BUS - Random Thoughts Thread

[danielhg121]

43 minutes ago, SevenEleven said:

I mean activating the back doors, (the green light) I don't mean physically opening them. Stop confusing reacting me, lmao

Nah we were on the same wavelength LOL. Still a stupid policy even for the first stop, cuz u could force open the back door. 

[paulrivera]

4 hours ago, Calvin said:

Eventually, it may go artic but who knows.

Hopefully not anytime soon. Queens doesn't need any more service cuts that what they're enduring with the bus scam redesign

[Express Bus Operator]

On 1/7/2020 at 8:11 PM, NBTA said:

So 6143 is on the B41 LOCAL, full length.




What a turn of events..

What time was that?..........

[Future ENY OP]

32 minutes ago, Flatbush SBS Duece said:

What time was that?..........

Before 9PM on Tuesday night.
Would be good at least to have 1 artic do a full KP to Empire on the 41 just like a few years ago during the AM rush before deadheading towards the 44 for Empire to Emmons Ave. 

[Calvin]

Are headways increased when a standard route gets converted to an artic?

*(B46-SBS: 3-4 minutes to 5-8 mins)

Edited January 10, 2020 by Calvin

[S78 via Hylan]

4 minutes ago, Calvin said:

Are headways increased when a standard route gets converted to an artic?

*(B46-SBS: 3-4 minutes to 5-7 mins)

That’s usually the case.

[Express Bus Operator]

11 minutes ago, Calvin said:

Are headways increased when a standard route gets converted to an artic?

*(B46-SBS: 3-4 minutes to 5-7 mins)

Yes the headway is increased and less buses are out on the route. If the route use to have 37 runs, they would cut back the runs to save money. One articulated buses is consider two buses load. 

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

4 hours ago, Flatbush SBS Duece said:

What time was that?..........

 

3 hours ago, Future ENY OP said:

Before 9PM on Tuesday night.
Would be good at least to have 1 artic do a full KP to Empire on the 41 just like a few years ago during the AM rush before deadheading towards the 44 for Empire to Emmons Ave. 

The bus in question did not go to Downtown Brooklyn, and only went to Empire (somewhere during the 8 PM hour). Another artic was out during the 7 PM hour on Wednesday (5483) and also went to Empire only.

[Future ENY OP]

10 minutes ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

 

The bus in question did not go to Downtown Brooklyn, and only went to Empire (somewhere during the 8 PM hour). Another artic was out during the 7 PM hour on Wednesday (5483) and also went to Empire only.

That’s a copy. 
Thanks for the time correction. 

[Iron Valiant]

Nine articulated buses on the B46-SBS! I think it’s fair to say the B46-SBS is officially an articulated and standard bus route. Soon to be just artic.

[Brillant93]

4 minutes ago, Snorunts said:

Nine articulated buses on the B46-SBS! I think it’s fair to say the B46-SBS is officially an articulated and standard bus route. Soon to be just artic.

I was on one today! So nice to see them on one of my home routes. Can’t wait till they have them on the B82sbs. 

[Express Bus Operator]

40 minutes ago, Brillant93 said:

I was on one today! So nice to see them on one of my home routes. Can’t wait till they have them on the B82sbs. 

Soon soon Soon.

46 minutes ago, Snorunts said:

Nine articulated buses on the B46-SBS! I think it’s fair to say the B46-SBS is officially an articulated and standard bus route. Soon to be just artic.

One more week to go... Jan 19, 2020 will be full in effect. 

2 hours ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

 

The bus in question did not go to Downtown Brooklyn, and only went to Empire (somewhere during the 8 PM hour). Another artic was out during the 7 PM hour on Wednesday (5483) and also went to Empire only.

Yeah I kind of figure this would happen sooner or later. But this will only happen when that dispatcher at KP is on duty during the PM hours Sun - Wednesday. He's the only one that actually uses the SBS46 operators to do extra service on the B41 when the 41 is delayed in service.  I'm an 41 operator and I have the intention to try to bring the artic out one of these days over there on the 41 if I ever get the chance too, but I already know the yard dispatcher won't take that chance since the route is not program for artic buses yet. 

[Express Bus Operator]

So after my investigation in regards to if the SBS buses are Pre-wrap or painted this is what I was able to come up with. 

 

IMG_5901 by Duece Drives, on Flickr

 

IMG_E5894 by Duece Drives, on Flickr

 

IMG_5902 by Duece Drives, on Flickr

 

IMG_5903 by Duece Drives, on Flickr

 

IMG_5904 by Duece Drives, on Flickr

 

IMG_5905 by Duece Drives, on Flickr

 

IMG_5906 by Duece Drives, on Flickr

 

IMG_5907 by Duece Drives, on Flickr

 

IMG_5909 by Duece Drives, on Flickr

 

Looks like some are painted and some are wrap. 

[XcelsiorBoii4888]

I'm so confused with this scheme. MTA makes shit so damnn complicated for no reason. 

[Iron Valiant]

4 hours ago, Flatbush SBS Duece said:

So after my investigation in regards to if the SBS buses are Pre-wrap or painted this is what I was able to come up with. 

 

IMG_5901 by Duece Drives, on Flickr

 

IMG_E5894 by Duece Drives, on Flickr

 

IMG_5902 by Duece Drives, on Flickr

 

IMG_5903 by Duece Drives, on Flickr

 

IMG_5904 by Duece Drives, on Flickr

 

IMG_5905 by Duece Drives, on Flickr

 

IMG_5906 by Duece Drives, on Flickr

 

IMG_5907 by Duece Drives, on Flickr

 

IMG_5909 by Duece Drives, on Flickr

 

Looks like some are painted and some are wrap. 

Oof... What unit is that? 7649-50?

[XcelsiorBoii4888]

Just now, Snorunts said:

Oof... What unit is that? 7649-50?

Ohh duhh idk what I was looking at earlier.

So yeah it makes sense, the Flatbush SBS XD40s have an SBS paint scheme on the bottom, and the local scheme is wrapped on top when it leaves SBS duty. 

 

[Calvin]

Did some calculations on the MTA Express routes out of Queens from the timetable: 

- CP: The total is a lot but, majority of the coaches are out and about. About 6-10 are used as spares. 

- Baisley Park, 8 MCIs: 7/8 are used, only 1 spare now that the QM21 is what they have. 

- At LGA, the QM24/25 uses all their D4500s with only 3 as spares. 

 

- Far Rockaway:  

QM16/17: 9 MCIs each making it 18.

QM18- 5, QM15: 16-18. Still has a spare count. 

 

Spring Creek: 

BM1- 18, BM2- 14, BM3- 14, BM4- 14, BM5- About 10-11 = 68-69 over 71. 

 

 

Edited January 11, 2020 by Calvin

[XcelsiorBoii4888]

Serious question, is there anyone I can contact about Bustime issues? 

The entire S90 route is wrong. Buses are limited to South Ave. Also, TONS of stops are not in the right placement. I would love to report errors stop by stop, line by line so they can hopefully fix it. Wtf how hard is it to click and drag stop markers to another location on the map? 

And these stops, I hate the lack of communication between the DOT and the MTA. They need to get it together. 

@Via Garibaldi 8 any resources available for corrections? 

Edited January 12, 2020 by XcelsiorBoii4888

[Iron Valiant]

11 minutes ago, XcelsiorBoii4888 said:

Serious question, is there anyone I can contact about Bustime issues? 

The entire S90 route is wrong. Buses are limited to South Ave. Also, TONS of stops are not in the right placement. I would love to report errors stop by stop, line by line so they can hopefully fix it. Wtf how hard is it to click and drag stop markers to another location on the map? 

And these stops, I hate the lack of communication between the DOT and the MTA. They need to get it together. 

@Via Garibaldi 8 any resources available for corrections? 

I found some issues with the B57 going towards Red Hook IKEA Terminal:

• It doesn’t show when a B57 is short turning to W 9th Street (even if it’s coded on the destination sign).

• All vehicles become un-trackable on all of Sands Street.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

5 hours ago, XcelsiorBoii4888 said:

Serious question, is there anyone I can contact about Bustime issues? 

The entire S90 route is wrong. Buses are limited to South Ave. Also, TONS of stops are not in the right placement. I would love to report errors stop by stop, line by line so they can hopefully fix it. Wtf how hard is it to click and drag stop markers to another location on the map? 

And these stops, I hate the lack of communication between the DOT and the MTA. They need to get it together. 

@Via Garibaldi 8 any resources available for corrections? 

I have been speaking with the planners and Cipriano and Byford about BusTime, and we discussed BusTime issues a few weekends ago in fact. In late November, we met with the planners, and I brought up the topic then as well. I need to sit down and try to provide as many express buses as possible that are having tracking issues, which is what I have been asked to do. In terms of getting BusTime issues fixed, it is rather involved, and I get the impression that it isn’t that high on the  ‘s list of priorities. In February, we had a big meeting as well, and I raised the issue with Cipriano then. He sat across from me and told me the following:

-He asked that I ask customers to use BusTime (desktop version) on their phones, as that updates automatically. They receive a lot of complaints about tracking issues, and any third party apps are not associated with the , and they can’t do anything about those. Keep in mind that some apps pull data from schedules, as opposed to providing real-time data.

-He also noted that they were having issues with their vendor at that time (Verizon), and were in the process of pulling some express buses from service to address the issue. This was really done for Staten Island express buses, which had major tracking problems. I can’t speak about local buses, as my advocacy group doesn’t cover them.

-When there have been issues with the routes being incorrect, it has taken a few months to have them fixed on BusTime, such as with the SIM33C routing.

One thing I used to do when BusTime first started, was reach out to the then BusTime team via e-mail. At that time, they would respond to complaints directly to fix incorrect stops, etc., but that was years ago. You can either file a formal complaint and they will try to address it, or I would a Tweet them. That tends to be more effective in terms of it getting a response faster.

 

Edited January 13, 2020 by Via Garibaldi 8

[B35 via Church]

Should go without mentioning, but it's not enough for the technology to simply exist - it also has to be maintained.... 24/7 this, 24/7 that, but it's a wonder why the MTA continues to get mocked by outsiders, due to how far damn behind we (as a city) are with a lot of things relative to public transit....

[Via Garibaldi 8]

2 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

Should go without mentioning, but it's not enough for the technology to simply exist - it also has to be maintained.... 24/7 this, 24/7 that, but it's a wonder why the MTA continues to get mocked by outsiders, due to how far damn behind we (as a city) are with a lot of things relative to public transit....

Yup... The way that it works is, when buses have problems, they sometimes have to pull them from service, and then the vendor comes on-site to fix the bus. I got bus#3104 last night that was completely off of BusTime. If you want to hear something funny, after meeting with them in February, that following weekend, I posted in my group about my bus not being on BusTime. I was waiting for the BxM4 one afternoon. Driver got a call from dispatch up by Woodlawn asking him to check a few things (they were trying to see if it was something on his end), so I knew someone that monitors my page saw my post. They actually can see in BusTrek though when they have a bus that’s a ghost bus. It says it too (says “ghost”), and it looks greyed out. It just won’t show on BusTime at all, so technically, they should know in most cases when a bus has a problem. How soon they address the problem is another matter. @XcelsiorBoii4888

[XcelsiorBoii4888]

40 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Yup... The way that it works is, when buses have problems, they sometimes have to pull them from service, and then the vendor comes on-site to fix the bus. I got bus#3104 last night that was completely off of BusTime. If you want to hear something funny, after meeting with them in February, that following weekend, I posted in my group about my bus not being on BusTime. I was waiting for the BxM4 one afternoon. Driver got a call from dispatch up by Woodlawn asking him to check a few things (they were trying to see if it was something on his end), so I knew someone that monitors my page saw my post. They actually can see in BusTrek though when they have a bus that’s a ghost bus. It says it too (says “ghost”), and it looks greyed out. It just won’t show on BusTime at all, so technically, they should know in most cases when a bus has a problem. How soon they address the problem is another matter. @XcelsiorBoii4888

Its not really the buses thats a problem, so there shouldn't be any reason to take buses out of service. Its more of an internal computer issue. And now they have all of these screens getting installed on the buses and its spitting out wrong information or is saying stops prematurely, not even mentioning stops that are existing, and its also mentioning stops that have been eliminated but hasn't been updated on BusTime. The issues were more discreet before the screens got updated, but now hearing all the inconsistencies, I say to myself, who's gonna fix it? It's been like this for years and with the MTA if you don't speak up on an issue it will not get fixed. 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

2 hours ago, XcelsiorBoii4888 said:

Its not really the buses thats a problem, so there shouldn't be any reason to take buses out of service. Its more of an internal computer issue. And now they have all of these screens getting installed on the buses and its spitting out wrong information or is saying stops prematurely, not even mentioning stops that are existing, and its also mentioning stops that have been eliminated but hasn't been updated on BusTime. The issues were more discreet before the screens got updated, but now hearing all the inconsistencies, I say to myself, who's gonna fix it? It's been like this for years and with the MTA if you don't speak up on an issue it will not get fixed. 

Actually some express buses are indeed a problem, as we’ve been tracking a number of express buses with tracking problems.  It seems like what you’re referring to are the screens on the bus. That is indeed a software issue. What I can tell you is, there is no dedicated team to such things, at least not that I know of (likely a vendor deals with that too), so it isn’t a surprise that it takes so long to be addressed. You can’t fix such issues in some cases without pulling the bus, so either they pull the bus from service and face shortage issues, or they get around to it when they can. When they pulled the Staten Island express buses to replace the antennas, people moaned and groaned as well. They don’t have tons of spares around to begin with, but I have seen the issue with the local buses. I would imagine that eventually they will update them, but yes, definitely a software issue with the screens on the buses.

If there are issues with BusTime that are express bus related, you can screenshot them and I can have a look and see what can be done, but as I said, it takes them months to fix such problems.

Edited January 13, 2020 by Via Garibaldi 8

[NewFlyer 230]

Today was the first time I saw eagle team members checking tickets on a select bus route in over a year. I was on the M15 heading downtown and at 96th street the bus was stopped and they were checking tickets by the door. A couple of people received tickets. It was also hilarious when some people tried to flee off the bus and got caught up by the door. The eagle team did not even come onto the bus and check everyone’s ticket so some of those people who got scared and tried to run would have been safe only if they stayed on the bus.