BUS - Random Thoughts Thread

[paulrivera]

2 hours ago, WestFarms36 said:

XN60's on the Bx39 look really nice. I also noticed a few more PM Trips have been added as put-ins from Parkchester. It's nice to see a slight increase in service.

They pulled the trigger on the 15/39 swap?

I thought that was an unconfirmed rumor. Guess I missed the confirmation...

[EastFlatbushLarry]

11 hours ago, Future ENY OP said:

Gotta a question for you. You think reliability will do well at Queens Village or Jamaica if the Q24 or Q56 were based there? East New York and Grand Avenue have their issues with the queens routes already let alone the Brooklyn routes they already do have. 
 

What Fresh Pond does excellent is they beef up the Q58 service while yes (I agree with you) the Q58 tends to bunch a lot in lieu to its travel pattern to Flushing. That’s a whole different story and in addition the 58 is back at the Pond.
 

Q54 is another line that bunches. However, similar to the Q58 with the beefed up service  

Hopefully, with the Queens/Brooklyn bus realignment some of these questions can be answered. (In another 3 years..... smh) 

for years, there have been discussions regarding the Q58, Q54, Q24 & Q56 being based out of queens depots or at least being split between Brooklyn & queens yards, much like the q32 split was between quill & casey stengel once upon a time. in part, Brooklyn Division yards like FP & ENY wouldn't have been as willing to part with their queens runs based on history & the outright refusal to give up something for nothing, so to speak. i hate to burst some people's fantasy bubble, but from information I've received over the years, is that ATU 1056 has no desire to assume responsibility for any queens runs provided by brooklyn depots. there's no overwhelming consensus of ATU membership wanting to perform brooklyn runs. for example, casey stengel did not beat management's door down after losing school trips on the Q58 from John Bowne.. operators i spoke to said good riddance. with that said, now that the slate is being "wiped clean", so to speak, whatever or wherever lines & runs are assigned, that's all management's call. unions won't be able to have any claim on any lines or runs once all the redesigns are completed, which is what management has wanted for decades: to be able to assign lines where they see most fit without union input or interference. which will lead to some unions getting more or less work, some depots getting more or less work, which will pave the way for certain depots & operators to become expendable. one thing always leads to another, and all this talk of "trimming the fat" and modified headways can only mean that there's no way there's a run-for-run replacement in these newly designed networks based on the current networks. 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

16 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

And on top of that, every single EB bus still is a sardine can before it ever leaves Ridgewood.... What do you notice just about more of along Myrtle av east of Ridgewood on the weekends?

Hint: It sure as hell isn't waiting passengers !

The M34 SBS period is a PITA.... Feel sorry for those Waterside folks; they have to deal with one of, if not the most unreliable SBS routes in the city....

 

17 hours ago, Lawrence St said:

Does the M34A not operate frequently enough? I would understand one or two M34 trips there every hour but 90% of the hourly schedule is going to Waterside.

I was near 34th Street yesterday. I didn't bother with it. It's really not that frequent. If I can walk, I just do that. If it's coming I'll take it, but the waits are usually a good 20 minutes. Not worth it.

[B35 via Church]

1 hour ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

I was near 34th Street yesterday. I didn't bother with it. It's really not that frequent. If I can walk, I just do that. If it's coming I'll take it, but the waits are usually a good 20 minutes. Not worth it.

Nothing like being stuck between one avenue block for 5+ minutes... I flat out refuse.... Nope.

It is second nature for me to walk whenever I'm trying to get from one side of Manhattan to the other.... From the M8 on up to the M31/57, I don't ever consider taking any of those shits if I actually need to get somewhere....

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Just now, B35 via Church said:

Nothing like being stuck between one avenue block for 5+ minutes... I flat out refuse.... Nope.

It is second nature for me to walk whenever I'm trying to get from one side of Manhattan to the other.... From the M8 on up to the M31/57, I don't ever consider taking any of those shits if I actually need to get somewhere....

What I will do is put on BusTime and see if a bus is coming.  On 57th Street, I can usually see one coming west of 8th Avenue, so if I'm waiting on 7th, I'll wait if I'm not in a hurry, but if I'm coming from say 9th and 57th, I'll just walk it out most of the time and peak periods, forget it.  

[NewFlyer 230]

19 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

And on top of that, every single EB bus still is a sardine can before it ever leaves Ridgewood.... What do you notice just about more of along Myrtle av east of Ridgewood on the weekends?

Hint: It sure as hell isn't waiting passengers !

The M34 SBS period is a PITA.... Feel sorry for those Waterside folks; they have to deal with one of, if not the most unreliable SBS routes in the city....

I’ve noticed that people end up walking or taking other routes. Just last week me and a lady were waiting at Myrtle Ave/ Cypress Hills Street for a bus going towards Ridgewood. The lady had asked me if I knew if the bus was coming, so I checked bus time and found that there was no Q55 heading towards Ridgewood. There was a Richmond Hills bound bus at Woodhaven Blvd but it would have taken a while for it to head back down since they would take their break. So the lady had told me she needed the  or  trains, so I told her she could take the B13 at 62nd st to Fresh Pond Road for the . The B13 came seconds after she got to the bus stop and I continued walking down to Myrtle Wyckoff just for the sake of having some exercise. By the time I got to Myrtle Wyckoff I checked bus time and the Q55 was beginning it’s route at Myrtle and Hillside Ave.

 

1 hour ago, B35 via Church said:

Nothing like being stuck between one avenue block for 5+ minutes... I flat out refuse.... Nope.

It is second nature for me to walk whenever I'm trying to get from one side of Manhattan to the other.... From the M8 on up to the M31/57, I don't ever consider taking any of those shits if I actually need to get somewhere....

Easily happens if you take the M31 or M57. I regret taking the M57 last week, because I could have easily out walked it if I wasn’t so lazy. 

 

19 hours ago, Cait Sith said:

Sending the Q24 elsewhere won't really fix it's problems.

I actually disagree.

The Q56 for me, comes much more often and is much more better managed than the Q24 or Q54. The Q54 bunches, but it shows up. The Q24.....don't get me started on that.

I've never really had much problems with the Q59.

I remember a time when the Q56, was worst. To my surprise the last few times I’ve taken it, I really didn’t have much issues with it. About 5 or 6 years ago when I used to take it more often I just remember the buses being missing from that route all the time. There would be lots of people at Jamaica Ave and Parsons Blvd waiting forever for the Q56 to show.

[Future ENY OP]

Its been a bit quiet for wraps. However, new wrap alert for Ulmer Park (BK) & Manhattan Division. UP has had them for about 2 weeks. First seeing this on a MQ bus today and since Manhattan has tons of foot traffic than Brooklyn.  
 

You won’t see these wraps unless you are in Ulmer Park territory. FB, JG and FP have taken down most of their wraps. The most recent ad campaigns have ended. 

Edited January 21, 2020 by Future ENY OP

[Lex]

6 minutes ago, Future ENY OP said:

Its been a bit quiet for wraps. However, new wrap alert for Ulmer Park (BK) & Manhattan Division. UP has had them for about 2 weeks. First seeing this on a MQ bus today and since Manhattan has tons of foot traffic than Brooklyn.  
 

You won’t see these wraps unless you are in Ulmer Park territory. FB, JG and FP have taken down most of their wraps. The most recent ad campaigns have ended. 

At least they didn't try this with the old design...

[Future ENY OP]

10 minutes ago, Lex said:

At least they didn't try this with the old design...

Accurate! 

[OrionVIIonM79]

Q58 is running from Fresh Pond again

[Iron Valiant]

4 hours ago, OrionVIIonM79 said:

Q58 is running from Fresh Pond again

I’m pretty sure most of us are aware....

[Calvin]

Was the Q32 split with MJQ during the past? 

[OrionVIIonM79]

11 minutes ago, Calvin said:

Was the Q32 split with MJQ during the past? 

yes

[Cait Sith]

24 minutes ago, Calvin said:

Was the Q32 split with MJQ during the past? 

It was split until the 2010 cuts.

[Lawrence St]

The Bx12SBS has to be the most poorly dispatched line in the whole entire bus network. 6 buses back to back followed by a 33 minute gap in service??

[Iron Valiant]

6 hours ago, Calvin said:

Was the Q32 split with MJQ during the past? 

Yeah, it was pretty interesting to see the RTS-06 units on that route. Particularly the 52xx’s.

[mine248]

Is there any logical reason for the MTA to avoid running buses up/down Fairview Ave? I know that it has been done before if Broadway is blocked off between anywhere from 181 to 190, but the MTA Areally doesn’t want to do this at all. What gives for this?

[OrionVIIonM79]

7 hours ago, mine248 said:

Is there any logical reason for the MTA to avoid running buses up/down Fairview Ave? I know that it has been done before if Broadway is blocked off between anywhere from 181 to 190, but the MTA Areally doesn’t want to do this at all. What gives for this?

Maybe because it is really short? 

[OrionVIIonM79]

 Why not have a bus down canal st in Manhattan or 65 St in Bklyn 

[Brillant93]

Just now, OrionVIIonM79 said:

 Why not have a bus down canal st in Manhattan or 65 St in Bklyn 

Canal street is plagued with traffic. It’s directly connected to the Manhattan bridge and the tunnel so having a bus on that street is asking for it to just be a sitting duck. 

[OrionVIIonM79]

7 minutes ago, Brillant93 said:

Canal street is plagued with traffic. It’s directly connected to the Manhattan bridge and the tunnel so having a bus on that street is asking for it to just be a sitting duck. 

Makes sense

[OrionVIIonM79]

Why not 65 St

[ViaWaterViaChurch]

Does anyone know why College Point drivers love to take out the old 2XXX express buses? I’ve noticed multiple drivers prefer to take these buses on their trips every day. I’ve had the same guy for two picks in a row and he does both my morning and even express trip and he ALWAYS takes an old bus. 

[Iron Valiant]

9 minutes ago, ViaWaterViaChurch said:

Does anyone know why College Point drivers love to take out the old 2XXX express buses? I’ve noticed multiple drivers prefer to take these buses on their trips every day. I’ve had the same guy for two picks in a row and he does both my morning and even express trip and he ALWAYS takes an old bus. 

In a lot of cases, the bus the driver pulls out is completely random or whatever bus is assigned to them for the day. I’m not sure how College Point Depot works....

[EastFlatbushLarry]

27 minutes ago, ViaWaterViaChurch said:

Does anyone know why College Point drivers love to take out the old 2XXX express buses? I’ve noticed multiple drivers prefer to take these buses on their trips every day. I’ve had the same guy for two picks in a row and he does both my morning and even express trip and he ALWAYS takes an old bus. 

because the operator might actually enjoy the way the bus handles, speed, etc. most senior operators, be it local hawk run operators or express run operators, have their pick of the litter and pick to their preference. in some instances, much like with school bus companies, some express runs are rumored to be assigned a bus to that specific run. the reason why that operator might pick a specific series number or specific bus number day to day is based on his/her comfort, a luxury afforded based on seniority.

also, when operators have split runs (am portion, swing for 4-6 hours, then pm portion) be it local or express, the operator will probably utilize the same bus as opposed to pulling in & pulling out, which can be rather tedious, depending on the run.

Edited January 22, 2020 by EastFlatbushLarry