BUS - Random Thoughts Thread

[RandomRider0101]

Between the 2011 New Flyers, Novas, & Orions, which buses are the best? Which are the least best?

[Via Garibaldi 8]

2 hours ago, RandomRider0101 said:

Between the 2011 New Flyers, Novas, & Orions, which buses are the best? Which are the least best?

Least best?  You mean which are the worst...

[trainfan22]

Out of the 2011 buses the 4800 XD40s have the best seating configuration in the rear. The rear seating configuration in the Novas & 3G sucks for tall people unless you sit in the very last row.

 

 

To an outsider in terms of build quality, etc the 3G seems to be the best with but the NG hybrids being scrapped in the masses at such an young age maybe the 3G aren't as good as I thought they was I mean we have like around 100 OG Orions left yet they continue to the scrap the newer NGs at an rapid pace. 

[RandomRider0101]

1 hour ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Least best?  You mean which are the worst...

Yeah Lol. Silly me 

[RandomRider0101]

2 hours ago, trainfan22 said:

Out of the 2011 buses the 4800 XD40s have the best seating configuration in the rear. The rear seating configuration in the Novas & 3G sucks for tall people unless you sit in the very last row.

 

 

To an outsider in terms of build quality, etc the 3G seems to be the best with but the NG hybrids being scrapped in the masses at such an young age maybe the 3G aren't as good as I thought they was I mean we have like around 100 OG Orions left yet they continue to the scrap the newer NGs at an rapid pace. 

Yeah, from what I gathered since I've been following the buses closely, the LFS and Xcelsior models seem to be pretty even in terms of reliability. The Xcelsior does have the most practical & comfortable seating arrangement. 

I've always thought that the LFS is the coolest looking bus model; which is why I'm kinda bummed I don't get to ride them as much. I live in Brooklyn, which is overwhelmingly New Flyer & leftover trash next gens; never liked those buses.

I like the Old Gens since they have the classic design and the preferred rear seat arrangement. I like the 3Gs as well; from what I've heard, the O7 3Gs were the best batch of buses that Orion ever made. The next gens may not be that good, but the third gens are definitely better in quality and would be aging better.

Edited December 19, 2022 by RandomRider0101

[aemoreira81]

On 11/5/2022 at 6:57 PM, trainfan22 said:

Seriously, why do two of three buses on the B42 always bunch up on Saturday evenings? Early afternoon the buses are evenly spaced out but at least two of the buses are bunched up early evenings.

 

 

 

 

 

By far, the B83 has to be the worst. On Sunday, heading to work, there were 4 buses on the line...back to back to back to back. If the B83 becomes a straight up Pennsylvania Avenue route, that would help a lot. The command center has to be better at placing buses.

Edited December 21, 2022 by aemoreira81

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 hour ago, aemoreira81 said:

By far, the B83 has to be the worst. On Sunday, heading to work, there were 4 buses on the line...back to back to back to back. If the B83 becomes a straight up Pennsylvania Avenue route, that would help a lot. The command center has to be better at placing buses.

There is no oversight. That's the real problem. In other cases, I've been standing at a terminal with dispatchers there and pissed off passengers and they'll say they can't do anything about it. Has to come from Command... Well what's the point of having dispatchers there if they can't make adjustments? 

Edited December 21, 2022 by Via Garibaldi 8

[QM1to6Ave]

On 12/21/2022 at 8:13 AM, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

There is no oversight. That's the real problem. In other cases, I've been standing at a terminal with dispatchers there and pissed off passengers and they'll say they can't do anything about it. Has to come from Command... Well what's the point of having dispatchers there if they can't make adjustments? 

There was some pilot program the MTA mentioned a while back where the GPS would be used to give B/Os instructions on a digital screen on whether to slow down or speed up to keep even pacing with their leaders and followers. I never saw any evidence this was put into action lol

Edited December 23, 2022 by QM1to6Ave

[QM1to6Ave]

I really hope DSNY is on top of sanding/salting all the roads today. I saw some salt spreaders out earlier, but the potential for black ice tonight is immense, and giving me flashbacks to Halloween 2018 (I think) when we had a huge ice storm and the whole city gridlocked because there was no salt on the roads.

[MHV9218]

42 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said:

I really hope DSNY is on top of sanding/salting all the roads today. I saw some salt spreaders out earlier, but the potential for black ice tonight is immense, and giving me flashbacks to Halloween 2018 (I think) when we had a huge ice storm and the whole city gridlocked because there was no salt on the roads.

Problem is salt isn't effective below about 25º, so most of the big freeze won't be impacted. They really need to brine more than salt. We might get lucky if this rain wraps up early enough in the day. I wouldn't wanna drive tomorrow morning though, I'll say that. 

I'm dreading the salt for my car, which is gonna get covered in the stuff, but so be it. 

[Lawrence St]

46 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said:

I really hope DSNY is on top of sanding/salting all the roads today. I saw some salt spreaders out earlier, but the potential for black ice tonight is immense, and giving me flashbacks to Halloween 2018 (I think) when we had a huge ice storm and the whole city gridlocked because there was no salt on the roads.

Wasn’t that snowstorm that Andrew said wasn’t going to big and ended up gridlocking the whole city?

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 hour ago, QM1to6Ave said:

There was some pilot program the MTA mentioned a while back where the GPS would be used to give B/Os instructions on a digital screen on whether to slow down or speed up to keep even pacing with their leaders and followers. I never saw any evidence this was put into action lol

Well it's kind of like when BusTime/BusTrek came out. They would have drivers hold at certain locations and they were strictly enforcing it. They stopped that after a few weeks.  Problem is oversight varies from borough to borough and even line to line.

1 hour ago, QM1to6Ave said:

I really hope DSNY is on top of sanding/salting all the roads today. I saw some salt spreaders out earlier, but the potential for black ice tonight is immense, and giving me flashbacks to Halloween 2018 (I think) when we had a huge ice storm and the whole city gridlocked because there was no salt on the roads.

Problem is it's going to pour out (as it is now), then quickly turn to frigid cold temperatures within a few hours.  It's going to be very difficult to get anything down that won't be washed away before the cold comes. Some areas are already flooded, which further complicates things, as anything that doesn't dry out will be frozen over quickly.

[QM1to6Ave]

48 minutes ago, Lawrence St said:

Wasn’t that snowstorm that Andrew said wasn’t going to big and ended up gridlocking the whole city?

Probably LOL. It was such a mess. People sitting in cars for 8 hours. I remember getting on the express bus at 57th st, we went all of 1 block in 25 mins, and I had to argue with the B/O to let me out so I could take the subway instead. I couldn't believe the other passengers were willing to sit on that bus for god knows how many hours till they got to Queens.

[QM1to6Ave]

26 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Well it's kind of like when BusTime/BusTrek came out. They would have drivers hold at certain locations and they were strictly enforcing it. They stopped that after a few weeks.  Problem is oversight varies from borough to borough and even line to line.

Problem is it's going to pour out (as it is now), then quickly turn to frigid cold temperatures within a few hours.  It's going to be very difficult to get anything down that won't be washed away before the cold comes. Some areas are already flooded, which further complicates things, as anything that doesn't dry out will be frozen over quickly.

My friends in the Rockaways said they are already massively flooded. I can't even imagine what happens to the standing water on Rockaway Tpke if it suddenly freezes and turns to a literal block of ice.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

8 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said:

My friends in the Rockaways said they are already massively flooded. I can't even imagine what happens to the standing water on Rockaway Tpke if it suddenly freezes and turns to a literal block of ice.

Yes, the NYPD has been going around rescuing people in the Rockaways.  Water is several feet deep, and worst off, anything that remains will freeze over, as temperatures will drop a good 20 - 30 degrees into the 20s later this afternoon.  Pretty crazy.

[NBTA]

1 hour ago, QM1to6Ave said:

My friends in the Rockaways said they are already massively flooded. I can't even imagine what happens to the standing water on Rockaway Tpke if it suddenly freezes and turns to a literal block of ice.

Long Beach is flooded too.

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

For some reason, LGAs entire article fleet is off the road at this moment. Did something happen? All the other depot's seem to have their artic's out (save for CS).

Edited December 24, 2022 by BM5 via Woodhaven

[SevenEleven]

14 hours ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

For some reason, LGAs entire article fleet is off the road at this moment. Did something happen? All the other depot's seem to have their artic's out (save for CS).

Precaution for black ice through the city. Other depots had their artics grounded overnight as well. 

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

Interesting, didn't know that they released timetables for the last week of December, for the NYCT express routes. Usually they don't, but it's a step in the right direction.

X27: https://new.mta.info/document/103106

X28: https://new.mta.info/document/103111

X63: https://new.mta.info/document/103116

X64: https://new.mta.info/document/103121

X68: https://new.mta.info/document/103126

[QM1to6Ave]

1 hour ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

Interesting, didn't know that they released timetables for the last week of December, for the NYCT express routes. Usually they don't, but it's a step in the right direction.

X27: https://new.mta.info/document/103106

X28: https://new.mta.info/document/103111

X63: https://new.mta.info/document/103116

X64: https://new.mta.info/document/103121

X68: https://new.mta.info/document/103126

A number of CP exp runs were missing this morning, but i wasn't really surprised by that. 

The afternoon traffic in the city this week has surprised me, it's been heavier than I remember past years on christmas week. But then again, tourism is back to high levels again this year

[Via Garibaldi 8]

16 hours ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

Interesting, didn't know that they released timetables for the last week of December, for the NYCT express routes. Usually they don't, but it's a step in the right direction.

X27: https://new.mta.info/document/103106

X28: https://new.mta.info/document/103111

X63: https://new.mta.info/document/103116

X64: https://new.mta.info/document/103121

X68: https://new.mta.info/document/103126

They have over the last few years, at our behest.  They did so last year as well.  If they don't, I reach out and ask for them to be posted.  This year however, they were not as readily available, so I've asked for that to be addressed. They actually weren't sure where they were originally.  

  

15 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

A number of CP exp runs were missing this morning, but i wasn't really surprised by that. 

The afternoon traffic in the city this week has surprised me, it's been heavier than I remember past years on christmas week. But then again, tourism is back to high levels again this year

Drivers taking off for the last days of the year... And yes, traffic was heavy today when I went in.  Coming back it was a zoo. I can't recall it being so busy in the early afternoon.  I think someone offloaded some tourist buses or something in the area.  Most places were mobbed... 

Edited December 29, 2022 by Via Garibaldi 8

[QM1to6Ave]

3 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

They have over the last few years, at our behest.  They did so last year as well.  If they don't, I reach out and ask for them to be posted.  This year however, they were not as readily available, so I've asked for that to be addressed. They actually weren't sure where they were originally.  

  

Drivers taking off for the last days of the year... And yes, traffic was heavy today when I went in.  Coming back it was a zoo. I can't recall it being so busy in the early afternoon.  I think someone offloaded some tourist buses or something in the area.  Most places were mobbed... 

Haha those tourists better be spending $$$ to make it worth this traffic. At least it's light once the bus gets out of the city, but damn, it's taking longer than usual to go up 6th ave this week!

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 minute ago, QM1to6Ave said:

Haha those tourists better be spending $$$ to make it worth this traffic. At least it's light once the bus gets out of the city, but damn, it's taking longer than usual to go up 6th ave this week!

I actually avoid West Midtown entirely this time of year during the week.

[Lawrence St]

20 hours ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

Interesting, didn't know that they released timetables for the last week of December, for the NYCT express routes. Usually they don't, but it's a step in the right direction.

X27: https://new.mta.info/document/103106

X28: https://new.mta.info/document/103111

X63: https://new.mta.info/document/103116

X64: https://new.mta.info/document/103121

X68: https://new.mta.info/document/103126

That new format is disgusting...

[Q43LTD]

I remember back in 2009 I boarded the N6 when it LIB. The woman behind me asked the bus op does this bus go down Sutphin Boulevard,  she said no that's the Q6. A case of right number, wrong letter. Probably happens in Flushing and Jamaica Center as well.