BUS - Random Thoughts Thread

[MysteriousBtrain]

2 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

If they had to operate RTS buses they would've put them there as a temporary solution, but as I said, the planning of the new depot and the bus situation had been in the works for years anyway, so that gave the MTA adequate time to make the arrangements necessary for the more clean air friendly buses at that depot.  Believe me, my uncle used to drive the M102 out 100th street. I remember the old depot as a kid because the M102 terminated around there (still does IIRC) and that old depot was a DUMP. The bathrooms were disgusting.  I believe even back then there were talks about a new depot and that was back in the 90s.

They had plenty of time to rebuild Hale and did have a chance to pick the fleet. And they chose to go 100% Hybrid. Which was not forced. That's what I'm trying to get at. The environmentalists may have had a say in putting greener buses at OF but the point was this was not forced by the MTA like @JeremiahC99 claims. They have used old diesel buses after 2015 so OF was not forced to have anything specific like that. 

[DetSMART45]

1 hour ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

You're comparing apples to oranges.  To answer your question, when communities have had dozens of Sanitation trucks invading their neighborhood, yes they have spoke out against it, and why wouldn't they?  These are environmental issues that should be addressed where possible.  What usually happens is the more moneyed areas can go out and protest and hire lawyers if need be to stop certain things from occurring. Poorer neighborhoods usually don't have that luxury, as a result have had to take on the brunt of such developments, and it seems to be a no-brainer that if the  is going to be build new depots in residential neighborhoods, they should be as environmentally sound as possible.  Hell, even the  workers out of these depots have complained about the toxins and fumes and have pushed against them, so why shouldn't residents?  Just because a depot was there and has been for years does not mean that residents should be forced to deal with all sorts of conditions.  I don't have a depot in my neighborhood, but I can certainly understand why these people would fight tooth and nail for the new depots to be environmentally sound.  The neighborhoods in question historically have had some of the highest asthma rates around, and these depots have been exacerbating that problem.  

I'll agree with some of your arguments, but since the MTA has been a "public benefit corporation", then they should have been "voluntarily"/forced in implementing all of the environmental regulations from the start. If Albany decides to slap emission regulations on the private manufacturers, or state-regulated utilities (similar or superceding Federal EPA regulations), then any state- or city-owned entities should be in compliance FIRST, or at least being subject to the same timeline as imposed on anyone else.

With the way the MTA wants to "take initiative" (and boasts about it), retrofits could have, and should have, been done from the get-go, instead of waiting until properties are in such a decrepit condition that they shrug their shoulders and write the "Well, it'll be 'cheaper' to knock everything down/start from scratch" BS in Capital programs, spending oodles more money.

And, quite honestly, if you want to always go to the "poorer neighborhoods" excuse, those that you want to cite have plenty of other problems that could be laid directly at the feet of NYCHA -- another example of a city-owned entity that excuses itself from following the rules everyone else is forced to.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

2 minutes ago, MysteriousBtrain said:

They had plenty of time to rebuild Hale and did have a chance to pick the fleet. And they chose to go 100% Hybrid. Which was not forced. That's what I'm trying to get at. The environmentalists may have had a say in putting greener buses at OF but the point was this was not forced by the MTA like @JeremiahC99 claims. They have used old diesel buses after 2015 so OF was not forced to have anything specific like that. 

That much we've established, but at the same time, they would've been fools to even consider anything else knowing what the consequences would've likely have been. The organizations such as WE ACT are full of lawyers who surely would've taken on a case against the  pro bono, so they could either play nice and work with such organizations, or have their lawyers deal with a lawsuit that would not have looked nice for the  given the demographics in question.  You never look to "force" people to do things. First you try to work things out amicably, and if you can't then that's when you turn to the law to work for you.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

2 minutes ago, DetSMART45 said:

I'll agree with some of your arguments, but since the MTA has been a "public benefit corporation", then they should have been "voluntarily"/forced in implementing all of the environmental regulations from the start. If Albany decides to slap emission regulations on the private manufacturers, or state-regulated utilities (similar or superceding Federal EPA regulations), then any state- or city-owned entities should be in compliance FIRST, or at least being subject to the same timeline as imposed on anyone else.

With the way the MTA wants to "take initiative" (and boasts about it), retrofits could have, and should have, been done from the get-go, instead of waiting until properties are in such a decrepit condition that they shrug their shoulders and write the "Well, it'll be 'cheaper' to knock everything down/start from scratch" BS in Capital programs, spending oodles more money.

And, quite honestly, if you want to always go to the "poorer neighborhoods" excuse, those that you want to cite have plenty of other problems that could be laid directly at the feet of NYCHA -- another example of a city-owned entity that excuses itself from following the rules everyone else is forced to.

I'm not denying that at all, but comparing a bunch of depots to NYCHA is absurd.  NYCHA is a far more complicated situation, and one that I've rather not delve into.  Building a depot is easier than rebuilding NYCHA for obvious and not so obvious reasons, and I'll leave it there.

[MHV184]

What about Manhattanville why can the depot hold more buses there than OF?

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Just now, MHV184 said:

What about Manhattanville why can the depot hold more buses there than OF?

What about it? Manhattanville is a fairly new depot (in comparison to others), on a larger plot of land (IIRC). Different dynamics...

[FLX9304]

5 hours ago, BrightlinerNewFlyer said:

Go up HRD to 179, over to Broadway, and up Broadway as an Express Route. Maybe it'd be called the BxM12 if it went to the Bronx, or the X98 if it kept its current routing. Also, by express bus, I meant operating Prevosts and MCIs, not Orions

And charge the riders $6.50? Na! 

[FLX9304]

26 minutes ago, MHV184 said:

What about Manhattanville why can the depot hold more buses there than OF?

 

24 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

What about it? Manhattanville is a fairly new depot (in comparison to others), on a larger plot of land (IIRC). Different dynamics...

Since 1993 (MV is 26 years old, renamed from the old 132nd St Depot that stood there before they closed & demolished it.), but it did get a few touch ups since then. 

 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 minute ago, FLX9304 said:

 

Since 1993 (MV is 26 years old, renamed from the old 132nd St Depot that stood there before they closed & demolished it.), but it did get a few touch ups since then. 

 

Relatively new by  standards...

[BrightlinerNewFlyer]

Note about Express Buses: I think the BxM2 should run further up the west side to either 110th or 125th St. I know that a lot of people would find this super convenient.

[Lil 57]

I wonder if the  is going to close the bridge and suspend bus and SIR service because of a tornado warning for Staten Island. Also I'm pretty sure the ferry is going to be suspended as well. It's not safe for anything to go on the VNB right now.

Edited May 29, 2019 by Lil 57

[Via Garibaldi 8]

6 hours ago, BrightlinerNewFlyer said:

Note about Express Buses: I think the BxM2 should run further up the west side to either 110th or 125th St. I know that a lot of people would find this super convenient.

What people?

[paulrivera]

1 hour ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

What people?

Columbia University, probably.

[Orion6025]

8 hours ago, BrightlinerNewFlyer said:

Note about Express Buses: I think the BxM2 should run further up the west side to either 110th or 125th St. I know that a lot of people would find this super convenient.

The point of express buses is to get people far away from midtown into midtown quickly. Having it make so many stops on its way to midtown kind of kills the whole premise of an express bus. All the crosstowns to the FDR Drive around there would be hell, the henry hudson is often screwed over by GWB traffic, and the north/south corridors aren't so open either so the traffic of staying on local roads up that high would hurt the 2 even more.

[FLX9304]

4 hours ago, Lil 57 said:

I wonder if the  is going to close the bridge and suspend bus and SIR service because of a tornado warning for Staten Island. Also I'm pretty sure the ferry is going to be suspended as well. It's not safe for anything to go on the VNB right now.

Probably an EF0, now if it was a EF1 or higher, you better have a basement 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

4 hours ago, paulrivera said:

Columbia University, probably.

Columbia University has shuttle buses for the graduate students that live in Riverdale. They run decently. The students that travel further south take the express buses. No need to make stops that far North and West. 

[BrightlinerNewFlyer]

1 hour ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Columbia University has shuttle buses for the graduate students that live in Riverdale. They run decently. The students that travel further south take the express buses. No need to make stops that far North and West. 

The shuttle buses only run to the GWB Bus Station before crossing the bridge and going to Fort Lee/Lamont

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 hour ago, BrightlinerNewFlyer said:

The shuttle buses only run to the GWB Bus Station before crossing the bridge and going to Fort Lee/Lamont

And whose problem is that? The express buses are there to serve the Central Business District (CBD). The BxM2 used to run further north on the Upper West Side and there was no ridership, hence why it runs the way it does now, hitting more areas of interest of Riverdalians (Central Park West is a big stop). The Mount Sinai stop is a big one and the core ridership of the BxM2 during the morning rush now. Outside of that, 80th and 5th for the people that work at the museums and the hospitals (e.g. Lenox Hill), 63rd and Broadway, 57th and 7th and 50th and 7th for the office folks like myself. It was Columbia University that decided to buy property here in Riverdale and they should provide more shuttle buses. The Arbor is a few blocks from where I live, and I have even voted there for years. 3260 Henry Hudson Parkway is owned by Columbia for their grad students. They have another property near me on West 236th street for Columbia professors, etc. The shuttle buses serve the Arbor and I believe serve parts of Columbia University’s main campus. They run very frequently, as I see them in the morning when walking to the express bus or the Hudson Raillink shuttle bus.

[Future ENY OP]

Just spotted a B47 with a Flatlands Avenue short turn sign. For as long as I’ve lived in Canarsie-East Flatbush the 47 never short turns anywhere. 

Still, the route needs to be split. The southern part of the route covered by Flatbush and northern part by Grand. 

[Future ENY OP]

MHV plays no games into rehabbing those Staten Island buses. The transferred Yukon buses all have driverside wraps. 

[Calvin]

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209495?fbclid=IwAR2v5SSs7hHEllupA5DUdQEaerXSWo2yvoSI78ZK3_1PFzfHZ2tQogsknzU

For those who have Apple devices using SIM services

[Future ENY OP]

Just spotted 8100 (JA) on tow in Downtown Brooklyn- Atlantic Avenue. From what it appears it’s heading to The Bronx for some work. 

Random Thoughts: Last night in Downtown Brooklyn 3 Gleason buses on shuttle are sporting 30x240 Super Kongs billboards also some Flatbush SBS buses have Northfield Bank billboard 30x215 and Harbor Fitness. 

Edited May 30, 2019 by Future ENY OP

[MHV9218]

14 hours ago, Future ENY OP said:

MHV plays no games into rehabbing those Staten Island buses. The transferred Yukon buses all have driverside wraps. 

Ads are usually done by an independent contractor on whatever fleet is available – real test will be what those buses look like inside or out.

[EastFlatbushLarry]

On 5/29/2019 at 9:47 AM, Future ENY OP said:

Just spotted a B47 with a Flatlands Avenue short turn sign. For as long as I’ve lived in Canarsie-East Flatbush the 47 never short turns anywhere. 

Still, the route needs to be split. The southern part of the route covered by Flatbush and northern part by Grand. 

never seen a flatlands avenue short sign either, but I personally know GA b/o's that have been cut short in that general area by console, instructions being to make either Farragut road (glenwood houses) or glenwood road their last stop. if the last stop is Farragut, the turnaround is left east 76 (milky way corner-store) right glenwood, right Ralph and regular. i can't remember the turnaround for the glenwood cut, and i can only assume what the flatlands turnaround would be. 

[Future ENY OP]

8 minutes ago, EastFlatbushLarry said:

never seen a flatlands avenue short sign either, but I personally know GA b/o's that have been cut short in that general area by console, instructions being to make either Farragut road (glenwood houses) or glenwood road their last stop. if the last stop is Farragut, the turnaround is left east 76 (milky way corner-store) right glenwood, right Ralph and regular. i can't remember the turnaround for the glenwood cut, and i can only assume what the flatlands turnaround would be. 

That is accurate. I’ve seen it happen recently. Put to you this way. Seen it as of Monday Morning AM rush and mid-days and that’s a new sign. 

I believe the Glenwood/Flatlands cut is either Left on East 73rd, Right on K, Right on Ralph than regular OR right on Padegrat Avenue So., right on East 59th, right on H, left on Ralph than regular.