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What would it be like if the PBLs were still around?


R42 M Train

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We will never know how the privates would be today IF they were given the same subsidy that the city gave the MTA after the takeover AND the city went ahead with the purchase of new buses as they were obligated to do under the contracts.

...and we don't need to either !!

 

 

When the MTA took over the B103, it was just a rush-hour and midday operation to and from Downtown Brooklyn, probably without 15 or so runs. Now, it's 44 runs on weekdays alone.

 

This post of yours should be directed at FG.... that's who Nova (and the rest of us that agree that the B103 has flourished since the takeover of Command) was replying to.....

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*dies*

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...and Shortline, meh, let FG has his opinion about the 103....

personally, I have to agree 100% w/ how Rick feels about the route.... When command had the 103, it was like (from a rider's point of view) if you didn't live in Canarsie, you didn't know the route existed.... Hell, now the B103 is up there w/ the B41 in terms of popularity... I know of a few people personally that abandoned the (2) for the B103....

 

 

Spring Creek though... they did a kick-ass job with the express routes, even going as far as changing the routings of the BM1, 2, and 3 to better suit the riders... I feel as if more people are taking expresses now that they're SC operated... Not to be like, Command did a terrible job w/ their buses... but SC one-upped them.. ten-fold... lol...

 

I hated GBL w/ a passion.... the way they neglected their buses, and the service levels w/ which they had on most of their routes (compare the Q21 when it was under GBL, to what it is now... HUGE difference).... I give loads of props to the b/o's though, b/c a lot of them were actually very courteous - despite the fact they had to drive buses that were one screw away from heading to the scrap heap.... The stories I have will have some of y'all on here LMAO-ing....

 

Triboro was just as bad as Green Bus Lines.... they aint off the hook either... Although I didn't fan much in triboro territory as much back then, I remember the deplorable conditions of those buses (inside & outside) as well....

 

JBL's... I only been on those things less than like 20 times... I found those buses to be overly filthy on the inside... wouldn't say they were on the level of GBL & Triboro; then again, JBL didn't have that many buses...

 

Green Bus Lines was by far the worst. I had to deal with their shitty service for about 5+ years and it was terrible, Q8s and Q41s took up to 40 minutes to arrive on the weekends. Their buses were just disgraceful and to some extent, you couldnt even sit in them... I had MCI Classics where the rear doors fell out while in motion.....

 

JBL's buses werent too bad, a majority that ran on the Q112 were beat up and still looked good on the inside. Also had some of the TMCs that were filthy on the inside but looked extremely good on the outside. JBL did an excellent job maintaining their fleet and keeping up with service demand. On any given day, you'd see more Q112s over Q41s at Liberty Ave & 127th Street......

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I think the B103 has become way better since the MTA takeover. When Command was around, service was unreliable, and not so popular because of that reason. Now since the MTA took that route over, service is extremely reliable, more frequent, and runs during all times of the day, even Sunday. The MTA did a great job on improvement for that route.

 

Actually,the service gotten worst.That why I don't take the 103 that much anymore.

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Growing up in Middle Village in Queens, I knew the PBLs rather well. And to be honest, they weren't as terrible as people like to claim they were (except maybe Jamaica Bus Lines). The MTA's current monopoly is not necessarily better. In fact, I find it laughable how some of you criticize the PBLs' 'duct tape' maintenance, considering that this morning, as I saw NYCT's own RTS#8841 turning a corner on Fulton Street, I happened to notice that its engine compartment was being held together in the bottom left corner with..... a complex combination of electric tape and duct tape. It seems that the (MTA) has learned a lot from the private bus operators.

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Growing up in Middle Village in Queens, I knew the PBLs rather well. And to be honest, they weren't as terrible as people like to claim they were (except maybe Jamaica Bus Lines). The MTA's current monopoly is not necessarily better. In fact, I find it laughable how some of you criticize the PBLs' 'duct tape' maintenance, considering that this morning, as I saw NYCT's own RTS#8841 turning a corner on Fulton Street, I happened to notice that its engine compartment was being held together in the bottom left corner with..... a complex combination of electric tape and duct tape. It seems that the (MTA) has learned a lot from the private bus operators.

 

I grew up in Triboro country as well (Middle Village and then Forest Hills and rode the Q29/38/45 and later the Q23 somewhat regularly. Back in the 70's and 80's Triboro was better than city routes. Buses delivered through 1970 (the a/c Flxibles bought when express service started) had padded seats. In the 70's. it was rare to find a city bus with working a/c but no so with Triboro. Triboro went downhill in the late 90's through the takeover in early 2006 when some 1985 RTS's were still running although held together with duct tape. Cooper no longer seemed to care once the takeover was imminent. NYC TA buses also improved dramatically from the mid 80's as did the subways. QSC ( I should say Queens Transit and to a lesser extent Steinway Transit) was still a better company. Their express buses delivered in the late 70's and early 80's had padded seats and tinted windows.

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The PBLs needed to be fixed. If NYC had given the same $$$$ to the former PBLs as it gave MTA and held them to a recognizable standard, along with a real route bidding process then the system would be excellent. However the MTA beast is now the only monopoly game in town, so we just really will never know. But we do know that the MTA is robbing us everyday and is also not held to any standards, only its union employees are held to a standard that is so high that it nearly touches heaven.

;)

 

However, where the MTA has helped a lot is the routes themselves...the Q53 has greatly helped out the Q11, which needed help badly.

 

The B103 is another example already mentioned. Saying that though, I would like a system where the MTA is a purchaser, planner, and branding only, operating nothing (the buses, subways, and railroads would all be contracted).

 

Actually,the service gotten worst.That why I don't take the 103 that much anymore.

 

The B103 really has become a victim of its own success...in that the MTA may need to go 5-minute shoulder headways (that is, until 11 AM) between Canarsie and Brooklyn College to properly meet demand. The B103 went from 6-8 runs to 44 runs on weekdays, and it's at least 20 runs on Saturdays and 14 on Sundays. A sign of this is that the CNGs now go out on Sundays, since it went to 20-minute headways on Sunday.

 

It also has helped out the B6 and B41. But one change I would like to see made to it is to reroute it between Kings Highway and Flatbush Avenue to Avenue I to serve the south side of the tracks.

 

I grew up in Triboro country as well (Middle Village and then Forest Hills and rode the Q29/38/45 and later the Q23 somewhat regularly. Back in the 70's and 80's Triboro was better than city routes. Buses delivered through 1970 (the a/c Flxibles bought when express service started) had padded seats. In the 70's. it was rare to find a city bus with working a/c but no so with Triboro. Triboro went downhill in the late 90's through the takeover in early 2006 when some 1985 RTS's were still running although held together with duct tape. Cooper no longer seemed to care once the takeover was imminent. NYC TA buses also improved dramatically from the mid 80's as did the subways. QSC ( I should say Queens Transit and to a lesser extent Steinway Transit) was still a better company. Their express buses delivered in the late 70's and early 80's had padded seats and tinted windows.

 

The real miracle was that Triboro and Green were able to keep GMCs from 1985 running so long, leaving service at age 22. But under the MTA, LaGuardia has become somewhat of a skid row, as the dumping ground for old RTS buses.

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The real miracle was that Triboro and Green were able to keep GMCs from 1985 running so long, leaving service at age 22.

 

It's not that big a miracle. As of right now, in fact, there are buses currently running in some parts of Poland that are from 1983-1984 (and they are in fairly decent condition too).

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