BUS - Random Thoughts Thread

[NoHacksJustKhaks]

4 hours ago, Lawrence St said:

Theres 5 LFSA buses on the M14 right now that accidentally received MTA bus codes and are signed up as the Q114.

Honestly, the day the  gets signage 100% right is likely the day this world ends, damn shame I won’t be alive to see that moment come in my life...

[XcelsiorBoii4888]

Ok so I rode the SIM33C today and the MTA/DOT is a disgrace. 

Hmm where should I start?!

Ok lets start with the stops. They did an ok job placing the new SIM33C signs in the city, although there's still a bunch of SIM4C signs in S.I where they shouldn't be along Gannon etc. Most of the SIM33 signs say Greenwich Village in Staten Island, so no one would be aware of a SIM33C. 

Ok now lets go to the destination signs...SIM33 says Mariners Hbr - via N Gannon - Combination. Needs to add via Narrows Rd N, idk why they did not update that. The SIM4C sign still says via N Gannon via Richmond....cmon, can't tell you how many people got f**ked over when they found out the bus wasn't using the service road anymore. 

Now lets go to Bustime....

Wtf is good with the SIM4Cs route in Staten Island? LMAO imagine that was the actual route. 

They completely messed up the SIM33Cs routing in Manhattan. They have it going all the way up 6th Ave instead of down Madison. 

 

As of today...things didn't feel right...there's gonna be a BIG cut next pick. WAY to many empty buses today, most 33Cs carried no more than 10-15. 3Cs no more than 10-15. There's just way to much out right now. And with everything going to Midtown we're going "back to the old way". Well they're about to get what they preached. The way I see it, is they're definitely eliminating/rerouting one of the routes soon. 

[Around the Horn]

4 minutes ago, XcelsiorBoii4888 said:

Now lets go to Bustime....

Wtf is good with the SIM4Cs route in Staten Island? LMAO imagine that was the actual route. 

They completely messed up the SIM33Cs routing in Manhattan. They have it going all the way up 6th Ave instead of down Madison.

I mean they still haven't fixed the X37 route on BusTime which has it using Hamilton Avenue and the 3rd Av service road...

[Via Garibaldi 8]

8 minutes ago, XcelsiorBoii4888 said:

Ok so I rode the SIM33C today and the MTA/DOT is a disgrace. 

Hmm where should I start?!

Ok lets start with the stops. They did an ok job placing the new SIM33C signs in the city, although there's still a bunch of SIM4C signs in S.I where they shouldn't be along Gannon etc. Most of the SIM33 signs say Greenwich Village in Staten Island, so no one would be aware of a SIM33C. 

Ok now lets go to the destination signs...SIM33 says Mariners Hbr - via N Gannon - Combination. Needs to add via Narrows Rd N, idk why they did not update that. The SIM4C sign still says via N Gannon via Richmond....cmon, can't tell you how many people got f**ked over when they found out the bus wasn't using the service road anymore. 

Now lets go to Bustime....

Wtf is good with the SIM4Cs route in Staten Island? LMAO imagine that was the actual route. 

They completely messed up the SIM33Cs routing in Manhattan. They have it going all the way up 6th Ave instead of down Madison. 

 

As of today...things didn't feel right...there's gonna be a BIG cut next pick. WAY to many empty buses today, most 33Cs carried no more than 10-15. 3Cs no more than 10-15. There's just way to much out right now. And with everything going to Midtown we're going "back to the old way". Well they're about to get what they preached. The way I see it, is they're definitely eliminating/rerouting one of the routes soon. 

One day isn't indicative of anything, not to mention that the last few days have been BRUTALLY cold, so ridership is light in general. People are still adjusting. That said, yes the errors were ridiculous and totally unacceptable. I posted screenshots for my  contacts to see. I'm sure someone saw it because after one bus went via 6th Avenue all the way up, I posted screenshots and saw that the following bus fell off of BusTime at 6th and 23rd and thus went via Madison. We've been railing on service so much that some of my contacts are afraid to post anything. One of my contacts wants to introduce themselves but not just yet. LMAO I commended him for staying in the group because they have had some harsh words for management to put it lightly. LOL!

I must say most of the guys really do care but they have a tough job.  They don't control how many buses are pulled from service for one, so maintenance is out of their hands and they have to make service with what they have. Some depots are STILL short on buses months later. It's like an endless cycle...

Edited January 14, 2019 by Via Garibaldi 8

[XcelsiorBoii4888]

24 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

One day isn't indicative of anything, not to mention that the last few days have been BRUTALLY cold, so ridership is light in general. People are still adjusting. That said, yes the errors were ridiculous and totally unacceptable. I posted screenshots for my  contacts to see. I'm sure someone saw it because after one bus went via 6th Avenue all the way up, I posted screenshots and saw that the following bus fell off of BusTime at 6th and 23rd and thus went via Madison. We've been railing on service so much that some of my contacts are afraid to post anything. One of my contacts wants to introduce themselves but not just yet. LMAO I commended him for staying in the group because they have had some harsh words for management to put it lightly. LOL!

I must say most of the guys really do care but they have a tough job.  They don't control how many buses are pulled from service for one, so maintenance is out of their hands and they have to make service with what they have. Some depots are STILL short on buses months later. It's like an endless cycle...

Yeah, see I'm more of a perfectionist, and little things like what I explained irks me. Cmon it's so easy to fix, and there was enough time to do it. I HATE glitches, and wrong information being posted. 

[checkmatechamp13]

14 hours ago, Lil 57 said:

One of the things that the  promised during the redesign is that if you had service during a certain time in the old network, you would be guaranteed that service during the new network. They tried screwing around with that at first with Arden Heights/Huguenot. But people opposed, and they extended the SIM4C when the SIM2 wasn't running. They already started screwing with the SIM3C off-peak by pushing it back to 10:20 AM outbound on weekdays. That's most likely why they decided to have the SIM33C serve the Narrows Road, so that those riders didn't lose 3 hours of service. However, the easier thing would be to just keep the SIM3C schedule and to have the the SIM33C skip it. (The SIM3C is 5-10 minutes faster to the Narrows Road than the SIM33C anyway).

Port Richmond service is needed, ridership has been increasing with the SIM3/3C and alot of the local buses just miss the ferry so it usually takes an hour and a half just to get to the tip of Manhattan from Port Richmond alot of times with the ferry.

The thing with Arden Heights is that people were pretty much stranded. Literally, it wasn't even a matter of "they don't want to transfer to a local bus", there literally wasn't any local bus to take (unless you happened to live by Arthur Kill Road). And notice that they only restored the weekday evening service, and didn't add anything for the weekends (the SIM2 still ended earlier than the X17)

I'll put it this way, I think one of the "lessons" learned by the MTA is don't make promises you can't keep (and I think at this point, they're hoping people don't remember that promise they made). At the meetings, when they mentioned that you'd still have service in the general area, we were all thinking that they would check the schedules to make sure that they were keeping that promise. Then all of a sudden the schedules come out and you see all the gaps and areas where even the rush hour service starts later or ends earlier than it used to (e.g. X5 riders on the SIM6, etc)

15 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Very possible. If they’re looking at changing demographics then surely Port Richmond would be a target. Never got the feeling that the neighborhood was that outspoken either, plus you have a large immigrant population, some of whom don’t speak English, so they may not vote or be that involved (may not even be here legally). Just the reality of things...

I'll put it this way, express bus service definitely isn't a priority for Community Board 1 overall (the North Shore Community Board). For the Area Committee representing Port Richmond (they basically lump Port Richmond/Mariners Harbor/Arlington/Graniteville into one area committee), I honestly don't recall the last time express bus service was discussed, and the building is a couple of blocks from the Castleton Depot. So those meetings are pretty well-attended, but there's other issues that take priority.

I went to the most recent CB1 meeting, and they literally said the only thing on the agenda was the Bay Street rezoning (and the room was jam-packed). I asked some of the board members if I could speak and let everybody know that there are going to be major changes to the express bus schedules and they said they would barely have time to get through everything with the Bay Street rezoning. In Port Richmond, the main topic was the hotel that a developer is proposing (that people are worried will become a welfare hotel) and again the meetings were full.

For CB1, the transportation issues that tend to get attention are anything ferry-related, followed by local bus issues, and then way in the rear would be express bus issues. For Port Richmond, honestly those people never take the initiative on anything mass transit-related (local bus or express bus). Whenever I tell them anything it's always news to them and they don't get any MTA reps to come to their meetings or anything like that. If they channeled their energy into transportation issues even to the level that CB1 overall does, there would likely be a lot more positive changes.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

7 minutes ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

The thing with Arden Heights is that people were pretty much stranded. Literally, it wasn't even a matter of "they don't want to transfer to a local bus", there literally wasn't any local bus to take (unless you happened to live by Arthur Kill Road). And notice that they only restored the weekday evening service, and didn't add anything for the weekends (the SIM2 still ended earlier than the X17)

I'll put it this way, I think one of the "lessons" learned by the MTA is don't make promises you can't keep (and I think at this point, they're hoping people don't remember that promise they made). At the meetings, when they mentioned that you'd still have service in the general area, we were all thinking that they would check the schedules to make sure that they were keeping that promise. Then all of a sudden the schedules come out and you see all the gaps and areas where even the rush hour service starts later or ends earlier than it used to (e.g. X5 riders on the SIM6, etc)

I'll put it this way, express bus service definitely isn't a priority for Community Board 1 overall (the North Shore Community Board). For the Area Committee representing Port Richmond (they basically lump Port Richmond/Mariners Harbor/Arlington/Graniteville into one area committee), I honestly don't recall the last time express bus service was discussed, and the building is a couple of blocks from the Castleton Depot. So those meetings are pretty well-attended, but there's other issues that take priority.

I went to the most recent CB1 meeting, and they literally said the only thing on the agenda was the Bay Street rezoning (and the room was jam-packed). I asked some of the board members if I could speak and let everybody know that there are going to be major changes to the express bus schedules and they said they would barely have time to get through everything with the Bay Street rezoning. In Port Richmond, the main topic was the hotel that a developer is proposing (that people are worried will become a welfare hotel) and again the meetings were full.

For CB1, the transportation issues that tend to get attention are anything ferry-related, followed by local bus issues, and then way in the rear would be express bus issues. For Port Richmond, honestly those people never take the initiative on anything mass transit-related (local bus or express bus). Whenever I tell them anything it's always news to them and they don't get any MTA reps to come to their meetings or anything like that. If they channeled their energy into transportation issues even to the level that CB1 overall does, there would likely be a lot more positive changes.

Doesn’t surprise me at all. Funny thing is in my area it’s the opposite. We had a Town Hall meeting in the Estate area (west of the Parkway) and the room was packed. We had some people around my age as well, so a decent representation. In my area, people feel very comfortable starting petitions when elected officials can’t get the job done. The Bx10 still runs half-@ssed, but likely better than it would if people didn’t make so much of a stink. Express bus service in my area has definitely improved. I haven’t seen service like this since maybe 2012. There are still issues but definitely an improvement.

[Armandito]

It seems that there are service gaps between the B6 and B8 buses along Foster Avenue (where Canarsie Plaza is located) and along 20th Avenue, but I'm not sure if it's best to either increase service on those two routes or establish a new route serving those streets...

(And let's not forget that Foster Avenue between Kings Highway and Rockaway Avenue runs quite parallel along a segment that was supposed to be part of a proposed  extension back in the 70s, though that never happened in part because of the city's fiscal crisis...)

Edited January 14, 2019 by lara8710

[B35 via Church]

1 hour ago, lara8710 said:

It seems that there are service gaps between the B6 and B8 buses along Foster Avenue (where Canarsie Plaza is located) and along 20th Avenue, but I'm not sure if it's best to either increase service on those two routes or establish a new route serving those streets...

(And let's not forget that Foster Avenue between Kings Highway and Rockaway Avenue runs quite parallel along a segment that was supposed to be part of a proposed  extension back in the 70s, though that never happened in part because of the city's fiscal crisis...)

If anything, I'd increase B17 & B47 service in that general pocket of Brooklyn....

[Future ENY OP]

2 hours ago, lara8710 said:

It seems that there are service gaps between the B6 and B8 buses along Foster Avenue (where Canarsie Plaza is located) and along 20th Avenue, but I'm not sure if it's best to either increase service on those two routes or establish a new route serving those streets...

(And let's not forget that Foster Avenue between Kings Highway and Rockaway Avenue runs quite parallel along a segment that was supposed to be part of a proposed  extension back in the 70s, though that never happened in part because of the city's fiscal crisis...)

Once a upon of time the B8 ended at Canarsie Plaza. I don’t know if the bus pole is still there on 83rd and Foster. However, I remember vividly that the 8 would go down 83rd. Turn right on Ralph. Stop on Clarendon and turn left unto Beverly. 

It’s about time to have some form of part-time service for the B8 to Canarsie. 

41 minutes ago, B35 via Church said:

If anything, I'd increase B17 & B47 service in that general pocket of Brooklyn....

I don’t know how i feel bringing the 17 or the 47 in that general area. I feel that the 8 provides direct service. The 17 might work since there is a direct turn to Clarendon/Ditmas from 83rd. 

As for the 47. Unless there is old route (78) to be returned on Ralph Avenue to help out on the southern most point of the route. I cannot see this going to Canarsie Plaza. 

[Armandito]

2 minutes ago, Future ENY OP said:

It’s about time to have some form of part-time service for the B8 to Canarsie. 

Yet the B8 stopped running there due to low ridership at the time. That's why it got rerouted to Brookdale Hospital.

[XcelsiorBoii4888]

@checkmatechamp13

Do you know if the S93 service has been boosted? BusTime is showing 10:34am, 10:46am and 10:58am departures from Bay Ridge but the schedule is showing every 20mins 10:17am, 10:37am, and 11:00am. 

 

[paulrivera]

11 hours ago, NoHacksJustKhaks said:

Honestly, the day the  gets signage 100% right is likely the day this world ends, damn shame I won’t be alive to see that moment come in my life...

As I'm patiently waiting for the older LFSAs on the SBS routes in the Bronx to display something other than "SELECT BUS" on the front signs...

4 months and counting.

[XcelsiorBoii4888]

@checkmatechamp13

Do you know if the S93 service has been boosted? BusTime is showing 10:34am, 10:46am and 10:58am departures from Bay Ridge but the schedule is showing every 20mins 10:17am, 10:37am, and 11:00am. 

 

[Lawrence St]

23 minutes ago, paulrivera said:

As I'm patiently waiting for the older LFSAs on the SBS routes in the Bronx to display something other than "SELECT BUS" on the front signs...

4 months and counting.

That's STILL glitched? Such a shame.

Also, whats up with these new XD60's particularly the ones that run on the M14A/D showing "EMERGENCY CALL POLICE" on the signs?

[B35 via Church]

2 hours ago, Future ENY OP said:

I don’t know how i feel bringing the 17 or the 47 in that general area. I feel that the 8 provides direct service. The 17 might work since there is a direct turn to Clarendon/Ditmas from 83rd. 

As for the 47. Unless there is old route (78) to be returned on Ralph Avenue to help out on the southern most point of the route. I cannot see this going to Canarsie Plaza. 

I don't see what you're saying; The B17 & the B47 already runs in that general area of Brooklyn....

He's inquiring on filling that gap along Foster av between the B6 & the B8, in the vicinity of Canarsie Plaza.... For all intents & purposes, that is B17 & B47 territory....

Nobody's talking about moving the B47 to Canarsie Plaza... Matter fact, I'm not talking about moving anything.... lol...

What I'm saying is - Instead of [filling that gap along Foster with some new route] & instead of [increasing current B6 & B8 service (as lara8710 brought up as a possibility for better service in that general area)], I would rather & instead, increase current B17 & B47 service.... In saying that, what I'm essentially conveying is that those folks in-particular are hardly making their way to B6's & B8's enough to warrant a service increase....

1 hour ago, lara8710 said:

Yet the B8 stopped running there due to low ridership at the time. That's why it got rerouted to Brookdale Hospital.

Brooklyn Terminal Market fell off as any real/significant "go to" destination.... No where near what it used to be.

Edited January 14, 2019 by B35 via Church

[Lil 57]

 website is frozen, no subway status, no bus status, no nothing. You'll never know if you're route is detoured.

NVM it's working again.

Edited January 14, 2019 by Lil 57

[trife86]

15 hours ago, XcelsiorBoii4888 said:

 

Ok now lets go to the destination signs...SIM33 says Mariners Hbr - via N Gannon - Combination. Needs to add via Narrows Rd N, idk why they did not update that. The SIM4C sign still says via N Gannon via Richmond....cmon, can't tell you how many people got f**ked over when they found out the bus wasn't using the service road anymore. 

 

I don't think many express riders are basing their trip on what a destination sign says. Maybe there are some out there but it wouldn't be alot. Most people would be checking out the maps on the website or tripplanner etc etc 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

19 minutes ago, trife86 said:

I don't think many express riders are basing their trip on what a destination sign says. Maybe there are some out there but it wouldn't be alot. Most people would be checking out the maps on the website or tripplanner etc etc 

Not a lot but some.  The signage is important because that's how you market bus service to riders that aren't familiar with the routes.

[NoHacksJustKhaks]

37 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Not a lot but some.  The signage is important because that's how you market bus service to riders that aren't familiar with the routes.

Especially since the signage tells you where the bus is going to specifically. Getting rid of that and expecting every single person to perfectly get on their identical bus routes (especially from Manhattan) is trouble waiting to happen.

Edited January 14, 2019 by NoHacksJustKhaks

[trainfan22]

4872 has a whine, IDK if you can hear it inside the bus but you can certainly hear it on the outside.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

53 minutes ago, NoHacksJustKhaks said:

Especially since the signage tells you where the bus is going to specifically. Getting rid of that and expecting every single person to perfectly get on their identical bus routes (especially from Manhattan) is trouble waiting to happen.

With all of the changes on Staten Island, the signage does matter.  

[checkmatechamp13]

6 hours ago, XcelsiorBoii4888 said:

@checkmatechamp13

Do you know if the S93 service has been boosted? BusTime is showing 10:34am, 10:46am and 10:58am departures from Bay Ridge but the schedule is showing every 20mins 10:17am, 10:37am, and 11:00am. 

Yes they increased off-peak frequency so now buses run every 12 minutes or better for the entire day. It's a pilot program to see if they can boost off-peak ridership by increasing the service but the problem is they didn't advertise it (and if anything by not updating the schedule they did the opposite. People can't use the extra service if they don't know it exists)

[SevenEleven]

22 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

This will remain a mess because if any of my contacts saw my post (I'm sure they did) and told someone to radio it in, if any driver doesn't hear the announcement, he'll go off of what information he has, which is via 6th Avenue, but the signage must say via Madison on the bus as it does on BusTime and on the MTA website.

This was addressed and fixed today. TA once again made an error on the paddles.

19 hours ago, Lil 57 said:

So Google maps isn't showing me any bus data from Staten Island, making planning a trip on SI impossible. Anyone know aby alternative websites?

Can't find a way there!!

18 hours ago, XcelsiorBoii4888 said:

Ok so I rode the SIM33C today and the MTA/DOT is a disgrace. 

Hmm where should I start?!

Ok lets start with the stops. They did an ok job placing the new SIM33C signs in the city, although there's still a bunch of SIM4C signs in S.I where they shouldn't be along Gannon etc. Most of the SIM33 signs say Greenwich Village in Staten Island, so no one would be aware of a SIM33C. 

Ok now lets go to the destination signs...SIM33 says Mariners Hbr - via N Gannon - Combination. Needs to add via Narrows Rd N, idk why they did not update that. The SIM4C sign still says via N Gannon via Richmond....cmon, can't tell you how many people got f**ked over when they found out the bus wasn't using the service road anymore. 

Now lets go to Bustime....

Wtf is good with the SIM4Cs route in Staten Island? LMAO imagine that was the actual route. 

They completely messed up the SIM33Cs routing in Manhattan. They have it going all the way up 6th Ave instead of down Madison. 

 

As of today...things didn't feel right...there's gonna be a BIG cut next pick. WAY to many empty buses today, most 33Cs carried no more than 10-15. 3Cs no more than 10-15. There's just way to much out right now. And with everything going to Midtown we're going "back to the old way". Well they're about to get what they preached. The way I see it, is they're definitely eliminating/rerouting one of the routes soon. 

DOT sucks with stop changes and updates. Those 4Cs  gonna go down in history like the X1 signs still lying around.

The 4C destination sign was updated to say Huguenot via Richmond & Arthur Kill. Just need to get everyone adjusted to punching in the new code.

The 33C route was fixed, see above. Also, its the first day of a new service. It's not going to catch traction like that. It's gonna be slow like how the SIM2 started out. Give it time, I'm sure it will catch, especially with the amount of people who get on along Gannon.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

3 minutes ago, SevenEleven said:

This was addressed and fixed today. TA once again made an error on the paddles.

Still wrong on BusTime though. I posted it in my group yesterday, so likely Road Ops saw it and sent out a memo, but who knows when BusTime will be fixed.

P.S. I know who handles BusTime too, so I don't expect any miracles that's for sure, let's just put it that way.

Edited January 14, 2019 by Via Garibaldi 8