BUS - Random Thoughts Thread

[Future ENY OP]

53 minutes ago, IAlam said:

Oddly enough though this popped up 

9: Vehicle 100 on route Bx19-NY Botanical Garden - Riverbank Park going →Bronx Pk via 149 St via Southrn near Jackson Av on E 149 St

what bus is number 100?             

Old DHF60 bus. 

[Lil 57]

1 hour ago, RestrictOnTheHanger said:

So i got to find out personally what happens when a bus breaks down in the LIE HOV lane: call MTA cops and board other buses in active lanes of traffic. 

I feel bad for the people stuck behind us

Can't the buses behind you just change lanes?

[Lil 57]

Random thought:

Why doesn't the  use 30-35 ft long buses on low ridership routes like the B39, S55/56 etc? Wouldn't that save money?

Edited June 29, 2018 by Lil 57

[Via Garibaldi 8]

5 minutes ago, Lil 57 said:

Random thought:

Why doesn't the MTA use 30-35 ft long buses on low ridership routes like the B39, S55/56 etc? Wouldn't that save money?

And what happens in cases where buses are overcrowded due to using those little buses? Having a uniform fleet allows the  more flexibility for things like snowstorms, shuttle service and so on.  We need to maximize the use out of the local buses that we have and not have them be used just on low ridership lines. It's foolish and a waste of money.  Each bus purchased costs HUNDREDS of thousands of dollars, so why buy little ones for that may not be used as much as possible.  

 

Can't the buses behind you just change lanes?

Not if the HOV is barricaded you can't.

Edited June 29, 2018 by Via Garibaldi 8

[Future ENY OP]

6 minutes ago, Lil 57 said:

Random thought:

Why doesn't the  use 30-35 ft long buses on low ridership routes like the B39, S55/56 etc? Wouldn't that save money?

Sorry to say but this ain’t Philadelphia, Washington DC and Los Angeles. We need a good uniform fleet that will handle all conditions. 

[RestrictOnTheHanger]

32 minutes ago, Lil 57 said:

Can't the buses behind you just change lanes?

No, 2 concrete barriers surround the lane. 

[RailBus63]

54 minutes ago, Lil 57 said:

Random thought:

Why doesn't the  use 30-35 ft long buses on low ridership routes like the B39, S55/56 etc? Wouldn't that save money?

Very little savings in fuel expense running a short bus instead of a standard 40-footer.  Driver gets paid the same which accounts for most of the variable expense of operating the bus.  

[Orion6025]

1 hour ago, Lil 57 said:

Random thought:

Why doesn't the  use 30-35 ft long buses on low ridership routes like the B39, S55/56 etc? Wouldn't that save money?

That would lead to 30-35 ft buses inevitably showing up on routes that need 40 fters whenever a depot runs short on 40 fters.

I'm not sure if it's for the same reason, but part of the reason why Philadelphia got rid of the El Dorados everywhere but Germantown and Krapfs was because the 30 ft. El Dorados kept showing up on routes that needed 40 fters, not 30s

[Lil 57]

16 minutes ago, Orion6025 said:

That would lead to 30-35 ft buses inevitably showing up on routes that need 40 fters whenever a depot runs short on 40 fters.

I'm not sure if it's for the same reason, but part of the reason why Philadelphia got rid of the El Dorados everywhere but Germantown and Krapfs was because the 30 ft. El Dorados kept showing up on routes that needed 40 fters, not 30s

Just put the shorter buses in a separate depot. (i.e. the S42, S55, S56 and S89 LTD in one depot, they all have daily ridership of less than 1,000.)

Edited June 29, 2018 by Lil 57

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 minute ago, Lil 57 said:

Just put the shorter buses in a separate depot. (i.e. the S42, S55, S56 and S89 LTD in one depot, they all have ridership of less than 1,000.)

You're not getting it. When there are snow storms, and other emergencies, buses are pulled from ALL depots.  Having shorter buses makes NO sense.  NONE. I'm in Riverdale.  We have a very hard time with the buses getting up the hills in snow storms and Kingsbridge gets 40 footers from whatever depot can spare them. I've seen buses from Queens Village depot being used here.

Edited June 29, 2018 by Via Garibaldi 8

[Lil 57]

3 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Kingsbridge gets 40 footers from whatever depot can spare them. I've seen buses from Queens Village depot being used here.

Yukon also gives all of its unwrapped NGs and some wrapped NGs to KB. Charleston and Castleton cover a lot of Yukon runs. 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 minute ago, Lil 57 said:

Yukon also gives all of its unwrapped NGs and some wrapped NGs to KB. Charleston and Castleton cover a lot of Yukon runs. 

As I said, each depot gives what it can spare depending on the circumstances, so Yukon may send some to KB if they have them to spare.  If not then another depot sends what it can.

[IAlam]

I’m on the Q27 and the driver just got off and went into the bakery with a bunch of passengers on board. Thank god No one on my bus is in a hurry or there would be some hell raised. 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

2 minutes ago, IAlam said:

I’m on the Q27 and the driver just got off and went into the bakery with a bunch of passengers on board. Thank god No one on my bus is in a hurry or there would be some hell raised. 

He may have went to use the bathroom.  My only issue with that is say something.  I've had drivers do this.  They just get off of the bus and we're all sitting there like idiots.  We don't know what's going on.  Last Sunday my BxM2 was in an accident.  The driver gets off.  No announcement.  Finally some time later we learned that he was taking the bus out of service. I just don't get the lack of common sense.  And yes, people should know why they're just sitting there and not moving.

Edited June 29, 2018 by Via Garibaldi 8

[Orion6025]

2 hours ago, Lil 57 said:

Just put the shorter buses in a separate depot. (i.e. the S42, S55, S56 and S89 LTD in one depot, they all have daily ridership of less than 1,000.)

You realize that when one depot gets short, it can pull from another depot so it's rather impossible to segregate a fleet. It is also very uneconomical to run a depot for such a small subfleet of poor performing routes. It makes no sense to sink money into a depot to maintain a bunch of routes that procure very little money... If anything, it increases the chances of the routes being cut ASAP.

[RestrictOnTheHanger]

2 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

He may have went to use the bathroom.  My only issue with that is say something.  I've had drivers do this.  They just get off of the bus and we're all sitting there like idiots.  We don't know what's going on.  Last Sunday my BxM2 was in an accident.  The driver gets off.  No announcement.  Finally some time later we learned that he was taking the bus out of service. I just don't get the lack of common sense.  And yes, people should know why they're just sitting there and not moving.

Had that happen last fall pick, guy would park the bus mid run and use the bathroom at a white castle on Queens Blvd almost every morning before getting on the LIE. Everyone just would sit there like WTF

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 minute ago, RestrictOnTheHanger said:

Had that happen last fall pick, guy would park the bus mid run and use the bathroom at a white castle on Queens Blvd almost every morning before getting on the LIE. Everyone just would sit there like WTF

I find it more annoying with express buses because these guys usually get nice layover time after each trip.

[Around the Horn]

4 hours ago, Orion6025 said:

That would lead to 30-35 ft buses inevitably showing up on routes that need 40 fters whenever a depot runs short on 40 fters.

I'm not sure if it's for the same reason, but part of the reason why Philadelphia got rid of the El Dorados everywhere but Germantown and Krapfs was because the 30 ft. El Dorados kept showing up on routes that needed 40 fters, not 30s

And the only reason that Germantown and Krapfs have 30 foot buses is because of a rule that routes SEPTA contracts out are not allowed to use full length buses. I'm sure SEPTA would love to switch to 40 foot buses.

[JX248]

 

3 hours ago, IAlam said:

I’m on the Q27 and the driver just got off and went into the bakery with a bunch of passengers on board. Thank god No one on my bus is in a hurry or there would be some hell raised. 

One time I was the only passenger on the B63 and the driver had to mail something at the post office. Cars were parked in the bus stop and she couldn't pull in. So she just left me with the bus, in the middle of the street, for a good 2 minutes... 

[paulrivera]

That run box tho 🤣

(No, the bus wasn’t in service.)

[Lil 57]

58 minutes ago, JX248 said:

 

One time I was the only passenger on the B63 and the driver had to mail something at the post office. Cars were parked in the bus stop and she couldn't pull in. So she just left me with the bus, in the middle of the street, for a good 2 minutes... 

Bus drivers aren't supposed to be running errands on the job🤣

[IAlam]

8 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

He may have went to use the bathroom.  My only issue with that is say something.  I've had drivers do this.  They just get off of the bus and we're all sitting there like idiots.  We don't know what's going on.  Last Sunday my BxM2 was in an accident.  The driver gets off.  No announcement.  Finally some time later we learned that he was taking the bus out of service. I just don't get the lack of common sense.  And yes, people should know why they're just sitting there and not moving.

Dude walked out with a couple drinks and a bag full of baked goods I doubt he went to the bathroom. The only thing that annoyed me was all the other buses passing us on Kissena, might just hop on those buses and say ours broke down or something. 

[Yankees4life]

1 minute ago, IAlam said:

Dude walked out with a couple drinks and a bag full of baked goods I doubt he went to the bathroom. The only thing that annoyed me was all the other buses passing us on Kissena, might just hop on those buses and say ours broke down or something. 

Yeah, that's stupid. They shouldn't do that. Maybe at the end of the route but not during it

[Via Garibaldi 8]

11 minutes ago, IAlam said:

Dude walked out with a couple drinks and a bag full of baked goods I doubt he went to the bathroom. The only thing that annoyed me was all the other buses passing us on Kissena, might just hop on those buses and say ours broke down or something. 

There are some drivers that will do what you described.  I don't agree with it but it happens.  Some guys don't get their break and others just don't give a damn.

[IAlam]

5 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

There are some drivers that will do what you described.  I don't agree with it but it happens.  Some guys don't get their break and others just don't give a damn.

I didn't know his situation, and I wasn't in a rush so I decided not to get angry.