BUS - Random Thoughts Thread

[NewFlyer 230]

10 hours ago, Lex said:

Am I the only one that's bothered by the uneven scheduling of B103 buses from Flatbush Avenue, particularly on weekdays? (It starts out okay, but then becomes increasingly uneven from the afternoon until sometime in the evening.)

At this point the B103 makes too many stops. It feels more or less like a local route with a nonstop portion. 

[Lil 57]

5 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

I'm honestly more bothered with (actual) B103 service from Downtown, say, around the 6-8 pm slot... Buses don't leave Tillary at a 12-15 min clip; matter fact, they tend to leave Tillary, whenever - and it's irritating as all hell.... You would think that when you see 2 (or even 3) buses approaching the layover area by the subway elevator (Cadman Plz/Montague), that 1 of them would immediately drop off w/e pax. & start making the trip back towards Canarsie....

Nope.... Instead, 1 of those buses would go OOS & the other bus(es) would take their layovers & you have no idea how long they're going to be either.....

When I see that happen, I smirk & start making my way towards the B41 stop along Cadman plz....

Also, the spacing between a bus going the full route and a short-turn are weird. for most of the PM rush hour (3:30-6 PM) Carnise short-turns arrive 2 minutes after a bus from downtown arrived, then a 5 min wait for the next bus.

[bwwnyc123]

That's Spring Creek Depot issues something they need work on.

[Future ENY OP]

1 hour ago, NewFlyer 230 said:

At this point the B103 makes too many stops. It feels more or less like a local route with a nonstop portion. 

.... and this is what happens when Command Bus is taken over by the . All those 3rd and 4th Avenue stops are severely under utilized and that's slowing the service.

It's unnecessary to have these stops on 4th Avenue and 3rd Avenue and no one is using them.

[Bay Ridge Express]

Are there any plans for M66 SBS or is that not needed

[Lex]

2 hours ago, Future ENY OP said:

.... and this is what happens when Command Bus is taken over by the . All those 3rd and 4th Avenue stops are severely under utilized and that's slowing the service.

It's unnecessary to have these stops on 4th Avenue and 3rd Avenue and no one is using them.

That response seems rather familiar. It reminds me of someone who was bitten by a spider...

[B35 via Church]

5 hours ago, NewFlyer 230 said:

At this point the B103 makes too many stops. It feels more or less like a local route with a nonstop portion. 

4 hours ago, Future ENY OP said:

.... and this is what happens when Command Bus is taken over by the . All those 3rd and 4th Avenue stops are severely under utilized and that's slowing the service.

It's unnecessary to have these stops on 4th Avenue and 3rd Avenue and no one is using them.

Unpopular statement: The B103 between Canarsie & the Junction is the slowest part of the route (of course, it's also by far the most utilized part of the route)....

I say that to say, I personally don't mind the 3rd/4th av stops; well because there's a] not much of them & b] as was alluded to, not much cumulative usage on them....

Honestly, when I do use the B103 from Downtown nowadays, I either [disembark at Cortelyou/E. 18th & walk all the way home], or [disembark at E 3rd/Church to xfer for the B35].... Eventually got fed up with the crawl along Flatbush av, the bombardment of riders/increased dwell time at the Junction, & if that weren't enough (just to finally get to Utica), the waits for the B46 local after a certain hour (I'd say around 7pm or so, NB) kept getting increasingly worse (this was before they started B46 SBS service).... Dollar van service was practically nonexistent & if one would actually show up, by time it got to av. H, it was packed - and I wasn't sitting on the "hump" (the spot immediately above the right rear tire) either.... F*** that!!

Some of what was just said in the above paragraph was also a reason I started gunning more for the BM1 over the BM2 for the commute home (when I worked in Manhattan)....

Edited May 12, 2019 by B35 via Church

[Lil 57]

Looks like the  used some common sense and closed BusTrek from public access.

[BreeddekalbL]

On 5/11/2019 at 12:10 PM, Lil 57 said:

So the new SI novas have the "bus is turning" announcement. It'll be a matter of time before SI'ers complain.

I agree I called it a while back when that gets to si they will complain

[LGA Link N Train]

I got to share our a few of my ideas at an Open House for the Queens Bus Redesign today. It was quite interesting too. Some people were writing ideas on post it notes. 

Some people were advocating for extended hours on the Q30/31.

others asked for better bus stop placements and Better Queens-Brooklyn Connections. 

One person asked for a bus route that covers the service roads near the BQE. 

Another person wrote that the  should take the Q23 off Austin Street and reroute it down Yellowstone Blvd to speed up runtimes.

I threw in My fair Share of ideas too like the Q38 split and Simplying the Q59 in Brooklyn. 

Overall, it was fun. 

[Lil 57]

What are those cameras used for on the back of the New Nova buses?

[MysteriousBtrain]

58 minutes ago, Lil 57 said:

What are those cameras used for on the back of the New Nova buses?

Used to identify crimes near the bus and to ticket vehicles illegally using bus lanes.

[Lil 57]

12 minutes ago, MysteriousBtrain said:

Used to identify crimes near the bus and to ticket vehicles illegally using bus lanes.

Wonder if the  is going to add that feature to their older buses as well.

[Around the Horn]

9 hours ago, Lil 57 said:

Looks like the  used some common sense and closed BusTrek from public access.

I mean I don't even know why they have it considering the dispatchers never use it.

Edited May 14, 2019 by Around the Horn

[Brillant93]

The B82 sbs has gotten bad recently. Wait times are longer and I’m not sure if it’s because of the recent pick. Literally last month the wait times for it wasn’t bad at all it was 10 minutes off peak and 6-9 during rush hour. Now I’m waiting for the bus and there’s a 25 minute gap for the sbs the locals are running better than the sbs. Not sure what happened. 

[Future ENY OP]

38 minutes ago, Brillant93 said:

The B82 sbs has gotten bad recently. Wait times are longer and I’m not sure if it’s because of the recent pick. Literally last month the wait times for it wasn’t bad at all it was 10 minutes off peak and 6-9 during rush hour. Now I’m waiting for the bus and there’s a 25 minute gap for the sbs the locals are running better than the sbs. Not sure what happened. 

Sometimes there is no control with the traffic. Some of you guys need to practice patience. That’s the luxury of public transportation. Not everything will be on your side. There is the luxury of being in your car and not having to deal with subpar bus service. 

But also that’s something East New York needs to fix or else you will have people on that side of Midwood complaining and b***ching about the 82SBS and I know East New York does not want a Quill situation to where Flatbush takes all the SBS routes and they get stuck with peanuts. 

[Brillant93]

13 minutes ago, Future ENY OP said:

Sometimes there is no control with the traffic. Some of you guys need to practice patience. That’s the luxury of public transportation. Not everything will be on your side. There is the luxury of being in your car and not having to deal with subpar bus service. 

But also that’s something East New York needs to fix or else you will have people on that side of Midwood complaining and b***ching about the 82SBS and I know East New York does not want a Quill situation to where Flatbush takes all the SBS routes and they get stuck with peanuts. 

I understand traffic plays a part but i take the B82 regularly everyday. Usually during the last pick I always caught it around the same time and recognized the same driver. The buses are now more so jammed packed before it hits Utica and flatlands. The locals are more so the better option now. But again the B82 sbs wasn’t like this a month or two ago. 

[Future ENY OP]

34 minutes ago, Brillant93 said:

I understand traffic plays a part but i take the B82 regularly everyday. Usually during the last pick I always caught it around the same time and recognized the same driver. The buses are now more so jammed packed before it hits Utica and flatlands. The locals are more so the better option now. But again the B82 sbs wasn’t like this a month or two ago. 

Fam. Let’s realize something here. These drivers are very much restricted to what they can do in regards to speed and reliability. All this vision zero messed everything up. 

Whether your bus is packed or not there will always be an issue. Transportation is not instant gratification. I’ve bet you heard the saying: You must allow extra time for your commute or just simply leave a bit earlier to get where you are going. 

[DetSMART45]

12 minutes ago, Future ENY OP said:

Fam. Let’s realize something here. These drivers are very much restricted to what they can do in regards to speed and reliability. All this vision zero messed everything up. 

Whether your bus is packed or not there will always be an issue. Transportation is not instant gratification. I’ve bet you heard the saying: You must allow extra time for your commute or just simply leave a bit earlier to get where you are going. 

All of that goes completely against what the MTA/DOT preaches to the commuting public about the wonders of SBS and its implementation. Vision Zero just adds another complication, something that you'd think both agencies would have pushed-back on.

Look on page 44 of the Bronx Overhaul Report and how the MTA makes it seem like the Bx12 today is getting people around at a 20% savings in travel time -- which is unchanged from their first touting the figure over ten years ago. Every time a route is to be changed to SBS, the same propaganda goes out, mainly that "your route is going to get you there faster" once we tear up streets, slap down the wondrous "bus lanes", and put pay stations in.

The whole B82 thing, though, takes the cake. The route supposedly warrants SBS-treatment due to all the boxes being checked when it comes to the service-side. But the oddest thing is the whole "weekdays only" thing, and not running artics. (Once again, look at the SBS propaganda, and how much "all-door" and "3-door" boarding is touted as part of what makes SBS the best thing since sliced bread.) So, there's enough ridership to warrant all of the implementation costs, but only on weekdays? Major contradiction by itself, but also goes against Byford's whole "let's get more people riding by putting more service into off-peak/weekend service" part of his Bus Plan.

The bus-being-packed issue will always be there, but should NOT be such a problem because of all that is promised to the riding public by having SBS in place.

[Future ENY OP]

13 minutes ago, DetSMART45 said:

All of that goes completely against what the MTA/DOT preaches to the commuting public about the wonders of SBS and its implementation. Vision Zero just adds another complication, something that you'd think both agencies would have pushed-back on.

Look on page 44 of the Bronx Overhaul Report and how the MTA makes it seem like the Bx12 today is getting people around at a 20% savings in travel time -- which is unchanged from their first touting the figure over ten years ago. Every time a route is to be changed to SBS, the same propaganda goes out, mainly that "your route is going to get you there faster" once we tear up streets, slap down the wondrous "bus lanes", and put pay stations in.

The whole B82 thing, though, takes the cake. The route supposedly warrants SBS-treatment due to all the boxes being checked when it comes to the service-side. But the oddest thing is the whole "weekdays only" thing, and not running artics. (Once again, look at the SBS propaganda, and how much "all-door" and "3-door" boarding is touted as part of what makes SBS the best thing since sliced bread.) So, there's enough ridership to warrant all of the implementation costs, but only on weekdays? Major contradiction by itself, but also goes against Byford's whole "let's get more people riding by putting more service into off-peak/weekend service" part of his Bus Plan.

The bus-being-packed issue will always be there, but should NOT be such a problem because of all that is promised to the riding public by having SBS in place.

You got a point @DetSMART45  

I feel the 82SBS was a rush job just for the TA to cover themselves. Hey, we get fed money. Let’s do this thing called SBS and conjure the language so that there’s benefit. However, in actually the numbers don’t match the people utilizing the service. 

[Brillant93]

3 hours ago, Future ENY OP said:

Fam. Let’s realize something here. These drivers are very much restricted to what they can do in regards to speed and reliability. All this vision zero messed everything up. 

Whether your bus is packed or not there will always be an issue. Transportation is not instant gratification. I’ve bet you heard the saying: You must allow extra time for your commute or just simply leave a bit earlier to get where you are going. 

What i said originally had nothing to do with unrealistic expectations but more so how I’m personally seeing change on service since the SBS was implemented. I understand traffic conditions play a huge part but even still the traffic conditions on the route was the same since it was implemented. I said I just figured it must have been because of the recent pick. 

2 hours ago, DetSMART45 said:

All of that goes completely against what the MTA/DOT preaches to the commuting public about the wonders of SBS and its implementation. Vision Zero just adds another complication, something that you'd think both agencies would have pushed-back on.

Look on page 44 of the Bronx Overhaul Report and how the MTA makes it seem like the Bx12 today is getting people around at a 20% savings in travel time -- which is unchanged from their first touting the figure over ten years ago. Every time a route is to be changed to SBS, the same propaganda goes out, mainly that "your route is going to get you there faster" once we tear up streets, slap down the wondrous "bus lanes", and put pay stations in.

The whole B82 thing, though, takes the cake. The route supposedly warrants SBS-treatment due to all the boxes being checked when it comes to the service-side. But the oddest thing is the whole "weekdays only" thing, and not running artics. (Once again, look at the SBS propaganda, and how much "all-door" and "3-door" boarding is touted as part of what makes SBS the best thing since sliced bread.) So, there's enough ridership to warrant all of the implementation costs, but only on weekdays? Major contradiction by itself, but also goes against Byford's whole "let's get more people riding by putting more service into off-peak/weekend service" part of his Bus Plan.

The bus-being-packed issue will always be there, but should NOT be such a problem because of all that is promised to the riding public by having SBS in place.

The issue with bus lanes is that people park in them all the time and even with truck loading zones. Traffic cops don’t do much to help negate parking in places where there shouldn’t be. The B82 sbs was going to have a lot more bus lanes but was significantly reduced due to community backlash. 

2 hours ago, Future ENY OP said:

You got a point @DetSMART45  

I feel the 82SBS was a rush job just for the TA to cover themselves. Hey, we get fed money. Let’s do this thing called SBS and conjure the language so that there’s benefit. However, in actually the numbers don’t match the people utilizing the service. 

It wasn’t as it was in outreach for years before it was implemented. The people who rallied against it claimed it was false but they always held work shops for it. 

Now unlike the M14 sbs that’s a different story. 

[WestFarms36]

@Flatbush SBS DueceCarrying the topic over here. Yes those Clever Devices don't have a good functionality rate, but try reporting it with Supervision at your depot and see what they can do about it.

[Ultimategamer12c]

Off topic but is it possible  for ENY to convert  the B15 to a full X equipment  route I been noticing lots of XD40s on the line coming back and not one OG popin out on it. Like for Example  I see tons of them popin up on the B15 at mother Gaston then get on My B35 and check the tracker and check to see what's on the route but surprisingly it was nuthing but all XD40s and its rn too lol Not one OG on the B15.

[Cait Sith]

On 5/13/2019 at 2:39 PM, Lil 57 said:

Looks like the  used some common sense and closed BusTrek from public access.

It took some buff reporting a bus on Twitter while screenshotting bustrek for that to happen.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

11 minutes ago, Cait Sith said:

It took some buff reporting a bus on Twitter while screenshotting bustrek for that to happen.

Freakin’ douchebag. Whoever he is, he ruined it for everybody...