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On 3/2/2018 at 5:55 PM, 161 New York said:

The current status of the s53 and s79-SBS .

fliyqf.jpg

This was how the Q44 sbs was during the NorEaster sitting in the Bronx with about 20 other buses behind because they banned trucks and buses from the Whitestone and Throgs neck Bridge. Complete standstill for 3 hours. 

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On ‎3‎/‎3‎/‎2018 at 11:16 PM, trainfan22 said:

Nova Artic 5863 fan belt screeches just like the D60s do.. it was LOUD.. far louder than the sound of the engine on those buses, I didn't ride it but heard it from the outside. First time I ever heard a Nova Artic with a screeching fanbelt.

Yeah the Novas seem to do that more when the weather's hot....

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On ‎3‎/‎3‎/‎2018 at 9:14 PM, MysteriousBtrain said:

The M15 local had the announcements for a while. The M101-03 didn't have them back then, but may have it now.

 

Also this could be me, but NICE has announcements for almost every stop, but it isn't much of a problem. Probably because there weren't much transfers announced similar to the pilots on the Q44.

K. I ride the M15 from time to time and this is the first I've gotten a Local with the announcements. Either way, its a step in the right direction.

Edited by Missabassie
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To better understand the average workday of a Bus Operator, I would like to compose a hypothetical situation followed by a few questions. Let us consider the following:

 

Background information:

Bus Operator Lee has been employed by MTA New York City Transit for the past 5 years and works out of Casey Stengel Depot in Flushing, Queens. His shift hours are 4:00 PM through 12:00 AM and he is off Monday's and Tuesday's. He operates buses that serve the Q28 route between Flushing and Bayside.

 

Wednesday, May 15th, 3:45 PM:

After parking his personal vehicle in the designated parking lot for employees at Casey Stengel Depot, he walks to his clock-in location within the depot's management and supervisory facility. He promptly joins payroll for his assigned shift at 4:00 PM sharp. Today he is assigned to bus #7367 and conducts his 45-minute pre-trip inspection, which he completes by 4:50 PM. Approximately 15 minutes later, he is monitoring passengers that are boarding his bus just before he departs to begin his first trip. At 5:08 PM, he leaves the Q28 bus terminal in Flushing at 39th Avenue and 138th Street. By the time he reaches the other end of the Q28 bus route in Bayside, it is 5:43 PM; 2 minutes behind schedule.

 

All trips completed by Bus Operator Lee on Wednesday, May 15th, starting at 5:08 PM:

Q28 (Bayside-bound): 5:08 PM – 5:43 PM; (Arrives at terminal 2 minutes behind schedule)

Q28 (Flushing-bound): 5:45 PM – 6:17 PM; (Arrives at terminal 1 minute ahead of schedule)

Q28 (Bayside-bound): 6:22 PM – 6:55 PM; (Arrives at terminal on-time)

Q28 (Flushing-bound): 7:05 PM – 7:35 PM; (Arrives at terminal 1 minute behind schedule)

Q28 (Bayside-bound): 7:41 PM – 8:16 PM; (Arrives at terminal 2 minutes behind schedule)

Lunch: 8:20 PM – 9:20 PM; (Bus Operator Lee chooses to lunch have close by at The Bay Terrace shopping center)

Q28 (Flushing-bound): 9:27 PM – 9:52 PM; (Arrives at terminal on-time)

Q28 (Bayside-bound): 10:01 PM – 10:29 PM; (Arrives at terminal 1 minute ahead of schedule)

Q28 (Flushing-bound): 10:42 PM – 11:09 PM; (Arrives at terminal 2 minutes behind schedule)

Q28 (Bayside-bound): 11:15 PM – 11:45 PM; (Arrives at terminal 1 minute behind schedule)

 

After completing his final trip at 11:45 PM, he deadheads back to the bus depot, securing his bus in its designated storage lane 20 minutes later at 12:05 AM. He clocks out at 12:10 AM, returns to the employee parking lot, then drives home.

 

Questions:

1.) Is the scenario mentioned above a typical representation of an average workday for a Bus Operator?

2.) Are there a set number of hours that all Bus Operators are limited to in being behind the wheel?

3.) Do all Bus Operators conduct 45-minute pre-trip inspections at the start of their duties?

4.) Are Bus Operators ever assigned 2 separate routes on any given workday if they have seniority and a set route pick for mandatory overtime?

5.) May any Bus Operator take a 1-hour lunch break in which their bus is out of their immediate vision?

 

Thank you to everyone who submitted their feedback regarding this post! I appreciate gaining more knowledge and insight on daily bus operations!

 

 

Edited by AlgorithmOfTruth
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On 3/3/2018 at 9:14 PM, MysteriousBtrain said:

The M15 local had the announcements for a while. The M101-03 didn't have them back then, but may have it now.

 

Also this could be me, but NICE has announcements for almost every stop, but it isn't much of a problem. Probably because there weren't much transfers announced similar to the pilots on the Q44.

It's not much of a problem for the NICE announcement system because the only announcement they have for stops with a multitude of bus transfers is "Multiple transfers available" (or "Major Transfer Point" in the LIB days) instead of listing every line a route intersects with at said stop. In addition, they only announce cross streets (e.g. Sanford Av and Kissena Blvd) when it's at a stop where the route turns onto another street. Compare this to say the announcements on the C40LFs  where they announce cross streets along with "Next Stop is" then "Now arriving at"...more or less "Upcoming Stops are [announces next two stops]" but that seems to have been done away with recently.

This all may sound slight but it could be enough to possibly pose a problem for an MTA local route since, given the spacing of various bus stops here in the city, there's the chance of losing more essential travel information than there is gaining it (In other words, you could be already missing 1-2 stops by the time an announcement for the one prior finishes playing.)

Edited by RTSTdrive
fixed formatting error
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Random bus statement: They have already the chains on the wheels of the buses out of Quill. Saw a RTS on the M9 and two Next Gens on the M31 with them. 

On a side note, those two M31 Next Gens still had their Tuskegee decals. Wonder if they are ever going to change them. Not a big deal 

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5 minutes ago, trainfan22 said:

Are you talking about that smell of diesel fuel in the rear of the bus? I think that's what the smell is, I love that smell, makes those RTS's feel so old school.

I hate the smell. Choke to death and I’ve been on an RTS that caught fire. 

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1 hour ago, Future ENY OP said:

Unless Yukon is getting new buses. Highly doubt it. Maybe the Staten Island Ops may have better info. Right now the bus moves are pretty weird. 

I was also wondering the same questions since I saw Manhattanville just recieve some 44s from Casey Stengle.

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Yikes, what a ride home today on the QM2.  Traffic was unbelievable horrific today.  I don't know if it's because everyone was trying to rush home before the storm or what.  My 6th ave QM2 that left at 4:45pm didn't get to Linden/Whitestone Expy until about 6:30.  This is usually about an hour or so trip.  I've never seen the Queensboro bridge so backed up.  My driver actually went via the Upper Roadway to get to Northern which I'm not sure really saved us any time because it literally took us about a half hour to get from the exit off the bridge onto 21st street to where the lower roadway would turn onto Northern.  

I actually felt bad for the poor B/O.  He was clearly very frazzled (though he was a very skilled driver) and had it by the the time I got off.  

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2 hours ago, Dannny said:

Random bus statement: They have already the chains on the wheels of the buses out of Quill. Saw a RTS on the M9 and two Next Gens on the M31 with them. 

On a side note, those two M31 Next Gens still had their Tuskegee decals. Wonder if they are ever going to change them. Not a big deal 

The M31 is a Tuskegee route.

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2 hours ago, Brillant93 said:

I hate the smell. Choke to death and I’ve been on an RTS that caught fire. 

I been riding RTS's since the 90s and the only issues I had was an 90 TMC overheating on the B46 (B/O had to shut off the bus and let it rest for a few minutes)

 

Transmission on a 96 RTS that was stuck in first gear on the B49.... that was actually quite fun from the busfan POV as the engine was redlining at low speeds, the sound was awesome! I also rode a Orion 7 CNG out of JG where the bus was stuck in first gear.

 

An hand me down RTS from NYCT that went to Green Lines (pre takeover) where the bus keeled with a full load and couldn't get back up... so everybody had to get off. Funny thing is, I never had a issue with Green Line original RTS's. 

 

 

Other than that they never gave me any issues, the RTS is still the GOAT to me :D

 

 

Overall I been pretty lucky in terms of bus breakdowns, only once where a bus broke where it had to be taken out of service, it was an Nova Artic on the BX12 SBS and it wasn't even an engine issue, one of the doors got messed up. Never was on one that caught on fire either.

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On 3/4/2018 at 5:01 PM, Brillant93 said:

They’re refitting them now? 

Probably

 

3 hours ago, Dannny said:

Random bus statement: They have already the chains on the wheels of the buses out of Quill. Saw a RTS on the M9 and two Next Gens on the M31 with them. 

On a side note, those two M31 Next Gens still had their Tuskegee decals. Wonder if they are ever going to change them. Not a big deal 

Next Gens are the local fleet for one standard route at Tuskegee. 

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