they don't factor in is buses being late , which happens often and you missing that ferry, or the bus actually arriving on time and the ferrry being late or out of service and how that 1 hour and 6 minutes can turn into 2 hours. Everyone says, "Oh you guys don't need a one seat ride to get to the city", but making three transfers everyday is extremely stressful. Often times the bus is late or arrives with literally a minute to spare and you've to run like mad to catch that ferry, then get through the herd once at the Manhattan side and rush over to catch the subway. It becomes very tiring over the years, so my point is, it can look very easy to just eliminate express bus service there but it isn't.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

I've never seen a X29 with more than 15 people on it. In fact, they had super express versions of the X27 (X37) and X28 (X38) but they did not have a X39. I'm the biggest express bus supporter there is and I believe that the X29 was a useless route. It was literally faster to take the train. It didn't even feel like an express route. After making stops in Manhattan, it went through the Battery Tunnel and the block long Prospect Expressway before making all of those tedious stops on CI Avenue.

 

You have to remember the other reasons that people take the express bus. Some suffer disabilities and taking the subway can be next to impossible with all of the stairs. The Q train does not make stops Downtown like the X29 did so the X29 would save someone from having to transfer to the extremely slow R train, so depending on where you got off at and your situation, the X29 could be faster.

 

Like B35 said though, the bus just made far too many stops in Brooklyn in particular. There was never an X39 made because the demand wasn't there for it. The times that I took the X29 from Midtown to Sheepshead Bay, there wasn't a real crowd until the bus reached Downtown and even then it wasn't packed, but certainly more than 15 people. Had they cut down on the number of stops it made it would've been better, but as others pointed out, that line was doomed. The MTA cut until nothing was left, and those people went to other lines like the BM3.

[B35 via Church]

I've never seen a X29 with more than 15 people on it. In fact, they had super express versions of the X27 (X37) and X28 (X38) but they did not have a X39. I'm the biggest express bus supporter there is and I believe that the X29 was a useless route. It was literally faster to take the train. It didn't even feel like an express route. After making stops in Manhattan, it went through the Battery Tunnel and the block long Prospect Expressway before making all of those tedious stops on CI Avenue.

 

Well I'm telling you I've been on several x29's that had more than some 15 people on it....

 

and what does there not having a "x39" have to do with anything....

[checkmatechamp13]

Part of it was the fact that he picked the S40, which is the fastest of the North Shore routes. For somebody who lives right near Castleton Avenue or Forest Avenue, where the buses run more slowly (because there are more traffic lights and more passengers boarding), that commute time is usually longer.

 

I did see the logic in eliminating the X16 and X18 for the simple reason that it would often be faster to get over to another express route that runs more frequently.

 

For example, rather than wait 20 minutes for an X16, it would be faster to take the S48 (or S53 if you happened to live near Broadway) to the X14, as opposed to taking the X16 all around Victory Blvd. The same logic works on the X18-rather than wait 20 minutes for the bus to loop around Park Hill, it would be quicker to take a local bus (the S74/S76, S52/S78, or S51, depending on the portion of the route you are on) to the SIE service road, where the frequencies are much greater.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Part of it was the fact that he picked the S40, which is the fastest of the North Shore routes. For somebody who lives right near Castleton Avenue or Forest Avenue, where the buses run more slowly (because there are more traffic lights and more passengers boarding), that commute time is usually longer.

 

I did see the logic in eliminating the X16 and X18 for the simple reason that it would often be faster to get over to another express route that runs more frequently.

 

For example, rather than wait 20 minutes for an X16, it would be faster to take the S48 (or S53 if you happened to live near Broadway) to the X14, as opposed to taking the X16 all around Victory Blvd. The same logic works on the X18-rather than wait 20 minutes for the bus to loop around Park Hill, it would be quicker to take a local bus (the S74/S76, S52/S78, or S51, depending on the portion of the route you are on) to the SIE service road, where the frequencies are much greater.

 

 

The time difference is maybe 5 minutes at the most. I know because I take the X14 daily and also took the X16. The X16 didn't make that many stops from Bway & Forest to Victory & Clove (about 7 stops were there, but it really made maybe 4 at the most and they were relatively quick) where it met up with the X13 and X14. I know it seems like it would be much longer but there's not tons of lights there by the Silver Lake Park, which allowed the X16 to pick up some speed.

[Kamen Rider]

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