Express bus cut talk

[KNIGHTRIDER3:16]

See what I'm talking about :tdown:jesus christ so is this A test also huh??

[B35 via Church]

There is nothing "luxurious" about express buses. The way you talk, you'd think they have bathrooms on them with folks serving us food.

 

you just described hampton jitney

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Hey Via Garibaldi 8, I'm still waiting for a reply....

 

You raise good points which we discussed earlier in this thread, particularly the deadheading and you really can't do much about that. There are express buses that do multiple runs during rush hour and they usually are late coming back from their Staten Island run to do the second Manhattan run as a result. Many of the weekend express buses go to and from the outer boroughs and do not deadhead. I have gotten the same driver to and from Staten Island or to and from Brooklyn to Manhattan for this very reason on the weekends.

 

If you eliminate the drop off only rule the express bus would not be nearly as fast and wouldn't compete with the subway as it does at times, so my question is then aside from the swapping of buses, which I don't see a need for (the newer models will also be even more fuel efficient and will compete with the new fuel efficient local buses coming out) how would you cut down on the expense? You could argue reducing some routes further, but then you'd be putting salt into an open wound.

 

 

I mean there are some local routes throughout the five boroughs with poor service, but they still run because of the areas that they serve and their importance to those areas. Some of the express bus lines help many elderly folks go to and from places that they may not be able to get to without the express bus, as many simply could not take the subway for safety reasons and also due to lack of elevators, etc. Therefore these are sort of things that I think the MTA factors in when deciding to keep certain lines and cut others. In sum, I think one can argue that certain express buses should be canned just like certain local buses, but it's not so easy to just do that.

[Shortline Bus]

I'm a taxpayer too... If you were really so concerned about waste you wouldn't be singling out express buses. There are certainly other areas where the MTA wastes at so spare me. There are plenty of "wasteful local buses" too incase you forgot.

 

 

As a former express bus semi-regular rider about a decade ago on the X28 and former X29, MCI's are useful on many lines. However MCI look like a waste on low usage lines like the BXM6 and BM4.

 

That why the should buy both Provost/MCI's to use on high usage routes like the X1(the express bus version of artics) and something that LRG showed like too for low usage lines.

 

A good compromise indeed.

[Forest Glen]

Suppose the , crying poverty once again, substituted standard yellow school buses on these routes for a month? Buses running the same routes, making the same stops, running at the same frequency and charged the same fare. Or, run regular (NYCT) buses in place of the coaches they run now. What I'm trying to get at is it the time saved vs local commutation or is because of the equipment used? What justifies the fare cost? I realize the S.I. express commute is like no other but when one bandies about the terms "luxurious" and "premium" and basically tells the rest of the residents, who are subsidizing this "luxury" service, to STFU that's going a little too far. No one was forced to take up residence in a borough with poor transportation options in the first place. I , for one, believe that quite a few S.I. residents moved to get away from certain elements yet those same elements are subsidizing your commute. I think that if it's the case then the and the subsidy providers have a whole lot to say about express bus routes in the city.

 

Someone has a case of Weinbergitis.

[Forest Glen]

He's just a stuck up jackass who gets mad when nobody is on his side or if anyone disagrees with him, then gets called out for his one-word responses....

 

As for everyone else's reasons, I'm pretty sure their reasons are quite clear about what they like and dislike about Express Bus services.

 

Now I believe that this thread has gone its length and needs to be :lock:, it was good at first but now its just one sided bullshit.

 

I don't care if you're a mod. Go f*ck yourself.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

As a former express bus semi-regular rider about a decade ago on the X28 and former X29, MCI's are useful on many lines. However MCI look like a waste on low usage lines like the BXM6 and BM4.

 

That why the should buy both Provost/MCI's to use on high usage routes like the X1(the express bus version of artics) and something that LRG showed like too for low usage lines.

 

A good compromise indeed.

 

Folks who use the BM1 -BM5 lines were promised larger buses (as in MCIs) as they were using those Orions during the rush and now that they have them I think folks are a lot happier since there were issues with overcrowding. I saw a BM4 Downtown the other day around 09:30 and while it wasn't packed it had a decent crowd on it. I think it's better to stick with a uniform fleet. There have been times when many MCIs have gone down on SI and they were short on buses and if that were to happen and you didn't have MCIs available for a line like the X1, you'd have a big problem, so the better safe than sorry approach works better for that reason.

 

Years ago, I remember they had to use those old Orions for some X16 runs when they were short on MCIs.

 

Come to think of it Castleton has quite a few express buses that are getting up there in age and I've seen many of them broken down of late. When SI was having lots problems with MCIs a few years ago, the MTA was able to borrow newer buses from MTA Bus to help out, thus allowing them to fix those buses accordingly, so I have to say on this one, I understand the MTA's thinking.

[LRG]

You raise good points which we discussed earlier in this thread, particularly the deadheading and you really can't do much about that. There are express buses that do multiple runs during rush hour and they usually are late coming back from their Staten Island run to do the second Manhattan run as a result. Many of the weekend express buses go to and from the outer boroughs and do not deadhead. I have gotten the same driver to and from Staten Island or to and from Brooklyn to Manhattan for this very reason on the weekends.

 

If you eliminate the drop off only rule the express bus would not be nearly as fast and wouldn't compete with the subway as it does at times, so my question is then aside from the swapping of buses, which I don't see a need for (the newer models will also be even more fuel efficient and will compete with the new fuel efficient local buses coming out) how would you cut down on the expense? You could argue reducing some routes further, but then you'd be putting salt into an open wound.

 

 

I mean there are some local routes throughout the five boroughs with poor service, but they still run because of the areas that they serve and their importance to those areas. Some of the express bus lines help many elderly folks go to and from places that they may not be able to get to without the express bus, as many simply could not take the subway for safety reasons and also due to lack of elevators, etc. Therefore these are sort of things that I think the MTA factors in when deciding to keep certain lines and cut others. In sum, I think one can argue that certain express buses should be canned just like certain local buses, but it's not so easy to just do that.

 

I completely understand where you're coming from, especially in regards to the last point. Someone mentioned about how the elevator at Kings Highway on the (:P/(Q) would be one step closer to making the BM4 useless, where an elderly rider could save money by taking the B31 to Kings Highway and take the or to Manhattan. I dunno...yeah they're saving money but they're also cramming themselves onto a crush-loaded train as Kings Highway is where a bulk of Brighton's ridership comes in at, should I say. Then again people decide to load into the train by the stairs instead of distributing themselves along the platform...I honestly think that would make the platforms less crowded than they are right now.

 

Some express lines have runs that are every 60 minutes on weekends...what else is there to do with the route? Reduce the runs to 70 minutes? 90 minutes? 120 minutes? Moves like this is what makes routes bound for discontinuation...the same can be said for local routes in which it's only sufficient to run service every 30 minutes, but running service every 40 minutes, 45 minutes, 50 minutes, or even hourly, during daytime hours (7 a.m. to 10 p.m.) and you're asking for the route to be cut.

 

It's a task I tell ya...the use of suburban-style local buses was just an improvisation on my end as to what the MTA should do to spend less money on their bus fleet, pertaining to their over-the-road coaches. But regardless of what I feel should be used on certain lines doesn't mean in one way that express bus riders should be robbed, but they shouldn't be spoiled either, which is why I've never said that all express bus lines should be done away with. I've never said that express bus riders are not as important as subway/local riders. But the express bus fleet that we have is just too much for some lines. Some of the Orion 5 CNGs from College Point used to run on express runs and had suburban seating because the express lines would interline with a local line, and a driver would start his trip on the local line with the same bus instead of taking his MCI to the depot and taking out an Orion 5 CNG for their local run. That was why I made my suggestion as to making the local lines interline with express lines more by using same model bus types, but after giving it some thought, I don't think that would be the best way to handle the situation.

[LRG]

I don't care if you're a mod. Go f*ck yourself.

 

He isn't a mod....

[Cait Sith]

You raise good points which we discussed earlier in this thread, particularly the deadheading and you really can't do much about that. There are express buses that do multiple runs during rush hour and they usually are late coming back from their Staten Island run to do the second Manhattan run as a result. Many of the weekend express buses go to and from the outer boroughs and do not deadhead. I have gotten the same driver to and from Staten Island or to and from Brooklyn to Manhattan for this very reason on the weekends.

 

If you eliminate the drop off only rule the express bus would not be nearly as fast and wouldn't compete with the subway as it does at times, so my question is then aside from the swapping of buses, which I don't see a need for (the newer models will also be even more fuel efficient and will compete with the new fuel efficient local buses coming out) how would you cut down on the expense? You could argue reducing some routes further, but then you'd be putting salt into an open wound.

 

 

I mean there are some local routes throughout the five boroughs with poor service, but they still run because of the areas that they serve and their importance to those areas. Some of the express bus lines help many elderly folks go to and from places that they may not be able to get to without the express bus, as many simply could not take the subway for safety reasons and also due to lack of elevators, etc. Therefore these are sort of things that I think the MTA factors in when deciding to keep certain lines and cut others. In sum, I think one can argue that certain express buses should be canned just like certain local buses, but it's not so easy to just do that.

 

Gotta agree on several points in this post. By eliminating the drop off only rule, its pretty much like a limited service instead of an exp service and then it would ultimately slow things down. The express run system from what I understand is based on the time the run begins and ends along with the times it hits the first and last stop, S.I's run system is a little different from other depots because of the length most routes have such as the x17J and several others.

 

In order to cut down on the expense (and if we did have any), have some 40ft suburbans run on the lower-ridership express routes such as the x7 and the others that dont have the 45fters with all the seats being used & re-adjust some of the schedules on specific routes like the x19, there has been countless times where I seen 2 x19s back to back ON schedule along with x11s. Some of those schedules need to be fixed.

 

I don't care if you're a mod. Go f*ck yourself.

 

Will do, you have a nice night now.

 

Someone has a case of Weinbergitis.

 

And you keep bringing up his name into this forum, why?

[RokuSix]

There is nothing "luxurious" about express buses. The way you talk, you'd think they have bathrooms on them with folks serving us food. They are standard coach buses that many other transportation systems offer for suburban commuters.

 

The problem here is that you folks are just jealous because you ride the local bus so you want everyone to follow suit. It's like the guy that drives a Ford and is envious of the dude that drives a Porsche. I drive a Ford so he should drive one too. Those who can afford a premium service are entitled to have it and those who don't like it. Too bad.

 

I'm actually a frequent rider of the various BxM routes... while I do enjoy the MCI environment, I wouldn't label it as necessary. I'd be happy with a suburban style Orion.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Will do, you have a nice night now.

 

 

 

And you keep bringing up his name into this forum, why?

 

 

 

Gotta agree on several points in this post. By eliminating the drop off only rule, its pretty much like a limited service instead of an exp service.

 

In order to cut down on the expense (and if we did have any), have some 40ft suburbans run on the lower-ridership express routes & re-adjust some of the schedules on specific routes like the x19, there has been countless times where I seen 2 x19s back to back ON schedule along with x11s. Some of those schedules need to be fixed.

 

 

Those buses aren't waste. It's a problem of bunching often times. This morning I waited for an X1. Two buses were supposed to have arrived in a 7 minute span since they run every five minutes. One showed up and everyone packed on. I refused to since I knew at least another one was due. As soon as that X1 left two more followed as they were all running five minutes late. So my bus was practically empty. The bus in front of us was packed and the third bus had a decent crowd but wasn't packed per se. I've been noticing this bunching issue though of late and it seems to be a problem when no dispatcher is around. This is also the case with the X11, X17 and X19. They are scheduled so frequently that if one guy is late, which happens often it just causes terrible bunching and uneven loading of passengers.

 

Interesting to note that all 3 X1s got Downtown at the same time. :cool:

[via White Plains Road]

And you keep bringing up his name into this forum, why?

 

B/c he can't keep SubChat business on there or when he's totally disagreed on he'll use his name for stupid reasons!

[Cait Sith]

Those buses aren't waste. It's a problem of bunching often times. This morning I waited for an X1. Two buses were supposed to have arrived in a 7 minute span since they run every five minutes. One showed up and everyone packed on. I refused to since I knew at least another one was due. As soon as that X1 left two more followed as they were all running five minutes late. So my bus was practically empty. The bus in front of us was packed and the third bus had a decent crowd but wasn't packed per se. I've been noticing this bunching issue though of late and it seems to be a problem when no dispatcher is around. This is also the case with the X11, X17 and X19. They are scheduled so frequently that if one guy is late, which happens often it just causes terrible bunching and uneven loading of passengers.

 

Interesting to note that all 3 X1s got Downtown at the same time. :cool:

 

The bunching gets really terrible as to when the bus behind it is just basically carrying air, it's a problem in my opinion. I understand how frequent the lines should run, HOWEVER, they should space out buses by at least 10 minutes, to see buses just carrying air following a bus that picked up the riders, that is a pure example of waste. If anything, the 2nd bus behind the lead MCI on the route and on that run should be a 40fter.

 

The only routes I see to be streamlined well are the BM1-4 routes along with the x27, x28 QM7 & 8, the S.I express routes are a hot mess when it comes to bunching and close frequency, that needs to be addressed.

 

B/c he can't keep SubChat business on there or when he's totally disagreed on he'll use his name for stupid reasons!

 

I suppose you are right.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

I'm actually a frequent rider of the various BxM routes... while I do enjoy the MCI environment, I wouldn't label it as necessary. I'd be happy with a suburban style Orion.

 

But as I pointed out in my post to Shortline, from an operational point of view it is necessary. If you have an MCI shortage like the MTA has had in the past, having a uniform fleet can help in those circumstances. They have really had problems with keeping up w/broken down MCIs on Staten Island, esp. out of Castleton and being able to borrow MCIs from other depots or MTA Bus helps them a ton to maintain decent service while trying to fix those MCIs.

[East New York]

MTA is going to continue ordering express coaches wether you all like it or not. News flash: The largest TA in the country does not pay lists prices for buses!

 

Note: We are banning people, and issuing infractions without warning. If any of you think for one second we are not up on all of this, some of you have some late Christmas gifts headed you're way! We have already started the bans, and I have a list of 16 more people(and counting) who will be receiving some long overdue special attention!

 

See what I'm talking about :tdown:jesus christ so is this A test also huh??

 

Sure is! And they all took the bait! OWNED;)