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41 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

We wrote to the City and State Comptroller's Office a few days ago. Every so many months, we send a ton of photos and data showing them what a mess the service remains, even with the (MTA) trying hard to run better service, and both offices responded saying that they hope their teams can take it up to perform a new audit. There are still a bunch of missing buses, not to mention buses skipping stops, leading to long waits. Every afternoon I have passengers from some lines messaging me about one line or another with a missing bus or a skipped stop. That said, service overall has definitely improved, which is why ridership on the express buses went up. There are definitely fewer missing buses, though still some lines have three or more missing on some days. 

Yea, I've had to get to Manhattan from Morris Park in a pinch a couple of times this month and the BxM10 has been on the money. More work to be done indeed (as you mentioned already but I'll also mention the aging fleet. The buses seem mechanically sound and clean but the interiors look kinda tired.)

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11 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

We wrote to the City and State Comptroller's Office a few days ago. Every so many months, we send a ton of photos and data showing them what a mess the service remains, even with the (MTA) trying hard to run better service, and both offices responded saying that they hope their teams can take it up to perform a new audit. There are still a bunch of missing buses, not to mention buses skipping stops, leading to long waits. Every afternoon I have passengers from some lines messaging me about one line or another with a missing bus or a skipped stop. That said, service overall has definitely improved, which is why ridership on the express buses went up. There are definitely fewer missing buses, though still some lines have three or more missing on some days. 

Totally agree. The ridership increases on the QM1 that were released a few weeks ago can certainly be attributed to your advocacy!

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20 hours ago, paulrivera said:

Yea, I've had to get to Manhattan from Morris Park in a pinch a couple of times this month and the BxM10 has been on the money. More work to be done indeed (as you mentioned already but I'll also mention the aging fleet. The buses seem mechanically sound and clean but the interiors look kinda tired.)

Yeah you reminded me... I wrote to one of my (MTA) contacts on Friday and one of the DOT reps that was in my meeting about getting some more bus shelters where possible, and I need to inquire about that contract. We kept pushing and supposedly new buses are coming in 2020, but no vendor chosen as of yet, which may be a good thing if they are considering more Prevosts. Numerous passengers reported the buses leaking when it rains. Crazy....

There are some concerns though because more and more drivers are retiring and they are not replacing them. Little concerned about the Fall pick given what I'm hearing about cuts to maintenance and a lack of drivers. We have Eastchester and Yonkers reps in the group, and I know a few of them, as I've had them as drivers for years. Hell even they don't know when more drivers are coming, so I told them I heard Yonkers is getting some... As for when is anybody's guess... lol

@QM1to6Ave College Point is quite short on express buses... They are backed up as they cut back on maintenance, so buses are being pulled from whatever they can get them, including LaGuardia. One thing I have not seen is any Orions on the express bus lines, so regardless of how short they are, they are pulling MCIs from other depots. That was one thing we were promised, which is that coach buses would be used, and so far that promise has been kept. I'm referring to the QM4 line where they were running Orions. Had a quick conference call and a transfer was made to Baisley. One of those 28xxs, but still better than an Orion. lol

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

Yeah you reminded me... I wrote to one of my (MTA) contacts on Friday and one of the DOT reps that was in my meeting about getting some more bus shelters where possible, and I need to inquire about that contract. We kept pushing and supposedly new buses are coming in 2020, but no vendor chosen as of yet, which may be a good thing if they are considering more Prevosts. Numerous passengers reported the buses leaking when it rains. Crazy....

There are some concerns though because more and more drivers are retiring and they are not replacing them. Little concerned about the Fall pick given what I'm hearing about cuts to maintenance and a lack of drivers. We have Eastchester and Yonkers reps in the group, and I know a few of them, as I've had them as drivers for years. Hell even they don't know when more drivers are coming, so I told them I heard Yonkers is getting some... As for when is anybody's guess... lol

@QM1to6Ave College Point is quite short on express buses... They are backed up as they cut back on maintenance, so buses are being pulled from whatever they can get them, including LaGuardia. One thing I have not seen is any Orions on the express bus lines, so regardless of how short they are, they are pulling MCIs from other depots. That was one thing we were promised, which is that coach buses would be used, and so far that promise has been kept. I'm referring to the QM4 line where they were running Orions. Had a quick conference call and a transfer was made to Baisley. One of those 28xxs, but still better than an Orion. lol

Thanks for the heads up! Yes, I’ve noticed some LGA and Eastchester buses on the QM1/5/6 recently. And I’ve seen 2 CP MCIs break down over the last two weeks. The cuts are clearly showing. Took the MTA tow operator over 4 hours to tow one of the buses. I’ll let you know if I see any locals put on the EXP runs! 

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On 8/16/2019 at 7:10 PM, NewFlyer 230 said:

I noticed the removal of  schedules at some stops but I thought it was honestly a mistake. I know how sloppy these people can be when changing info and I thought they would eventually put it back.

But it is funny what measures this agency will take in order to save money. At this rate they might as well remove the blue and yellow wraps and have the old blue and white scheme again. 

Eventually the only way out of this fiscal hell hole would be to terminate the MTA Bus agreement with the city, and to spin off MaBSTOA and sell it to the highest bidder.

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5 hours ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

Tomorrow my friend...tomorrow...

My mistake, I was thinking that it was the 18th for some reason😅

Well it's 2:36 AM EST, so now it's the 1 year SIM anniversary.

Edited by Lil 57
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7 minutes ago, Lex said:

What does that even mean?

most jobs (especially without union representation) will grant overtime only after an employee has worked over 40 hours within a work week. our contract currently grants us overtime after 8 hours within a regular work day... exception: if a run is 9hrs 12 minutes, overtime will begin after the 9hr 12 minute period. so basically, management wants to change rate of pay rules. this is what i mean about this place... they "thank" us for the thankless jobs we do, yet every contract, they look to screw us more & more. they (ny city or ny state) wouldn't pull this crap with the teamsters at DSNY (local 831) why are we so damn "expendable"? 

Edited by EastFlatbushLarry
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i forgot. management and the powers that be feel as if they must flex their contractual muscles after being publicly prison "assaulted" by the SMART (Sheet Metal Air Rail Transportation) overtime LIRR scandal. so every contract that comes up, they'll be trying to do away with overtime, OTO, vacation allowance, etc. this won't end well. 

Edited by EastFlatbushLarry
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49 minutes ago, EastFlatbushLarry said:

most jobs (especially without union representation) will grant overtime only after an employee has worked over 40 hours within a work week. our contract currently grants us overtime after 8 hours within a regular work day...

Unless that equates to most working less than 40 hours/week on average, I still fail to see the difference. (Remember, 8 is 20% of 40.)

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1 minute ago, Lex said:

Unless that equates to most working less than 40 hours/week on average, I still fail to see the difference. (Remember, 8 is 20% of 40.)

which is the whole point behind hiring part timers at all titles. it's all so that they can figure a way to keep an individual from ever obtaining overtime period, regardless of if it's a 8 hour workday (which I'm of the understanding that runs will be chopped to under 8 hours, so there goes the remote possibility of obtaining OT via an 8 hour workday in the first place) or a 40 hour work week (since the alleged plan is that you'll work a 6 or 7 hour day for 4 or 5 days a week) 

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26 minutes ago, Lex said:

Unless that equates to most working less than 40 hours/week on average, I still fail to see the difference. (Remember, 8 is 20% of 40.)

by the way, what you failed to quote was what i explained later in the sentence: b/o's don't regularly work 40 hour work weeks like other titles or jobs... we work more than that. there are straight 8 runs (meaning a run that is exactly 8 hours) but most runs are designed to be 8 hours 10 minutes, 9 hours 17 minutes, etc. if you ever look at a run board, the way we pick is by looking at work week total hours... 44 hours, 49 hours, 53 hours, etc. there currently aren't any runs that are exactly 40 hours weekly. so, as i explained, my current run is 46 hours weekly (9 hours 12 minutes daily, 5 days). that's built into the run. currently, there's no existing "average" work week. what they're looking to do is make this job have an average work week of under 40 hours, at a rate if under 8 hours a day. in concept, people may think it's cool, but people do have families and lifestyles to maintain. 

Edited by EastFlatbushLarry
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Here are the ridership stats from 2008. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the MTAB routes

Bronx

Bx12

Bx1/2

Bx19

Bx36

Bx41

Bx40/42

Bx9

Bx15

Bx6

Bx22

Brooklyn

B46

B6

B44

B35

B41

B82

B8

B15

B38

B12

Manhattan

M15

M14

M101

M86

M104

M4

M79

M102

M100

M23

Queens

Q58

Q44

Q27

Q46

Q17

Q43

Q20

Q32

Q5

Q85

Staten Island

S53

S79

S48/98

S46/96

S44/94

S78

S74/84

S62/92

S76/86

S51/81

Edited by Q43LTD
Looked a little sloppy
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4 hours ago, Kingsbridgeviewer382 said:

Just the M100 because its at Kingsbridge, a Bronx depot. Manhattan and Brooklyn depots don’t have any LFS units.

ok - KB depot is on Manhattan Island, but in the Bronx division, right? What buses out of KB have Nova LFS 40 footers?

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5 minutes ago, New Flyer Xcelsior said:

ok - KB depot is on Manhattan Island, but in the Bronx division, right? What buses out of KB have Nova LFS 40 footers?

I don’t think you’re really understanding how the system works.... All 40 footer bus routes out of Kingsbridge (and Gun Hill) use both the 2015-16 and 2019 Novabus LFS as well as the 2009 Orion VII Next Generation buses.

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