Bus drivers running early

[Forest Glen]

Damn, 6 AM. Why you didn't apply to Brooklyn College?

[LRG]

Damn, 6 AM. Why you didn't apply to Brooklyn College?

 

They never got back to me. Truth be told I don't mind the commute as 6:00 is the same time I left for high school and I only lived 35-45 minutes away yet school didn't start till 8. Yeah I gave myself TOO much ample time but I don't like being stuck in the house too much...I go crazy lol

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Case in point you need to give yourself ample time to get to your destination. You cannot just play by the schedule thinking everything's gonna be okay. I have two classes in Staten Island that begin at 8:00 in the morning two times week. If I were to travel based on the fact that my commute would always be a normal one and leave my house at 6:30 in the morning to get to my 8:00 class, I would probably be ten minutes late every day on average. That's why I leave my house at 6:00. The one time I hit a snag during my commute I got to class with five minutes to spare. Now imagine if that happened if I left my house at 6:30 and I ran into that circumstance; I would have been half an hour late.

 

Give yourself at least 10-15 minutes of ample time.

 

Listen man, you don't need to tell me to leave myself ample time. I'm not that incompetent. I give myself 1:40 minutes or more to get to Midtown every day via the express bus and my commute is usually one hour or so, which is more than enough time so that if something goes wrong, I still have backups that can get me to work on time. The point of this thread was to understand why drivers arrive so early, particularly on Staten Island where so many lines have 20 - 30 minute waiting gaps between buses. If you have buses with frequent service like the X1, if a guy is running hot, no biggie, but guys should not be allowed to run 10 - 15 minutes hot with 20 - 30 gaps in the schedule or if he's the last express of the morning, period. If this is such a problem for drivers to arrive within a reasonable amount of time according to the schedule and they have such ridiculous headways (which they do in some cases) then why isn't the Union making more a stink about it? I would think it would be in their best interest to have more people using the system or am I wrong?

[SoSpectacular]

When I got to class I always set out at least an hour before they start, sometimes that Q27 can get wonky along the way, hell my longest trips from Flushing to QCC have been as long as 40 minutes!!

[Via Garibaldi 8]

When I got to class I always set out at least an hour before they start, sometimes that Q27 can get wonky along the way, hell my longest trips from Flushing to QCC have been as long as 40 minutes!!

 

If people are leaving at 6am to get to a place at 8am and giving themselves an extra hour to make sure they get there on time, what does that say about transportation here in NYC? Why would people want to leave their cars home for a system that in many aspects is broken and not efficient??

[Trainmaster5]

Some quick questions for everyone on either side of this debate. Does the operator(s) arrive at the major points listed on the schedules on or near time? Isn't there something posted to the effect that schedules are only guidelines , not guarantees, weather and road conditions, etc, blah blah blah.? If there are surface dispatchers in the field checking on the operators they see what's going on and they must approve of the operators actions. I'm not sure about surface operations but I'm guessing that they can change a schedule as they see fit in the field so maybe that plays a part also.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Some quick questions for everyone on either side of this debate. Does the operator(s) arrive at the major points listed on the schedules on or near time? Isn't there something posted to the effect that schedules are only guidelines , not guarantees, weather and road conditions, etc, blah blah blah.? If there are surface dispatchers in the field checking on the operators they see what's going on and they must approve of the operators actions. I'm not sure about surface operations but I'm guessing that they can change a schedule as they see fit in the field so maybe that plays a part also.

 

I believe it may state somewhere that the schedule times are approximate and I totally understand that, so even if the driver comes 5 minutes early, okay fine, but why should a driver be allowed to arrive 10 - 15 minutes early on lines with 20 - 30 minute waits? I mean that just doesn't seem rational at all and since there's no consistency with it, it leads to really shabby service on many lines. I know I'm bitching about it but it irritates me because it just means that drivers can show up whenever, in essence there is no accountability and no sense of customer service. Why is that we shouldn't be irritated for expecting a bus to arrive somewhere near it's scheduled time when we paying for a service? If you go to a restaurant and it's busy and your food arrives an hour later, you would be pissed, so I don't see how this is any different. I mean shit, yeah it's public transportation, but we subsidize this damn system with taxes, taxes and more taxes so even if we say that the system sucks and let's not use it we still pay out of our pockets for it. I think we should expect to get some sort of decent service in return for it with some level of accountability. Not asking much at all.

[MHV9218]

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

[checkmatechamp13]

I wouldn't say that 90% of all transit riders don't own cars. For example, in Manhattan, traffic is slow, parking and gas are expensive, whereas the subway is fast and costs only $2.25. Therefore, a lot of people traveling to/from/around Manhattan take public transportation even if they own a car.

 

In the outer boroughs, that statement is more accurate. The marginal cost of driving is often much less than the cost of a bus fare, and is often faster and more convenient.

 

For example, my family owns a car, and the only time we use mass transit is when the car is being used (which is 5 days per week). Now, we use it heavily when we don't have access to the car, but whenever the car is available, we don't even think of taking mass transit (except in the case of me and my brother, where we have free Student MetroCards, so we use them instead of being driven, as the marginal cost is nothing)

[Via Garibaldi 8]

I give myself extra time too. Look, I see where you're coming from, but this shouldn't be a post of transit bashing.

 

Remember: only 44% of New Yorkers own cars, and I'd wager that close to 90% of mass transit users do not have cars. New York isn't like most cities in that way -- for most of us, mass transit is THE form of transport. Take it or leave it, in a sense. It's not like L.A. where you can drive or take the train.

 

If I need to commute, I can walk, take the train/bus, or take a cab. Chances are I'll take the train/bus. I've got no car to leave at home.

 

Plus, the system isn't broken if operators are having trouble staying EXACTLY on time. There are too many extraneous variables to make the argument mass transit is broken for being late or early. If I were to drive, which, again, I couldn't, I'd leave the same amount of time for traffic as I would for catching a bus. It's just part of commuting in NYC.

 

P.S. These guys have tough jobs to start with. Let's just thank them for doing what they do, and not be angry that they're off schedule. It's natural to be angry, but I know all the guys running the buses I commute on, and they're only human -- wheelchairs, etc. are unaccountable and can make them late, so they try to stay early to avoid being late. I'll miss the bus because of that, but again, I leave time, because I have no other option.

 

Being late cuts into their layover, remember, a layover which they completely need and deserve. These guys have tough enough jobs already.

 

I've got news for you... My uncle is a bus driver and we don't always see eye to eye on these sorts of things to say the least. During the transit strike in 2005, I didn't speak to him for a few weeks. To say I was pissed is an understatement. I don't fault the drivers for how things currently are, as much as I fault the MTA because it's their responsibility to see that things are better streamlined. There are tons of things that they can do to make our commutes better, such as seeing that buses connect better, cutting out useless stops on local buses to speed up the commute and so on. As far as I'm concerned, over the last few years, bus and subway service as a whole has become worse and it's not so much because of the service as it is these sorts of things. I will give them credit though... They have done a great job with the website. I use it a ton to check on service delays and so on. What I am really looking forward to is countdown clocks system wide. That would make a huge difference in the outer boroughs where the schedule comes more into play. I love the countdown clocks in the subway.

[553 Bridgeton]

When your fellow co-workers are laid off because of these bus cuts, don't come crying to the transit riders for help, because it works both ways.

 

Why the hell would I need to cry? Im getting paid, I could careless. My job is not to care about the passengers, however I have to be friendly.

 

Sometimes supervision tells us to leave early to keep the sch. So if supervision tells us to leave then what in the blue hell you think im going to do.

 

When a customer ask me why Im late, I tell them look at how many passengers are on the bus and look at the counter.

 

If you dont like the service complain, you have to the right to, if your not going to complain, then what is your purpose?

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Why the hell would I need to cry? Im getting paid, I could careless. My job is not to care about the passengers, however I have to be friendly.

 

Sometimes supervision tells us to leave early to keep the sch. So if supervision tells us to leave then what in the blue hell you think im going to do.

 

When a customer ask me why Im late, I tell them look at how many passengers are on the bus and look at the counter.

 

If you dont like the service complain, you have to the right to, if your not going to complain, then what is your purpose?

 

You make good points and I'm sure supervision at times does do that. As far as complaining goes, believe me, I write the MTA a lot, as well as my elected officials, including the mayor, since he is always pushing public transportation. Before I used to just get annoyed, but now I've become motivated actually to see changes made in how the MTA does things. I think the riding public deserves far better service and accountability and in order for that to happen, we need to be far more vocal and demand that changes are made, otherwise nothing will ever change.

[Noflexdont]

Here is my input about drivers leaving early. 10-15 minutes early is unnecessary. 3 minutes tops is what i feel is ok during daylight hours or head ways less than 15 mins. If the headway are more than 15-20 minutes a part no more than 2 minutes is ok. Now ill give you a example of what happens in the real world. I am currently working the Q54, if i leave Williamsburg bridge plaza 2 mins early my whole trip is ok. Ill make half my time points on time and the others late by 3-5 mins. Now if i leave on time from the WillyB plaza i will be late the whole trip and at the end be any wheres from 8-12 minutes late. There are times from one time point to another i can be 4 minutes early then be 2 minutes late usually from M train station to Woodhaven boulevard. Here is the answer.Like every job out there, there are people that come to work to work and people who come to work to collect there check and go home while doing as little as possible. Sad but true.

[Cait Sith]

I've got news for you... My uncle is a bus driver and we don't always see eye to eye on these sorts of things to say the least. During the transit strike in 2005, I didn't speak to him for a few weeks. To say I was pissed is an understatement. I don't fault the drivers for how things currently are, as much as I fault the MTA because it's their responsibility to see that things are better streamlined. There are tons of things that they can do to make our commutes better, such as seeing that buses connect better, cutting out useless stops on local buses to speed up the commute and so on. As far as I'm concerned, over the last few years, bus and subway service as a whole has become worse and it's not so much because of the service as it is these sorts of things. I will give them credit though... They have done a great job with the website. I use it a ton to check on service delays and so on. What I am really looking forward to is countdown clocks system wide. That would make a huge difference in the outer boroughs where the schedule comes more into play. I love the countdown clocks in the subway.

 

The website itself sucks....they could've done MUCH MORE better with that.....

 

I just got through with reading this thread, it seems as if I'm better off smashing my face into a wall....but here's my 2 cents.

 

As a daily rider of NYC's Transit Buses & a casual rider over at Staten Island, I have NEVER...and I mean NEVER had an operator come at my stop(s) 10-15 minutes early. I've had operators who came into the stops a few minutes earlier than expected, sit there for a little bit, THEN leave the stop at the designated time its supposed to arrive/depart.

 

I'm at Staten Island several times a month, I have never had a bus operator arrive at a bus stop and leave 10-15 minutes early WITH THE EXCEPTION of an x1 that had to fill in for another bus that broke down in the city. I've had operators who came into the stop at least 3-5 minutes early at most.

 

Plus, not everything can be streamlined when buses meet heavy traffic, all Staten Island/Brooklyn express routes get caught up in heavy traffic over the FDR or the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel/Gowanus, same goes for Q32, Q101, S53/79 and other inter-borough local/express routes. In some cases, I've had Q32 rides that left 32nd Street 5 minutes earlier in order to save the time it wastes on traffic along the Queensboro Bridge.

 

To hear that a bus coming into a stop 10-15 minutes earlier than scheduled, either your perception of time is far apart from reality or you are just impatient. This kinda sounds like a fairytale, but thats just me.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

The website itself sucks....they could've done MUCH MORE better with that.....

 

I just got through with reading this thread, it seems as if I'm better off smashing my face into a wall....but here's my 2 cents.

 

As a daily rider of NYC's Transit Buses & a casual rider over at Staten Island, I have NEVER...and I mean NEVER had an operator come at my stop(s) 10-15 minutes early. I've had operators who came into the stops a few minutes earlier than expected, sit there for a little bit, THEN leave the stop at the designated time its supposed to arrive/depart.

 

I'm at Staten Island several times a month, I have never had a bus operator arrive at a bus stop and leave 10-15 minutes early WITH THE EXCEPTION of an x1 that had to fill in for another bus that broke down in the city. I've had operators who came into the stop at least 3-5 minutes early at most.

 

Plus, not everything can be streamlined when buses meet heavy traffic, all Staten Island/Brooklyn express routes get caught up in heavy traffic over the FDR or the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel/Gowanus, same goes for Q32, Q101, S53/79 and other inter-borough local/express routes. In some cases, I've had Q32 rides that left 32nd Street 5 minutes earlier in order to save the time it wastes on traffic along the Queensboro Bridge.

 

To hear that a bus coming into a stop 10-15 minutes earlier than scheduled, either your perception of time is far apart from reality or you are just impatient. This kinda sounds like a fairytale, but thats just me.

 

What lines do you ride on because I can tell which lines this does happen on... It's usually the X10, the S54 and occasionally the X30 in the morning because the X30 is usually late at night. The X1s are very good and rarely come early but of course it has the highest ridership out of all of the express buses in the city. The S54s just come whenever they want or not at all... Mind you this is a line that usually runs every 30 minutes and is not really crowded once school lets out, so it has happened to me on several occasions where I've waited for an hour after coming off of the X10 or X12 around 09:00pm or so and just gave up and took car service for the short 5 minute ride home. I know it's hard to believe, but it does happen on certain lines. Ridership isn't that great on the S54 so it's easier for drivers to run hot 10 - 15 minutes and get away with it and there's also rarely dispatchers are the X30, X10 and S54 lines. I occasionally see a dispatcher for the X30 and X12/42 at South Ave and Forest and one by 23rd Street for the X10and X12, but that's a rarity. I have never seen a dispatcher for the S54 line anywhere along the line.

 

Until you actually live on Staten Island and commute daily on some of the trouble lines, you really don't know what some of us Staten Island commuters experience. I've been commuting on Staten Island for some years now so I doubt it's in my head. The X12 is also another flaky bus that runs in bunches even when it's spaced 20 - 25 minutes apart. As far as the South Shore buses go aside from the X1 and X17, I've never taken of the other lines, but I have hear horror stories about the X5 about how several buses go missing during the early morning rush and how they run bunched in packs of 3 even because they're being held back at Yukon for some reason.

[Cait Sith]

What lines do you ride on because I can tell which lines this does happen on... It's usually the X10, the S54 and occasionally the X30 in the morning because the X30 is usually late at night. The X1s are very good and rarely come early but of course it has the highest ridership out of all of the express buses in the city. The S54s just come whenever they want or not at all... Mind you this is a line that usually runs every 30 minutes and if not really crowded once school lets out, so it has happened to me on several occasions where I've waited for an hour after coming off of the X10 or X12 around 09:00pm or so and just gave up and took car service for the short 5 minute ride home. I know it's hard to believe, but it does happen on certain lines. Ridership isn't that great on the S54 so it's easier for drivers to run hot and get away with it and there's also rarely dispatchers are the X30, X10 and S54 lines. I occasionally see a dispatcher for the X30 and X12/42 at South Ave and Forest and one by 23rd Street for the X10, but that's a rarity. I have never seen a dispatcher for the S54 line anywhere along the line.

 

Until you actually live on Staten Island and commute daily on some of the trouble lines, you really don't know what some of us commuters experience. The X12 is also another flaky bus that runs in bunches even when it's spaced 20 - 25 minutes apart. As far as the South Shore buses go, I've never taken the X5, but I have hear horror stories about how several buses go missing during the early morning rush and how they run bunched in packs of 3 even because they're being held back at Yukon for some reason.

 

Lets see here....

 

For the express, the x1, x5, x7, x8 (which already has bad on-time problems and bunching issues in Manhattan), x10, the x15 & x17C/J. Locals, the S40, S44, S48, S53, S59, S61, S66 & the S79 and on occasion the S89. I can gladly give you my to/from points if you really want to know more about my travels.

 

Now onto your little know-it-all point. I DONT have to live there to know how bad service is, so you can take that back and stick it, After 7pm, service gets really shitty, headways become much more spread out, mall routes such as the S61 get 15-20 minute headways, worse on weekends. Also, if you had gotten off of the x10 waiting for your next bus, it couldnt have gotten there and left early, the bus could've broken down or went back to the depot, its 9pm, SEVERAL BUS RUNS end early and they go back to the depot, it has happened MANY times in Staten Island. You can't witness what you dont see....

 

I've been going in and out of that borough my entire life, you dont need to tell me the shit that you THINK goes on over there. I dont have to live there for squat, I've been through it too. I am a casual rider of the borough, go there at least 4-6 times a week, almost 18-20 times a month.

 

There are some x1s and x10s that start from 23rd street, which is why there are dispatchers / road ops there, for the x10, they instruct them to either take the West Side Highway after Houston or follow Broadway all the way Downtown to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. I see them often either at 23rd & 5th/Madison or at 23rd and 1st Avenue. I've never had a problem with the x10 and I take it on occasion, as fo the S54, I have no use for the route so I dont really know much about it.

 

Lets wind the clocks back when the private bus lines were still intact. I used to live in South Richmond Hill, Queens and I had to deal with the Q8 and the Q41 under the Green Bus Lines flag, two lines which are NEVER on time, they either came 15 minutes early or 15 minutes late, with OTHER buses behind them. Staten Island had pretty decent service back then, the only thing that caused their service to get worse is the fleet, many buses are taken out of service because of maintenance issues and whatnot. That has been an issue over at Staten Island for more than 6 years, its one of the main reasons why service has declined over the years. When Charleston Depot opens, service SHOULD get a little bit better than what it is now....

 

I might not know about the S54 that much, or at all for that matter, but your story doesnt check out for me. Its either your perception of time is just bad or you just have shit luck. I can see where you are coming from and that you are frustrated with service down there, but if you are going to give me a snotty response, I'm not the one to be messed with....

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Lets see here....

 

For the express, the x1, x5, x7, x8 (which already has bad on-time problems and bunching issues in Manhattan), x10, the x15 & x17C/J. Locals, the S40, S44, S48, S53, S59, S61, S66 & the S79 and on occasion the S89. I can gladly give you my to/from points if you really want to know more about my travels.

 

Now onto your little know-it-all point. I DONT have to live there to know how bad service is, so you can take that back and stick it, After 7pm, service gets really shitty, headways become much more spread out, mall routes such as the S61 get 15-20 minute headways, worse on weekends. Also, if you had gotten off of the x10 waiting for your next bus, it couldnt have gotten there and left early, the bus could've broken down or went back to the depot, its 9pm, SEVERAL BUS RUNS end early and they go back to the depot, it has happened MANY times in Staten Island. You can't witness what you dont see....

 

I've been going in and out of that borough my entire life, you dont need to tell me the shit that you THINK goes on over there. I dont have to live there for squat, I've been through it too. I am a casual rider of the borough, go there at least 4-6 times a week, almost 18-20 times a month.

 

There are some x1s and x10s that start from 23rd street, which is why there are dispatchers / road ops there, for the x10, they instruct them to either take the West Side Highway after Houston or follow Broadway all the way Downtown to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. I see them often either at 23rd & 5th/Madison or at 23rd and 1st Avenue. I've never had a problem with the x10 and I take it on occasion, as fo the S54, I have no use for the route so I dont really know much about it.

 

Lets wind the clocks back when the private bus lines were still intact. I used to live in South Richmond Hill, Queens and I had to deal with the Q8 and the Q41 under the Green Bus Lines flag, two lines which are NEVER on time, they either came 15 minutes early or 15 minutes late, with OTHER buses behind them. Staten Island had pretty decent service back then, the only thing that caused their service to get worse is the fleet, many buses are taken out of service because of maintenance issues and whatnot. That has been an issue over at Staten Island for more than 6 years, its one of the main reasons why service has declined over the years. When Charleston Depot opens, service SHOULD get a little bit better than what it is now....

 

I might not know about the S54 that much, or at all for that matter, but your story doesnt check out for me. Its either your perception of time is just bad or you just have shit luck. I can see where you are coming from and that you are frustrated with service down there, but if you are going to give me a snotty response, I'm not the one to be messed with....

 

I just got annoyed because you're telling me that I must be imagining things when I've been commuting here on Staten Island for years too. The X10 can be problematic late at night coming from the city and going to the city on the weekends. On Saturdays and Sundays they tend to come a good 10 minutes early and I figured out why because I either pick them up on Forest Ave or Manor & Schmidts. They arrive either on time or a few minutes late at Forest, but they are given too much time to get to Schmidts Lane. The thing is they don't lay over anywhere to kill a few minutes, so they end up a good 10 minutes early at Schmidts Lane unless they're picking up a lot of people along the service road. BUT you hit the problem right on the head regarding the service decline on Staten Island because I can also remember a time when the service was a lot better here especially when the 6000s were still relatively new. As you said, the buses became terrible and a lot of that was because of management out of Castleton. They really let the buses get in terrible shape and plus they just don't have any room there to do any maintenance on the buses, which led to a bunch of breakdowns. As far as the S54 goes, here's how I know that the run that early... I take the last X12 of the night sometimes from the city which arrives at Victory and Manor around 8:58 to 09:03pm or so and sometimes I'll see a S54 pass by then as the express bus waits at the light because one is scheduled about 08:57 or so. The next one is scheduled at 09:24 or so and I am there waiting for the next one a good 20 - 25 minutes before it comes once I get off of the bus, so yes it does comes that early at times because they have no one to pick up except for at the real major stops, so they just fly down Manor. In sum, I do have shit luck especially since the ride is only 5 minutes, so I usually try to avoid the S54 and the aggravation and just take car service.

[Cait Sith]

I just got annoyed because you're telling me that I must be imaging things when I've been commuting here on Staten Island for years too. The X10 can be problematic late at night coming from the city and going to the city on the weekends. On Saturdays and Sundays they tend to come a good 10 minutes early and I figured out why because I either pick them up on Forest Ave or Manor & Schmidts. They arrive either on time or a few minutes late at Forest, but they are given too much time to get to Schmidts Lane. The thing is they don't lay over anywhere to kill a few minutes, so they end up a good 10 minutes early at Schmidts Lane unless they're picking up a lot of people along the service road. BUT you hit the problem right on the head regarding the service decline on Staten Island because I can also remember a time when the service was a lot better here especially when the 6000s were still relatively new. As you said, the buses became terrible and a lot of that was because of management out of Castleton. They really let the buses get in terrible shape and plus they just don't have any room there to do any maintenance on the buses, which led to a bunch of breakdowns. As far as the S54 goes, here's how I know that the run that early... I take the last X12 of the night sometimes from the city which arrives at Victory and Manor around 8:58 to 09:03pm or so and sometimes I'll see a S54 pass by then as the express bus waits at the light because one is scheduled about 08:57 or so. The next one is scheduled at 09:24 or so and I am there waiting for the next one a good 20 - 25 minutes before it comes once I get off of the bus, so yes it does comes that early at times because they have no one to pick up except for at the real major stops, so they just fly down Manor. In sum, I do have shit luck especially since the ride is only 5 minutes, so I usually try to avoid the S54 and the aggravation and just take car service.

 

Fleet mismanagement came out of both Yukon & Castleton depots, when Yukon had those RTSs in the early 2000s, they would have been OOS more often than 6000s, but the RTSs most definitely ran better than the 6000s. The only thing is that the RTS maintenance became so problematic that buses from other depots would show their faces. I once rode (and caught a video of) 304 on the S44, which came straight from Casey Stengel (or Gun Hill, I forgot which one), and 316 on the S79.

 

This was during the time the last few RTSs, being the 93-9400s were leaving the Island, Yukon had suffered such a bad fleet shortage that buses 301-316 were sent down there to alleviate the issues, in which at the same time, Castleton was sending 6000s up north to Casey Stengel or The Bronx while receiving new Next Generation hybrids.

 

Over the years, the Local & Express fleet over at the island have been getting worse, 6000s and several NGs have seen service on the express last summer, I caught 4123 on the x17A and let me tell you, that was not a pretty sight, the bus was at such a crush load that it was about to bottom out on itself.

 

With the new Meredith Depot/Facility, reliability with the Express fleet has increased quite a bit. Charleston would be able to fix most of the fleet & maintenance issues on the island when the depot officially opens. Its a pretty well known fact that both Yukon & Castleton depots are overcrowded and the streets of Staten Island gives these buses much more of a beating than they should. When Charleston opens, it should be able to fix a good majority of the fleet issues.

 

P.S. : You should separate your paragraphs, kinda hard to read when its all bunched up like that

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Fleet mismanagement came out of both Yukon & Castleton depots, when Yukon had those RTSs in the early 2000s, they would have been OOS more often than 6000s, but the RTSs most definitely ran better than the 6000s. The only thing is that the RTS maintenance became so problematic that buses from other depots would show their faces. I once rode (and caught a video of) 304 on the S44, which came straight from Casey Stengel (or Gun Hill, I forgot which one), and 316 on the S79.

 

This was during the time the last few RTSs, being the 93-9400s were leaving the Island, Yukon had suffered such a bad fleet shortage that buses 301-316 were sent down there to alleviate the issues, in which at the same time, Castleton was sending 6000s up north to Casey Stengel or The Bronx while receiving new Next Generation hybrids.

 

Over the years, the Local & Express fleet over at the island have been getting worse, 6000s and several NGs have seen service on the express last summer, I caught 4123 on the x17A and let me tell you, that was not a pretty sight, the bus was at such a crush load that it was about to bottom out on itself.

 

With the new Meredith Depot/Facility, reliability with the Express fleet has increased quite a bit. Charleston would be able to fix most of the fleet & maintenance issues on the island when the depot officially opens. Its a pretty well known fact that both Yukon & Castleton depots are overcrowded and the streets of Staten Island gives these buses much more of a beating than they should. When Charleston opens, it should be able to fix a good majority of the fleet issues.

 

P.S. : You should separate your paragraphs, kinda hard to read when its all bunched up like that

 

You are right about that and I remember the RTSs out of Yukon at the time. I remember a lot of the local buses being held together with duct tape literally. One of the reasons the express bus fleet also got better of late is because MTA bus took in some of the older buses, rehabed them a bit where they have more space at and sent some of their new buses over to Castleton. At the time I can remember how terrible Clove Rd was. It was so bad that even the 3000s were breaking down because of the terrible roads. However, with some of the major roads either repaved or being repaved soon, that coupled with Charleston opening next year will have a major impact. The next thing they need to do once Charleston opens is to try and rehab Castleton Depot (maybe do it in stages since they really have limited space). It is really in terrible shape.

[Joel Up Front]

I wasn't going to, but now I will:

 

[DOB2RTO]

When I was there, if you got caught running 5 minutes early, they wanted to give you 5 days in the street. 2-3 they usually will hold you (they + the dispatcher). You run to early, you do leave people behind, and that makes your followers bus get packed. That happens, they run late due to the extra people they get, and that messed up the line. The schedules suppose to make for approximately each bus to get around the same amount of passengers per given time. Does that always work, absolutely not.

 

On days the DOB wants to run regular service, but there are no schoolkids getting on the buses (such as teachers conference day, spring or winter break, etc), buses can be REALLY HOT!!! On the Bx19, I dreaded those days, cause when you have a 5 minute headway, but they leave you 1hr 17min, and you truly only need 1hr on those days, you can do nothing but sit. Usually drivers wait before the spots the know the dispatcher is at. Customers do hoot, holla, and complain, but as I use to tell them, "no school kids, I have a lot of running time, we are running on the picking up lots of schoolkids schedule, and MTA will give me days in the street for every minute I am early, and I don't think no one on here is giving me my lost pay, so we wait". They understood, and that was it. If they didn't, plenty of cabs out there. They ain't late, cause they were the same people I got everyday, and they would get to to stops at the same time schoolkids or not.

 

Express buses don't deal with this situation, but hopefully some of the questions been answered.........

[Via Garibaldi 8]

When I was there, if you got caught running 5 minutes early, they wanted to give you 5 days in the street. 2-3 they usually will hold you (they + the dispatcher). You run to early, you do leave people behind, and that makes your followers bus get packed. That happens, they run late due to the extra people they get, and that messed up the line. The schedules suppose to make for approximately each bus to get around the same amount of passengers per given time. Does that always work, absolutely not.

 

On days the DOB wants to run regular service, but there are no schoolkids getting on the buses (such as teachers conference day, spring or winter break, etc), buses can be REALLY HOT!!! On the Bx19, I dreaded those days, cause when you have a 5 minute headway, but they leave you 1hr 17min, and you truly only need 1hr on those days, you can do nothing but sit. Usually drivers wait before the spots the know the dispatcher is at. Customers do hoot, holla, and complain, but as I use to tell them, "no school kids, I have a lot of running time, we are running on the picking up lots of schoolkids schedule, and MTA will give me days in the street for every minute I am early, and I don't think no one on here is giving me my lost pay, so we wait". They understood, and that was it. If they didn't, plenty of cabs out there. They ain't late, cause they were the same people I got everyday, and they would get to to stops at the same time schoolkids or not.

 

Express buses don't deal with this situation, but hopefully some of the questions been answered.........

 

Local or express, the same thing happens when one guys runs really hot. The other guy usually gets screwed behind him.

[DOB2RTO]

Local or express, the same thing happens when one guys runs really hot. The other guy usually gets screwed behind him.

 

Hopefully you go your answer, and some others did on the why they crawl part. There are to many STI Express buses and routes for dispatchers and road OPS, to make sure everyone is adhering to their schedule. The other boroughs don't have the frequency of service yall do out there, so it's easier to catch driver in the other boroughs........