BUS - Random Thoughts Thread

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 minute ago, +Young+ said:

Amen! My apologies for briefly going off-topic, however why do you think all of these videos were created to begin with? Even if you at a few others, which are at least an hour long, it should say something to begin with.

Happy Holidays!!

We were talking about this accident in my advocacy group, and a number of us noted how we've almost been hit either just trying to board a bus or even just walking on the sidewalk. It's ridiculous!

[B35 via Church]

As a motorist, I have to agree with dude in the video in question... These e-bikes are getting way out of hand.... Makes you hesitant sometimes with even wanting to drive, no matter how defensively you drive.... I have to hold myself back from shuddering when a bicycle, e-bike, or motorcycle is operating directly parallel to me...

I've been nicked by several of them (e-bikes) just walking around in my own neighborhood here.... Oh, but if I'm stopped at a red light and some bike/e-bike loses control & slams into me, I'm automatically the bad guy because I'm behind a licensed motor vehicle - even though the speed on my digital damn speedometer reads Zero.... Folks are quick to point out a bad driver (and rightfully so), but there is this certain taboo when it comes to speaking out against bicyclists that, quite frankly, do what the f*** they want on the roads and on the sidewalks.... You may laugh or scoff, but I would not be at all surprised if it ever comes to a point where bike lanes will end up being painted on the SIDEWALK.....

Speaking of which, something else that I've always found troubling about what he (guy in the video) raises, is the MTA's vilification of it's own employees.... I could never work somewhere where no matter WTF I do (or don't do), I'm put under the microscope as the culprit or perpetrator in some incident.... Godspeed to you all.

Edited December 25, 2020 by B35 via Church

[MHV9218]

2 hours ago, SoSpectacular said:

There has been one too many times where I've seen cyclists ride out into busy intersections where they DON'T have the light and nothing gets done about it! I've seen cars stop short of hitting, I've had to re-direct my bus pulling into far-side stops to account for someone who decided to ignore the red. Not sure as to what exactly happened yesterday evening but from where the bike and the bus ended up at I am fairly certain someone most likely lost control of their bicycle.

It's bad behavior, and what makes me so mad is how avoidable it all is. Guys are getting killed out there, for no reason. These guys making dirt-poor less-than-minimum-wages have been incentivized to ride as dangerously as possible just to put food on the table, and big companies like Uber and Doordash just line their shareholders' pockets instead of paying them a living wage that would make this unnecessary. Over and over they insist they have no 'employees,' just 'contractors.' Well, this is what happens when you treat people so terribly and make them so desperate for money. A lot of dangerous situations develop for everybody. Only thing I'm trying to make clear in this thread is where the blame lies. We've all been driving for a lot of years here – it was never as bad as this before.

Edited December 25, 2020 by MHV9218

[MysteriousBtrain]

M99 and B99 are operating in today's OWL service. Seems like the Bx99 is completely suspended today.

 

Hopefully not that many people are impacted.

[B35 via Church]

43 minutes ago, MysteriousBtrain said:

M99 and B99 are operating in today's OWL service. Seems like the Bx99 is completely suspended today.

 

Hopefully not that many people are impacted.

....including standing out in that wind gust & soaking rain waiting for it.

I didn't see any notices on the buses when I took it yesterday, so IDK what this (non-running of the Bx99) is all about...

 

[Lawrence St]

2 hours ago, MHV9218 said:

It's bad behavior, and what makes me so mad is how avoidable it all is. Guys are getting killed out there, for no reason. These guys making dirt-poor less-than-minimum-wages have been incentivized to ride as dangerously as possible just to put food on the table, and big companies like Uber and Doordash just line their shareholders' pockets instead of paying them a living wage that would make this unnecessary. Over and over they insist they have no 'employees,' just 'contractors.' Well, this is what happens when you treat people so terribly and make them so desperate for money. A lot of dangerous situations develop for everybody. Only thing I'm trying to make clear in this thread is where the blame lies. We've all been driving for a lot of years here – it was never as bad as this before.

Uber pays you $2.50 to deliver a $30 order.

This is what society has come down to, where big companies think your only worth 1% of their profit.

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

2 hours ago, MysteriousBtrain said:

M99 and B99 are operating in today's OWL service. Seems like the Bx99 is completely suspended today.

 

Hopefully not that many people are impacted.

 

2 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

....including standing out in that wind gust & soaking rain waiting for it.

I didn't see any notices on the buses when I took it yesterday, so IDK what this (non-running of the Bx99) is all about...

 

Yeah, the MTA website only says the standard..

DELAYS  Posted: 12/25/2020  1:45AM

You may experience longer waits for Bx99 buses. 

We're running as much service as we can with the bus operators we have available. 

See when the next bus will arrive at your stop using bt.mta.info.

 

But when I checked bustime, not one bus:

It's not a WF tracking issue either, because the other routes have trackable buses. I've asked why they couldn't just outright say what trips/service will be eliminated like they used to, and the excuse was something along the lines of "we don't get the information too quickly" or something like that. 

Edited December 25, 2020 by BM5 via Woodhaven

[Via Garibaldi 8]

5 hours ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

 

Yeah, the MTA website only says the standard..

DELAYS  Posted: 12/25/2020  1:45AM

You may experience longer waits for Bx99 buses. 

We're running as much service as we can with the bus operators we have available. 

See when the next bus will arrive at your stop using bt.mta.info.

 

But when I checked bustime, not one bus:

It's not a WF tracking issue either, because the other routes have trackable buses. I've asked why they couldn't just outright say what trips/service will be eliminated like they used to, and the excuse was something along the lines of "we don't get the information too quickly" or something like that. 

That information is passed along to them. They don't get that directly. Each division borough that the routes come from pass that info along to Customer Service. That's why when numerous bus lines are impacted in an area, you will see separate postings and sometimes some lines aren't mentioned at all. Chaotic to say the least.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

8 hours ago, MysteriousBtrain said:

M99 and B99 are operating in today's OWL service. Seems like the Bx99 is completely suspended today.

 

Hopefully not that many people are impacted.

There was talk of some services being suspended as the storm moved on. Two things here... Holidays coupled with the storm mean fewer drivers available.

[QM1to6Ave]

A cop friend of mine was telling me that these e-bikes are a big headache for them because drug dealers are using them all the time now, but since they don't have a license or registration, it's very hard for them to track these guys. Plus, it seems like there is only 1 big brand of e-bikes, and they all look exactly the same to me. 

[B35 via Church]

2 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

A cop friend of mine was telling me that these e-bikes are a big headache for them because drug dealers are using them all the time now, but since they don't have a license or registration, it's very hard for them to track these guys. Plus, it seems like there is only 1 big brand of e-bikes, and they all look exactly the same to me. 

Yeah, because a number of them have abandoned (or otherwise done away with) using the Citibike's they fraudulently obtained....

[paulrivera]

10 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

There was talk of some services being suspended as the storm moved on. Two things here... Holidays coupled with the storm mean fewer drivers available.

18 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

....including standing out in that wind gust & soaking rain waiting for it.

I didn't see any notices on the buses when I took it yesterday, so IDK what this (non-running of the Bx99) is all about...

16 hours ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

 

Yeah, the MTA website only says the standard..

DELAYS  Posted: 12/25/2020  1:45AM

You may experience longer waits for Bx99 buses. 

We're running as much service as we can with the bus operators we have available. 

See when the next bus will arrive at your stop using bt.mta.info.

 

But when I checked bustime, not one bus:

It's not a WF tracking issue either, because the other routes have trackable buses. I've asked why they couldn't just outright say what trips/service will be eliminated like they used to, and the excuse was something along the lines of "we don't get the information too quickly" or something like that. 

Metro-North was suspended after about 10pm last night also, so after 1am all that was available for the entire Bronx was the BxM4 and BxM7.

A storm on Christmas eve + lower ridership + budget deficit + crew shortage are a big time incentive collectively to just cut bait for the night.

[checkmatechamp13]

@+Young+ @Via Garibaldi 8 After watching that video, I sent a message to the Mayor's office requesting more strict regulation of these e-bikes. Don't know if it will help at all, but it can't hurt: https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/mayor-contact.page

[Via Garibaldi 8]

2 hours ago, paulrivera said:

Metro-North was suspended after about 10pm last night also, so after 1am all that was available for the entire Bronx was the BxM4 and BxM7.

A storm on Christmas eve + lower ridership + budget deficit + crew shortage are a big time incentive collectively to just cut bait for the night.

The Hudson Line has been getting hammered. The weather has been insane here in Riverdale, particularly the winds. Between the wind and the rain, lots of trees down or close to it. There was a down tree in the area that impacted service recently, and a decent snowfall as you can see.

Tree a few blocks from me in Central Riverdale

Riverdale Metro-North station after a recent snowstorm

Edited December 26, 2020 by Via Garibaldi 8

[Via Garibaldi 8]

5 minutes ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

@+Young+ @Via Garibaldi 8 After watching that video, I sent a message to the Mayor's office requesting more strict regulation of these e-bikes. Don't know if it will help at all, but it can't hurt: https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/mayor-contact.page

I believe we will have another meeting with the DOT re: bus lanes and will mention this issue again, as I did in our last meeting via Zoom.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

6 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

A cop friend of mine was telling me that these e-bikes are a big headache for them because drug dealers are using them all the time now, but since they don't have a license or registration, it's very hard for them to track these guys. Plus, it seems like there is only 1 big brand of e-bikes, and they all look exactly the same to me. 

Yeah, the bikes are much easier. The drug dealers can move about easier with less worries of being stopped, hence why they prefer those over using, say, the subway.

[checkmatechamp13]

Was there some kind of mid-season pick at Jackie Gleason? I notice the B63 & B11 have schedules from October 15, 2020.

[Around the Horn]

57 minutes ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

Was there some kind of mid-season pick at Jackie Gleason? I notice the B63 & B11 have schedules from October 15, 2020.

I believe those two routes had adjustments to overnight service effective that date.

[Lex]

4 minutes ago, Around the Horn said:

I believe those two routes had adjustments to overnight service effective that date.

Unless they modified certain times, they weren't affected by that round of changes.

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

1 hour ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

Was there some kind of mid-season pick at Jackie Gleason? I notice the B63 & B11 have schedules from October 15, 2020.

 

54 minutes ago, Around the Horn said:

I believe those two routes had adjustments to overnight service effective that date.

 

48 minutes ago, Lex said:

Unless they modified certain times, they weren't affected by that round of changes.

They updated the public timetables on that date to show overnight service (none of the timetables before that had the overnight service listed). This is the case for every route with added overnight service. 

In the list of bus routes for each borough, until about a month or so after the subway overnight shutdown began, there was a separate list of timetables which included overnight service, while the regular timetables didn't have them. When they eventually deleted those timetables, they didn't bother updating the regular ones. Even routes which had an updated summer timetable did not show the overnight service if it didn't originally have it prior to the shutdown.

Edited December 26, 2020 by BM5 via Woodhaven

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

Just checked the Queens Bus Map (Sept. 2020), and for whatever reason, they changed the M60 from the dark blue used by the SBS routes to orange. I guess this was done to differentiate it from the Q70, since that area was cluttered with the dark blue, but now it clashes with the Q33. 

https://new.mta.info/map/5371

[B35 via Church]

3 hours ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

Just checked the Queens Bus Map (Sept. 2020), and for whatever reason, they changed the M60 from the dark blue used by the SBS routes to orange. I guess this was done to differentiate it from the Q70, since that area was cluttered with the dark blue, but now it clashes with the Q33. 

https://new.mta.info/map/5371

Matter of time as to when they'd do away with having every SBS route the same color....

Same issue with the area along E. 23rd around 1st/2nd av's in Manhattan where the M15 SBS, M23 SBS, & M34a SBS all meet up....

[Ultimategamer12c]

#9622 is back and is currently  at Zerega  Facility. 

[Matthewmp4]

I saw 6824 sitting over at Schenectady Av and Lefferts Av by the B12 stop on Monday morning with Fresh Pond Depot stickers.

[QM1to6Ave]

I was on the Q46 tonight and was watching the passenger count on the tracker, and it was pretty accurate (maybe off by 2 or 3 people). Are they using sensors for this system or something new?