BUS - Random Thoughts Thread

[XcelsiorBoii4888]

1 minute ago, NBTA said:

Oh so basically meaning, what’s the point of having it be a limited when half the line is local anyway?

Maybe consolidate the line more, by having it just stop at Nicholas, Morningstar, South, Forest and then straight to Amazon?

Long story short. The S90 ran limited between St George and Park Ave up until 2006/2007. After...the limited was extended to South Ave, making stops at Nicholas Av, Van Name Ave, Harbor Rd, and South Ave. It's been this way since 2007. However, when BusTime came out, the pre 2007 S90 routing was posted, and was never fixed. Nobody really used BusTime before 2018 so it wasn't highly emphasized. It wasn't until the ADA screens came on the buses and started making all the incorrect stop announcements that it became annoying. The PDF schedules have reflected the S90 making limited stops to South Ave since 2012. I reached out to the BusTime team hoping they could have the S90 stops fixed, but they kept resisting saying the routing is for the S90 to make local stops after Park Av. I don't know if it's politics, union issues, or something but I'm not reaching out no more. Seems like they're going backwards and would try to change the physical stops and actually force drivers to make local stops after Park Av. It's already bad enough they added Lafayette as a S90 stop now.

[XcelsiorBoii4888]

7 minutes ago, SevenEleven said:

No no, it’s an error in the stop listing. The 90 stops at the ferry, Jersey, Lafayette, North Burgher, Park Avenue, Nicholas, Van Name/Simonson, Harbor, South and then all stops to Amazon. That’s how it’s always been. 
 

If someone wants to go to Morningstar, they’re going to be disappointed when the 90 goes right past the stop. It’s a setup for conflicts. 

There's been verbal conflicts! That's the reason why I reached out to get it fixed because people take out their anger on the drivers thinking the drivers are making an error because the announcements clearly make it seem like those are stops the driver is deliberately passing by. That's why I'm really confused as to why so many drivers just allow it to continue to do that all these months/couple and not say nothing? Yes you can take a 7000 without announcements but drivers should have more pull to get that stuff fixed. The S86 was worse. It was a copy paste version of the S76, they actually listened to my request and now it makes only the limited stop announcements and not every local stop along the limited portion. 

[SevenEleven]

I actually had a problem with the stop request glitch that you bought up twice in the same week and I bought it up to the union to have it addressed. If you want, can you compile a list of errors in the system and send them to me so I can pass it on?

[Lawrence St]

15 minutes ago, XcelsiorBoii4888 said:

There's been verbal conflicts! That's the reason why I reached out to get it fixed because people take out their anger on the drivers thinking the drivers are making an error because the announcements clearly make it seem like those are stops the driver is deliberately passing by. That's why I'm really confused as to why so many drivers just allow it to continue to do that all these months/couple and not say nothing? Yes you can take a 7000 without announcements but drivers should have more pull to get that stuff fixed. The S86 was worse. It was a copy paste version of the S76, they actually listened to my request and now it makes only the limited stop announcements and not every local stop along the limited portion. 

Here in Jersey it's the same thing, the bus announces stops that don't exist and passengers get into a pissyfit with the driver.

It's like agencies do this on purpose to cause an argument for drivers.

[NBTA]

1 hour ago, SevenEleven said:

No no, it’s an error in the stop listing. The 90 stops at the ferry, Jersey, Lafayette, North Burgher, Park Avenue, Nicholas, Van Name/Simonson, Harbor, South and then all stops to Amazon. That’s how it’s always been. 
 

If someone wants to go to Morningstar, they’re going to be disappointed when the 90 goes right past the stop. It’s a setup for conflicts. 

Ohhhhh okay, that makes a lot more sense. (you can tell I don’t ride the 90).

[QM1to6Ave]

2 hours ago, SevenEleven said:

I actually had a problem with the stop request glitch that you bought up twice in the same week and I bought it up to the union to have it addressed. If you want, can you compile a list of errors in the system and send them to me so I can pass it on?

Can you let us know if the union can actually get it fixed?? That might be better than writing emails to the MTA that apparently just get deleted since they never get fixed that way!

[paulrivera]

The Q70 is free from Tomorrow until Sunday, pass it on.

[B35 via Church]

5 minutes ago, paulrivera said:

The Q70 is free from Tomorrow until Sunday, pass it on.

Isn't it free for most people anyway?
(FTR, I'm not referring to farebeating... I'm referring to most people xferring to the Q70 (as opposed to it being the initial ride for them))

[QM1to6Ave]

4 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

Isn't it free for most people anyway?
(FTR, I'm not referring to farebeating... I'm referring to most people xferring to the Q70 (as opposed to it being the initial ride for them))

I wouldn't consider that free, since if you need to make a three-legged trip, it wouldn't be free

[paulrivera]

5 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

Isn't it free for most people anyway?
(FTR, I'm not referring to farebeating... I'm referring to most people xferring to the Q70 (as opposed to it being the initial ride for them))

lol...

Well... if nothing else it'll be easier for fanning. (Provided you're not fanning on Wednesday afternoon. Seriously guys, if you're not travelling out of state on Wednesday, stay the hell home and don't add to the traffic nightmare.)

[B35 via Church]

5 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

I wouldn't consider that free, since if you need to make a three-legged trip, it wouldn't be free

...which is why I said for most people.

I can't fathom the majority of Q70 riders making 3-legged trips involving the route, that would result in having to pay that second fare....

Edited November 23, 2021 by B35 via Church

[Via Garibaldi 8]

12 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

Can you let us know if the union can actually get it fixed?? That might be better than writing emails to the MTA that apparently just get deleted since they never get fixed that way!

The union has to scream and yell in some cases the same way that passengers do. It is not easy. Some folks think that there's a magic wand somewhere, but the reality is it takes a lot of back and forth to get basic things done. Even things like schedule changes have to be agreed to with the union and the  and just because the union asks, doesn't mean they always get what they want.

 

14 hours ago, XcelsiorBoii4888 said:

There's been verbal conflicts! That's the reason why I reached out to get it fixed because people take out their anger on the drivers thinking the drivers are making an error because the announcements clearly make it seem like those are stops the driver is deliberately passing by. That's why I'm really confused as to why so many drivers just allow it to continue to do that all these months/couple and not say nothing? Yes you can take a 7000 without announcements but drivers should have more pull to get that stuff fixed. The S86 was worse. It was a copy paste version of the S76, they actually listened to my request and now it makes only the limited stop announcements and not every local stop along the limited portion. 

It's not a question of drivers having more pull or not, but rather if they are raising the issue with their union to begin with. The union usually assists with these things if it's becoming a big problem, but if the drivers are not saying anything then there is the issue. I have met the union head on Staten Island, last year out at the Transit Center during an event. He is a good guy and fights hard for his members and also works with the riders because he understands that with the riders and workers united, things work better in getting things done.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

15 hours ago, XcelsiorBoii4888 said:

Long story short. The S90 ran limited between St George and Park Ave up until 2006/2007. After...the limited was extended to South Ave, making stops at Nicholas Av, Van Name Ave, Harbor Rd, and South Ave. It's been this way since 2007. However, when BusTime came out, the pre 2007 S90 routing was posted, and was never fixed. Nobody really used BusTime before 2018 so it wasn't highly emphasized. It wasn't until the ADA screens came on the buses and started making all the incorrect stop announcements that it became annoying. The PDF schedules have reflected the S90 making limited stops to South Ave since 2012. I reached out to the BusTime team hoping they could have the S90 stops fixed, but they kept resisting saying the routing is for the S90 to make local stops after Park Av. I don't know if it's politics, union issues, or something but I'm not reaching out no more. Seems like they're going backwards and would try to change the physical stops and actually force drivers to make local stops after Park Av. It's already bad enough they added Lafayette as a S90 stop now.

If you reached out to Customer Service, they don't always have the right answers, even if they may be well intended. They are trying to answer as many complaints as they can. What I can do is send this to someone I know to see if it can be handled, but this is a bit more involved than Customer Service can handle, so it will take some time. I think you mentioned this before, right? I don't get involved with local bus issues, but happy to help out in this instance.

Just make sure you have the issues listed, as I don't know this line and want to make sure I have everything correct and concise when I inquire.

 

Edited November 23, 2021 by Via Garibaldi 8

[trainfan22]

In the auto industry Dodge is discounting the Hellcat in 2023 and replacing it with an all electric car. Now auto enthusiasts know how busfans must have felt in the mid 2000s when those two stoke engine RTS from the 80s was replaced by OG Hybrids!

 

 

I rode those old Series 92 powered RTS plenty of times but cause of lack of internet access back then I had no concept of buses lifespan and just assumed the MTA would buying RTS's forever, sort of like how all school buses seem to have the basic design (this was in the early 2000s pre Orion hybrid takeover of Brooklyn when I thought this). By the time I had regular internet access and found sites like this one, the Series 92 powered RTS were long gone so I never got a proper last ride, oh well.

 

 

 

Edited November 23, 2021 by trainfan22

[JubaionBx12+SBS]

I was randomly checking BusTime throughout the day to see how crowded some of these buses are these days. It's nice that BusTime relays passenger counts these days. I focused on the SBS versions of the M15, Bx12 and B46 since I most expected to see high numbers on those. All three failed to disappoint there but what I saw on the Bx12 was a sight to behold. 

- I saw at least five (there were definitely more) buses over the course of the day that had at least 100 passengers on them at some point of the trip. 

- There was one midday trip running Westbound (it would have to be slightly after 2 pm) that had 28 passengers on board when it was approaching Pelham Pkwy/WPR. When it left that stop it had 80 passengers on board. This bus happened to be bunched behind another one as well so who knows what happened to that bus.

- Midday ridership on this thing is ridiculous and actually competes with rush hour usage on other busy routes. There were a few trips carrying light loads being the trail end of a bunch but most of the midday trips were carrying at least 50 or better for a healthy chunk of the route. Given the 5-6 minute headway at the time there was easily more people being moved then even the peak of most routes in the upper echelon of our ridership rankings.

- The ridership literally comes from anywhere and everywhere along the route. At various points in time you had buses leaving Inwood with over 90 passengers, buses holding 90+ passengers for the entire Fordham Road segment, one trip gained nearly 20 passengers heading eastbound from Pelham Pkwy/WPR where the typical pattern is to lose riders. You had Westbound buses that were SRO well before the murderers row of WPR and the Fordham Road stops and Eastbound buses not dropping below SRO load at all during their trips. 

- While AM Rush loads were strong on all 3 of the routes I mentioned, the midday and PM Bx12 +Select made the M15 and B46 look like child's play. There were 6 Bx12 SBS trips with a higher load than the busiest M15 on the road (based on the ones that show their loads on BusTime) at 5:15 pm today. The southbound B46 was making a fool of itself. 4 buses were in between Fulton and Eastern Parkway while another 5 were bunched between Winthrop and Church at the same time. 

 

As a regular Bx12 + SBS user before the pandemic I was very aware of how busy the buses got but to see data on BusTime showing that November 23, 2021 could have been a random Tuesday in the 2010's just goes to show that the route was being criminally under-served before the pandemic.

[Bx41 boi]

hw many OGs or still in service and how many are in the Graveyard we called Eastchester

[trainfan22]

6 minutes ago, NewFlyer 230 said:

It’s interesting that they didn’t want the PBL routes even though it made 100% sense to take those routes. The ex PBL routes received tons of improvements under the MTA many of which were desperately needed and it always makes me wonder how things would be today if those routes were still ran by NYCDOT.
The one thing I dislike is how MTA bus is a dumping ground for old NYCT buses. I was hoping we could finally get brand new buses at BP, LGA and JFK to replace the aging Orion VII OG’s but instead they are getting a ton of Orion VII NG’s . 

The Q53 and the B103 are the biggest success stories of MTA Bus IMO. The Q53 was like nonstop from Queens Blvd to the Rockaways under Triboro, and the B103 was non existent under Command. 

 

 

I legit can't recall ever seeing a B103 when Command was running it, today? It seems like it runs as frequent as the B6! I remember seeing Command CNG RTS on the BMs though. 

 

 

I don't like the hand me down trend at MTA Bus ethier, it would be nice if the TA gave MTA Bus one big or split order to wipeout ALL Orions from MTA Bus sooner rather than later.

 

 

Random, but I do like that MTA Bus has a high profile route like the Q70, if the takeover never happened this route would have probably ran out of CS or something.

[Future ENY OP]

6 hours ago, trainfan22 said:

The Q53 and the B103 are the biggest success stories of MTA Bus IMO. The Q53 was like nonstop from Queens Blvd to the Rockaways under Triboro, and the B103 was non existent under Command. 

I legit can't recall ever seeing a B103 when Command was running it, today? It seems like it runs as frequent as the B6! I remember seeing Command CNG RTS on the BMs though. 

I don't like the hand me down trend at MTA Bus ethier, it would be nice if the TA gave MTA Bus one big or split order to wipeout ALL Orions from MTA Bus sooner rather than later.

Random, but I do like that MTA Bus has a high profile route like the Q70, if the takeover never happened this route would have probably ran out of CS or something.

I agree with you with regards to Q53 and B103 being MTA bus success. Personally, what I don’t like is that with the 103 is making the Park Slope stops. It drags the route a bit longer. Right after 4th and Pacific bus should be hitting the highway to checkpoint. It has no business servicing Park Slope. (I don’t know if the community board asked the TA to service park slope for the 103) but whatever the issue is the 103 is slightly slower than when it was in command. 
 

Also, I liked the MCI’s on the 103. Some of those ‘89 MCI’s weren’t governed. Flying down the prospect than to McDonald Avenue back in the day was sweet when there was decent service through command. 

[MysteriousBtrain]

1 hour ago, Future ENY OP said:

I agree with you with regards to Q53 and B103 being MTA bus success. Personally, what I don’t like is that with the 103 is making the Park Slope stops. It drags the route a bit longer. Right after 4th and Pacific bus should be hitting the highway to checkpoint. It has no business servicing Park Slope. (I don’t know if the community board asked the TA to service park slope for the 103) but whatever the issue is the 103 is slightly slower than when it was in command. 
 

Also, I liked the MCI’s on the 103. Some of those ‘89 MCI’s weren’t governed. Flying down the prospect than to McDonald Avenue back in the day was sweet when there was decent service through command. 

I believe the situation was after the 2010 cuts they added stops on the B103 because Park Slope/Gowanus residents complained too much about the loss of the B37 so the B103 was somewhat modified. (Even though the added stops and restored B37 happened nearly around the same time just separated by a couple months)

[trainfan22]

3 hours ago, Future ENY OP said:

I agree with you with regards to Q53 and B103 being MTA bus success. Personally, what I don’t like is that with the 103 is making the Park Slope stops. It drags the route a bit longer. Right after 4th and Pacific bus should be hitting the highway to checkpoint. It has no business servicing Park Slope. (I don’t know if the community board asked the TA to service park slope for the 103) but whatever the issue is the 103 is slightly slower than when it was in command. 
 

Also, I liked the MCI’s on the 103. Some of those ‘89 MCI’s weren’t governed. Flying down the prospect than to McDonald Avenue back in the day was sweet when there was decent service through command. 

Yeah, In my high school years (06 -10) I use to go out of my way to fan B103 on fridays, I loved that nonstop portion, it was unique for an NYC local bus route to have such an long nonstop portion, unlike the Q53 under Triboro the 103 nonstop portion made sense as it ridership base was Flatbush & Canarsie residents trying to travel to Downtown BK.

 

 

I will say that B103 park slope stop under the train stop was clutch when I bought something out of the nearby Lowe's and didn't feel like taking the train home lol.

 

Those MCI classics were underrated, only transit bus I been on that can match the comfort of OTR coaches.

[1train2255railfan]

17 hours ago, Bx41 boi said:

hw many OGs or still in service and how many are in the Graveyard we called Eastchester

There’s around 260-270 active at MTA Bus, around 40 at NYCT, and there could be around 100 (give or take) at Eastchester scrap

[Bx41 boi]

1 hour ago, 1train2255railfan said:

There’s around 260-270 active at MTA Bus, around 40 at NYCT, and there could be around 100 (give or take) at Eastchester scrap

goddamn

[danielhg121]

I know unofficially, employees just flash their pass and walk on the bus. But I think I read somewhere in a pdf document that MaBSTOA employees can only ride MaBSTOA buses, BC employees can only ride BC buses. Why is that the case? And if a MaBSTOA employee were to swipe onto an MTA Bus Company express bus, would the swipe go through fine? It just seems so backwards and the fact that one might have to pay get to work at the same agency is ludicrous. 

[Around the Horn]

7 hours ago, MysteriousBtrain said:

I believe the situation was after the 2010 cuts they added stops on the B103 because Park Slope/Gowanus residents complained too much about the loss of the B37 so the B103 was somewhat modified. (Even though the added stops and restored B37 happened nearly around the same time just separated by a couple months)

IIRC it was a compromise for not extending the B37 all the way to Court Street. The idea was that they could just take the B103 instead.

[Lawrence St]

@SevenEleven I got a question for you, are there GPS issues on SI? I ask because multiple times I've taken the S40 the sign is signed up in the wrong direction and the farebox isn't recognizing it's going the other way.