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5 hours ago, R188 7857 said:

The Q44 never fails to make me late. It's honestly so stupid that I had to wait 25 minutes in the middle of rush hour for two buses to come at the same time, especially on a route as frequently used as this one. 

This is why I rely on the Q17 as my main route for traveling between Jamaica and Flushing. There's less traffic on the 188th and HHE portions of the route than the Q44 has along Sutphin and Main Street.  Sure Kissena has traffic, but at least it doesn't get bad until the 17 reaches Holly.

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Isn't the Q44 always gonna be faster than the Q17? The Q17 has to head east on Hillside Ave, then a left on 188th street, then a left on HHE and right on Kissena. The Q44 is a straight-shot down to Jamaica making very few stops and traffic is never terribly bad on Main St. I've seen drivers flooring it down Main St.

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See the responses to resuming Q/75 service where the issue of the Queens routes has been discussed in depth with references to the Q/88.

The question remains where are you going to get the buses for more service on the route as if you increase the number of buses on one route, it means that another route will have increased headways. 

Artics are not always the best solution for improving bus service as it usually results in longer headways on that route.

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12 hours ago, Interested Rider said:

See the responses to resuming Q/75 service where the issue of the Queens routes has been discussed in depth with references to the Q/88.

The question remains where are you going to get the buses for more service on the route as if you increase the number of buses on one route, it means that another route will have increased headways. 

Artics are not always the best solution for improving bus service as it usually results in longer headways on that route.

You’re definitely right about bringing back the Q75, that would really help the Q88. As for figuring out how to make Q88 have better service currently, thats going to be difficult. The line needs a fix, and it needs it now. I was on it this morning. It was good till about 108 st. That’s where the crowding really began. 

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So, I saw a northbound Bx3 short turn terminate at Kingsbridge Road, then followed the Bx32 route by going into the VA Hospital complex and eventually went back south. It closed up a pretty insane gap in service heading south, but the next bus heading north ended up packed. I hope those folks weren't charged another fare because based on the amount of people that were dumped off the bus, it looked to be a last-minute short turn.

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28 minutes ago, paulrivera said:

So, I saw a northbound Bx3 short turn terminate at Kingsbridge Road, then followed the Bx32 route by going into the VA Hospital complex and eventually went back south. It closed up a pretty insane gap in service heading south, but the next bus heading north ended up packed. I hope those folks weren't charged another fare because based on the amount of people that were dumped off the bus, it looked to be a last-minute short turn.

What time was this around?

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9 hours ago, Grimreaper said:

You’re definitely right about bringing back the Q75, that would really help the Q88. As for figuring out how to make Q88 have better service currently, thats going to be difficult. The line needs a fix, and it needs it now. I was on it this morning. It was good till about 108 st. That’s where the crowding really began. 

Not difficult a solution at all; matter fact, I see it as a feasible one..... The Q88 during the rush should be operated very similar to how the Q36 is operated, period (in regards to short turn trips vs. trips doing the full route).... There are far too many BPH running past Fresh Meadows on that route; you'd instantly fix most of the problems on the Q88 by doing just that.

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1 hour ago, paulrivera said:

It was about 4:30 to 5pm.

Most routes were just running terribly this afternoon based on the BusTime observations I made. Every route had at least one instance of bunching and the low headway routes commonly had at least one cluster of 3-4 buses right behind each other. The Bx12SBS was a pretty bad offender with buses clustering up around 7:30 am heading west and staying bunched pretty much all day after. 

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On 10/16/2017 at 9:50 PM, NY1635 said:

This is why I rely on the Q17 as my main route for traveling between Jamaica and Flushing. There's less traffic on the 188th and HHE portions of the route than the Q44 has along Sutphin and Main Street.  Sure Kissena has traffic, but at least it doesn't get bad until the 17 reaches Holly.

I've once experienced a 30 minute gap on the Q44 took the Q17 and was still beat by the Q44. So idk what you're talking about. Main St traffic is light after HHE and even with Heavy traffic the Q44 can alwasy beat the Q17 to HHE. The only time the Q17 would be better than the Q44 is when the destination is closer to the Q17 than the Q44, which is ultimately a convenience issue.  

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21 hours ago, IAlam said:

I've once experienced a 30 minute gap on the Q44 took the Q17 and was still beat by the Q44. So idk what you're talking about. Main St traffic is light after HHE and even with Heavy traffic the Q44 can alwasy beat the Q17 to HHE. The only time the Q17 would be better than the Q44 is when the destination is closer to the Q17 than the Q44, which is ultimately a convenience issue.  

I meant that the Q17 is much more convenient for me take over the Q44. I feel that the Q44 will always be fast during late nights when there's less traffic on Flushing and less people walking around the downtown area, or when the construction on Main Street between Roosevelt and 39th Ave is finally completed.

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On 10/16/2017 at 10:09 PM, Interested Rider said:

Artics are not always the best solution for improving bus service as it usually results in longer headways on that route.

I have been told this when I suggested it for the B41 Kings Plaza version. Not only the long headways, but it becomes harder to maneuver as many along Flatbush Av are half-ass at parking or idle in the middle of the road.

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On 10/17/2017 at 8:38 PM, 78 via Stew Leonards said:

Something needs to be done to the BxM3 and BxM4 to increase ridership on each route.

Like what?  I rode the 11:40 BxM4 yesterday to Midtown.  Six people on it including myself. Based on the demographics, it was fair to say that everyone save myself and one lady got on in Woodlawn or came from Yonkers (three old Irish looking ladies, an older man that hobbled off of the bus at 96th street) (I got on at 158th and Grand Concourse by the courthouses). I ride the BxM3 during peak periods sometimes when I have to tutor somewhere along the route and those buses get good loads.  I've used it off-peak and it can be hit or miss. The earlier buses to Manhattan seem to do alright (peak and off-peak), but others can struggle.  Meanwhile the BxM1 and BxM2 buses of late have been quite crowded. I can always tell when the next wave of people have moved from Manhattan to Riverdale. Every bus I take now has regulars, but plenty of new faces, likely people who also don't want to deal with the horrible subway.  We'll see how long that lasts, but the problem with both the BxM3 and BxM4 continues to be gentrification.  

Rents in the Bronx have skyrocketed and are on par with parts of Brooklyn, Queens and Upper Manhattan in some cases, and that means for some, the first thing that gets cut is the express bus from their budget.  Those living along the Concourse, the ones from north of 165th all the way up to Fordham are not using the express bus (simply can't afford to), and the few co-ops below 165th are not enough to give the BxM4 the ridership it needs, and while usage from Woodlawn is decent, Woodlawn overall is too small (a lot of folks in Woodlawn opt for Metro-North unless they're traveling to areas like the Upper East Side or north or south of Grand Central, and then they'll then use the BxM4).

The BxM3 really should see more usage from the people in North Riverdale along or near Broadway, but those people are too busy making their way uphill to get the BxM1, BxM2 or BxM18.  Better service #1 (better frequencies and more options), and #2 some live on steep hills where they have to opt for the BxM3 one way and then the BxM1, BxM2 or the BxM18 the other way (I talked to a guy that takes the BxM3 one way and the BxM18 the other despite living closer to Broadway because of the hill situation).  The BxM3's bread and butter right now comes from that big gated co-op building there on Sedgwick at the last pick-up/first drop-off stop (Fordham Hill Oval).  Half of the bus can empty out at that first stop alone. Ridership from other parts of the route while okay could be much better, so I don't see any real solution at the moment.  The terrible traffic that the BxM3 gets stuck in at times also doesn't help. The BxM4 losing those Super Express trips from Woodlawn didn't help matters, as many of them do not like taking a tour of the Concourse, and there certainly isn't enough ridership to bring those back, even with the small increase overall in patronage last year.

Edited by Via Garibaldi 8
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Last week, one of the dispatchers made an interesting decision with the S44/S94. My friend does the 5:13 and 6:18 PM S44 trips to Post and Jewett Ave from the ferry. When we get ready to start our trip, the dispatcher walks over to our bus and has my friend become an S94 as the bus that normally does that trip was running late. It made sense as the 6:18 is his last trip.

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1 hour ago, S78 via Hylan said:

Last week, one of the dispatchers made an interesting decision with the S44/S94. My friend does the 5:13 and 6:18 PM S44 trips to Post and Jewett Ave from the ferry. When we get ready to start our trip, the dispatcher walks over to our bus and has my friend become an S94 as the bus that normally does that trip was running late. It made sense as the 6:18 is his last trip.

BTW, those short-turn S44s are out of Yukon, right? 

In any case, I agree that an S94 run should be filled before an S44 run, since the S94 carries more riders. But then the question becomes, what happened on following runs? (Wait, you're referring to his 6:18 trip, correct? Not his 5:13 trip? If it's the 6:18 trip then yeah, all he was doing was swapping out the S44 & S94). 

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40 minutes ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

BTW, those short-turn S44s are out of Yukon, right? 

In any case, I agree that an S94 run should be filled before an S44 run, since the S94 carries more riders. But then the question becomes, what happened on following runs? (Wait, you're referring to his 6:18 trip, correct? Not his 5:13 trip? If it's the 6:18 trip then yeah, all he was doing was swapping out the S44 & S94). 

Yes, I was referring to the 6:18 trip. And yes, the short turns are out of Yukon too. The run to Post/Jewett was still covered, it was just a few minutes late. 

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Interesting ride today:

I boarded an X30 at 57th and 7 Avenue just after 4:00. All seemed good until we reached 42nd and 8 Ave. Once we left the stop, the B/O announced that we would be traveling through Brooklyn as the Lincoln Tunnel was closed. We crawled down West St since there was heavy traffic. 

Just when it couldn’t get any worse, the BQE had bumper to bumper traffic to the extent where people stepped outside their vehicles. Even the HOV lane  was backed up. I saw all the “via NJ” express routes along the way.

When we finally got into SI, we came off the expressway just past Richmond Rd, turned down Clove Rd, and made a right on Victory. The B/O basically drove the AM route. It turns out, a bus caught fire near the Licoln Tunnel on the New Jersey end.

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19 minutes ago, S78 via Hylan said:

Interesting ride today:

I boarded an X30 at 57th and 7 Avenue just after 4:00. All seemed good until we reached 42nd and 8 Ave. Once we left the stop, the B/O announced that we would be traveling through Brooklyn as the Lincoln Tunnel was closed. We crawled down West St since there was heavy traffic. 

Just when it couldn’t get any worse, the BQE had bumper to bumper traffic to the extent where people stepped outside their vehicles. Even the HOV lane  was backed up. I saw all the “via NJ” express routes along the way.

When we finally got into SI, we came off the expressway just past Richmond Rd, turned down Clove Rd, and made a right on Victory. The B/O basically drove the AM route. It turns out, a bus caught fire near the Licoln Tunnel on the New Jersey end.

Curious, but what time did the bus get to SI?

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17 minutes ago, S78 via Hylan said:

Interesting ride today:

I boarded an X30 at 57th and 7 Avenue just after 4:00. All seemed good until we reached 42nd and 8 Ave. Once we left the stop, the B/O announced that we would be traveling through Brooklyn as the Lincoln Tunnel was closed. We crawled down West St since there was heavy traffic. 

Just when it couldn’t get any worse, the BQE had bumper to bumper traffic to the extent where people stepped outside their vehicles. Even the HOV lane  was backed up. I saw all the “via NJ” express routes along the way.

When we finally got into SI, we came off the expressway just past Richmond Rd, turned down Clove Rd, and made a right on Victory. The B/O basically drove the AM route. It turns out, a bus caught fire near the Licoln Tunnel on the New Jersey end.

My gosh, must of been an experience. All Staten Island traffic, plus Brooklyn traffic, all on a little 3 1/2 lane highway. They need build a direct route to Staten Island because all this “via” Brooklyn/New Jersey isn’t going to last forever; unless they build another tunnel between Brooklyn/Manhattan, and build another highway on top of the Gowanus (like an express highway, similar to ones in Jersey/upstate). 

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34 minutes ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

Curious, but what time did the bus get to SI?

Just after 6:00.

32 minutes ago, XcelsiorBoii4888 said:

My gosh, must of been an experience. All Staten Island traffic, plus Brooklyn traffic, all on a little 3 1/2 lane highway. They need build a direct route to Staten Island because all this “via” Brooklyn/New Jersey isn’t going to last forever; unless they build another tunnel between Brooklyn/Manhattan, and build another highway on top of the Gowanus (like an express highway, similar to ones in Jersey/upstate). 

I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

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My dad said he heard about this, so he headed Downtown, and still had problems getting an X10 or X17 to get home. The more incidents like these happen, the more I agree with the MTA's plan to divide up service, so that way delays in Midtown don't affect service Downtown (even if he had to sit in traffic, he would've still at least been able to get a seat on the bus). This was around 8PM so I guess there were still residual delays.

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