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11 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

By doing that, you have alienated a core of the BxM18 ridership who currently uses the BxM18 along 5th and Madison, as well as the people south of 34th St in the Flatiron area, and the QM and BxM riders that transfer to the BxM18

A couple of the QM buses were going to go to Hudson Yards also with the Queens redesign, but that was going to be about a year after the BxM18 reroute. Knowing the MTA, by that point some of the BxM18 runs woulda been cut due to LoW RiDeRsHiP.

Anyone transferring from the other BxM routes would have indeed been SOL, and the folks that used the express bus between Midtown and Downtown would have simply went to Uber (which means that NYCT/MTA gets $2.75 via a tax in a roundabout way instead of a direct $6.75 thru the farebox.)

Edited by paulrivera
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17 minutes ago, paulrivera said:

A couple of the QM buses were going to go to Hudson Yards also with the Queens redesign, but that was going to be about a year after the BxM18 reroute. Knowing the MTA, by that point some of the BxM18 runs woulda been cut due to LoW RiDeRsHiP.

Anyone transferring from the other BxM routes would have indeed been SOL, and the folks that used the express bus between Midtown and Downtown would have simply went to Uber (which means that NYCT/MTA gets $2.75 via a tax in a roundabout way instead of a direct $6.75 thru the farebox.)

The truth of the matter is, the BxM18 without traffic is very comparable to taking Metro-North. From my office in Midtown, I can be home in 35 minutes when things are moving. Compare that to Metro-North, which is $9.75 peak, plus the $2.75 for the shuttle bus and it's almost the same amount of time on the BxM18 (about 30-35 minutes) for almost half the cost, not to mention no need to transfer. Hudson Yards is a ghost town now, and I don't see it coming back after COVID either. The City is in deep for all of the tax breaks they gave the developers for that project and it has become even more of a money pit. The idea was that the City would provide tax breaks, and make back that money and then some with all of the tax revenue that would be generated. Even pre-COVID, it would've taken years for the City to get that money back, as the project is still not complete yet, which may require more funding to finish it. Now? Who knows... It is going to be a real challenge to deal with all of the vacant office space, and on the express bus side, the (MTA) had planned on not just having service there via the redesign, but also adding Staten Island express bus service down the line. All of that will be up in the air until who knows when.

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9 hours ago, jaf0519 said:

https://www.amny.com/news/mta-expanding-bus-access-to-fema-vax-sites-from-nycha-and-community-centers/

MTA is apparently adding service to some routes and even creating new routes soon to help get people to COVID vaccine sites.

Article mentions:

  • Adding stops and service (Doesn’t say where)
  • More service on the B49 to Medgar Evers
  • A route between Hammels Houses and York College

Will be online on trip planner by beginning of March

In my honest opinion as a person who currently lives in Crown Heights currently, B49 service is very sporadic during the late night hours (since it ends at 2AM). Unless the route is going to be a short turn between Flatbush/Foster or Kings Highway- Ocean to Franklin during the late night hours. I cannot see them running the service end to end from Sheepshead Bay/Manhattan Beach to Crown Heights.  This is going to be interesting starting 3/1.

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@Via Garibaldi 8 @paulrivera That BxM18 Downtown transfer (to from the BxM & QM routes) is more of a hinderance than a help. Going Downtown, they pad the schedules ridiculously (and I've seen post in the Express Bus Advocacy Group from people complaining about being held there 20 minutes and getting fed up and taking the local bus or subway, which defeats the whole purpose of having the Downtown extension), and there are alternatives available (even express bus-wise, there's the SIM1C/33C and X27/28). It should just be pick-up-and-go. Whoever is at the stop when the bus arrives gets the BxM18, if not they can get one of the other express routes to go Downtown.

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2 hours ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

@Via Garibaldi 8 @paulrivera That BxM18 Downtown transfer (to from the BxM & QM routes) is more of a hinderance than a help. Going Downtown, they pad the schedules ridiculously (and I've seen post in the Express Bus Advocacy Group from people complaining about being held there 20 minutes and getting fed up and taking the local bus or subway, which defeats the whole purpose of having the Downtown extension), and there are alternatives available (even express bus-wise, there's the SIM1C/33C and X27/28). It should just be pick-up-and-go. Whoever is at the stop when the bus arrives gets the BxM18, if not they can get one of the other express routes to go Downtown.

Yeah, that's sometimes because of traffic, but other times, they transfer us to another BxM18 to continue south of 27th St, so it really depends, and I'm not sure when that started. Haven't been taking the BxM18 much at all in the morning, but it's been running pretty good. There are a few Bronx dispatchers in my group. I can't recall if they were when that incident happened, but Yonkers Depot is strict with the schedules, and they try to adhere to them.

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7 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said:

Agreed, how come they can magically make this happen so quickly?

Just goes to show, when they're pushed to get something done, they do it.  Which means all their inertia over the years has been nothing more than flat-out stubbornness.

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11 minutes ago, R10 2952 said:

Just goes to show, when they're pushed to get something done, they do it.  Which means all their inertia over the years has been nothing more than flat-out stubbornness.

 

34 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said:

Agreed, how come they can magically make this happen so quickly?

I honestly feel like it's just people trying to keep the (MTA) the way it was, where they didn't give a dam and did the absolute minimum in terms of service.

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4 hours ago, Future ENY OP said:

I wonder how the travel structure is going to be for the B98V..

Looks pretty simple to me. Linden Blvd westbound to Rogers Avenue. Right on Rogers to President or Eastern Parkway. Left turn to Bedford.

Return trip is Bedford s/b to Linden Blvd. Left on Linden to the Pink Houses. Sounds okay to me. YMMV. Am I missing something ? 

Edit after seeing Kriston's post below mine I see that the proposal is more comprehensive than I envisioned with stops meandering throughout East New York and Brownsville incorporating parts of the Bi4, B15, and B60. More coverage = Better in my book.

Now .........Carry on😊

Edited by Trainmaster5
additional thought
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4 hours ago, Lawrence St said:

I'm actually surprised they can create routes like this in a few weeks now.

Previously it took, what, a few months just to get an added trip on one route?

Actually one can create a route, on paper, in 10 minutes if need be. It's the details like traffic patterns, infrastructure and  ( projected) ridership that's the hang up. Then figure out the amount of equipment needed and who's going to provide that equipment. It's not rocket science. My opinion. Carry on.

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Apparently, SB B99 buses will now stop at 30th Street.

 

Planned Work  Posted:  02/25/2021 12:00 AM

Effective Thursday, Feb 25, 2021
Southbound B99 buses will make an additional stop on 9th Ave at 30th St in the M11 stop

 

1 hour ago, paulrivera said:

The dispatching at KB is something else...

How does two straight full route Bx15 intervals get abandoned and you leave a one hour gap south of 149th? (0:32 and 0:50 from Fordham)

On the bright side, at least the MTA is reporting specific ABD's for the overnight services now..

Yeah, it's good to know now. Take a look at this though:

 

Delays  Posted:  02/25/2021 01:00 AM

The eastbound BM2 trip scheduled to depart E 57th St/2nd Ave at 1:00AM will not run. We're running as much service as we can with the bus operators we h

The eastbound BM2 trip scheduled to depart E 57th St/2nd Ave at 2:00AM will not run. 

We're running as much service as we can with the bus operators we have available. 

See when the next bus will arrive at your stop using: http://bt.mta.info/

 

Gotta wait til 3 AM to catch a bus out to Canarsie, yikes.

Edited by BM5 via Woodhaven
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7 hours ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

Gotta wait til 3 AM to catch a bus out to Canarsie, yikes.

Remember that the only reason the BM2 runs overnight is because the subway isn't open to the public. Since that window was shortened to 2am - 4am, they probably figure the only run that's actually needed is the 3am trip.

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7 hours ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

Apparently, SB B99 buses will now stop at 30th Street.

 

Planned Work  Posted:  02/25/2021 12:00 AM

Effective Thursday, Feb 25, 2021
Southbound B99 buses will make an additional stop on 9th Ave at 30th St in the M11 stop

 

Yeah, it's good to know now. Take a look at this though:

 

Delays  Posted:  02/25/2021 01:00 AM

The eastbound BM2 trip scheduled to depart E 57th St/2nd Ave at 1:00AM will not run. We're running as much service as we can with the bus operators we h

The eastbound BM2 trip scheduled to depart E 57th St/2nd Ave at 2:00AM will not run. 

We're running as much service as we can with the bus operators we have available. 

See when the next bus will arrive at your stop using: http://bt.mta.info/

 

Gotta wait til 3 AM to catch a bus out to Canarsie, yikes.

I see potential service cut for the BM2, thus forcing folks to take the B99 & the subway in the near future and now East New York and Brownsville will get extra bus service via the Vaccine shuttle. This could work during the late night hours.

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43 minutes ago, Lawrence St said:

My god, Kingsbridges old XD60 that are running on the B1 are in such awful shape, how are buses even allowed to get like this in the first place?

Hopefully Ulmer Park could do some big TLC on those.. Those artics are approaching 10 years old.  You may say the same with the ones from Grand Avenue.. They all need a repaint at the least, and since the MTA is pretty poor right now don't expect any artic orders coming down the pike..

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46 minutes ago, Future ENY OP said:

Hopefully Ulmer Park could do some big TLC on those.. Those artics are approaching 10 years old.  You may say the same with the ones from Grand Avenue.. They all need a repaint at the least, and since the MTA is pretty poor right now don't expect any artic orders coming down the pike..

It's Ulmer Park. Don't expect much more than what Kingsbridge offers.

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