BUS - Random Thoughts Thread

[SoSpectacular]

5 hours ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

Open Streets should be banned on corridors where there's bus routes. (But honestly, most of the people pushing for these things don't even know where the bus routes run...one was pushing for a two-way bike lane on Narrows Road North and I asked what about the buses along Narrows Road North that would get caught in traffic? She responded "There's bus routes on Narrows Road North?")

They get so caught up in their agenda of being anti-car, and everyone riding bicycles that they forget about anything else...They got the speed limit on Hylan Blvd lowered to 30 mph, but there's still no sidewalk on the area by Arbutus Woods Park or Blue Heron Park (and barely one by Wolfe's Pond Park).

In the very beginning during the pandemic that's what they mostly did, avoided streets that buses came through. Then when that little pilot program ended some folks pushed for their return and they expanded the scope on which streets could be closed off to vehicular traffic. That was last year during the summer. I worked the B68 and had my weekend runs interlined with the B69 and I hated that detour around Vanderbilt which was closed off between Grand Army Plaza and Atlantic Avenue, and everyone had to either use Flatbush or Washington Ave instead which was pretty bad. Even worse were the confused customers waiting for the B45 because most people don't know to look at their phones for information concerning schedule/route changes and those who probably wonder where the bus has gone seeing that the street they usually catch it on is closed.

I've largely avoided the routes since leaving the B63 that have these ridiculous detours simply for the fact that you end up running ahead of schedule due to missing all those stops and/or having nowhere to really pull the bus over to the side in some cases (like 4th Ave) and hoping some folks realize that the bus makes corresponding stops along the detour route...

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

31 minutes ago, SoSpectacular said:

I've largely avoided the routes since leaving the B63 that have these ridiculous detours simply for the fact that you end up running ahead of schedule due to missing all those stops and/or having nowhere to really pull the bus over to the side in some cases (like 4th Ave) and hoping some folks realize that the bus makes corresponding stops along the detour route...

The problem is that while that's true, B/Os tend to do their own thing. I've been on buses multiple times, where they flat out refuse to make any stop along the detour. In one particular egregious one, the M104 I was on (towards Times Square) not only detoured south of 53rd Street (and didn't run on its detour), but essentially ran non-stop to 34th Street and 11th Ave. I was thinking that while it was odd he wasn't talking 9th for whatever reason, he would take 11th. But then dude didn't turn onto 42nd Street, so I had no idea where the bus was going. Street. There was this lady that was pissed off once the bus turned off 7th Ave because she learned that the bus wasn't gonna make any stops, but the B/O didn't budge...until he got to 9th Ave. 

I'm not saying every B/O does that, but I definitely understand why people wouldn't bother with catching a bus on a detour (personally, I wouldn't either). Hence the relatively fast travel time between two points. 

Edited September 7, 2021 by BM5 via Woodhaven

[B35 via Church]

1 hour ago, SoSpectacular said:

...and hoping some folks realize that the bus makes corresponding stops along the detour route...

Fat chance..... The issue is that most passengers don't know a] that's the rule, or b] what that really means.... This is why you get pax. ringing/pressing the bell, thinking that the b/o will stop anywhere along a detoured route.... The attitude is that, since the bus is off course, the passenger should be let off *wherever*, due to the inconvenience..... Seen more than my fair share of back & forth's b/w passenger & b/o on some detoured bus....

33 minutes ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

The problem is that while that's true, B/Os tend to do their own thing. I've been on buses multiple times, where they flat out refuse to make any stop along the detour. In one particular egregious one, the M104 I was on (towards Times Square) not only detoured south of 53rd Street (and didn't run on its detour), but essentially ran non-stop to 34th Street and 11th Ave. I was thinking that while it was odd he wasn't talking 9th for whatever reason, he would take 11th. But then dude didn't turn onto 42nd Street, so I had no idea where the bus was going. Street. There was this lady that was pissed off once the bus turned off 7th Ave because she learned that the bus wasn't gonna make any stops, but the B/O didn't budge...until he got to 9th Ave. 

I'm not saying every B/O does that, but I definitely understand why people wouldn't bother with catching a bus on a detour (personally, I wouldn't either). Hence the relatively fast travel time between two points. 

This is part of the reason why what I just mentioned above is the case also... I've been on buses where what you mention has happened, and I've been on buses where you do have b/o's that let someone off pretty much wherever along the detoured route (with safety in mind, of course) - as long as the passenger is courteous about asking where the bus stops at.... I'd say the latter happens much more often than the former....

Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever boarded a detoured bus along the detoured route... I'm always on the bus before (or after) the detour... Not so much because I find it to be a hassle, but b/c the situation seldom ever presented itself (to where I needed a bus along the detoured route).....

Edited September 7, 2021 by B35 via Church

[Q43LTD]

4 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

Fat chance..... The issue is that most passengers don't know a] that's the rule, or b] what that really means.... This is why you get pax. ringing/pressing the bell, thinking that the b/o will stop anywhere along a detoured route.... The attitude is that, since the bus is off course, the passenger should be let off *wherever*, due to the inconvenience..... Seen more than my fair share of back & forth's b/w passenger & b/o on some detoured bus....

This is part of the reason why what I just mentioned above is the case also... I've been on buses where what you mention has happened, and I've been on buses where you do have b/o's that let someone off pretty much wherever along the detoured route (with safety in mind, of course) - as long as the passenger is courteous about asking where the bus stops at.... I'd say the latter happens much more often than the former....

Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever boarded a detoured bus along the detoured route... I'm always on the bus before (or after) the detour... Not so much because I find it to be a hassle, but b/c the situation seldom ever presented itself (to where I needed a bus along the detoured route).....

In 2014, I got lucky. I was taking my daughter to the Children's Museum.  I got off the at Rockefeller Center thinking we're getting an uptown M7. Low and behold, it was running on 8 due to a street fair and the driver let us on. Maybe I should have done my research more and took the to 50. In 2009, I was let off a detoured then M16 at Lexington and 28.

[NBTA]

I had a pretty common detour myself, one of those “Bx12 via Kingsbridge” detours (Basically, it would go up Broadway to 225th, then follow the 9 to Fordham Plaza, some buses didn’t make stops at all, while some did).

[paulrivera]

9 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

Fat chance..... The issue is that most passengers don't know a] that's the rule, or b] what that really means....

Yea, what does corresponding stops mean? I’ve been riding buses all my life and I literally have no clue.

[XcelsiorBoii4888]

25 minutes ago, paulrivera said:

Yea, what does corresponding stops mean? I’ve been riding buses all my life and I literally have no clue.

Corresponding just means making the same cross street stops but on the parallel street the bus is detoured on. For example, the Staten Island express buses that run on 6th Ave up to Central Park. They stop at

6 Av/23 St

6 Av/34 St

6 Av/42 St

sometimes they have buses run VIA 8th Ave to get uptown to Central Park if 6th Ave is blocked due to parades or whatever, the bus would stop at the following corresponding stops along 8th Ave; 

8 Av/23 St

8 Av/34 St

8 Av/42 St

 

[Train92]

For anyone who's keeping track of Bustime glitches, 7835 is tracking as 8085. Very surprised when I saw it turning onto Linden a couple of minutes ago

[MTAbus677]

On 9/6/2021 at 3:07 PM, Transit Enthusiast said:

If I'm not mistaken, today is the last day that Q22 and Q35 buses serve Jacob Riis Park (Labor Day).

Yes. Saw one Q22 and 35 yesterday during me and mother's beach day.

[paulrivera]

11 hours ago, NBTA said:

I had a pretty common detour myself, one of those “Bx12 via Kingsbridge” detours (Basically, it would go up Broadway to 225th, then follow the 9 to Fordham Plaza, some buses didn’t make stops at all, while some did).

Before COVID, they'd deadhead a lot of late running Bx12's that way from Inwood.

One time something happened on the bridge and the 12's detoured more or less the same way from Inwood, but turned right on Bailey in order to get to Sedgwick and joined Fordham from there. Going to Inwood, the buses were stopping at 225th/Broadway for people that needed to take the  train (corresponding to 207th/10th, but it was dropoff only.)

[QM1to6Ave]

10 hours ago, XcelsiorBoii4888 said:

Corresponding just means making the same cross street stops but on the parallel street the bus is detoured on. For example, the Staten Island express buses that run on 6th Ave up to Central Park. They stop at

6 Av/23 St

6 Av/34 St

6 Av/42 St

sometimes they have buses run VIA 8th Ave to get uptown to Central Park if 6th Ave is blocked due to parades or whatever, the bus would stop at the following corresponding stops along 8th Ave; 

8 Av/23 St

8 Av/34 St

8 Av/42 St

 

The issue I've run into with express buses is that the "corresponding stop" could be anywhere on the block (e.g., Madison and 45th instead of 6th and 45th), which can be a pretty long block, so you have to wave your arms like crazy to make sure the BO sees you and knows you wsnt his bus. Plus, since the trackers don't work on those detours, you don't even know when the bus is going to come. I avoid trying to catch buses on detours for this reason. 

[RestrictOnTheHanger]

Not sure if this was mentioned elsewhere

 

[Iron Valiant]

39 minutes ago, RestrictOnTheHanger said:

Not sure if this was mentioned elsewhere

 

I wonder if Castleton Depot will receive an additional 10 buses from the option they're supposed to receive.

[Lawrence St]

47 minutes ago, RestrictOnTheHanger said:

Not sure if this was mentioned elsewhere

 

Destroyed? That's being a little excessive...

[trainfan22]

In regards to that moves/transfers thread, its crazy how some fanners notice when random NG hybrids haven't ran for an extended period of time. NG fleet is like what, 800+ buses citywide? How do yall notice random buses being OOS for an extended period of time, especially when they haven't been removed from rosters?

 

 

I really liked the RTS when they was around and even I wouldn't notice if an random unit was out for an extended period, yall Gen Z fanners have a new level of passion.

[Iron Valiant]

2 minutes ago, trainfan22 said:

In regards to that moves/transfers thread, its crazy how some fanners notice when random NG hybrids haven't ran for an extended period of time. NG fleet is like what, 800+ buses citywide? How do yall notice random buses being OOS for an extended period of time, especially when they haven't been removed from rosters?

 

 

I really liked the RTS when they was around and even I wouldn't notice if an random unit was out for an extended period, yall Gen Z fanners have a new level of passion.

Well said.

[Future ENY OP]

Just now, trainfan22 said:

In regards to that moves/transfers thread, its crazy how some fanners notice when random NG hybrids haven't ran for an extended period of time. NG fleet is like what, 800+ buses citywide? How do yall notice random buses being OOS for an extended period of time, especially when they haven't been removed from rosters?

 

 

I really liked the RTS when they was around and even I wouldn't notice if an random unit was out for an extended period, yall Gen Z fanners have a new level of passion.

It's so crazy if you ask me. It's a new level of passion for these Gen Z fanners. 

I come from the era when you had to visually see everything. A bus you saw in Manhattan last week ends up in Brooklyn or The Bronx the following week.  That's how weird and interesting the bus swaps were.

 

[Kingsbridgeviewer382]

7 minutes ago, trainfan22 said:

In regards to that moves/transfers thread, its crazy how some fanners notice when random NG hybrids haven't ran for an extended period of time. NG fleet is like what, 800+ buses citywide? How do yall notice random buses being OOS for an extended period of time, especially when they haven't been removed from rosters?

 

 

I really liked the RTS when they was around and even I wouldn't notice if an random unit was out for an extended period, yall Gen Z fanners have a new level of passion.

I'm guessing some of them rely on checking the bus tracking sites like Transee or just make assumptions based on if they were able to track the unit at all in the time period. This is just an assumption so I could be way off track with this.

[lornaevo]

I see quite a few Q66 stops have been discontinued. Anyone have an idea of what’s going on? 

[TomaszSBklyn]

12 hours ago, Kingsbridgeviewer382 said:

I'm guessing some of them rely on checking the bus tracking sites like Transee or just make assumptions based on if they were able to track the unit at all in the time period. This is just an assumption so I could be way off track with this.

Good point. I rely on Transsee and have seen a few buses not moving for long weeks despite no claims of retirement or being OOS. Then Transsee showed activity of these units, but it is often the case that the map Transsee show does not match the description. However, I am not aware of any other tool available to regular fanners not in any way affiliated with the MTA. It there anything else? I need a tool which retrieves information based on bus number, not a route or stop number.

[1train2255railfan]

6 minutes ago, TomaszSBklyn said:

Good point. I rely on Transsee and have seen a few buses not moving for long weeks despite no claims of retirement or being OOS. Then Transsee showed activity of these units, but it is often the case that the map Transsee show does not match the description. However, I am not aware of any other tool available to regular fanners not in any way affiliated with the MTA. It there anything else? I need a tool which retrieves information based on bus number, not a route or stop number.

There appears to be another unnamed website which can track the locations of buses that are not on a specific route. 

[C40LF]

9 hours ago, TomaszSBklyn said:

Good point. I rely on Transsee and have seen a few buses not moving for long weeks despite no claims of retirement or being OOS. Then Transsee showed activity of these units, but it is often the case that the map Transsee show does not match the description. However, I am not aware of any other tool available to regular fanners not in any way affiliated with the MTA. It there anything else? I need a tool which retrieves information based on bus number, not a route or stop number.

Yes, There is indeed a private app that can track buses if they are OOS. It shows their exact location and stuff. 

I do have the app but sadly, it's private and I am not allowed to give it out. Somewhere around the horn I do hope it becomes public so other busfan's can get access. 

[XcelsiorBoii4888]

23 hours ago, RestrictOnTheHanger said:

Not sure if this was mentioned elsewhere

 

Bruh 30 buses is A LOT. That's so f**ked up. That's the MTA fault Castleton BEEN prone to flooding idk why it takes such a loss for shit to get fixed. 

[trainfan22]

I wonder between the three CMF and outside vendors, can some of those buses be salvaged. This is not the first time SI had bus problems I  relation to water, decades ago in some old depot that no longer exists some buses fell into NY harbor 😄 I remember seeing a subchat almanac about it.

 

EDIT: Found an article about it

 

https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/19/nyregion/the-city-buses-in-harbor-being-retrieved.html

Edited September 9, 2021 by trainfan22

[EastFlatbushLarry]

On 9/7/2021 at 11:09 PM, RestrictOnTheHanger said:

Not sure if this was mentioned elsewhere

 

not for nothing, and I'm not calling myself or the author of the tweet an expert, but if anyone has ever owned a vehicle of any kind, you know for a fact that all it takes is driving thru a couple of inches of water to completely destroy an engine or transmission. so, if these 30 Castleton units (letalone ANY MTA buses) were in fact driven thru any amount of rain water (flooding), it would be safe to assume that the units in question are finished... as in totally destroyed. it's not worth any time or money to repair flooded vehicles.