BUS - Random Thoughts Thread

[Gotham Bus Co.]

17 hours ago, trainfan22 said:

NYPD doesn't even bother to enforce the fare anymore, on multiple occasions I've seen ppl fare beat on the subway right in front of the cops. 

 

Cops don't care because  they all live in the suburbs and they ride for free. 

[josephnyy42]

16 minutes ago, Gotham Bus Co. said:

 

Cops don't care because  they all live in the suburbs and they ride for free. 

Most live in the city, actually

[B35 via Church]

Forgot to specify on the first question that I meant in terms of duration (not necessarily route length), but I guess it still applies.

In any case, while the first question stemmed from me looking at old trip logs, the 2nd one (cleaned up/paraphrased) was asked in an interview... Another question that was asked of me, involved the nuances of my primary door to door commute for my last position & the itinerary for (at least) 3 separate alternate commutes....

My answers for those questions are as follows:

1. I remember the ride/trip, but the longer I'm looking at the log here almost 9 years later, I still can't believe I was on it for this long.... It was on an x22 (PM direction; meaning towards SI) I rode from end to end... Boarded 5:14, Disembarked 8:02... The math on that is 2 hours & 48 minutes. It took about an hour just to get out of Manhattan & for whatever the reason, we were bumper-to-bumper for the entire stint along the WSE...

...for shits & giggles, second on this list I definitely remember & I thought it was longer (time-wise) than the aforementioned x22 trip..... It was on an M5 (also the full route) back in 2012, back when it (stupidly) ran from GWB to S. Ferry.... Boarded 5:37 (pm), Disembarked 8:16... Math on that one is 2 hours & 39 minutes.... Unlike the x22 trip, I didn't plan on riding the full M5 route to S. Ferry; I contemplated getting off twice (at Columbus Circle & at 14th), but rode the whole thing out, basically due to laziness.... LOL.

 

2. My answer to this question was the commute I had, back when I had an assignment in Unionport....
(B46 → → → Bx22).... So, 4 modes)

Sometimes I would do the B46 → → → Q44, but I didn't particularly care for the walk from either the [Brush/Bruckner stop] or from the [Cross Bronx service rd./Zerega stop]....

[B35 via Church]

Wow, I'll admit that I didn't expect so many people to answer this quickly.... Thanks for the answers though....

We could stand to use more relatable/pragmatic discussions on here, instead of the theoretical, fanatical, and/or doom-and-gloom stuff....

That said:

 

15 hours ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

1. I believe it was on the BM5 or the QM15 (can't remember which), something like 2 hours to go from Woodhaven Blvd & 63rd Drive to the 50s in Midtown. Only one tube of the Queens Midtown Tunnel was open, and well there was a bunch of traffic leading up to the tube (I was unaware of it and there was no advisory about it). It was either that, or a BM1 trip where it took almost an hour to leave Manhattan (I rode it the full route).

I've been on quite a few BM trips that took an hour + just to get out of Manhattan that didn't involve riding down from 57th... I'll admit though that more often than not, I was actually thankful for it - gave me time to doze off after a days work ..... One time though, I overdid it - it was on a BM3 & I had to commute back from f***ing Ocean/Av. U.... But yeah, when I used to work in Manhattan, the AM commutes on the BM's were always easier (or, less problematic) than the PM commutes....

After work, I would sometimes hit up my favorite pizza joint (NY pizza suprema, over there across from the main post office; 31st st side)... After eating, I would walk over to the 30th/5th stop for the BM's (I'd prefer if the BM1 or 2 came [as it set me up for the B46], but I'd take anything that came first)..... Was usually around the 7pm hour or so.... Didn't feel like putting up with the subway after the fact....

14 hours ago, NoHacksJustKhaks said:

2. Most amount is six. It was the  to Franklin  to  to  (which ended at Broad Channel due to issues at South Channel) to Q53+ to Q22 

Anything over 4 modes within the city, I can see a] being due to a g/o or something & b] involving more trains than buses.... Outside of fanning purposes, I don't think I've ever had a commute that had me taking more than 4... You being in the Rockaways I can understand, being that options aren't nearly as plentiful as someone living in the middle of Brooklyn here....

13 hours ago, EastFlatbushLarry said:

1) easily, the M101 end to end... circumstance being, i got off my run at East NY Depot (at the time), caught a ride to the city, met my ex-wife on her run on the M101, then rode the bus with her on her last trip so we could drive home to PA together. trip was easily 2½ hours from Cooper Union to Fort George... Limited, during rush hour (approx. 6pm) no adjustments and still had to do a southbound pull-in trip to 96 street.

2) most modes of transportation = 3. 

B103, Q35 & Q22. circumstance being, i was supposed to link up with a girl for the first time, and my car's transmission quit on me, but i wasn't of a mood to ride the B46 or the B47 to the to go to Far Rock, so i took the scenic route... all in the name of not coming across as too thirsty, rushing over to her place, even without a vehicle. 

Well it's a good thing that I omitted the stipulation that b/o's are exempt from answering (since your profession has you on a bus all day )... Seriously though, at least you framed your answers from a commuter's perspective.... Nobody ever knows who "they" is, but they say that you're not supposed to dip your pen in company ink... While I didn't marry the MF-er (she kept pushing it though), I did hook up with my second ex. on the job.... Money hungry b%@^.... But yeah, don't get me started with the M101 (which reminds me, I gotta respond to BM5's post in the Manhattan thread)....Damn thing shouldn't be a thing AFAIC..... Although I've taken the M101 from end to end, I refrained from doing that during the meat of the day.... At least with the M5, Riverside drive offered *some* relief..... But w/ the M101, you gotta put up with damn Amsterdam, 125th and Lex (or 3rd, if it's a NB trip)... Suicide... That type of routing should be reserved for overnights only; akin to these B99's/M99's/Bx99's.....

As a Brooklynite, nobody's going to sway me into taking the to get to the Rockaways over a bus.... Smart man IMO... If I ever need to get to the Rockaways for any reason (if I'm not driving, of course), it's the Q35 or the Q53 for most occasions.... Hell with the & for damn sure, to hell w/ the LIRR... I don't even care that it's situated by the quote-unquote notorious Redfern houses, it's more that it's in the middle of nothing in-particular....

[Future ENY OP]

1 hour ago, josephnyy42 said:

Most live in the city, actually

I’m going to disagree with what you just said. Most police live outside the 5 Boroughs. Yes, some do live in the city.  However, most are in Long Island, Westchester, Rockland, and some in Capital Region via 684 & Taconic Parkway. 

[Trainmaster5]

18 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

I have two 2-part questions for y'all here:

1] What was the longest unlinked trip you've ever endured on any MTA bus route? (express or local, doesn't matter)

• If you can remember, what bus route was it & what were the circumstances behind it?

2] What's the most amount of modes (you can include rail transit) you've ever used to complete one linked trip within the city for a commute? (Do not include joyrides/fantrips)

• ...of those unlinked trips, how many of them included buses?

 

That first part brought back memories for me. November 9, 1965, the night of the first NYC blackout. Was working at Alexander's department store at 58th and Lex. Lights flickered and the backup generator kicked in. Store was closed and everyone was sent home. My department head told the owner about my issue. Everyone else lived in the Bronx or uptown in Manhattan. I was the only Brooklynite on duty at that time. The owner of Alexander's walked me outside and flagged down a s/b bus. I don't remember the route # but the B/O told me to sit behind him and he took me down to Brooklyn Bridge and told me to be careful. I walked across the bridge with a few other adults and made it over to the B41 stop across from the main Brooklyn Post Office. I waited with 3 other people and the bus showed up. I rode that bus down to Rutland Road, got off and almost ran the block and a half to my house. It wasn't the distance that sticks in my mind about that night. It was the time spent onboard those 2 buses. To this day I'm in awe of those professional B/Os who got me home without a street light or traffic signal. Mind you, I've been in a blackout underground as a M/M but there's just no comparison. Just my recollection. Carry on.

[MHV9218]

4 hours ago, Trainmaster5 said:

That first part brought back memories for me. November 9, 1965, the night of the first NYC blackout. Was working at Alexander's department store at 58th and Lex. Lights flickered and the backup generator kicked in. Store was closed and everyone was sent home. My department head told the owner about my issue. Everyone else lived in the Bronx or uptown in Manhattan. I was the only Brooklynite on duty at that time. The owner of Alexander's walked me outside and flagged down a s/b bus. I don't remember the route # but the B/O told me to sit behind him and he took me down to Brooklyn Bridge and told me to be careful. I walked across the bridge with a few other adults and made it over to the B41 stop across from the main Brooklyn Post Office. I waited with 3 other people and the bus showed up. I rode that bus down to Rutland Road, got off and almost ran the block and a half to my house. It wasn't the distance that sticks in my mind about that night. It was the time spent onboard those 2 buses. To this day I'm in awe of those professional B/Os who got me home without a street light or traffic signal. Mind you, I've been in a blackout underground as a M/M but there's just no comparison. Just my recollection. Carry on.

That's a wonderful story. How often has Surface run buses during blackouts, specifically night hours? I'm trying to rack my brain. I think they've generally canceled service after sunset. The only example I can think of in recent memory is Hurricane Sandy, when for the first couple nights of the blackout Manhattan buses ran as normal. I remember taking an M3 and crossing into the no-man's land darkness below Midtown, very eerie stuff. B/O was very professional working through that. After a few nights of that, the union put its foot down and service was curtailed, but at the every beginning you had everything running (and everything for free, too – Quill's then-new LFSAs were running with their blue SBS lights for all-door boarding). 

[aemoreira81]

On 8/6/2020 at 9:42 PM, B35 via Church said:

I have two 2-part questions for y'all here:

1] What was the longest unlinked trip you've ever endured on any MTA bus route? (express or local, doesn't matter)

• If you can remember, what bus route was it & what were the circumstances behind it?

2] What's the most amount of modes (you can include rail transit) you've ever used to complete one linked trip within the city for a commute? (Do not include joyrides/fantrips)

• ...of those unlinked trips, how many of them included buses?

 

1. The longest unlinked trip for me was the Q44 Limited...

2. Related to the first, all on buses, trying to get home from White Plains (also on a bus). After getting off the Bee Line 3, I then used the Bx9 to the Q44 to the Q56. This was during the 2003 blackout...and I eventually got a ride from the Q56 home to a residence with lights and air conditioning.

It's during the blackouts that one really realizes how crucial the surface transit network is.

BTW, fun fact...Alexander's still owns the site of its flagship store and is a pretty expensive stock these days per share, but has not rung up a retail sale since 1992 (after closing the stores, Alexander's was able to emerge from bankruptcy).

Edited August 8, 2020 by aemoreira81

[Trainmaster5]

2 hours ago, aemoreira81 said:

1. The longest unlinked trip for me was the Q44 Limited...

2. Related to the first, all on buses, trying to get home from White Plains (also on a bus). After getting off the Bee Line 3, I then used the Bx9 to the Q44 to the Q56. This was during the 2003 blackout...and I eventually got a ride from the Q56 home to a residence with lights and air conditioning.

It's during the blackouts that one really realizes how crucial the surface transit network is.

BTW, fun fact...Alexander's still owns the site of its flagship store and is a pretty expensive stock these days per share, but has not rung up a retail sale since 1992 (after closing the stores, Alexander's was able to emerge from bankruptcy).

Alexander’s became Vornado Realty after the stores were shuttered. The chain actually owned the land the stores were built on. 

[B35 via Church]

I haven't heard the name Alexander's in ages.... Same goes for Woolworth, A&S, Crazy Eddie's, etc.

[Q43LTD]

On 8/6/2020 at 9:42 PM, B35 via Church said:

I have two 2-part questions for y'all here:

1] What was the longest unlinked trip you've ever endured on any MTA bus route? (express or local, doesn't matter)

• If you can remember, what bus route was it & what were the circumstances behind it?

2] What's the most amount of modes (you can include rail transit) you've ever used to complete one linked trip within the city for a commute? (Do not include joyrides/fantrips)

• ...of those unlinked trips, how many of them included buses?

 

1. The Q113 during the PBL days in 2004 from Parsons Blvd  to Seagirt and Beach 20. I wanted to go to the beach that day. I was off from school. 

2. I can't really answer this since most of my trips were outside the city. (Nassau and Westchester)

[B35 via Church]

3 minutes ago, Q43LTD said:

2. I can't really answer this since most of my trips were outside the city. (Nassau and Westchester)

Damn, seriously?

So most the times you used buses or trains when you lived in NYC, it was to head out to Nassau or Westchester? Interesting......

[Q43LTD]

1 hour ago, B35 via Church said:

Damn, seriously?

So most the times you used buses or trains when you lived in NYC, it was to head out to Nassau or Westchester? Interesting......

I did use buses and subways to get to work and school in the city. So when I worked in Hunts Point. I used the Q111/113 to the  then the  to the Bx6. Now that I think of it, my longest trip using one bus may be tied with taking the Q60 from South Jamaica P to Queens Center. Unfortunately, I did not live near the subway. I remember my first fan trip in 2004 to the Staten Island Mall.

Edited August 9, 2020 by Q43LTD

[NBTA]

On 8/6/2020 at 9:42 PM, B35 via Church said:

I have two 2-part questions for y'all here:

1] What was the longest unlinked trip you've ever endured on any MTA bus route? (express or local, doesn't matter)

• If you can remember, what bus route was it & what were the circumstances behind it?

2] What's the most amount of modes (you can include rail transit) you've ever used to complete one linked trip within the city for a commute? (Do not include joyrides/fantrips)

• ...of those unlinked trips, how many of them included buses?

 

I have a few..

I've taken the S78 end to end, wasn't fun, the Q44 (before and after SBS) end to end, the Bx15 on a weekend (Orion VII) to Lexington, the M101, and if you add express buses, the SIM26, and QM5/QM6.

2: Bx1-Bx15-M60-Q70-7-E-Q10-B15-B35-B63-S79-SIM1-M2-1. Let's just say... I left pretty early and I got home pretty late. 

[B35 via Church]

1 hour ago, NBTA said:

2: Bx1-Bx15-M60-Q70-7-E-Q10-B15-B35-B63-S79-SIM1-M2-1. Let's just say... I left pretty early and I got home pretty late. 

Nice fantrip, but I was asking about an actual commute with that question.....

14 hours ago, Q43LTD said:

I did use buses and subways to get to work and school in the city. So when I worked in Hunts Point. I used the Q111/113 to the  then the  to the Bx6. Now that I think of it, my longest trip using one bus may be tied with taking the Q60 from South Jamaica P to Queens Center. Unfortunately, I did not live near the subway. I remember my first fan trip in 2004 to the Staten Island Mall.

Do you remember how long it was (time-wise), approximately?

During rush hour traffic, I'd put that at about a 40-45 min. ride....

Edited August 9, 2020 by B35 via Church

[Q43LTD]

2 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

 

Do you remember how long it was (time-wise), approximately?

During rush hour traffic, I'd put that at about a 40-45 min. ride....

I would say 40 minutes since it was a Saturday afternoon. So, by my estimation second longest. The Q113 end to end is roughly an hour. 

[NewFlyer 230]

On 8/7/2020 at 3:29 PM, B35 via Church said:

 

 

 

Well it's a good thing that I omitted the stipulation that b/o's are exempt from answering (since your profession has you on a bus all day )... Seriously though, at least you framed your answers from a commuter's perspective.... Nobody ever knows who "they" is, but they say that you're not supposed to dip your pen in company ink... While I didn't marry the MF-er (she kept pushing it though), I did hook up with my second ex. on the job.... Money hungry b%@^.... But yeah, don't get me started with the M101 (which reminds me, I gotta respond to BM5's post in the Manhattan thread)....Damn thing shouldn't be a thing AFAIC..... Although I've taken the M101 from end to end, I refrained from doing that during the meat of the day.... At least with the M5, Riverside drive offered *some* relief..... But w/ the M101, you gotta put up with damn Amsterdam, 125th and Lex (or 3rd, if it's a NB trip)... Suicide... That type of routing should be reserved for overnights only; akin to these B99's/M99's/Bx99's.....

As a Brooklynite, nobody's going to sway me into taking the to get to the Rockaways over a bus.... Smart man IMO... If I ever need to get to the Rockaways for any reason (if I'm not driving, of course), it's the Q35 or the Q53 for most occasions.... Hell with the & for damn sure, to hell w/ the LIRR... I don't even care that it's situated by the quote-unquote notorious Redfern houses, it's more that it's in the middle of nothing in-particular....

I don’t blame you for not wanting to ride the M101end to end again. For a route like that once is enough lol. I wanted to ride the M101 from end to end myself but the 2 hour run time sounds dreadful especially knowing that the M101 would sit in traffic along Lex/3rd Ave and 125th street. That’s why I’ve never particularly cared to fan the N/S manhattan routes long distance because the traffic is horrendous.
The city however just recently painted bus lanes along Lexington & 3rd Ave (something they should have done years ago) so it may not be as bad. The taxi’s will probably say otherwise though. 
Speaking of the M101 didn’t the M101 at one point go all the way down to City Hall? 

[Lex]

4 minutes ago, NewFlyer 230 said:

I don’t blame you for not wanting to ride the M101end to end again. For a route like that once is enough lol. I wanted to ride the M101 from end to end myself but the 2 hour run time sounds dreadful especially knowing that the M101 would sit in traffic along Lex/3rd Ave and 125th street. That’s why I’ve never particularly cared to fan the N/S manhattan routes long distance because the traffic is horrendous.
The city however just recently painted bus lanes along Lexington & 3rd Ave (something they should have done years ago) so it may not be as bad. The taxi’s will probably say otherwise though. 
Speaking of the M101 didn’t the M101 at one point go all the way down to City Hall? 

It did. That was split off into the current M103.

[EastFlatbushLarry]

1 hour ago, NewFlyer 230 said:

Speaking of the M101 didn’t the M101 at one point go all the way down to City Hall? 

both the 101 & 102 used to go to city hall back before the 103 creation 

[Q101 E Midtown]

On 8/6/2020 at 9:42 PM, B35 via Church said:

I have two 2-part questions for y'all here:

1] What was the longest unlinked trip you've ever endured on any MTA bus route? (express or local, doesn't matter)

• If you can remember, what bus route was it & what were the circumstances behind it?

2] What's the most amount of modes (you can include rail transit) you've ever used to complete one linked trip within the city for a commute? (Do not include joyrides/fantrips)

• ...of those unlinked trips, how many of them included buses?

 

1) I wanna say the B15 from JFK Airport to Bed-Stuy. I think I was trying to come home from a fantrip

2) 3 modes from Bed-Stuy to the Teleport. Took the  to Broad St, walked to the SI Ferry and took it to transfer to the (S46). Took 2 and a half hours in the morning.

[B35 via Church]

1 hour ago, NewFlyer 230 said:

I don’t blame you for not wanting to ride the M101end to end again. For a route like that once is enough lol.

I still do, just during the wee hours of the morning (would usually walk down to 181st for the Bx35 or 36 afterwards).... Sometimes during the crack of dawn on weekends also...

In any event, the M103 is way too quick during the overnight hours & hardly carries much of anyone... They should just have M101's running to City Hall during those hours. Most the overnight usage is b/w Washington Hgts. & E. Harlem.

[Iron Valiant]

Does anyone know if digital information screens are still being installed on the 2009/10 NG Hybrids? I know there is a thread for this, but it’s pretty dead so I thought I’d ask in the Random Thoughts thread.

[danielhg121]

33 minutes ago, Snorunts said:

Does anyone know if digital information screens are still being installed on the 2009/10 NG Hybrids? I know there is a thread for this, but it’s pretty dead so I thought I’d ask in the Random Thoughts thread.

My hunch is they're working on all the newer buses first and maybe if there is room in the budget, they'll put them on the NG's but the NG's are next on the chopping block after the OG's so it's probably more economical and helpful in the long run to install them on the Xcelsiors, even tho NG's are getting OMNY but OMNY ties directly with fare collection. I think they're working on the 2014/15 Xcelsiors currently, and my guess is the 2016/17 XD60 order may be next (could potentially be 2011 NovaBus LFS, 2011/12 XD60's, doubt the 3G's are getting them). Last batch of NG's to receive the screens I believe were Eastchester's batch. This is just a hunch, feel free to correct me!!!  

Edited August 10, 2020 by danielhg121

[TrainFanInfinity]

So I thought I'd share a little experience I had today...
So I was over at Washington Heights this evening trying to get home and was waiting at 168th in front of the hospital for the next Midtown bus, and I walk over to the s/b M5 stop and see 4263 parked there. I believe I tracked it on the n/b M5 running pretty late (15+ mins behind) and it probably got short turned as a result. Maps says that the next one was coming in around 4 mins, and since there was no other bus leaving 178th, I assumed he'd just go into service there. About a minute before the bus was scheduled, the op turns on the bus, and those of us waiting start walking up but alas, he quickly pulls out NIS and starts speeding away down Broadway (I watched it go down a few blocks), so I instead crossed the street for the M3 that was just about to turn in, as the next M5 was another 20 min wait. I thought that he might've just been going back to the depot (which didn't make a lot of sense if he was on layover), but what do you know, I pull up the tracker a few mins later and 4263 was in service on the M5 for the trip I'd expected it to be on, around the 150s.

I'm just curious as to whether it was his personal choice to do so or not, and as to why whomever might feel that he couldn't just go into service from where he was at... everyone waiting at stops north of 157th (where I think he started making stops) went a whole 40 mins without an M5 passing, and it just seems like a big inconvenience. IIRC, this has happened to me before, except the op went into service right after having left the stop I was waiting at as NIS.

As for Manhattan N/S routes, yeah they are pretty terrible during the week and you're best off waiting for the weekend when the runtime is shorter for most routes. These days traffic isn't such as much an issue but rather buses running hot and taking a slow pace for the whole duration, which I do not blame them for doing. Though I will say it is a little annoying when some are slugging it despite being behind, which leads to all the bunching and crowding and whatnot.

[NBTA]

11 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

Nice fantrip, but I was asking about an actual commute with that question.....

If that's the case, then Bx9-Q44-Q54 to get some Chilli's.

In terms of work, Bx7-M2-M34.