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BUS - Random Thoughts Thread


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hey it just an idea there are a lot of express buses in the corroder none of which go downtown having 1 that covers most of those areas and goes downtown could be useful  

It's simply too long and would too expensive to operate.  In an ideal world, an express bus should be about an hour in terms of run time.  Most express buses fall into that range when you average out the trips throughout the day. The ones that don't tend to be on Staten Island and that's why the (MTA) is frugal with service there and has so many different variants to cut down run times.  You also need to understand that people that are paying $6.50 each way are not going to sit on a bus for 2+ hours.  Even with trips on Staten Island, many riders will drive to certain points where they can get the bus and be off and on as quickly as possible.  I certainly did that and took car service to various express bus lines.

 

Here's an example:  During rush hour, there are two BxM1s that run together to prevent overcrowding. One is a Super Express that service North Riverdale, Fieldston and Central Riverdale, bypassing Spuyten Duyvil and making a pickup in Kingsbridge and Marble Hill. The other bus makes all of those stops, plus the stops in Inwood.  When I get on in Central Riverdale, you better believe that I pass up the one that makes all of the stops.  Why would I want to go through Spuyten Duyvil and Inwood when I can be on the expressway in about 5 minutes?

Edited by Via Garibaldi 8
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I don't really see what he's smoking, since we have BM2 and BxM4 routes which run through low income areas, and X22-length routes. Granted, the route shouldn't go north of Co-Op City, but it is not a bad idea overall. I had a similar idea, except it served more of Throgs neck, however that seems good too.

 

If possible, this BxM5 route can be 5 trips, 30 minutes apart, from the first bus being at 5:30 AM, until 7:30 AM, and 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM or 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM

Edited by BM5 via Woodhaven
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I don't really see what he's smoking, since we have BM2 and BxM4 routes which run through low income areas, and X22-length routes. Granted, the route shouldn't go north of Co-Op City, but it is not a bad idea overall. I had a similar idea, except it served more of throggs neck

Also don't forget the QM17, I remember i got on it trying to get to the LIRR station in the rockaways, and at the last stop the driver told me to GTFO and run because of how bad the neighborhood is.

 

Speaking about the BXM4, how the heck is it even an express bus seriously it doesn't really even have an express portion it just a long ass LTD route.

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Also don't forget the QM17, I remember i got on it trying to get to the LIRR station in the rockaways, and at the last stop the driver told me to GTFO and run because of how bad the neighborhood is.

 

Speaking about the BXM4, how the heck is it even an express bus seriously it doesn't really even have an express portion it just a long ass LTD route.

Yep, that area has shady types. Just as long as you don't get near the beggars asking for money, you should be okay. 

 

The BxM4's official non-stop portion is between 125 street and 158 street. However, you won't get much ridership at 125 Street, so on most trip, your non-stop section can be up to 99 Street, or even further than that. Besides, you won't get much ridership south of Fordharm Road either, so the bus makes less stops. During the rush hour, it gets used decently, IMO. It mainly runs to serve Woodlawn residents, although Norwood residents use it too, as well as Fordham (although not as much). 

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Yep, that area has shady types. Just as long as you don't get near the beggars asking for money, you should be okay. 

 

The BxM4's official non-stop portion is between 125 street and 158 street. However, you won't get much ridership at 125 Street, so on most trip, your non-stop section can be up to 99 Street, or even further than that. Besides, you won't get much ridership south of Fordharm Road either, so the bus makes less stops. During the rush hour, it gets used decently, IMO. It mainly runs to serve Woodlawn residents, although Norwood residents use it too, as well as Fordham (although not as much). 

That is actually NOT true.  Quite a few people get off at 125th.  Not as many get on at 123rd though but it does see use mainly during the rush and sometimes on weekends.  Also 158th/161st is a big stop, especially during rush hours.  For what it's worth, most of the ridership comes from the first two stops. After that nothing until perhaps Fordham Road.  Then you have usage up in Bedford Park here and there and the big one after that are two stops in Norwood.  The one by Rochambeau and then the one by Montefiore at 210th street.  The rest of the stops are up in Woodlawn and 242nd for the folks up in Yonkers that use it, so in short it's actually the ends of the route that uses it the most. After the Riverdale buses, I use the BxM4 the most because I tutor several kids in various locations along the BxM4, including one past Katonah and 242nd up in Yonkers. There are days where I can use the BxM4 four times.

Edited by Via Garibaldi 8
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Also don't forget the QM17, I remember i got on it trying to get to the LIRR station in the rockaways, and at the last stop the driver told me to GTFO and run because of how bad the neighborhood is.

 

Speaking about the BXM4, how the heck is it even an express bus seriously it doesn't really even have an express portion it just a long ass LTD route.

The BxM4 used to have super express trips that only served Woodlawn and then went on the Deegan.  Low ridership killed those trips, but they still run (unofficially).  They are VERY fast. On weekends sometimes if there are only folks going to Woodlawn we'll take the Deegan to 233rd and be there in 10 minutes with no traffic.

 

Understand that both Canarsie and the Grand Concourse were nice areas that suffered white flight. They wouldn't stick express buses in crap areas just because.  The Grand Concourse during its hey day was considered to be expensive because it offered new housing and an escape from Manhattan with good prices but luxury.  You will notice that even though most of the Concourse is ghetto the buildings themselves are very grandiose, since the Concourse was built to imitate the Champs-Élysées in Paris.  When crime and drugs became a problem, the whites fled from the Concourse.  The Jews to Riverdale.  The Irish ran to Riverdale and Woodlawn and the Italians ran to Throggs Neck and areas such as Country Club and Pelham Bay.  Canarsie also suffered from white flight. The Italians left and moved to Long Island or elsewhere, along with other whites, so as these areas declined, so did ridership and service.  The only reason the BxM4 is around is because of the folks in Woodlawn and the disabled and elderly people along the Concourse.  There's enough of them that can make a stink to keep it around.

 

Additionally the areas of the Concourse from 158th to 165th are half decent. The city is investing TONS of money to build it up, not to mention that the Yankees are there.  There are quite a few co-ops there and some of those people do use the express bus, especially the co-op across the street at 158th street. 

Edited by Via Garibaldi 8
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What does LBSS stands for, does it imply just for the Xcelsiors or other buses too?

Load

Based

Scheduled

Shifting

 

Its a modified shifting program found on almost any bus with an Allison transmission (gen 3 or newer). More or less, the bus shifts differently (longer or shorter gear ratios) based on the load inside of the bus.

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Load

Based

Scheduled

Shifting

 

Its a modified shifting program found on almost any bus with an Allison transmission (gen 3 or newer). More or less, the bus shifts differently (longer or shorter gear ratios) based on the load inside of the bus.

Gear ratios don't change, the RPM in which the gears switch change
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I was on Fordham earlier crossing the Concourse and there was this Bx22 that was making a "by the book" right turn by waiting until the crosswalk was absolutely clear before even starting the turn (that artic was as straight as an arrow.)

 

Myself and the other pedestrians actually ended up yielding at the curb for the bus after a while so that the B/O could at least start the turn before the light changed.

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