BUS - Random Thoughts Thread

[NewFlyer 230]

Odd, isn't it, that suburban school districts can provide transportation for their students, but the vast majority of urban cities -- who get OODLES of state and Fed money -- somehow can't do the same?

 

Cut the crap yourself. Mass transit is NOT for schoolkids, it's supposed to be a substitute for primarily WORK commuting in cities whose roads cannot handle traffic volumes.

 

I'll go with the paying 1/2 fare. But primary school transit should be handled by the school systems. If not, then start cutting the taxes appropriately to be "fair" like the suburban areas that shoulder the burden themselves.

Many suburban schools are a good distance from some communities. Most kids here in the city only live within a mile or a little more from the schools so what is the purpose of having a school buses pick up several kids and constantly getting kids to school late. I experience that a lot when I was on a school bus several years ago. I wish I was allowed to use the Q17 to go to school but I had to wait for a school bus which was often late and got me to school late.

I agree that kids that are in grades Kindergarden to around 4th grade shouldn't be on the bus by themselves but that is just obvious so schools buses for them are necessary.

Mass transportation not for school kids is a bunch of crap because school kids make up a good portion of the total ridership. And that's means that if school kids aren't allowed on the bus then you will lose ridership because that is assuming that they won't be allowed to ride the bus at other times. That statement is just like you saying that jobs should provide transportation to employees. Like you said why should money be spent on transportation so people can go to work. In some cities public transportation is just not as useful like it is here in NY so those people have no problem getting themselves to work. Where do you think some of the money the MTA gets come from for capital plans and so on?

Edited October 31, 2015 by NewFlyer 230

[NY1635]

Correction: More people go to Green Acres than to Rosedale, so there should be some limited trips to Green Acres, so yes. Q44 SBS is set for either late November or Early December, so don't be jumping on dates.

 

There's nothing between Hook Creek and Macys to justify limited stop service for people going to Green Acres, even more so since they got rid of the multiplex and are planning to expand the mall.

[Cait Sith]

Correction: More people go to Green Acres than to Rosedale, so there should be some limited trips to Green Acres, so yes. Q44 SBS is set for either late November or Early December, so don't be jumping on dates.

Provide the statistics, then I'll believe a word you say, because you never provide any facts other than "LOLITHINKTHEYSHOULDJUSTDOIT". You wanna know why I know they do? Because Rosedale residents have the demand of the service....thats why there are more Q5s to Rosedale than Green Acres....the fact that the Rosedale branch has a limited should be obvious enough, but I guess not.

 

Also, if November 29th isn't "late November" to you, then I don't know what late November means to you. I have my sources and facts, unlike you smfh....

 

If you're going to counter my statement, please provide the facts to back them up, and not your meaningless drivel.

Edited October 31, 2015 by Cait Sith

[Daniel The Cool]

The marathon this weekend is going to interesting with the reroutes

[JubaionBx12+SBS]

So much to say here and I don't want to abuse the multiquote so I'll just type paragraphs and if you believe I am "quoting" you I probably am. 

 

First, all the points made about express buses avoid the whole idea of using artics on them. If the service works well for the riders why should they care if the bus that shows up is a Prevost or XD60? What's so wrong with using buses with a high seating capacity (so express buses get a seat) but can also be used on local routes as well? You could have a scenario where on the X28 if artics were being used the buses that have to deadhead back to UP can instead head over to Bensonhurst and run as a B6. Those type of interline possibilities are what exists in cost efficient systems. I would like to hear a good reason why the buses used on these express routes must be buses separate from the local fleet.

 

Second, the entire bus system (local and express) has issues with buses running on time. What does that have to do with making express buses most cost efficient? Also, how would someone know if a bus he/she doesn't use is running on time or not? Either riders make their decisions to use a particular mode of transit before considering it's reliability (which weakens the argument about riders prioritizing timeliness) or timeliness matters so much to riders they won't care if the bus that shows up on their express route also gets used on local routes. 

 

Thirdly, I made a post recently about what should be done with student commuting. Suburban districts can provide their own transport because there are less kids to transport. A district with only 3-4 high schools doesn't have to deal with the issues of one that has much more. Where is the DOE going to get the money for each individual high school and middle school to provide busing for kids who might not live in the same borough as the school?

 

The Bx12 and 39 today almost had me laughing. Riders waiting for the southbound 39 at around 7:25 pm had built up a crowd at Pelham Pkwy/WPR. 4063 shows up and it's nearly crushloaded. 1 traffic light behind was an empty artic and I was wondering why riders were getting on a small, crowded 40 ft bus instead of a 60 ft bus with plenty of seats. On the Bx12 SBS end there were wide gaps galore this evening. I waited it out to see how long it would take but I ended up missing a bus bunch at 7:22 heading eastbound at WPR. After that no bus showed up until 7:36. 4 more buses quickly followed from what I was able to observe along the ride. 5 buses ended up heading into Bay Plaza within a 3 minute span around 8 pm. I checked BusTime while walking home and the next eastbound bus was shown approaching Fordham Rd/3 Av. I wanted to laugh looking at that shit. Westbound service wasn't much better either. There was a nearly 15 minute wide gap along Pelham Pkwy and the buses that followed were mostly crowded. One of them was signed as a Sedgwick Av short turn (why aren't those in the schedule?) and while walking home one of the westbound buses that passed was signed up as a University Av short turn (odd enough it was #5313 which I got off of a few minutes earlier). I remember seeing one of those in my Truman days (2010) but since when is University used for SBS short turns? 

Edited October 31, 2015 by JubaionBx12+SBS

[TransitJusticeForAll]

Provide the statistics, then I'll believe a word you say, because you never provide any facts other than "LOLITHINKTHEYSHOULDJUSTDOIT". You wanna know why I know they do? Because Rosedale residents have the demand of the service....thats why there are more Q5s to Rosedale than Green Acres....the fact that the Rosedale branch has a limited should be obvious enough, but I guess not.

Also, if November 29th isn't "late November" to you, then I don't know what late November means to you. I have my sources and facts, unlike you smfh....

If you're going to counter my statement, please provide the facts to back them up, and not your meaningless drivel.

Actually I do got facts and it's NO drivel. Apparently you and other people out there would believe ANYTHING you see on the web. Actually there is no demands of service. There are more service to Green Acres than there is to Rosedale, epsically on the weekends on the Q5. I was in Flushing the other day and I asked the bus dispatcher and he told that the launch for the Q44 SBS MIGHT be on November 15th or later because they're still installing fare machines at selected bus stations.

There's nothing between Hook Creek and Macys to justify limited stop service for people going to Green Acres, even more so since they got rid of the multiplex and are planning to expand the mall.

True, true.

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

So much to say here and I don't want to abuse the multiquote so I'll just type paragraphs and if you believe I am "quoting" you I probably am. 

 

First, all the points made about express buses avoid the whole idea of using artics on them. If the service works well for the riders why should they care if the bus that shows up is a Prevost or XD60? What's so wrong with using buses with a high seating capacity (so express buses get a seat) but can also be used on local routes as well? You could have a scenario where on the X28 if artics were being used the buses that have to deadhead back to UP can instead head over to Bensonhurst and run as a B6. Those type of interline possibilities are what exists in cost efficient systems. I would like to hear a good reason why the buses used on these express routes must be buses separate from the local fleet.

 

Second, the entire bus system (local and express) has issues with buses running on time. What does that have to do with making express buses most cost efficient? Also, how would someone know if a bus he/she doesn't use is running on time or not? Either riders make their decisions to use a particular mode of transit before considering it's reliability (which weakens the argument about riders prioritizing timeliness) or timeliness matters so much to riders they won't care if the bus that shows up on their express route also gets used on local routes. 

I'm sorry, but as an "occasional" express rider, I would not want an artic showing up. It would be an interesting catch, but I doubt riding it will be the same. I mean, maybe you might get away with it with suburban seating on some 40 footers, and use it on the weekends for the lines that don't have a lot of ridership. However, the MTA interlines between their own express buses anyways, or just go back to the depot during the AM. and return to Manhattan in the PM. The MTA has saved some money on having SI expresses stay at MJQ, which saves much more money than DH'ing back to SI. QV buses utilize that lot in LIC in order to not DH back all the way, therefore saving fuel costs. You have to take those two factors into consideration. Also, the MTA has been trying to unify the express bus fleet into all coaches (which it has been since 2010). Changes happen all the time, and what may be alright in one area will certainly not be allowed in another area. 

 

Hartford uses some suburban style seating on its buses because runs are usually tight, and some drivers go from express to local and vice versa. Their express bus network is not as big as ours obviously, as there's only like 21 routes or something, with 2 daily expresses, and minimal midday service. Not many riders would be affected by using these style of buses, since ridership isn't so heavy. During rush hour, most express bus routes are heavily utilized in NYC. There's different standards, and different practices being used that also prohibit or limits that type of "direct" interlining (i.e: Interlining from an express to a local route). Also, for the example you chose, if the X28 DH'd to Besonhurst to the B6, it stops right in front of UP depot, so they can just switch the bus up, or have another run do that trip, like they currently do.

Actually I do got facts and it's NO drivel. Apparently you and other people out there would believe ANYTHING you see on the web. Actually there is no demands of service. There are more service to Green Acres than there is to Rosedale, epsically on the weekends on the Q5. 

 

True, true.

You just contradicted yourself.

 

That mall is mainly used by people in Valley Stream, not from Rosedale or along the Conduits. Of course there's more service on the weekends because more riders are likely to use it, but have you thought that the combined headway to serve Rosedale would be a lot. How does Rosedale get more consistent service over Green Acres. If buses in the AM are running every 30 minutes for Q5, and not at all for the Q85 on weekdays, that doesn't scream more demand. Don't you think the MTA would have done something if Rosedale Ridership was so abysmal? 

 

As for more service to Green Acres, you're wrong. There's obviously more Rosedale Q5's than Green Acre Q5's. I don't even know why the Q5 has that much service on Saturdays to Green Acres in the first place, but the Q85 has less Green Acre buses than Rosedale Buses. Green Acres is overserved on the Q5 on weekends in the first place, it should be every other bus going to Green Acres instead of all of them.

Edited October 31, 2015 by BM5 via Woodhaven

[NY1635]

Actually I do got facts and it's NO drivel. Apparently you and other people out there would believe ANYTHING you see on the web. Actually there is no demands of service. There are more service to Green Acres than there is to Rosedale, epsically on the weekends on the Q5. I was in Flushing the other day and I asked the bus dispatcher and he told that the launch for the Q44 SBS MIGHT be on November 15th or later because they're still installing fare machines at selected bus stations.

True, true.

 

I honestly feel that the Q5 Green Acres trips exist to serve the Hook Creek and Merrick parts of Rosedale better than the mall itself.

[Cait Sith]

Actually I do got facts and it's NO drivel. Apparently you and other people out there would believe ANYTHING you see on the web. Actually there is no demands of service. There are more service to Green Acres than there is to Rosedale, epsically on the weekends on the Q5. I was in Flushing the other day and I asked the bus dispatcher and he told that the launch for the Q44 SBS MIGHT be on November 15th or later because they're still installing fare machines at selected bus stations.

True, true.

 

Okay, time to kick it up a notch.

 

1. You completely misunderstood what I said. The demand of service on the Q5 is primarily from Rosedale residents. Green acres service runs every 15 minutes during the weekdays, hell, there's more Q5 short turns than there are Green Acres buses during the rush hour. The Q5's primary service function is to serve the Rosedale residents. The Green Acres part of the route is just a branch that's mostly used during the weekends. Take a look at the schedule for example(click here)....notice anything particular to what I've been saying? This clearly shows you do not pay attention to schedules and actual facts.

 

 

2. This might shock you, but some bus dispatchers knows even less than bus operators. And think about this for a second, why would they start it BEFORE Thanksgiving? Logic would entail that they would start such a service AFTER Thanksgiving, as there is also some training to be done as well. Secondly, it wouldn't start so soon on the 15th, especially since they still have ways to go with setting up the stops and the testing of the machines. Just because you asked one person, doesn't make it a legitimately possible answer. I have my inside source and I'm sticking with it.

 

3. I asked you to provide me with actual facts, you failed to do so.  You keep continuing with false information and quite a bit of us are countering your false information, especially since you have not provided any factual material....unlike myself! Your credibility is in the tank right now.

 

Here's a tip, just because you have personal feelings about something, doesn't mean it should happen. That's something a lot of you young fans don't seem to understand.

Edited October 31, 2015 by Cait Sith

[DetSMART45]

^^ THIS was what I meant TransitJusticeForAll.  Don't mean to do the "Told Ya So" song and dance, but you set yourself up.

 

As to the fire I lit over school trips, I'm just going to leave this here from the second-highest used transit system in the country.  Still doing a little more research, but have a look in the meantime:

http://www.transitchicago.com/students/

[IAlam]

Holy CRAP the lack of educated people about students using mass transit is ridiculous. SUBURBAN SCHOOLS DON NOT HAVE LESS PEOPLE IN THEM, SOME OF THE LARGEST HIGH SCHOOLS IN THE CITY ARE IN SUBURBAN AREAS, AND THEY HAVE A LOT OF KIDS FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE CITY RIDING THEM. SCHOOL TRIPPERS ARE FOR EVERYONE AND MANY COMMUTERS BENEFIT OVER THE EXTRA BUS SERVICE BECAUSE NOT ALL SCHOOL TRIPPER RUN AT FULL CAPACITY. RARELY DO YOU SEE KID IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS GET METROCARDS BECAUSE THE DOE WOULD RATHER PAY FOR SCHOOL BUSES FOR THEIR SAFETY. ADDITIONALLY  FOR OTHER SCHOOLS MIDDLE/HIGH THEY ARE UNDERFUNDED. IF HAVE STUDENTS ON MASS TRANSIT IS REALLY A PROBLEM, THEN YOU HAVE TO GET THE CITY TO GIVE THEM BACK ALL THEIR FULL OPERATING BUDGET AND MORE FOR SCHOOL BUSES. SINCE THAT'S NOT HAPPENING ANY TIME SOON THEY RIDE THE BUS. ALSO IN PLACE LIKE QUEENS STUDENTS MAKE UP A HUGE CHUNK OF RIDERSHIP. INFACT THEY HAVE TWO DIFFERENT SCHEDULE FOR MOST ROUTES IN QUEENS ONE FOR WHEN SCHOOLS IN SESSIONS AND ONE WHEN IT'S OUT OF SESSION. TO SOME THE PROBLEM IS ROWDY AND RUDE KIDS. WHICH IS JUST A SMALL HANDFUL OF KIDS COMPARED TO THE REST WHICH AREN'T. STOP STEREOTYPING A WHOLE GROUP OF PEOPLE BECAUSE OF A SMALL HAND FULL OF BAD APPLES. SOME COPS SHOOT UNARMED CIVILIANS DO WE NOW EXPECT THAT FROM POLICE EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD NO. WHEN RIDING THE Q20 WHICH IS A LINE OF STUDENTS ELDERLY AND PEOPLE WHO CAN'T WAIT FOR A Q44, THE MAJORITY OF PROBLEMS COME FROM THE ELDERLY AND Q44 RIDERS. THEY ARE A LOT OF TIMES THEY DON'T PAY THEIR FARE, BE RUDE, OR/AND COMPLAIN ABOUT EVERY LITTLE THING. MOST OF THE STUDENT WHO DO RIDE THAT BUS ARE MUSH MORE RESPECTFUL TOWARDS THE DRIVER THAN THE ADULTS. AND THIS ISN'T JUST ON TRANSIT. THERE ARE MORE PROBLEMS CAUSED BY ADULTS ON THE TRAIN THEN BY KIDS. SO STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT A FEW KIDS WHO ARE TOO LOUD WHEN YOU'RE STANDING NEXT YO GUY WITH A KNIFE THAT'S ABOUT TO ROB YOU. AS TO PEOPLE WHO ARE TALKING ABOUT STUDENT METROCARD THAT HAVEN'T BEEN A STUDENT OR HAVE KIDS WHO RELY ON MASS TRANSIT, ​YOUR OPINION IS IRRELEVANT. THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER PROBLEMS YOU HAVE DECIDE NOT TO SEE BECAUSE OF ONE SCREAMING KID. WHICH ISN'T EVEN A MASS TRANSIT ISSUE THAT'S A F*****G DISCIPLINE ISSUE.

 

Okay now that I'm done with my rant.

 

please stop with the express buses, it's premium service for a reason. I understand your talk about efficiency, however the in places like SI the MTA hardly cares whats put on their local buses. For efficiency the MTA uses old MCI's for school trippers before they are sent to Manhattan for rush hour service. Also that's one of the very few times they can have uses used for express service on local service with affect the express route, cause school trippers happen right before rush hour. Other than that I can't see any use for express buses being put on local routes because at all other times of the day the MTA either has enough buses for their local routes or the express buses are being used for rush hour service in which they can't help with local service. Also people pay more than double. They deserve better than scratched up loud XD60's. Furthermore sitting on hard plastic seat for more than an hour is uncomfortable. additionally there is the problem with lights. Most express buses have theirs off during the express portion, however passenger have access to reading lights if they so choose. Local buses don't have that ability however. Although having express buses on local routes can increase efficiency there are very few ways to implement that with current demands

[Cait Sith]

-removed huge wall of caps lock-

 

Okay now that I'm done with my rant.

 

please stop with the express buses, it's premium service for a reason. I understand your talk about efficiency, however the in places like SI the MTA hardly cares whats put on their local buses. For efficiency the MTA uses old MCI's for school trippers before they are sent to Manhattan for rush hour service. Also that's one of the very few times they can have uses used for express service on local service with affect the express route, cause school trippers happen right before rush hour. Other than that I can't see any use for express buses being put on local routes because at all other times of the day the MTA either has enough buses for their local routes or the express buses are being used for rush hour service in which they can't help with local service. Also people pay more than double. They deserve better than scratched up loud XD60's. Furthermore sitting on hard plastic seat for more than an hour is uncomfortable. additionally there is the problem with lights. Most express buses have theirs off during the express portion, however passenger have access to reading lights if they so choose. Local buses don't have that ability however. Although having express buses on local routes can increase efficiency there are very few ways to implement that with current demands

 

One more caps lock post and you're getting a warning.

Edited October 31, 2015 by Cait Sith

[IAlam]

One more caps lock post and you're getting a warning.

 

Why are CAPS locks warrant a warning?

 

BTW

 

I can't the edit option has been disabled 

 

Edited October 31, 2015 by IAlam

[MHV9218]

Mother of Christ...

[Around the Horn]

^^ THIS was what I meant TransitJusticeForAll.  Don't mean to do the "Told Ya So" song and dance, but you set yourself up.

 

As to the fire I lit over school trips, I'm just going to leave this here from the second-highest used transit system in the country.  Still doing a little more research, but have a look in the meantime:

http://www.transitchicago.com/students/

If thats all you want to do then there is no problem...(see what I bolded below)

 

Using a Student Ventra Card to get the Student Reduced Fare

There are two ways to use a Student Ventra Card to get the Student Reduced Fare:

    Students can pay with their Student Ventra Card for train and bus fare (including transfers) with transit value.

    Students can pay in cash/coins on buses if they have their Student Ventra Card and ask the driver to pay a cash student fare. Bus drivers cannot give change and transfers are not available when paying this way.

    

Using the Student Ventra Card for non-school trips

Student Ventra Cards can be used for out-of-school riding, too—regular fares are automatically deducted from transit value outside of Student Reduced Fare hours or outside of a school term.

For children 12-20, a regular Full Fare is deducted from transit value.

For children 7–11, a regular Reduced Fare is deducted from transit value outside of Student Reduced Fare hours, if your card is registered (otherwise, students will need to ask for help to receive an age-based Reduced Fare)

When you start this whole nonsense about schools providing buses,I seriously question whether you have any experience in this matter at all.

 

 

Holy CRAP the lack of educated people about students using mass transit is ridiculous. SUBURBAN SCHOOLS DON NOT HAVE LESS PEOPLE IN THEM, SOME OF THE LARGEST HIGH SCHOOLS IN THE CITY ARE IN SUBURBAN AREAS, AND THEY HAVE A LOT OF KIDS FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE CITY RIDING THEM. SCHOOL TRIPPERS ARE FOR EVERYONE AND MANY COMMUTERS BENEFIT OVER THE EXTRA BUS SERVICE BECAUSE NOT ALL SCHOOL TRIPPER RUN AT FULL CAPACITY. RARELY DO YOU SEE KID IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS GET METROCARDS BECAUSE THE DOE WOULD RATHER PAY FOR SCHOOL BUSES FOR THEIR SAFETY. ADDITIONALLY  FOR OTHER SCHOOLS MIDDLE/HIGH THEY ARE UNDERFUNDED. IF HAVE STUDENTS ON MASS TRANSIT IS REALLY A PROBLEM, THEN YOU HAVE TO GET THE CITY TO GIVE THEM BACK ALL THEIR FULL OPERATING BUDGET AND MORE FOR SCHOOL BUSES. SINCE THAT'S NOT HAPPENING ANY TIME SOON THEY RIDE THE BUS. ALSO IN PLACE LIKE QUEENS STUDENTS MAKE UP A HUGE CHUNK OF RIDERSHIP. INFACT THEY HAVE TWO DIFFERENT SCHEDULE FOR MOST ROUTES IN QUEENS ONE FOR WHEN SCHOOLS IN SESSIONS AND ONE WHEN IT'S OUT OF SESSION. TO SOME THE PROBLEM IS ROWDY AND RUDE KIDS. WHICH IS JUST A SMALL HANDFUL OF KIDS COMPARED TO THE REST WHICH AREN'T. STOP STEREOTYPING A WHOLE GROUP OF PEOPLE BECAUSE OF A SMALL HAND FULL OF BAD APPLES. SOME COPS SHOOT UNARMED CIVILIANS DO WE NOW EXPECT THAT FROM POLICE EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD NO. WHEN RIDING THE Q20 WHICH IS A LINE OF STUDENTS ELDERLY AND PEOPLE WHO CAN'T WAIT FOR A Q44, THE MAJORITY OF PROBLEMS COME FROM THE ELDERLY AND Q44 RIDERS. THEY ARE A LOT OF TIMES THEY DON'T PAY THEIR FARE, BE RUDE, OR/AND COMPLAIN ABOUT EVERY LITTLE THING. MOST OF THE STUDENT WHO DO RIDE THAT BUS ARE MUSH MORE RESPECTFUL TOWARDS THE DRIVER THAN THE ADULTS. AND THIS ISN'T JUST ON TRANSIT. THERE ARE MORE PROBLEMS CAUSED BY ADULTS ON THE TRAIN THEN BY KIDS.

 

100% percent accurate.This guy needs to see the facts before opening his mouth...

 

TO SOME THE PROBLEM IS ROWDY AND RUDE KIDS. WHICH IS JUST A SMALL HANDFUL OF KIDS COMPARED TO THE REST WHICH AREN'T. STOP STEREOTYPING A WHOLE GROUP OF PEOPLE BECAUSE OF A SMALL HAND FULL OF BAD APPLES. SOME COPS SHOOT UNARMED CIVILIANS DO WE NOW EXPECT THAT FROM POLICE EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD NO

I wouldn't be surprised if this is just part of a white supremacist agenda.

Can't stand minority kids on a bus,take away their school MetroCards and call anyone who dares to tell it like it is an idiot who needs to shut their mouth...SMH

[Fresh Pond]

Lmao did you really being race into this

[IAlam]

anyway putting that aside for a moment 

 

THANK GOODNESS 

I don't know when this happened, but I'm glad it did 

 

[Around the Horn]

Lmao did you really being race into this

The style of his arguement is the same.Take away something from someone who needs it because of a stereotype.Ruthlessly defend said nonsense against all comers who dare to set the record straight.

 

If your still not getting it,where he says schoolkids read Syrian refugees and where he says school trippers or School Metro Cards read citizenship.

 

Now do you get it?

Edited October 31, 2015 by Around the Horn

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Have you actually had to rely on the bus to get to school here in NYC? I do.

 

There is no way to "privatize" school bus operations without a sea change in DOE policy.New school closer to "no schools lands" would have to be built first and thousands of kids would have to change schools.Where are you going to find the money?

 

Now if your talking primary school as in K-6 where kids are zone to a school no more than a mile from their house,then I agree with you,but 6-12 NO WAY

 

These nonsense proposals just sound like someone who's staring at a map pointing at a spot saying a route should go there.

Actually depend on one of these buses to get you to and from school then come talk to me.

I agree with him.  The should NOT be responsible for shuttling kids to and from school.  The schools should be responsible for that, and they should pay for it too.  The fact that the is paying for those school passes and trippers when they cry poverty is insane.  That should not fall on their shoulders. 

[Cait Sith]

anyway putting that aside for a moment 

 

THANK GOODNESS 

I don't know when this happened, but I'm glad it did 

 

 

Detour because of the Halloween Parade.

[paulrivera]

So I was on an SBS Bx12 on Friday that was supposed to go to Manhattan but it didn't, I'm guessing under orders from a BusTime dispatcher. The B/O announced at Grand Concourse that Sedgwick was going to be the last stop and the bus directly behind would be going to Manhattan.

 

The B/O puts up the "NOT IN SERVICE" display, makes all the remaining stops as far from the actual bus stops as they can get without ending up on a different block, and people are still trying to get on the bus. And the aforementioned bus that was directly behind was indeed tailing the now short-turn bus the whole time.

 

Man, I don't get some people.

[Around the Horn]

I agree with him.  The should NOT be responsible for shuttling kids to and from school.  The schools should be responsible for that, and they should pay for it too.  The fact that the is paying for those school passes and trippers when they cry poverty is insane.  That should not fall on their shoulders. 

I'm pretty sure the DOE pays for the cards.I just have to find the document from the DOE.I have it somewhere...

[NewFlyer 230]

I seen this a lot but what is the purpose of a bus following another bus.

I heard a bus operator on the Q20A talking about how she is following another Q20A that was ahead of us. This was on the weekend where less people board and one of those buses aren't scheduled to run. I've seen other routes do it like the M66 where they would run two buses to follow one another.

What is the purpose of that on a route like the Q20A where the Q44 is always the one people run to anyway? Right behind us was in fact a Q44.

[IAlam]

I agree with him.  The should NOT be responsible for shuttling kids to and from school.  The schools should be responsible for that, and they should pay for it too.  The fact that the is paying for those school passes and trippers when they cry poverty is insane.  That should not fall on their shoulders. 

I thought they did, the payment for student fares should be done by the DOE not the MTA and I'm pretty sure it that way though not 100% sure.

 

Detour because of the Halloween Parade.

how? Detours paths don't show up on bus time. This is a new route with a new stop as well 

[MHV9218]

Odd, isn't it, that suburban school districts can provide transportation for their students, but the vast majority of urban cities -- who get OODLES of state and Fed money -- somehow can't do the same?

 

Cut the crap yourself.  Mass transit is NOT for schoolkids, it's supposed to be a substitute for primarily WORK commuting in cities whose roads cannot handle traffic volumes.

 

I'll go with the paying 1/2 fare.  But primary school transit should be handled by the school systems.  If not, then start cutting the taxes appropriately to be "fair" like the suburban areas that shoulder the burden themselves.

 

 

Now I see the original post and why everybody got so angry. This is a markedly ignorant post for a variety of reasons. Let's delve into a few:

 

1) Suburban school districts, almost without exception, are significantly better-funded than urban school districts because in most municipalities public schools are funded by the property taxes of the region. Suburban areas are generally wealthier than inner cities, and consequently their services are better-funded. The 'state and federal money' point is basically irrelevant to this discussion.

 

2) Mass transit is not exclusively provided for anybody. The very point of it is to provide a public service for anybody going from point A to point B, and to keep cars off the road. That's everybody from random people on their way to see their family across town to public servants on the way to their jobs. You can make up things that mass transit can be for, but there is no should. 

 

3) Why in the world would cutting taxes solve any problem whatsoever? Suburban areas do not shoulder any burden: for one, they only function with the economic nucleus of a city nearby; for another, they are wealthier areas and their residents can afford to pay more in taxes. That's not a 'burden.'

 

4) Privatization is almost always the worst solution. Note the travesty that is NICE Bus. Note the collapse of Atlantic Express. Note the disaster of London Transport's privatization and the complete mess that Thatcher's privatizations brought. Is that a good solution for the city?

 

While it would be nice to have more extensive school bus networks, New York's non-zoned high school system means that there are no routine patterns of travel for buses to run. In elementary school, being bussed from point A to point B makes sense in terms of safety (keep the kids on their own bus) and in practicality (everybody goes from one area to another). But by the time you've got kids in the Rockaways heading to Bedford Park for schools like Bronx Science, the point becomes moot.

Edited November 1, 2015 by MHV9218