BUS - Random Thoughts Thread

[Calvin]

Happened 2 weeks ago, on the Q17 around 9:30 PM: there was a passenger on board but turns out as a gunman because the bus operator asked why he didn’t pay his fare. By that, he showed a gun to the operator as a threat before getting off the bus. At that time, the bus was not in motion at the stop of Kissena Blvd and Horace Harding Expressway. Nowadays, be careful who you communicate. 

 

https://nypost.com/2023/01/08/i-should-kill-you-gunman-threatens-mta-bus-driver-who-demanded-he-pay/amp/

Edited January 8, 2023 by Calvin

[NewFlyer 230]

2 hours ago, Calvin said:

Happened 2 weeks ago, on the Q17 around 9:30 PM: there was a passenger on board but turns out as a gunman because the bus operator asked why he didn’t pay his fare. By that, he showed a gun to the operator as a threat before getting off the bus. At that time, the bus was not in motion at the stop of Kissena Blvd and Horace Harding Expressway. Nowadays, be careful who you communicate. 

 

https://nypost.com/2023/01/08/i-should-kill-you-gunman-threatens-mta-bus-driver-who-demanded-he-pay/amp/

The Q17 is one of my home routes and this happened so close to where I live. I was on the Q110 the other day and the bus driver was trying to call out to a young lady who didn’t pay the fare and she pretended not to hear him. I honestly don’t think farebeating will ever get curbed in NYC because it’s a cultural problem and certain groups of people get a free pass from elected officials to be disorderly and practice deviant behavior. I saw a dude on the Q2 one time ask the driver if he could get a ride just for him to get off a few stops later to walk right into a smoke shop. This type of behavior is allowed and if people saw that there were real consequences to this type of behavior they wouldn’t do it. You run the risk of losing your life by telling a person to pay the fare and that’s why a lot of drivers don’t say a word to people. They just move the bus and keep it pushing, it’s honestly not worth it to say anything. 

[Princelex]

On 1/7/2023 at 6:03 PM, Kingsbridgeviewer382 said:

Not sure why you thought that. The Bx23 got more priority when the Q50 was cut from Co-Op City during off-peak hours and weekends during the Bronx Redesign implementation last year.

More priority where? The Bx23 is worse now than it’s ever been. 

[Princelex]

On 1/7/2023 at 6:14 PM, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

What does more priority mean exactly? From the people that use the Bx23, they seem to complain a lot about scheduled buses not showing up.

It’s true. They increased the amount of buses during rush hour but they never increased it outside of it. The buses are more crowded than I’ve ever seen it since it became the Bx23. The Q50 is desperately needed back into Co-op City past rush hour. Hell make that the main bus to Pelham Bay instead of the Bx23. It’s gotten really bad now.

[Princelex]

On 1/8/2023 at 12:02 PM, B35 via Church said:

His point still stands.

There's truth to it, but I've always been of the belief that those complaints were/are being made for no other reason than those riders wanting the old QBx1 back....

I can’t speak for the others but as one who rode the QBx1 back in the day, I’m not looking for that route to return, I just want better service. I would be happy to get back the service that was there before June 2022. There was and still is a lot of potential with the Q50 and even the Bx23 that the MTA isn’t tapping into and we are suffering because of it. It stinks.

[Kingsbridgeviewer382]

28 minutes ago, Princelex said:

More priority where? The Bx23 is worse now than it’s ever been. 

Guess you didn’t see the follow-up response I put after someone else said the same thing.

[josephnyy42]

I drive out of Gun Hill. I was wondering when all the 1200s retire, will Quill give them their 5400s and 5500s LFSAs? If so, what will replace Quill's LFSAs? More XE60s?

[Lawrence St]

33 minutes ago, josephnyy42 said:

I drive out of Gun Hill. I was wondering when all the 1200s retire, will Quill give them their 5400s and 5500s LFSAs? If so, what will replace Quill's LFSAs? More XE60s?

They still haven't gotten rid of the 1200's!?! My god, they look like they're about to fall apart.

[Princelex]

17 hours ago, Kingsbridgeviewer382 said:

Guess you didn’t see the follow-up response I put after someone else said the same thing.

No not until I made my post. The MTA made it all sound like they were doing something big to help the community when it was obvious they were full of crap. I hate how they lie to people like this when it comes to service. I hope changed come to the Bx23 & Q50 but I won’t hold my breath.

[Princelex]

34 minutes ago, josephnyy42 said:

I drive out of Gun Hill. I was wondering when all the 1200s retire, will Quill give them their 5400s and 5500s LFSAs? If so, what will replace Quill's LFSAs? More XE60s?

It’s past 12 years since they first got them so I’m wondering if there will be an order placed to replace them this year. They still ride well but they look like they’ve been in a 12-round TKO fight at MSG. 

[Kingsbridgeviewer382]

2 hours ago, josephnyy42 said:

I drive out of Gun Hill. I was wondering when all the 1200s retire, will Quill give them their 5400s and 5500s LFSAs? If so, what will replace Quill's LFSAs? More XE60s?

There hasn’t been an official order placed as of yet for new articulated buses so its going to be a while before we see a hint of what’s replacing the 1200s at Gun Hill and Kingsbridge.

[Calvin]

 On the Bx18, there are two loops as A in Undercliff and B in Sedgwick. I see that sometimes, the Bx18A gets turned into the Bx18B at 170 St/Grand Concourse. 

 

Edited January 11, 2023 by Calvin

[lornaevo]

3 hours ago, Calvin said:

 On the Bx18, there are two loops as A in Undercliff and B in Sedgwick. I see that sometimes, the Bx18A gets turned into the Bx18B at 170 St/Grand Concourse. 

 

The GCC and 170 is the 1st and last stop, so that’s where we change loops. 

[RestrictOnTheHanger]

Got this message while logging on to wifi on bus 1357

Please note that free public Wi-Fi on board buses will be discontinued effective mid-January 2023 due to low usage. We apologize for any inconvenience.
 

[Q43LTD]

I thought the whole point of these redesigns was to get rid of A and B designations. 

[NBTA]

On 1/10/2023 at 8:47 PM, Lawrence St said:

They still haven't gotten rid of the 1200's!?! My god, they look like they're about to fall apart.

Until you see a new artic order hit manhattan (which means either the 59/52/5300s or the 54/5500s are moving), you won’t see them go for a couple more years.

Edited January 12, 2023 by NBTA

[EastFlatbushLarry]

10 hours ago, Q43LTD said:

I thought the whole point of these redesigns was to get rid of A and B designations. 

true. yet it kinda makes logical sense to have 'A' & 'B' designations for a loop route, as opposed to wasting a different route number designation

[josephnyy42]

On 1/10/2023 at 8:47 PM, Lawrence St said:

They still haven't gotten rid of the 1200's!?! My god, they look like they're about to fall apart.

Yep I still see several of them everyday. I remember when I first boarded one on 2010 after school. Now I'm actually driving them lol

[Lawrence St]

Unpopular opinion: reject transfers being done from different bus routes operating to the same terminal. 

[Kingsbridgeviewer382]

11 minutes ago, Lawrence St said:

Unpopular opinion: reject transfers being done from different bus routes operating to the same terminal. 

That’s going to be a huge inconvenience to local riders that need buses that run along certain corridors. Just because a lot of buses end in the same terminal doesn’t mean that they all run along the same roads, so this is just going to be a pain in the ass for riders (both body able and disabled) that need a certain stop or area that another route with the same destination doesn’t cover. The current limitation of rejecting a transfer from two buses on the same route is enough, so why do you suggest adding a new limitation that may complicate things for some riders?

[checkmatechamp13]

1 hour ago, Lawrence St said:

Unpopular opinion: reject transfers being done from different bus routes operating to the same terminal. 

That makes no sense. You'd be rejecting anything out of major transfer points like Newark Penn, Journal Square, Hackensack, Paterson, etc

[Lawrence St]

1 hour ago, Kingsbridgeviewer382 said:

That’s going to be a huge inconvenience to local riders that need buses that run along certain corridors. Just because a lot of buses end in the same terminal doesn’t mean that they all run along the same roads, so this is just going to be a pain in the ass for riders (both body able and disabled) that need a certain stop or area that another route with the same destination doesn’t cover. The current limitation of rejecting a transfer from two buses on the same route is enough, so why do you suggest adding a new limitation that may complicate things for some riders?

Let me rephrase, prevent transferring between overlapping sections of bus routes in the opposite direction.

For example, taking the BxM1 from Riverdale to 125th St and then taking the BxM2 back as a transfer to Riverdale. (I would use a local example but I can’t think of one off the top of my head).

[Kingsbridgeviewer382]

6 minutes ago, Lawrence St said:

Let me rephrase, prevent transferring between overlapping sections of bus routes in the opposite direction.

For example, taking the BxM1 from Riverdale to 125th St and then taking the BxM2 back as a transfer to Riverdale. (I would use a local example but I can’t think of one off the top of my head).

Then I don't know who benefits from that besides the MTA themselves. Its a good option to have for riders that may need it in different scenarios (though in this case, I don't know who actually uses that transfer scenario without running down the 2-hour transfer time. The BxM1 drops off at Park Ave then Lexington, while the BxM2 doesn't have a stop north of Madison-99th St).

Edited January 14, 2023 by Kingsbridgeviewer382

[Via Garibaldi 8]

2 minutes ago, Kingsbridgeviewer382 said:

Then I don't know who benefits from that besides the MTA themselves. Its a good option to have for riders that may need it in different scenarios (though in this case, I don't know who actually uses that transfer scenario without running down the 2-hour transfer time. The BxM1 drops off at Park Ave, while the BxM2 doesn't have a stop north of Madison-99th St).

The BxM1 doesn't stop anywhere on Park Av. The first stop is Lex & 96th and Northbound it runs via 3rd Av. I agree though... There are many trips where people get a free transfer currently that encourage people to use the system.  I can think of subway to local bus trips on one fare that people do for example because they are on limited incomes.  Either way it's a stupid idea.  

8 minutes ago, Lawrence St said:

Let me rephrase, prevent transferring between overlapping sections of bus routes in the opposite direction.

For example, taking the BxM1 from Riverdale to 125th St and then taking the BxM2 back as a transfer to Riverdale. (I would use a local example but I can’t think of one off the top of my head).

Neither of the lines you mentioned stop at 125th though (not even close), so that's a terrible example. You're making up random **** just because. The BxM1 stops at 96th & Lex Southbound & the BxM2 stops at 98th & Madison Northbound.   What you're saying is you want to make it more expensive for people who use public transportation.  Maybe they shouldn't allow people like yourself to have a reduced fare card then. You should pay the full fare. You do realize that you benefit greatly from receiving a heavily reduced fare. 

 

Edited January 14, 2023 by Via Garibaldi 8

[Kingsbridgeviewer382]

10 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

The BxM1 doesn't stop anywhere on Park Av. The first stop is Lex & 96th and Northbound it runs via 3rd Av. I agree though... There are many trips where people get a free transfer currently that encourage people to use the system.  I can think of subway to local bus trips on one fare that people do for example because they are on limited incomes.  Either way it's a stupid idea.  

 

Man, thanks for the correction. And to think I was actually looking at the BxM2 stop list before posting while ignoring the 1.