BUS - Random Thoughts Thread

[B35 via Church]

4 minutes ago, Cait Sith said:

It's interesting that you say that because prior to the 2010 cuts, the M9 was never really herald as such in that part of Manhattan.

Most people(when I lived in the LES) always took the M14A over the M9 strictly because of Avenue B, but if the M9 showed up first, they'd get on it. Avenue B was a traffic nightmare especially during the PM Rush Hour, and Avenue B ridership was nowhere near as good as A or C(which makes cutting Avenue B from the route altogether justifiable). From LES going South, the route wasn't so bad either, it carried a decent amount of folk and would always pick up a decent chunk of riders at Whitehall Terminal.

Looking at the route now, if we leave out the route north of 14th, ridership on the M9 actually went up to the point where it gained some more trips on the schedule(not much, but its noticeable).

I also learned over time, that the residents of the LES and Alphabet City wanted the M9 out of Avenue B way before the 2010 cuts, some folks wanted the M21 and M9 to run in unison along Avenue C, but Jay Walder had different plans.

That's because the demographics are a bit different now, compared to back then... Lot of PR's left the LES & more Chinese folks started taking their place.... This also explains the heavy M9 patronization along Av. C now.... Further up the route (to/from Peter Cooper & Bellevue Hosp., that's M23 & M15 territory; folks aint thinking about the M9 like that up there...

Same phenomenon happened here in Brooklyn w/ the B4 along Bay Ridge Pkwy (and even the B1 along 86th st).... When those old school Italians hightailed it out to SI (and wherever else they went), the Chinese snatched up a lot of those properties in Dyker Heights & Bensonhurst... While the B1 still had relatively high ridership back then, it wasn't as much as it currently is now.... The B4 along Bay Ridge Pkwy carried a LOT of air back then - now, not so much (and service on that route ended up improving also... but part of that was also due to the move from UP to JG)..... B4 ran like f***ing garbage when it was in Ulmer Park, OMG... Lol....

[Around the Horn]

3 minutes ago, B35 via Church said:

 The B4 along Bay Ridge Pkwy carried a LOT of air back then - now, not so much (and service on that route ended up improving also... but part of that was also due to the move from UP to JG)..... B4 ran like f***ing garbage when it was in Ulmer Park, OMG... Lol....

I still do a double take when I see an C40LF on the B4... In my head it's still Ulmer Park lol

[Via Garibaldi 8]

6 minutes ago, B35 via Church said:

Same phenomenon happened here in Brooklyn w/ the B4 along Bay Ridge Pkwy (and even the B1 along 86th st).... When those old school Italians hightailed it out to SI (and wherever else they went), the Chinese snatched up a lot of those properties in Dyker Heights & Bensonhurst... While the B1 still had relatively high ridership back then, it wasn't as much as it currently is now.... The B4 along Bay Ridge Pkwy carried a LOT of air back then - now, not so much (and service on that route ended up improving also... but part of that was also due to the move from UP to JG)..... B4 ran like f***ing garbage when it was in Ulmer Park, OMG... Lol....

There are still plenty of Italian-Americans left in Dyker Heights, but yes, the Chinese have been moving in and buying up those houses for cash.  The Italian-Americans that left are moving to Staten Island, New Jersey or leaving the Metropolitan area entirely and moving to Florida or elsewhere with the handsome returns they are getting on their houses.  With changes to immigration, the old school Italians and others that you used to come over in waves don't as much, and the Italians coming now usually stay in Manhattan unless they have family in the outer boroughs.  Dyker Heights will continue to have a sizable Italian-American population because it is suburban and expensive enough which is the key, as the housing stock is big enough, with enough parking, etc. That's the main reason so many left Bensonhurst.  The desire for more space and better amenities.  The areas in the 80s with the large houses from 10 - 12th Av will remain Italian for a while longer, just as parts of Bay Ridge will such as the areas along Shore Rd.

I do agree about the B4 though. Ridership from Bensonhurst into Bay Ridge has picked up considerably compared to 10 - 20 years ago when I would take it.

Edited November 5, 2020 by Via Garibaldi 8

[B35 via Church]

4 hours ago, Around the Horn said:

I still do a double take when I see an C40LF on the B4... In my head it's still Ulmer Park lol

I rode the full B4 (#362, from Sheepshead)  this past Sunday... Anyway, it's interesting that you still see the B4 as an UP route...

I try to forget that it was ever there!

[MHV9218]

8 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

Only packed M8's I've ever seen, were on the Metro North...

 

8 hours ago, Cait Sith said:

The very last time I can recall seeing packed M8s was back in 2015.....4th of July. That one day of the year is probably the only time I've seen that line packed.

Hey, 5-6pm that route gets totally full! At least Eastbound from 6th till Astor...not so much after. The truth is, the busiest I've ever seen that route was during Sandy, when it was free, and the bus was packed all day since everybody was taking advantage.

I have a photo from some point of a sight you never seen much – 2 or 3 M8s all bunched around 5th Ave. All RTSes...that's a sign that service is a total disaster lmao.

[trainfan22]

For some reason 7630 from Flatbush is parked at Rockaway Parkway terminal..

[MHV9218]

Funny to see MV lose the 3960 fleet again. They had 3960-3964 for a while, lost them, got hem back with the big NG switch, and now headed to ENY.

[Future ENY OP]

59 minutes ago, MHV9218 said:

Funny to see MV lose the 3960 fleet again. They had 3960-3964 for a while, lost them, got hem back with the big NG switch, and now headed to ENY.

They on the verge of losing 3967-3971 also.

[Future ENY OP]

4 hours ago, trainfan22 said:

For some reason 7630 from Flatbush is parked at Rockaway Parkway terminal..

Looks like it’s property of East New York now. That and 7643 made the trip and both on the 82-SBS 

[Future ENY OP]

49 minutes ago, Matthewmp4 said:

7630 and 7643 from Flatbush Depot to East New York Depot. It’s on the B82-SBS

Flatbush losing buses again. Something tells me that more artics may be on the way and they are making space for that. 

[Kingsbridgeviewer382]

10 minutes ago, Future ENY OP said:

Flatbush losing buses again. Something tells me that more artics may be on the way and they are making space for that. 

The buses could be loans like those Grand Ave units that cover service every once in a while. Let's not make huge assumptions right now.

[Future ENY OP]

5 minutes ago, Kingsbridgeviewer382 said:

The buses could be loans like those Grand Ave units that cover service every once in a while. Let's not make huge assumptions right now.

You may be correct on this. 

[Iron Valiant]

46 minutes ago, Future ENY OP said:

They on the verge of losing 3967-3971 also.

Yep, East New York already acquired 3967 and 3969. In total, they received 3960-3962, 3967, 3969, 3991-3992 from Manhattanville Depot. I won’t be surprised if 3963-3964, 3968, 3970-3971, and maybe even 3998-3999 make the trip to Brooklyn.

[Future ENY OP]

3 minutes ago, Snorunts said:

Yep, East New York already acquired 3967 and 3969. In total, they received 3960-3962, 3967, 3969, 3991-3992 from Manhattanville Depot. I won’t be surprised if 3963-3964, 3968, 3970-3971, and maybe even 3998-3999 make the trip to Brooklyn.

You are correct. I wouldn’t be surprised if a 4000 bus from Manhattanville makes the trip to ENY.  

[bobtehpanda]

On 11/5/2020 at 2:26 PM, Cait Sith said:

It's interesting that you say that because prior to the 2010 cuts, the M9 was never really herald as such in that part of Manhattan.

Most people(when I lived in the LES) always took the M14A over the M9 strictly because of Avenue B, but if the M9 showed up first, they'd get on it. Avenue B was a traffic nightmare especially during the PM Rush Hour, and Avenue B ridership was nowhere near as good as A or C(which makes cutting Avenue B from the route altogether justifiable). From LES going South, the route wasn't so bad either, it carried a decent amount of folk and would always pick up a decent chunk of riders at Whitehall Terminal.

Looking at the route now, if we leave out the route north of 14th, ridership on the M9 actually went up to the point where it gained some more trips on the schedule(not much, but its noticeable).

I also learned over time, that the residents of the LES and Alphabet City wanted the M9 out of Avenue B way before the 2010 cuts, some folks wanted the M21 and M9 to run in unison along Avenue C, but Jay Walder had different plans.
 

IIRC, the M9 also started eating a lot of the M22's lunch, particularly because the M22 was being diverted like crazy for a few years.

[Q101viaSteinway]

On 11/4/2020 at 11:30 AM, trainfan22 said:

I know the PBL did full wraps... perhaps that photo was taken right after the takeover and the MTA didn't bother to remove the wrap right away.

When the MTA takeover happened, the MTA honored all existing PBL bus wrap contracts. When those contracts finished, they stopped with all full wraps. 

[Armandito]

Thoughts on this?

-Expand B6 LTD service to operate 7 days a week (B6 local service would continue to operate overnight) 

-Establish a new route between Avenue J/Coney Island Av and JFK Airport by extending current B6 local short-turns at the Rockaway Parkway station to the latter, with the new route being the successor to daytime B6 local service

-Former B6 local buses that operated to Harway Av would be converted to B6 LTD buses, making local stops west of Coney Island Av

 

[Express Bus Operator]

16 hours ago, Future ENY OP said:

Flatbush losing buses again. Something tells me that more artics may be on the way and they are making space for that. 

 

16 hours ago, Kingsbridgeviewer382 said:

The buses could be loans like those Grand Ave units that cover service every once in a while. Let's not make huge assumptions right now.

 

16 hours ago, Future ENY OP said:

You may be correct on this. 

ENY has the New Flyer XDE40 Hybrid Electric bus # 9510 for training purpose. A lot of modication has been implemented on the electric hybrid new flyer bus, such as rear exit sliding doors.

Could it be possible in the future Flatbush depot may get some batches of these buses once transit gets more in hand to trade the current NG’s that the bush has?....

NF Hybrid 9510

NF hybrid Electric side view

NF Electric Hybrid 9510

NF Electric Hybrid Interior mirror

[Future ENY OP]

15 minutes ago, Flatbush SBS Duece said:

 

 

ENY has the New Flyer XDE40 Hybrid Electric bus # 9510 for training purpose. A lot of modication has been implemented on the electric hybrid new flyer bus, such as rear exit sliding doors.

Could it be possible in the future Flatbush depot may get some batches of these buses once transit gets more in hand to trade the current NG’s that the bush has?....

NF Hybrid 9510

NF hybrid Electric side view

NF Electric Hybrid 9510

NF Electric Hybrid Interior mirror

Excellent pictures sir. Especially the interior mirror. Also, good update.  

[4 via Mosholu]

12 hours ago, Armandito said:

Thoughts on this?

-Expand B6 LTD service to operate 7 days a week (B6 local service would continue to operate overnight) 

-Establish a new route between Avenue J/Coney Island Av and JFK Airport by extending current B6 local short-turns at the Rockaway Parkway station to the latter, with the new route being the successor to daytime B6 local service

-Former B6 local buses that operated to Harway Av would be converted to B6 LTD buses, making local stops west of Coney Island Av

 

I'd rather make the B6 Local run between Avenue J and Rockaway Parkway when the B6 LIMITED is operating, and have the B6 running between Bay 37th and East New York make all stops south of Coney Island Avenue and north of Rockaway Parkway, running LIMITED between Avenue J and Rockaway Parkway. Nights would still see it local from Bay 37th Street to East New York New Lots Station. A new line extending the short turns from Rockaway Parkway to follow the 15 to JFK would not be necessary at all; it would make it too long.

Edited November 8, 2020 by 4 via Mosholu

[Cait Sith]

On 11/6/2020 at 8:08 PM, bobtehpanda said:

IIRC, the M9 also started eating a lot of the M22's lunch, particularly because the M22 was being diverted like crazy for a few years.

This is true, the frequency cuts of the M22 over time also contributed to the M9's increasing ridership in Lower Manhattan.

18 hours ago, Flatbush Operator said:

ENY has the New Flyer XDE40 Hybrid Electric bus # 9510 for training purpose. A lot of modication has been implemented on the electric hybrid new flyer bus, such as rear exit sliding doors.

Could it be possible in the future Flatbush depot may get some batches of these buses once transit gets more in hand to trade the current NG’s that the bush has?....

NF Hybrid 9510

NF hybrid Electric side view

NF Electric Hybrid 9510

NF Electric Hybrid Interior mirror

Word is that the order will be split between ENY, FP and GA. It was supposed to be two depots.

Either there will be White/Blue 7100s-7200s or 7700s in FB's future, but take that with a grain of salt. With these new buses comes even more bus moves.

Edited November 8, 2020 by Cait Sith

[B35 via Church]

On 11/6/2020 at 8:08 PM, bobtehpanda said:

IIRC, the M9 also started eating a lot of the M22's lunch, particularly because the M22 was being diverted like crazy for a few years.

Heh.... Funny thing about this, is that it still is to this day (Worth st construction).

[Express Bus Operator]

5 hours ago, Cait Sith said:

This is true, the frequency cuts of the M22 over time also contributed to the M9's increasing ridership in Lower Manhattan.

Word is that the order will be split between ENY, FP and GA. It was supposed to be two depots.

Either there will be White/Blue 7100s-7200s or 7700s in FB's future, but take that with a grain of salt. With these new buses comes even more bus moves.

I just don't understand why FB always gets last loads or hand me down buses within the TA division?

[B35 via Church]

1 hour ago, Flatbush Operator said:

I just don't understand why FB always gets last loads or hand me down buses within the TA division?

You peruse these forums over the course of years & it's as if people say this about whatever hand-me-down getting moved to (*insert depot here*).... Pretty funny actually

Not just in the realm of transit, but nobody really wants anyone's leftovers... Lol...

[Shawn Williams]

1 hour ago, Flatbush Operator said:

I just don't understand why FB always gets last loads or hand me down buses within the TA division?

its Bk in general, they keep on rotating buses like crazy until one of these depots falls short