BUS - Random Thoughts Thread

[XcelsiorBoii4888]

38 minutes ago, trainfan22 said:

The Orion CNGs with soft seats operated on the local routes at SC in like 2009, 2010, use to ride them all the time at B100 & B103.  UP & QV operated RTSs with express bus seats on locals after the MCI's demoted them to local service. 

I remember riding the RTS with the express seats when they used to put them on the B36 specials from my junior high school. My favorite seat was the double seat forward facing behind the rear door. 

I graduated from junior high school in 2011...so this was definitely 2009-2010 around that time.

Thats actually what made me get into transit. Riding the bus home, at the time I didn't know what nothing was called. I used to ride the typical B36 buses as normal...then when I noticed the different "meaner" sound some of those buses made, and how much faster they operated. I just kept Googling information. Eventually, I payed attention to the fleet numbers and realized buses that start with 8 and 9 are regular sounding and buses that begin with a 5 are the "mean" sounding ones. Turns out I was noticing the distinct sounds between the Allison transmission RTS and the ZF transmission RTS at Ulmer Park. 

I'd never forget the days I rode the B4 for the first time and those buses had the red stop request buttons. I thought those were emergency stop buttons and told my friends to be careful holding onto the poll so that they don't accidentally hit it😂. Good times. Then by 2010 I was aware of how buses worked, and had the time of my life when all of those new buses came in 2011, almost like a rush of excitement. I was chasing LFS, XD40s, Orion 3Gs, C40LFs all over South Brooklyn.

That was my transit spark.  

[XBht26]

During my QCC days, I’ve caught RTS bus #9250 twice. It had express seats. I’ve caught it on the Q43.

[Q43LTD]

It's real funny how the M55's current terminal was formerly an M6 short trip

[Lawrence St]

So it seems like the S59 is having a major overcrowding issue.

[QM1to6Ave]

On 4/4/2020 at 5:07 PM, XcelsiorBoii4888 said:

Apparently next week or the one after will start a Emergency Sunday schedule, where certain routes that don't run on weekends would run their midday peak frequencies, there would be enough local buses to cover all express runs if needed. 

At this point no one should be complaining about seats as those buses are free, and only frequent essential riders should be using it anyways. 

Yeah there's certain Yukon buses that have their governors removed because of the S89. If they're removing more...I'm not sure at the moment. 

X27 and X28 operators would use XD40s, those routes definitely do not need artics in this situation. Also, I don't even think artics are at Ulmer Park since the conversion is delayed because of the virus closing schools (and almost everything now). 

As as essential hospital worker doing 12-15 hour shifts now to keep hospital equipment working, i gotta tell you that i really look forward to getting on those MCIs and passing out for 30 mins in the cushioned seats. I'm not saying a free ride on a local bus converted to express would be the worst thing, but those express buses really make a big difference to my crappy quality of life at the moment. Just my two cents. 

[MeeP15-9112]

I have been wondering for quite a while why MTA Bus 5386 (2014-15 XD60s, the first to get the Cuomo scheme) was put into service years later than its siblings.

I stumbled upon said bus on the Q10 back in 2016-2017, and it was brand spanking new, with the new bus smell, clean Cuomo decals, clean floors, and clean air filter.

Keep in mind that all the other XD60s that were running in MTA Bus (5364-5438) were in service for 2-3 years.

Was it involved in an accident at the factory and was to be sent last?

[MysteriousBtrain]

14 minutes ago, MeeP15-9112 said:

I have been wondering for quite a while why MTA Bus 5386 (2014-15 XD60s, the first to get the Cuomo scheme) was put into service years later than its siblings.

I stumbled upon said bus on the Q10 back in 2016-2017, and it was brand spanking new, with the new bus smell, clean Cuomo decals, clean floors, and clean air filter.

Keep in mind that all the other XD60s that were running in MTA Bus (5364-5438) were in service for 2-3 years.

Was it involved in an accident at the factory and was to be sent last?

Sounds like it was a pilot bus for the new scheme at the very least

[aemoreira81]

In Queens, I have to wonder why the Q70 isn't down-sized to 2 articulated buses from the normal 5-6 buses on the route. As of this post, LGA is averaging about 18-19 movements per hour (at an airfield with a cap of 71 per hour) with abysmal load factors. Its only purpose is to serve LGA from Woodside and Jackson Heights. 

Likewise, for the B15 and Q10, I would argue that every other B15 to the airport and Q10 Limited terminate at Lefferts Boulevard AirTrain...except for times around shift changes. As for the Q3, I would argue for every other trip to terminate at Rockaway Boulevard. (This is where the JFK AirTrain should run limited service with three-car trains, every 15 minutes on each branch, with 2 car trains on the loop.)

If services need to be curtailed wholesale, in Brooklyn Division, I would argue for the B2, B6 (Limited only), B32, B35 (Limited only), B37, B41 (Bergen Beach beyond Empire Boulevard), B46 (SBS), B69, B84, and Q58 (Limited).The B46 would run the full distance with articulated buses (subject to availability), and whatever articulated buses are left over from the B35 after essential service is run would be placed on the B8, subject to availability (I'm not sure if an articulated bus could handle 71 Street in Bay Ridge).

[NBTA]

So this morning...1026 was on the Bx9, and 4669 was on the Bx28.

Now we got 6202 and 6220 on the Bx41 LOCAL. 

At this rate, we might see 2204 on the Q46. lmao

[LegoBrickBreaker101]

10 minutes ago, NBTA said:

So this morning...1026 was on the Bx9, and 4669 was on the Bx28.

Now we got 6202 and 6220 on the Bx41 LOCAL. 

At this rate, we might see 2204 on the Q46. lmao

Looks like the Bronx is getting a ton of loans.

LFSA 5524 is on the Bx1, 5596 was on the Bx12 SBS, 6057 is on the Bx28, and a few more

[NBTA]

51 minutes ago, LegoBrickBreaker101 said:

Looks like the Bronx is getting a ton of loans.

LFSA 5524 is on the Bx1, 5596 was on the Bx12 SBS, 6057 is on the Bx28, and a few more

Me sitting here waiting for 7604 to re-appear on the Bx3 (I live on the line so a pic wouldn't hurt).

[Calvin]

Currently, the B100 is running every 20 minutes between the Kings Hwy Station and E.66 St / Strickland Av. The peak 5 min headways aren't running till the situation is resolved. 

Edited April 6, 2020 by Calvin

[paulrivera]

The Bx5 is running to Bay Plaza today.

[paulrivera]

Also, Quill’s got some of their SBS wrapped buses strategically parked along the Bx12 and Bx41 as gap buses.

Man, how’d it take a state of emergency for NYCT to do something they should always be doing for those two routes?

Anyways, that’s it for my essential food shopping trip of the week. Stay safe folks.

[Future ENY OP]

1 hour ago, paulrivera said:

Also, Quill’s got some of their SBS wrapped buses strategically parked along the Bx12 and Bx41 as gap buses.

Man, how’d it take a state of emergency for NYCT to do something they should always be doing for those two routes?

Anyways, that’s it for my essential food shopping trip of the week. Stay safe folks.

Glad that the Manhattan Division and Queens Division are helping out The Bronx for a bit. 

[paulrivera]

40 minutes ago, Future ENY OP said:

Glad that the Manhattan Division and Queens Division are helping out The Bronx for a bit. 

Yea, as a passenger it's nice to see the other depots coming in clutch.

As a fanner who can't venture out, seeing those Cuomo XD60's and the OG hybrids closer to home were nice too.

Time to hunker down till I'm out of food again tho.

Edited April 7, 2020 by paulrivera

[SoSpectacular]

On 4/5/2020 at 7:12 PM, XBht26 said:

During my QCC days, I’ve caught RTS bus #9250 twice. It had express seats. I’ve caught it on the Q43.

I hated riding the suburbans from QCC some days. The buses weren't meant to handle so much people. Getting off was a chore if you were seated far from the doors. I would avoid them if the crowd going to Flushing was big...

[Via Garibaldi 8]

On 4/4/2020 at 3:07 PM, trainfan22 said:

I thought about suggesting the TA use the local buses on the express routes during this pandemic, to avoid contact with the driver. But two issues...

 

1)On a weekday schedule, there's probably not enough spare local buses to cover both local and express service, especially during rush hour. 

 

2) Express bus riders complaining about hard seat buses running on express routes. Listen, were in a pandemic, everybody in NYC has to make sacrifices due to this virus. Riding hard seat buses while the city is in shambles is no big deal. Me personally, I would just be happy a bus shows up at all.

I am so tired of people suggesting what is best for us. Here are the facts:

-I've been kept abreast of the express bus situation via the  . I received an email with an update on some lines a few days ago.

-Service has been modified where necessary on a line by line basis, based on ridership and the number of drivers available.

-On some lines like the SIM lines, drivers will decide (if available) if they want a local bus for the express bus and they have been running some local buses on the SIMs. NO ONE has been complaining. Stop spreading FALSE information about what we're doing. 

-The following lines have been curtailed or stopped completely:

1. QM18 no longer running.

2. BM1 - BM5 on a Saturday schedule until further notice making all stops. The Downtown Loop and Midtown Super Express trips were discontinued after we suggested having buses make all stops to avoid long waits. Customers Downtown in our group faced long waits due to a lack of drivers while Super Express trips skipped Downtown, etc. Thanks to the  for listening to our suggestions. They thanked us via social media.

3. QM15 modified (confirming the schedule ASAP).

4. SIMs are scheduled to go to a Sunday schedule starting next Sunday. That would consist of only the SIM1C, SIM3C, SIM4C and SIM33C running. Myself and another Staten Island express bus advocate of another express bus group are advocating for service to the hospitals to continue for healthcare workers as opposed to running lines that may not be needed.

5. X37, X38 no longer running on any modified schedule. X27 and X28 will run a modified Sunday schedule during the week, with service starting at 6am on both lines for essential workers.

I have been speaking with the  , drivers and other personnel regularly. Some drivers are out sick and quarantining. Others are out as a precaution. Depots that I know were hit hard that run express bus service include Yonkers Depot, Ulmer Park Depot and several others. No depot has been spared, but some depots are worse than others. Staten Island seems to be improving, as more drivers come back.

Precautions being taken to try to reduce the spread:

-Local buses on express lines.

-Drivers receiving gloves and masks. However, some drivers still have not received masks or gloves. Hopefully this issue will improve as time goes on. Justin Brannan, who is in my group helped secure thousands of masks and gloves.

-Curtailing service to mitigate exposure.

All other express bus lines (to my knowledge) are running regular service at the moment, though there may be (and have been) missing buses here and there.

I will post here as I receive updates. 

Edited April 8, 2020 by Via Garibaldi 8

[Via Garibaldi 8]

On 4/5/2020 at 10:58 AM, trainfan22 said:

Haha, at first when you said Liberty Lines Express I thought you was talking about Bee Line which is also called Liberty Lines. Then I realized you are talking about Yonkers Depot.

 

I'm wondering the same thing, Yonkers has like 80 or 90 buses, it MIGHT be doable if they run a Sunday schedule during the week on express bus routes at Yonkers, and NYCT contributes some buses. There's also the issue of Yonkers drivers being trained on local bus equipment.

 

If local buses do run on express routes in the masses, the TA is baiting busfans like a mofo to break quarantine to go out and fan this lol. 

I haven't heard of any plans to run local buses on either the Yonkers Depot lines or lines out of Eastchester Depot. Only Staten Island at the moment. Yonkers Depot is already small enough so that the number of drivers on standby versus those out sick has meant that overall they've been able to run a roughly regular schedule. I've been using the express bus here and there and only had one instance where there were missing buses. They've kept regular service otherwise with the usual MCIs.

Edited April 8, 2020 by Via Garibaldi 8

[Via Garibaldi 8]

On 4/5/2020 at 9:57 PM, QM1to6Ave said:

As as essential hospital worker doing 12-15 hour shifts now to keep hospital equipment working, i gotta tell you that i really look forward to getting on those MCIs and passing out for 30 mins in the cushioned seats. I'm not saying a free ride on a local bus converted to express would be the worst thing, but those express buses really make a big difference to my crappy quality of life at the moment. Just my two cents. 

I am not an essential worker, but do with work some of the major hospitals as clients, which is why I have to go in here and there aside from my food trips. I'm sure it has been tough.  Been checking on the QM1 to ensure that it's been running well. They've been doing a good job overall service wise and I get an update from someone on what's going on regularly, be it a driver or an e-mail from the  or some other personnel.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

There is no QM15, QM16, QM17 or QM18 service until further notice.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

2 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

There is no QM15, QM16, QM17 or QM18 service until further notice.

These lines apparently are running but none of them are trackable. Unclear at this time what schedule they are on. Working on finding out...

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 hour ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

These lines apparently are running but none of them are trackable. Unclear at this time what schedule they are on. Working on finding out...

Ok... Answer is the QM15, QM16, QM17 and QM18 are on a modified Sunday schedule. Unfortunately, none of these lines have a Sunday schedule, which is why they cannot be tracked on BusTime. Similar to the X37 and X38 situation last week...

[QM1to6Ave]

8 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

I am not an essential worker, but do with work some of the major hospitals as clients, which is why I have to go in here and there aside from my food trips. I'm sure it has been tough.  Been checking on the QM1 to ensure that it's been running well. They've been doing a good job overall service wise and I get an update from someone on what's going on regularly, be it a driver or an e-mail from the  or some other personnel.

CP service has been quite good considering the situation. I happen to be on the 1:45 QM5 back to queens right now, which was not showing up on bustime for whatever reason. 

 

Other than friday evening, where I had a 20 minute wait, I have not had to wait long for a bus. Same with the M15, which has been quite good. 

 

I really hope they keep up the service since there is no way ill be able to work from home. It sort of feels like personalized service which is cool, but I'd be okay with regular crowds and traffic again!

[Via Garibaldi 8]

I'm posting the QM15, QM16, QM17 and QM18 schedules: