BUS - Random Thoughts Thread

[Via Garibaldi 8]

2 hours ago, Lawrence St said:

Except you missed my point. What’s the point of bus lanes if buses can’t use them?

I didn't miss anything. I'm simply clarified that nothing illegal took place because some people assume that because the lanes say "BUSES ONLY" that means that only buses can use them. That is generally the case with some exceptions.  Unfortunately this is the decision that the DOT made on 5th Av. A few years ago when I met with the DOT and the  we discussed the idea of 5th Av being not only a double bus lane, but also with no right-hand turns. Ultimately a balance has to be found. No right-hand turns sounds great because in theory it should mean fewer obstructions for the buses, but those vehicles have to go somewhere and if they can't turn off certain streets that means congestion elsewhere and the question is how much and how big of an impact would it be?

The DOT at this time does not favor no right-hand turns. It's something the  pushed for, even if it was only during rush hours and something I agreed with as well, but the DOT has good reasons why it hasn't agreed to do that. It could mean that Lexington, 7th, 2nd and other Southbound corridors could see excessive congestion and slower bus service, which would not be fair to those commuters.

Generally speaking, the bus lanes on 5th move well and bus operators can certainly use the other regular lanes if there is congestion in the bus lanes. On Saturday, there usually isn't that much traffic this time of year as say during the summer months, at least not yet anyway.

  

2 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

NYC is subway-centric, so the best you're gonna get are those wraps on the subway trains for the Yankees & the Mets.....

Although petty, one reason I've always thought that they don't have those types of signage on the buses, is due to that being more of a small market-ish type thing.... As was mentioned by other posters, there's simply too many cumulative/total professional teams in this city,,,,

 

On 10/11/2022 at 9:04 PM, trainfan22 said:

NYC has two sports teams for every sport, I guess that's why they don't bother with such a thing.

 

Let's say the Yankees and Mets meet in World Series or the Knicks and Nets play eachother in a playoff series, then what?

 

 

In general the MTA only does special things for baseball, wraps, vintage trains runs, etc. Both Kay and Gary got to do automated announcements in the subway but nothing from Breen or Clyde even though they just as legendary.

 

On 10/11/2022 at 7:35 PM, FLX9304 said:

? How come the  buses does not display root for sports teams (Yankees, Mets, Jets, Giants, Rangers, Knicks & Nets) like other cities that many of their vehicles display or root for sports teams on their destination signs? 

The other answer not mentioned is ad revenue.  I recall having a discussion with the former Chief Customer Officer Sarah Meyer a while back. I forget why, but the topic came up about the display screens in the subway stations and why they cycle the way that they do and trying to find a balance between running ads and displaying real-time info.  They need all of the revenue they can get and so whenever someone is willing to pay for ad space, that takes precedence. If there was serious money to get from having such wraps, I'm sure they would be open to it, but to advertise that without the  getting revenue in return for what is essentially prime ad space doesn't make fiscal sense.

Now of course they may run special campaigns here and there, but those don't usually last long-term.

2 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

You say anymore, but to me, bus lanes in this city, by far & large, has always been window dressing.... Bus lanes should've been more widespread in this city long before the advent/propping up of SBS.... I remember when they took a lane of traffic away from Utica av to paint the ones (largely) for the benefit of SBS..... Nowadays along Utica, they make for great parking lanes..... smh....

There is a plan in place being rolled out to have automatic enforcement via cameras. There are already some on some bus lines, but it is going to be expanded. It's unclear yet if that means more on the buses or what.  I'm sure some drivers are already receiving them. The problem is particularly with commercial vehicles is they just eat those costs as part of doing business.  The cost would have to be risen considerably and even if it was, it just gets passed down to the customer anyway.

 

Edited October 16, 2022 by Via Garibaldi 8

[FLX9304]

14 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

NYC is subway-centric, so the best you're gonna get are those wraps on the subway trains for the Yankees & the Mets.....

Although petty, one reason I've always thought that they don't have those types of signage on the buses, is due to that being more of a small market-ish type thing.... As was mentioned by other posters, there's simply too many cumulative/total professional teams in this city,,,,

They should let the respective depots that has a professional sports teams to say who they should root for. 
 

SEPTA has that optional unless one team is in the championship series, the. That champion is displayed on all vehicles. 

[Around the Horn]

On 10/16/2022 at 9:35 AM, FLX9304 said:

SEPTA has that optional unless one team is in the championship series, the. That champion is displayed on all vehicles. 

Dispatch will tell you when to put up those PR codes over the radio/Clever Devices

[Lawrence St]

Why are NYCT & MTA Bus Veichles split in different categories when tracking? Do they use different tracking systems or something? 

[trainfan22]

26 minutes ago, Lawrence St said:

Why are NYCT & MTA Bus Veichles split in different categories when tracking? Do they use different tracking systems or something? 

What app are you using? In the Transit Tracker app NYCT and MTA Bus track the same. I use it regularly to track the B42 and B103 (MTA Bus) .

[Lawrence St]

48 minutes ago, trainfan22 said:

What app are you using? In the Transit Tracker app NYCT and MTA Bus track the same. I use it regularly to track the B42 and B103 (MTA Bus) .

I looked into the internal feed and it seems they're split. I can't track NYCT buses using the MTA Bus prompt and vice versa.

[RSMG106]

Today was completely frustrating. I was waiting for the M15 Local to South Ferry since 7:30AM, and the bus finally came at 7:57AM. According to one passenger that talked to me, she said that she was waiting for the bus as well, and was happening every day. Usually, the M15 would show up between 7:30-7:35AM at the stop, but now I've noticed that the bus arrives after 7:35AM, usually 5-10 minutes late. I don't know whether it's the B/O's that don't care about the schedule, or that there was a shortage (I checked, and there was no shortage). I submitted my complaint about this issue.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

9 minutes ago, RSMG106 said:

Today was completely frustrating. I was waiting for the M15 Local to South Ferry since 7:30AM, and the bus finally came at 7:57AM. According to one passenger that talked to me, she said that she was waiting for the bus as well, and was happening every day. Usually, the M15 would show up between 7:30-7:35AM at the stop, but now I've noticed that the bus arrives after 7:35AM, usually 5-10 minutes late. I don't know whether it's the B/O's that don't care about the schedule, or that there was a shortage (I checked, and there was no shortage). I submitted my complaint about this issue.

How do you know that there isn't a shortage? Unlike with the express, the  generally has not been posting cancellations on the local bus side. I've insisted that they post the express cancellations and generally they do, with the exception of Staten Island since there is so much service and so few people available. I know for a fact it has happened because I have called myself transferring from the express to a local line in Manhattan and not getting a bus and either grabbing an Uber or just walking if it wasn't a long distance. Bus service has really turned into garbage in this City in general.

[RSMG106]

2 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

How do you know that there isn't a shortage? Unlike with the express, the  generally has not been posting cancellations on the local bus side. I've insisted that they post the express cancellations and generally they do, with the exception of Staten Island since there is so much service and so few people available. I know for a fact it has happened because I have called myself transferring from the express to a local line in Manhattan and not getting a bus and either grabbing an Uber or just walking if it wasn't a long distance. Bus service has really turned into garbage in this City in general.

I checked the website, and they didn't post anything about waiting longer for a bus.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

20 minutes ago, RSMG106 said:

I checked the website, and they didn't post anything about waiting longer for a bus.

Doesn't mean anything. They usually don't for the local lines, since no one makes a stink about it. Months back I would try to get the M34 and nothing would come. This happened numerous times. No alert whatsoever. A line like that you check the schedule for because it's already infrequent. I've occasionally taken the M15 here and there too. Runs poorly at times, with long waits that I'm sure is due in part to missing trips. I feel for the people that have no choice or need the service for work.

Edited October 19, 2022 by Via Garibaldi 8

[Calvin]

Just witnessed onboard the  Shuttle bus a group of teenagers outside with egg cartons and milk being thrown at random cars. Meanwhile, a driver on the car stopped and got a picture/video of them to NYPD close by. Guess Halloween is coming close to them (at that time, the Shuttle bus I was on drove by slowly to Sheepshead Bay station)

[B35 via Church]

11 hours ago, Calvin said:

Just witnessed onboard the  Shuttle bus a group of teenagers outside with egg cartons and milk being thrown at random cars. Meanwhile, a driver on the car stopped and got a picture/video of them to NYPD close by. Guess Halloween is coming close to them (at that time, the Shuttle bus I was on drove by slowly to Sheepshead Bay station)

As frail as these teens tend to be nowadays, they should be considering eating those god damn eggs & drinking that f***in milk.

Always thought that egg throwing, milk pouring, and that toilet paper BS was corny asf.....

[Missabassie]

5 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

As frail as these teens tend to be nowadays, they should be considering eating those god damn eggs & drinking that f***in milk.

Always thought that egg throwing, milk pouring, and that toilet paper BS was corny asf.....

That's what I'm sayin....  (all these wispy trap/mumblerappers tryna act gangsta)

[Lawrence St]

@Via Garibaldi 8 can you ask your MTA contacts what a “NEGATIVELIST” error on the farebox means when using a metro card. Thanks

[Via Garibaldi 8]

4 minutes ago, Lawrence St said:

@Via Garibaldi 8 can you ask your MTA contacts what a “NEGATIVELIST” error on the farebox means when using a metro card. Thanks

I've never seen it before to be honest.  When did it happen? If one of the drivers here doesn't know, then it may be more involved. For such tech issues, I need the specifics to pass along and then it can be researched. I had a few BusTime issues resolved recently that were bugs.  Customer Service couldn't resolve it on their own, so it took the tech folks some time to fix it.

[Lawrence St]

1 hour ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

I've never seen it before to be honest.  When did it happen? If one of the drivers here doesn't know, then it may be more involved. For such tech issues, I need the specifics to pass along and then it can be researched. I had a few BusTime issues resolved recently that were bugs.  Customer Service couldn't resolve it on their own, so it took the tech folks some time to fix it.

It happens when I dip my metro card in randomly. One driver told me my card was “black listed”, everyone else told me on their screen it says NEGATIVE LIST. Not sure what’s going on with that.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

24 minutes ago, Lawrence St said:

It happens when I dip my metro card in randomly. One driver told me my card was “black listed”, everyone else told me on their screen it says NEGATIVE LIST. Not sure what’s going on with that.

What kind of card is it? Pay per ride? Pass? What happens after it says that?

[Lawrence St]

3 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

What kind of card is it? Pay per ride? Pass? What happens after it says that?

Reduced Fare Metrocard 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

5 hours ago, Lawrence St said:

Reduced Fare Metrocard 

Obviously a bug and likely related to the reduced fare card specifically. You should try to swipe it at a subway station and see what happens. I will ask if other reduced fare users have had such messages.

[trainfan22]

12 hours ago, Lawrence St said:

Reduced Fare Metrocard 

How do you have a reduced fare metrocard when you're not a senior and have a job? Only non senior ppl who have reduced fare cards are ppl on SSI or disabled. 

 

 

You can work part time on SSI and still receive the reduced fare card. But you can't get a reduced fare card while being young with a full time job AFAIK....

 

No wonder they "blacklisted" your card.

[Lawrence St]

5 minutes ago, trainfan22 said:

How do you have a reduced fare metrocard when you're not a senior and have a job? Only non senior ppl who have reduced fare cards are ppl on SSI or disabled. 

 

 

You can work part time on SSI and still receive the reduced fare card. But you can't get a reduced fare card while being young with a full time job AFAIK....

 

No wonder they "blacklisted" your card.

Who said I was the one using it? Sometimes we ask questions for others.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

20 minutes ago, trainfan22 said:

How do you have a reduced fare metrocard when you're not a senior and have a job? Only non senior ppl who have reduced fare cards are ppl on SSI or disabled. 

 

 

You can work part time on SSI and still receive the reduced fare card. But you can't get a reduced fare card while being young with a full time job AFAIK....

 

No wonder they "blacklisted" your card.

lol Reduced fare Metrocards are NOT just for seniors, disabled or people on SSI.  If you fall under the income threshold to qualify for the Fair Fares Program, you can also qualify for a reduced fare Metrocard. Funny how many assumptions you are making.

[trainfan22]

46 minutes ago, Lawrence St said:

Who said I was the one using it? Sometimes we ask questions for others.

You said "When I dip my metrocard" the driver told me "MY card" so I assume you was talking about yourself. 

29 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

lol Reduced fare Metrocards are NOT just for seniors, disabled or people on SSI.  If you fall under the income threshold to qualify for the Fair Fares Program, you can also qualify for a reduced fare Metrocard. Funny how many assumptions you are making.

I know about the fair fares program, I thought OP was talking about himself and he makes it well known on here what his employment is so I seriously doubt hes qualified for some fair fares program.

Edited October 24, 2022 by trainfan22

[Via Garibaldi 8]

2 minutes ago, trainfan22 said:

You said "When I dip my metrocard" so I assume you was talking about yourself. 

I know about the fair fares program, I thought OP was talking about himself and he makes it well known on here what his employment is.

True... lol

[Lawrence St]

4 minutes ago, trainfan22 said:

You said "When I dip my metrocard" the driver told me "MY card" so I assume you was talking about yourself. 

I know about the fair fares program, I thought OP was talking about himself and he makes it well known on here what his employment is so I seriously doubt hes qualified for some fair fares program.

News flash, even when I dip my own regular MetroCard in there it sometimes gives me that same error. So stop assuming things like your a fare enforcer.