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1 hour ago, XcelsiorBoii4888 said:

My gosh, must of been an experience. All Staten Island traffic, plus Brooklyn traffic, all on a little 3 1/2 lane highway. They need build a direct route to Staten Island because all this “via” Brooklyn/New Jersey isn’t going to last forever; unless they build another tunnel between Brooklyn/Manhattan, and build another highway on top of the Gowanus (like an express highway, similar to ones in Jersey/upstate). 

 

55 minutes ago, S78 via Hylan said:

Just after 6:00.

I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

Has happened to me numerous times as a former X30 rider. The only saving grace was living in West Brighton, I got to get off earlier and stop by Pasticceria Bruno before walking home.

Edited by Via Garibaldi 8
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11 minutes ago, JubaionBx12+SBS said:

I've noticed that usage at the Pelham Pkwy/Stillwell Av stop has increased notably over the past few months. I'm having a hard time pinning a source though.

It could be that people are coming from the Jacobi hospital or from Mercy college or from Montefiore. I've seen some nurses and doctors board from that stop the last time I checked the stop. Also, the 911 call center or PSAC II building is close to the bus stop.

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18 hours ago, S78 via Hylan said:

Interesting ride today:

I boarded an X30 at 57th and 7 Avenue just after 4:00. All seemed good until we reached 42nd and 8 Ave. Once we left the stop, the B/O announced that we would be traveling through Brooklyn as the Lincoln Tunnel was closed. We crawled down West St since there was heavy traffic. 

Just when it couldn’t get any worse, the BQE had bumper to bumper traffic to the extent where people stepped outside their vehicles. Even the HOV lane  was backed up. I saw all the “via NJ” express routes along the way.

When we finally got into SI, we came off the expressway just past Richmond Rd, turned down Clove Rd, and made a right on Victory. The B/O basically drove the AM route. It turns out, a bus caught fire near the Licoln Tunnel on the New Jersey end.

Something happened (looked like a broken down car or bus) in the BQE HOV lane yesterday too near the Verrazzano. I passed it going towards Queens yesterday, lots of buses were trapped behind the incident

Edited by RestrictOnTheHanger
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The rush hour on the Q28-13-16 routes were pretty bad today. The line for the Q28 was three stops long, and the only bus that was there was told to leave with no standees. The next Q28 was changed to a short-turn Q13, and two more Q13s passed before a Q28 came. I passed this one up because I wasn't going to get a seat. Little did I know, the next bus was right behind and I wasn't going to walk all the way back to get on it. After it leaves, a fourth one comes and about five people board after me (out of a line that's still pretty long) and the farebox f*cks up. Out of my years and years of taking the bus, this was my first time seeing a MetroCard get stuck in the farebox. After all this, a 5th bus comes and the dispatcher tells him to leave with 6 people on board. I basically got home in an empty bus. There was a grand total of three buses in the opposite direction this whole time, so the rest of the rush hour was basically going to be a mess. They really have to work on traffic and how to get these buses moving. 

Edited by R188 7857
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On 10/19/2017 at 2:05 PM, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Like what?  I rode the 11:40 BxM4 yesterday to Midtown.  Six people on it including myself. Based on the demographics, it was fair to say that everyone save myself and one lady got on in Woodlawn or came from Yonkers (three old Irish looking ladies, an older man that hobbled off of the bus at 96th street) (I got on at 158th and Grand Concourse by the courthouses). I ride the BxM3 during peak periods sometimes when I have to tutor somewhere along the route and those buses get good loads.  I've used it off-peak and it can be hit or miss. The earlier buses to Manhattan seem to do alright (peak and off-peak), but others can struggle.  Meanwhile the BxM1 and BxM2 buses of late have been quite crowded. I can always tell when the next wave of people have moved from Manhattan to Riverdale. Every bus I take now has regulars, but plenty of new faces, likely people who also don't want to deal with the horrible subway.  We'll see how long that lasts, but the problem with both the BxM3 and BxM4 continues to be gentrification.  

Rents in the Bronx have skyrocketed and are on par with parts of Brooklyn, Queens and Upper Manhattan in some cases, and that means for some, the first thing that gets cut is the express bus from their budget.  Those living along the Concourse, the ones from north of 165th all the way up to Fordham are not using the express bus (simply can't afford to), and the few co-ops below 165th are not enough to give the BxM4 the ridership it needs, and while usage from Woodlawn is decent, Woodlawn overall is too small (a lot of folks in Woodlawn opt for Metro-North unless they're traveling to areas like the Upper East Side or north or south of Grand Central, and then they'll then use the BxM4).

The BxM3 really should see more usage from the people in North Riverdale along or near Broadway, but those people are too busy making their way uphill to get the BxM1, BxM2 or BxM18.  Better service #1 (better frequencies and more options), and #2 some live on steep hills where they have to opt for the BxM3 one way and then the BxM1, BxM2 or the BxM18 the other way (I talked to a guy that takes the BxM3 one way and the BxM18 the other despite living closer to Broadway because of the hill situation).  The BxM3's bread and butter right now comes from that big gated co-op building there on Sedgwick at the last pick-up/first drop-off stop (Fordham Hill Oval).  Half of the bus can empty out at that first stop alone. Ridership from other parts of the route while okay could be much better, so I don't see any real solution at the moment.  The terrible traffic that the BxM3 gets stuck in at times also doesn't help. The BxM4 losing those Super Express trips from Woodlawn didn't help matters, as many of them do not like taking a tour of the Concourse, and there certainly isn't enough ridership to bring those back, even with the small increase overall in patronage last year.

I think many Riverdalians don't even know about the BxM3. A lot of them think the BxM1 and 2 are the only two routes in Riverdale.

As for the BxM4. there's no need for it to make half those stops on the Concourse. The express buses aren't meant to serve the hood. Maybe extend that route further into Yonkers along Kimball Ave and cut out some Concourse stops.

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@MysteriousBtrain @Vtrain @checkmatechamp13

from: Should the S79 SBS run 24 hours?

The mall that it terminates near isn't open 24 hours. Maybe after 10 PM, it could be routed to another location instead of being drawn to the same spot.

Also, are they planning on installing off bus pay boxes for the S79 SBS (or has it already happened)? And further, are they planning to do that for future SBS? A route for the North Shore was in a recent proposal.

You were mentioned so that we may continue the conversation in the right section.

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19 minutes ago, MassTransitHonchkrow said:

Also, are they planning on installing off bus pay boxes for the S79 SBS (or has it already happened)?

It was established a long time ago that the S79 would NOT have off-fare payment, so it is essentially like limited stop service, though it uses some SBS features like signal priority.  It was given the SBS designation for marketing purposes to make the route more attractive, and overall has been much faster than the old S79.

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1 hour ago, MassTransitHonchkrow said:

@MysteriousBtrain @Vtrain @checkmatechamp13

from: Should the S79 SBS run 24 hours?

The mall that it terminates near isn't open 24 hours. Maybe after 10 PM, it could be routed to another location instead of being drawn to the same spot.

Also, are they planning on installing off bus pay boxes for the S79 SBS (or has it already happened)? And further, are they planning to do that for future SBS? A route for the North Shore was in a recent proposal.

You were mentioned so that we may continue the conversation in the right section.

There's lots of people who live near the SI Mall. There's apartment buildings, townhouses, and also the connection to the S44 and S61 for those who may need it. Also, the Yukon  Depot is right there. Besides, you need to think of a better destination than "somewhere else".

1 hour ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

It was established a long time ago that the S79 would NOT have off-fare payment, so it is essentially like limited stop service, though it uses some SBS features like signal priority.  It was given the SBS designation for marketing purposes to make the route more attractive, and overall has been much faster than the old S79.

What he said.

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On 10/23/2017 at 2:39 AM, 78 via Stew Leonards said:

I think many Riverdalians don't even know about the BxM3. A lot of them think the BxM1 and 2 are the only two routes in Riverdale.

As for the BxM4. there's no need for it to make half those stops on the Concourse. The express buses aren't meant to serve the hood. Maybe extend that route further into Yonkers along Kimball Ave and cut out some Concourse stops.

Well here's the thing.  Most of the people that live along Broadway ("downstairs Riverdale") make their way to the subway.  While Broadway does have some co-ops, it is not the "splashy", "leafy" part of Riverdale up the hill that most know of with the luxury doorman buildings or old historic homes from the 1920s, though generally middle class.  Aside from that, it's one of the few areas of Riverdale where you can walk to the 242nd street subway in some cases.  The rest of the people use the Bx9 to the (1) train.  Whenever I walk down the hill to use the BxM3, I usually opt for stops like the 246th street and Broadway, and only one time has someone else boarded with me in my years of using that stop, so that tells me any usage in Riverdale along Broadway has to be in North Riverdale, which isn't that much, and that's the problem. 

The people really using express bus service in Riverdale live near me.  The bulk of the ridership is in Central Riverdale and then down in Spuyten Duyvil especially.  Ridership in North Riverdale has always been hit or miss, so basically after Henry Hudson Parkway and say 239th to 246th, that's where you don't tend to see huge usage overall.  North Riverdale gets its usage during the rush though along with people coming down from Yonkers.  There is another estate area west of the Parkway right on the North Riverdale border right near the Riverdale Metro-North station that has $$$ near to where (MTA) board member Charles Moerdler lives, and you may get some folks in those co-ops as well along Riverdale Avenue and west of that. Some of those co-ops in North Riverdale like Skyview (west of Riverdale Avenue) have shuttle bus service for the residents right to the Metro-North Riverdale station, which tends to compete with the express bus service.

Sometimes the bus off-peak is empty until I get on down in Central Riverdale up by 239th and Henry Hudson Parkway and then it fills up quickly at 236th and 232nd, and especially down by Kappock and Knolls Crescent in Spuyten Duyvil/South Riverdale. That stop alone accounts for a huge amount of the BxM2 ridership and to some extent the BxM1 as well.  I'm not sure if it's that "via Kappock" signage or what, but as I've said before, sometimes the BxM2 buses can be almost empty by the time I get off, as half of the bus will empty out at Kappock and Knolls Crescent and someone is always getting off at Kappock and Johnson.  That part of Spuyten Duyvil is very dense with several high-end co-ops, condos and luxury rental apartments, and with the express bus literally being outside the door of some buildings, it's not surprising that the usage is what it is down there, as the express buses are marketed in the buildings themselves as an amenity with "easy access to Manhattan" for those who want to dine out, go to the opera at Lincoln Center and the like.  There's also a large retirement community that lives in the those buildings that like to go to Manhattan and they make up the usage during off-peak periods more than you would imagine.

Central Riverdale has a similar set up.  The Southern and Central part of Riverdale along with Fieldston and the estate areas are the richest parts in terms of disposable income, so naturally you will see more usage.  West of Henry Hudson Parkway near 246th also has several co-ops and large buildings and usage seems split between Metro-North and the express buses. However, I don't get the impression that people in the estate areas east and west of the Parkway use the express buses in any large number, as they likely either drive or go over to Metro-North.  Several politicians live in my area, along with two (MTA) board members, and any time I've seen them they are always on Metro-North. I've seen Fernando Ferrer who lives in North Riverdale, and an ex-Senator who lives in Fieldston, and they all use Metro-North, either the Riverdale or Spuyten Duyvil stations.  

Unfortunately the BxM3 probably can't do too much better down along Broadway, mainly because of the hilly topography.  Those using the express buses may opt for the BxM1, BxM2 and BxM18 simply because they may feel like they are easier to reach, as the hills can be quite challenging from Broadway.

As for the BxM4, as I said before, Woodlawn is too small, and even an extension into Yonkers wouldn't garner too much ridership, not unless it was extended to somewhere where it could pick up a large bulk of people and then you would have to have super express trips that don't pick up after Woodlawn. The problem is the ones that made all stops wouldn't carry enough IMO.  The (MTA) has already eliminated quite a few stops along the Concourse angering some people.  The disabled and the elderly in particular would make the most noise, but you're right, basically after 165th there isn't much usage until you get up near Bedford Park for the most part.  What they should do with the BxM3 and BxM4 is re-instate pick-up service at 125th. They have since changed the pick-up stop that used to exist at 125th and 5th as "Drop-Off Only" but some drivers still pick up there anyway, and on occasion some people will get on, so it's unofficial at the moment, but I agree in that both lines need more areas to draw from where possible.

Edited by Via Garibaldi 8
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7 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

It was established a long time ago that the S79 would NOT have off-fare payment, so it is essentially like limited stop service, though it uses some SBS features like signal priority.  It was given the SBS designation for marketing purposes to make the route more attractive, and overall has been much faster than the old S79.

Any NYC bus route with signal priority will be more attractive since buses get caught at so many signals by mere seconds.

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2 hours ago, N6 Limited said:

Any NYC bus route with signal priority will be more attractive since buses get caught at so many signals by mere seconds.

Agreed. The M79 seems to use it at Lexington and at Park and maybe Madison too. They seem to have delayed lights at those locations so the buses slide on throughout as the light is changing.

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8 hours ago, 78 via Stew Leonards said:

What sucks about SBS routes is that its guaranteed to be a low floor shitcan.  Those buses suck compared to the classics.

I prefer the low floors because of the easy boarding and layout overall, but the drawback is feeeling every single bump... It's like your body takes the role of the shocks. I also hate the way these new buses jerk you around. If you don't hold on you can go flying for the smallest stops.

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