BUS - Random Thoughts Thread

[IAlam]

On 11/21/2017 at 3:11 PM, QM1to6Ave said:

Special express bus schedules for Black Friday and MLK Day. First time I've seen them post the special schedules in such a professional manner ahead of time. Very unlike the MTA lol. 

 

http://web.mta.info/nyct/service/SpecialBusSchedules_11_2016.htm

 

 

 

Now if only NYCT express buses had one too.

[Union Tpke]

At Trotting Course Lane, heading east, three Q54s were back to back to back, and one block ahead there was another Q54. That might have been the worst bunching I have ever seen.

[QM1to6Ave]

2 hours ago, IAlam said:

Now if only NYCT express buses had one too.

Very odd that they don't have one. Unless they are running their usual schedules?

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

14 minutes ago, Union Tpke said:

At Trotting Course Lane, heading east, three Q54s were back to back to back, and one block ahead there was another Q54. That might have been the worst bunching I have ever seen.

I've seen five before (all back to back) at Woodhaven.

[checkmatechamp13]

26 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said:

Very odd that they don't have one. Unless they are running their usual schedules?

It says "Reduced weekday schedule" on the 2nd page of the PDF maps (Where it says "Holiday Service 2017"). On the Staten Island local buses, I know that means the limited-stop buses don't run (except for the S89 & S93), but local service still meets every ferry (and the good thing is that reverse-peak and evening service tends to be a bit more frequent). I check the times by using BusTime (for example, when it says "@terminal, scheduled to depart at XX:XX") so I know for a fact the schedule is different. Not sure how it is on the NYCT express buses or local buses in the other boroughs (I think the Q25 & Q65 limiteds don't operate. Other than that I have no idea). 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

56 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said:

Very odd that they don't have one. Unless they are running their usual schedules?

For the Riverdale, Queens and Bronx routes, it's pretty cut and dry. For the most part, you can run Saturday service and be fine, but Staten Island and Bay Ridge are a bit more different. A lot of people work on President's Day, Martin Luther King Jr and some other"optional days" and the buses are packed. I'm not sure why they haven't committed to a schedule for the express buses for NYCT, but I suppose part of it could be union related and maybe a question of allowing more flexibility to add or cut service. That's all I can think of. I would often times take the X17 and even that was hit or miss and crowded. The hit it miss schedule does exacerbate the problem though.

[SevenEleven]

6 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

Very odd that they don't have one. Unless they are running their usual schedules?

For SI Express, it's the same-ish schedule, just departure times are adjusted up to 5 mins in either direction. 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

5 hours ago, SevenEleven said:

For SI Express, it's the same-ish schedule, just departure times are adjusted up to 5 mins in either direction. 

So why don't they just post those schedules then? What's the big secret? What schedules they give you guys and what passengers experience is like night and day. You basically cannot plan your commute at all because it isn't just the difference of a few minutes, but buses are no-shows, so you have no idea how long you'll be waiting. I actually stopped working on President's day because of that crap. The SI express buses were packed beyond belief and it wasn't clear when another one would come which leads to more overcrowding. People get on whatever comes first. Not safe at all.

[QM1to6Ave]

7 hours ago, SevenEleven said:

For SI Express, it's the same-ish schedule, just departure times are adjusted up to 5 mins in either direction. 

What's the point of that? 

[checkmatechamp13]

57 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said:

What's the point of that? 

The only reason I can think of would be since the runtimes might be a little shorter because there's less traffic, they adjust the schedule accordingly (e.g. The bus leaves the first pick-up stop 5 minutes late and gets to the last pick-up stop on-time, or it leaves the first pick-up stop on-time and gets to the last pick-up stop 5 minutes early). 

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

I've checked on TripPlanner and I have seen reduced schedules for some lines (IIRC the X12 has a reduced schedule, among others). In any event, they should still be displayed, because so many people would be inconvenienced by doing a guessing game.

Edited November 23, 2017 by BM5 via Woodhaven

[B35 via Church]

Since when do they have B43's short turning at Nassau av? ("Manhattan av/Nassau av")

I'm also seeing more of those B12 New York av short turns, as well as those B15 New Lots short turns.....

 

15 hours ago, Union Tpke said:

At Trotting Course Lane, heading east, three Q54s were back to back to back, and one block ahead there was another Q54. That might have been the worst bunching I have ever seen.

15 hours ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

I've seen five before (all back to back) at Woodhaven.

The bunching of Q54's are rather common & the Jamaica av portion of the route I'd have to say is the main cause of it..... Remember when (wanting to) extend Q55's to Jamaica on the transit boards (plural) was a thing? Well, I think the Q54 (and the Q56 really) should be cut back from 170th... Always did... It's too much.... Something else should be transporting folks b/w 170th & Sutphin other than the Q54 & Q56 along Jamaica av.... Folks are taking Q54's & Q56's for short distances due west, east of Parsons because the Q110 doesn't run any further west than Parsons (re-read that again if you have to)....

A while back, I suggested that either the Q54/56 end inside 165th.... I don't take the LIRR & stop off in Jamaica after work anymore, but when I used to, and would take the Q56 to Alabama for the B12, I would notice even more than what I already knew about the 2 routes.... Long story short, both of those routes don't need to run east of Sutphin - Of course, the issue with that is lack of layover space (Q30/31/43) & (Q24,34,65) around the LIRR station.... I would nominate a route like the Q9 to perhaps run over to 170th, or a couple blocks over from it by the school (and otherwise for a little more coverage)....

It's bad enough that the Q54 has an insufficient amount of scheduled runtime (the diversion to Atlas only added to this).... There has been several instances where I've taken the Q54 from end to end where it's taken almost 2 hours.... Little opportunities to pass other vehicles along Metropolitan av throughout most of the ride, combined with the traffic nightmare Jamaica av. is b/w the Van Wyck & Parsons (esp.)... I mean, you factor in all of this & you're gonna get what you get with the Q54.... They've been adding more of the Fresh Pond short turns over the years, but I'm not so sure it's enough....

TL:DR version: The Q54 serves too much of Jamaica av.

Edited November 23, 2017 by B35 via Church

[SevenEleven]

5 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

So why don't they just post those schedules then? What's the big secret? What schedules they give you guys and what passengers experience is like night and day. You basically cannot plan your commute at all because it isn't just the difference of a few minutes, but buses are no-shows, so you have no idea how long you'll be waiting. I actually stopped working on President's day because of that crap. The SI express buses were packed beyond belief and it wasn't clear when another one would come which leads to more overcrowding. People get on whatever comes first. Not safe at all.

 

2 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

What's the point of that? 

That's a good question that's above my pay grade.

1 hour ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

The only reason I can think of would be since the runtimes might be a little shorter because there's less traffic, they adjust the schedule accordingly (e.g. The bus leaves the first pick-up stop 5 minutes late and gets to the last pick-up stop on-time, or it leaves the first pick-up stop on-time and gets to the last pick-up stop 5 minutes early). 

Nah, they give us the same running time and call us left and right saying "Try not to be early, kill some time." Last year, I did the last X7 on Black Friday and from 23rd to the WFC, they had the running time as 20 mins or so, when it was doable in like 10. 

[QM1to6Ave]

2 hours ago, SevenEleven said:

 

That's a good question that's above my pay grade.

Nah, they give us the same running time and call us left and right saying "Try not to be early, kill some time." Last year, I did the last X7 on Black Friday and from 23rd to the WFC, they had the running time as 20 mins or so, when it was doable in like 10. 

Lolol 

[checkmatechamp13]

I did a quick check of some of the schedules out here. It looks like most express routes run every 20-30 minutes during rush hour. The S53 runs every 10 minutes for most of the day, the S79 runs every 6-8 minutes during rush hour and 15 minutes midday, and the S93 generally runs every 30 minutes all day. 

[Future ENY OP]

6 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

Since when do they have B43's short turning at Nassau av? ("Manhattan av/Nassau av")

I'm also seeing more of those B12 New York av short turns, as well as those B15 New Lots short turns.....

I'm guessing Gleason and East New York have bunching problems and they are creating new short turns. I think the New York Avenue short turn has been there for a while. But others are pretty recent.  

[B35 via Church]

3 hours ago, Future ENY OP said:

I'm guessing Gleason and East New York have bunching problems and they are creating new short turns. I think the New York Avenue short turn has been there for a while. But others are pretty recent.  

I've mentioned the NY av short turns on here before, so I know those aren't new.... However, I have never seen that one on the B43 before (this past monday)... I know the B48 had Nassau as a short turn, but not the 43....

[MysteriousBtrain]

http://web.mta.info/nyct/service/AirlineTerminalRrelocations at LaGuardiaAirport.htm

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

45 minutes ago, MysteriousBtrain said:

http://web.mta.info/nyct/service/AirlineTerminalRrelocations at LaGuardiaAirport.htm

I've been seeing more people with luggage on the Q47. I always knew there's ridership on the evening buses from Terminal A, but it is interesting to see more people use the Q47 to/from Terminal A. This explains it. At least the Q47 to/from Terminal A will be more useful (and not as lengthy to Roosevelt compared to the old Q33 from Terminal B).

 

Edited November 24, 2017 by BM5 via Woodhaven

[B35 via Church]

Well who would have thought that all it took for Q47 usage inside the airport to increase, is by having Jetblue move from terminal B to terminal A.....

[RestrictOnTheHanger]

How exactly do the doors work when a bus is in SBS mode?

I thought when the B/O makes a stop and opens the doors, all 2 or 3 doors open automatically. 

I was on a Q53 today where the B/O only opened the front door at one stop because of an obstruction. 

[B35 via Church]

53 minutes ago, RestrictOnTheHanger said:

How exactly do the doors work when a bus is in SBS mode?

I thought when the B/O makes a stop and opens the doors, all 2 or 3 doors open automatically. 

I was on a Q53 today where the B/O only opened the front door at one stop because of an obstruction. 

Anything that isn't the front door, function as back doors.... The b/o will either [open the front door only] or [open the front doors, along with the back door].... In your case, he/she only opened the front door - and under the condition you give (an obstruction), rightfully so.....

There is no "SBS mode" where every single door opens (regardless of any situation), if that's what you may have been thinking....
Artics (operating as SBS' or not) aren't any less prone to having someone yell BACK DOOR whenever the b/o doesn't open them....

Edited November 24, 2017 by B35 via Church

[MassTransitHonchkrow]

On 11/20/2017 at 4:45 PM, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

That's BS.  You shouldn't have to have extra on your card for your transfer if you have the exact amount. So in other words, I can only get my transfer if I have more than say $2.75 (e.g. $2.76 or $2.80) if that's what the fare is for that particular transaction.  The whole point of the Metrocard is to get your free transfer.  If they aren't giving it to you, then they're ripping you off, one by not giving you the transfer, and two by forcing you to keep odd amounts on your card that you likely will forget about or not be able to add to in order to get the exact amount off of it, so that goes back to the  and with so many people having odd amounts, it adds up to millions back in the  coffers.   I use the "Refill My Metrocard" app when I use Pay-Per-Rides since I normally get a weekly Express Bus Plus Metrocard and am not always sure of how much I should put on the card to make everything work for the week.  This is yet another reason why so many people opt for passes even when they don't need. Too much aggravation remembering all of these stupid rules.

The fareboxes are programmed differently between local and express buses only. Similar buses will never charge a differential because they cost the same between each other.

 

If you program a farebox to take $2.75, it will take $2.75. If you program a farebox to take $6.50, it will take $6.50. If the data from a cheaper farebox [example=S4494 NE] is imprinted and put against one that charges more [example=X17J NE], the math is done to make it add up.

It is, by no means whatsoever, a glitch. 

Another example:

Bee-Line buses don't have to increase the fare alongside the city, but they choose to do so so as not to create a situation like this, but between the local buses of different agencies. They could keep the fare at $2.25 if they chose to, but transfers between city and Bee-Line buses would cost 50 cents (between their own buses, it'd be free though).

That app is a calculator. Use the formula I mentioned. It works with any calculator. Bonuses are applied at two rides or higher at the rate of refill x 1.05 = total after bonus.

[MassTransitHonchkrow]

10 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

Anything that isn't the front door, function as back doors.... The b/o will either [open the front door only] or [open the front doors, along with the back door].... In your case, he/she only opened the front door - and under the condition you give (an obstruction), rightfully so.....

There is no "SBS mode" where every single door opens (regardless of any situation), if that's what you may have been thinking....
Artics (operating as SBS' or not) aren't any less prone to having someone yell BACK DOOR whenever the b/o doesn't open them....

That's for certain. After clarifying it on a B44 ride earlier this week, it seems every NYCT bus has doors that can be optionally driver-controlled. 'SBS mode' isn't really the term you use for that.

Edited November 24, 2017 by MassTransitHonchkrow
punctuation, emphasis on quoted term

[NY1635]

2 hours ago, MassTransitHonchkrow said:

That's for certain. After clarifying it on a B44 ride earlier this week, it seems every NYCT bus has doors that can be optionally driver-controlled. 'SBS mode' isn't really the term you use for that.

That's not really unique to the MTA. It's pretty much the same out on Nassau, albeit one unique to the n6.