New MTA Chairman: New Ideas or Same Old Politics

[BrooklynBus]

New MTA Chairman: New Ideas Or Same Old Politics? | Sheepshead Bay News Blog

[Via Garibaldi 8]

I have to disagree with you on a few things you mentioned. I agree with the current fare policy, BUT I think it should be enforced. I saw a guy walk on the S53 yesterday and sat down without even giving a story. He got off a few stops later and the B/O gave him a talking to. The guy clearly wasn't the violent type, but rather lazy. They would be in better shape if they enforced the fare more. I think the system is cheap enough fare wise.

 

I also think that service IS being improved with Bus Time and this is a huge technological improvement. Since Thursday, I personally can say that bus service on Staten Island has improved tremendously and Lhota also stated that the was bringing Bus Time to Staten Island first because they know how important our buses are to us. I see no problem with having a bus replace a subway if the monies aren't there. If the service is reliable and speed is maximized it can be sufficient enough. I for one am not a strong believer that Staten Island HAS to have a subway or even a light rail if Bus Time is a big success. It can be something that can be done at a later date. We have pressing needs now and that is what should be looked at. Building a light rail or subway will cost a ton but also will take many years to complete, while getting a bus up and running can be done much quicker and cheaper.

[BrooklynBus]

Some comments and questions.

 

First of all, the article was about Lhota, not about Bustime which was not his idea or his decision to bring it to Staten Island early on. Second, how may I ask has service been improved with Bustime?

 

Generally, I agree with you that the fare is cheap enough. However, it is not so cheap if you need to make several quick trips within a short period of time.

 

Regarding enforcing the fare: the driver was probably being considerate giving the gentleman some time to get the card out of his wallet especially if he had packages. The man was probably just taking advantage because he knows the bus driver cannot do anything other than refuse to let the guy off until he pays which few would do to avoid starting an argument. At least the

bus driver did not ignore the situation and spoke to him. What more could you expect? With cameras being placed on the buses, passengers might become more wary of avoiding the fare.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Some comments and questions.

 

First of all, the article was about Lhota, not about Bustime which was not his idea or his decision to bring it to Staten Island early on. Second, how may I ask has service been improved with Bustime?

 

Generally, I agree with you that the fare is cheap enough. However, it is not so cheap if you need to make several quick trips within a short period of time.

 

Regarding enforcing the fare: the driver was probably being considerate giving the gentleman some time to get the card out of his wallet especially if he had packages. The man was probably just taking advantage because he knows the bus driver cannot do anything other than refuse to let the guy off until he pays which few would do to avoid starting an argument. At least the

bus driver did not ignore the situation and spoke to him. What more could you expect? With cameras being placed on the buses, passengers might become more wary of avoiding the fare.

 

What's this about "first of all"???? I read your article thoroughly before posting and one argument you made is service improvements/adding service. Whether or not you mentioned Bus Time in your article is immaterial to me because Bus Time is an example of the being more efficient AND improving service. What is the point of adding service if the buses run erratically??? Bus Time has improved service because passengers know where the buses are and it has forced drivers to adhere to the schedule, something they weren't doing on lines on Staten Island that actually got service improvements. We got service bumped up to every 20 minutes on Sundays on the X10, but the buses were coming almost 20 minutes late frequently, so we weren't benefiting from the increases in service. You had overcrowded buses followed by half empty buses. The same is true on some of the local bus lines like the S48 which has received more service.

 

As for the guy not paying, he clearly had no intention of paying. He had no bags with him and his hands were free. He got on slowly and motioned as if he couldn't pay the fare and sat down right in the first seat. As for the B/O, I had no problem with what he did. At least he did say something.

 

Second, who cares who introduced Bus Time?? He still has to oversee it and look to make improvements to it and the thinking is that it will get better over time since it will eventually be city wide. :tup:

[BrooklynBus]

What's this about "first of all"???? I read your article thoroughly before posting and one argument you made is service improvements/adding service. Whether or not you mentioned Bus Time in your article is immaterial to me because Bus Time is an example of the being more efficient AND improving service. What is the point of adding service if the buses run erratically??? Bus Time has improved service because passengers know where the buses are and it has forced drivers to adhere to the schedule

 

Second, who cares who introduced Bus Time?? He still has to oversee it and look to make improvements to it and the thinking is that it will get better over time since it will eventually be city wide. :tup:

 

I'm very glad that Bustime is doing more than just informing passengers of the next bus. It has a long way to go before it becomes citywide. My fingers are crossed so that the MTA doesn't halt it before that happens citing lack of funds.

 

As far as Lhota overseeing it or suggesting improvements, chairmen don't get involved in any project on that level. His only role will be to accelerate its implementation which I doubt, or to kill it.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

I'm very glad that Bustime is doing more than just informing passengers of the next bus. It has a long way to go before it becomes citywide. My fingers are crossed so that the MTA doesn't halt it before that happens citing lack of funds.

 

Quite frankly I think Bus Time will be to their benefit. They'll be able to control crowding better and ensure better efficiency.

 

 

As far as Lhota overseeing it or suggesting improvements, chairmen don't get involved in any project on that level. His only role will be to accelerate its implementation which I doubt, or to kill it.

 

Yeah, I wouldn't expect him to be that involved, but from what I can see the plan is to bring it to the entire city. It's been something that the has been rather eager about, so I don't see them pulling the plug now.

[B35 via Church]

- I'm not gonna villify or disqualify Lhota just yet.... That's all I really have to say about the article...

 

 

- As far as Bustime goes, I can't honestly say it has improved service.... All I have to do is wait for a bus along 5th av (Brooklyn) and see the same issues with timeliness that's plagued the B63 for god knows how long..... Not being left out in the dark (so to speak) is a good thing, but knowing that your bus will be late, still doesn't address the issue of late buses in the first place.... As long as that route travels on 5th av, its always going to have that issue...

[Via Garibaldi 8]

- As far as Bustime goes, I can't honestly say it has improved service.... All I have to do is wait for a bus along 5th av (Brooklyn) and see the same issues with timeliness that's plagued the B63 for god knows how long..... Not being left out in the dark (so to speak) is a good thing, but knowing that your bus will be late, still doesn't address the issue of late buses in the first place.... As long as that route travels on 5th av, its always going to have that issue...

 

I would have to disagree with that. If you know that your bus is late and see a pattern, knowing where the bus is can help if you have alternatives. This morning my X30 was MIA and it never showed up on the map, so I just took the X14 in instead. If you don't have alternatives, then yeah, it may not help, but you could perhaps plan to leave earlier looking at the bus patterns. What I do is put Bus Time on in the morning and here and there I'll see where the buses are and how they're moving. Usually gives me an idea of how things are going.

 

Happened yesterday where the S53s were bunching, but I used that to my advantage. I picked the bus behind the late one and got on an empty bus and made it the X10 in no time. :cool:

[N6 Limited]

I think it would be cool if Bus Time could tell you how full a bus was. For example, a packed bus would show up as Red, a light bus as Green, SRO as Yellow, something like that. If a bus is packed, and the next bus is not you could chose to wait for the next bus, especially if you're already at the stop and they're bunched.

 

The information could be relayed by the B/O pressing a button or something as the cheap solution. On Clever devices website, they note one of their products being Automatic Passenger Counting. (Yes I know that Staten Island uses proprietary technology). http://www.cleverdevices.com/automatic_passenger_counting_technology_APC.html

[B35 via Church]

I think it would be cool if Bus Time could tell you how full a bus was. For example, a packed bus would show up as Red, a light bus as Green, SRO as Yellow, something like that. If a bus is packed, and the next bus is not you could chose to wait for the next bus, especially if you're already at the stop and they're bunched.

I'm guessing that can de determined by the weight of the bus? cool idea though.....

 

I'll say though, along church av w/ the B35 during the rush hour, I'd be well prepared to see lots of red's & yellow's

 

 

I would have to disagree with that. If you know that your bus is late and see a pattern, knowing where the bus is can help if you have alternatives. This morning my X30 was MIA and it never showed up on the map, so I just took the X14 in instead. If you don't have alternatives, then yeah, it may not help, but you could perhaps plan to leave earlier looking at the bus patterns. What I do is put Bus Time on in the morning and here and there I'll see where the buses are and how they're moving. Usually gives me an idea of how things are going.

 

Happened yesterday where the S53s were bunching, but I used that to my advantage. I picked the bus behind the late one and got on an empty bus and made it the X10 in no time. :cool:

 

You just proved my point w/ that story of yours.....

 

You opting to take the x14 instead of waiting for that x30 is an advantage of BusTime; it did absolutely nothing for that physical x30..... Same deal with the S53 occurrence, bustime did nothing for the actual bunching of S53's....

 

Quite frankly, I don't see what you're disagreeing with.... All you've illustrated to me with that story, is that bustime enables you to consider another travel option quicker, due to your primary route's delays, buses being MIA, etc.... I never implied bustime isn't useful..... That seems to be the way you took my comment.....

[Via Garibaldi 8]

You just proved my point w/ that story of yours.....

 

You opting to take the x14 instead of waiting for that x30 is an advantage of BusTime; it did absolutely nothing for that physical x30..... Same deal with the S53 occurrence, bustime did nothing for the actual bunching of S53's....

 

Quite frankly, I don't see what you're disagreeing with.... All you've illustrated to me with that story, is that bustime enables you to consider another travel option quicker, due to your primary route's delays, buses being MIA, etc.... I never implied bustime isn't useful..... That seems to be the way you took my comment.....

 

Well Bus Time has helped to a degree with the bunching. One B/O mentioned that they are indeed having guys wait or slow down to force them to hold to the schedule and I have certainly seen this on Staten Island. Many of the buses have been very punctual since Bus Time has started. The problem is that they can't always control this because of traffic, etc. as you said, so there will be bunching at times and nothing can be done in some instances, but that's not always the case. I think it will vary from line to line.

[B35 via Church]

Well Bus Time has helped to a degree with the bunching. One B/O mentioned that they are indeed having guys wait or slow down to force them to hold to the schedule and I have certainly seen this on Staten Island.

 

Many of the buses have been very punctual since Bus Time has started. The problem is that they can't always control this because of traffic, etc. as you said, so there will be bunching at times and nothing can be done in some instances, but that's not always the case. I think it will vary from line to line.

 

Sure it's not always the case, but it's more often the case... that's the thing.....

Suffice it to say, traffic is a very real problem we have in this city...... and it is affecting our buses....

 

Bustime is a good invention, and this isn't an attempt to take anything away from it..... but as was said, it's got a long way to go before it's a] implemented on all the routes in our system & b] even has a chance to be some sort of measuring instrument in aiding in going about fixing problems on individual route(s) of sorts (which I don't think is possible, but I'll mention it for the sake of discussion) - I mean, that's not what its for anyway....

 

I guess I'll let you have the last word w/ this side discussion, since I don't wanna be accused of... you know, further going o/t or w/e... lol.....

[BrooklynBus]

From reading the above I'm getting the impression if bunching is due to traffic, bus time won't make a difference, but if it is intentional by the bus operator, as it looks like might be the case in Staten Island, yes the buses will run closer to schedule.

[checkmatechamp13]

Bus Time has improved service because passengers know where the buses are and it has forced drivers to adhere to the schedule, something they weren't doing on lines on Staten Island that actually got service improvements. We got service bumped up to every 20 minutes on Sundays on the X10, but the buses were coming almost 20 minutes late frequently, so we weren't benefiting from the increases in service. You had overcrowded buses followed by half empty buses. The same is true on some of the local bus lines like the S48 which has received more service.

 

Second, who cares who introduced Bus Time?? He still has to oversee it and look to make improvements to it and the thinking is that it will get better over time since it will eventually be city wide. :tup:

 

While it's good that they are having drivers slow down so people don't miss their bus, I don't think it addresses the real issue of the schedules not being written out correctly. I mean, if everybody's slowing down so they don't get written up, the dispatchers don't know if they're driving slowly because that's the natural flow of passengers, traffic lights, and traffic, or if they're just driving slow so they won't get ahead of schedule.

 

For instance, on the X10 you said that the drivers always come 10 minutes early, and the only time they show up on time is if you have a ton of passengers getting on and the driver isn't trying to floor it or anything. Yeah, it's great that you don't have to see the bus pull away without you and then get on another bus that's more crowded, but wouldn't you rather the trip be made faster as well (in addition to having the bus stick to its schedule and have a normal amount of passengers)?

 

I mean, if the buses are naturally inclined to run late, they can fix that problem by allowing more time in the schedule, but if they're running early, this doesn't allow them to address the underlying issues that cause the drivers to have to slow down in the first place. As QJT would say, "I like speed", and while I don't like buses that come late, I don't like buses where the B/O has to purposely miss lights and pull over and wait at bus stops just to catch up to the schedule.

 

- I'm not gonna villify or disqualify Lhota just yet.... That's all I really have to say about the article...

 

 

- As far as Bustime goes, I can't honestly say it has improved service.... All I have to do is wait for a bus along 5th av (Brooklyn) and see the same issues with timeliness that's plagued the B63 for god knows how long..... Not being left out in the dark (so to speak) is a good thing, but knowing that your bus will be late, still doesn't address the issue of late buses in the first place.... As long as that route travels on 5th av, its always going to have that issue...

 

 

Well, at least in the case of the B63 you know to make your way to the train if there's a big delay (I know you had this discussion with VG8, but I'm just throwing that in there).

 

I think it would be cool if Bus Time could tell you how full a bus was. For example, a packed bus would show up as Red, a light bus as Green, SRO as Yellow, something like that. If a bus is packed, and the next bus is not you could chose to wait for the next bus, especially if you're already at the stop and they're bunched.

 

The information could be relayed by the B/O pressing a button or something as the cheap solution. On Clever devices website, they note one of their products being Automatic Passenger Counting. (Yes I know that Staten Island uses proprietary technology). Automatic Passenger Counting Technology APC | APC | Automatically Count Passengers on Bus | NTD Reporting System

 

 

That would definitely be good. A bus doesn't do you any good if you can't fit on (from a passenger's perspective, that can often be more annoying than having no bus pass by at all, since you have that feeling of hope when the bus comes in, followed by helplessness when you realize you can't fit on).

[Via Garibaldi 8]

While it's good that they are having drivers slow down so people don't miss their bus, I don't think it addresses the real issue of the schedules not being written out correctly. I mean, if everybody's slowing down so they don't get written up, the dispatchers don't know if they're driving slowly because that's the natural flow of passengers, traffic lights, and traffic, or if they're just driving slow so they won't get ahead of schedule.

 

For instance, on the X10 you said that the drivers always come 10 minutes early, and the only time they show up on time is if you have a ton of passengers getting on and the driver isn't trying to floor it or anything. Yeah, it's great that you don't have to see the bus pull away without you and then get on another bus that's more crowded, but wouldn't you rather the trip be made faster as well (in addition to having the bus stick to its schedule and have a normal amount of passengers)?

 

I mean, if the buses are naturally inclined to run late, they can fix that problem by allowing more time in the schedule, but if they're running early, this doesn't allow them to address the underlying issues that cause the drivers to have to slow down in the first place. As QJT would say, "I like speed", and while I don't like buses that come late, I don't like buses where the B/O has to purposely miss lights and pull over and wait at bus stops just to catch up to the schedule.

 

It really isn't that big of a deal. I took the X12 in this morning and the guy had to drive at normal speed down Victory Blvd instead of flying. Big deal... When we hit the SIE he was driving at the speed he normally does and I know because I've had him before bus tracking kicked in. We still got Downtown early... Once you make all of the stops, I doubt that they care very much if you drop off folks at stops earlier than the schedule says. If they blow down the street while picking up folks, maybe they save 10 - 15 minutes at the most, but they miss a **** load of people and leave the next guy to run late with an uneven load. More times than none, I'm usually on that overcrowded late bus, so no, I don't see the problem. If the buses DON'T come early, they'll fill up properly and the driver won't have a hard time keeping the schedule. Most of the B/Os just start their run a little later that's all, and that makes up for the extra time that they may have here or there. The schedule says that it should take about 35 minutes to get from my stop in Midtown in the 40s to Downtown... Walk over to Grand Central and take the or Downtown and you're looking at about the same amount of time more or less... Maybe you save 5 - 10 minutes at the most on the subway and that's excluding walking to and from the subway. With the walk, it's exactly the same amount of time. I know because I've tried to take the subway from Grand Central and meet up with an express bus and I either just got him or missed him.

[Guest lance25]

Moved to the bus forum since most of the discussion has been about BusTime.

 

Lance.

[MHV9218]

Please, watch the Nazi Banksters Crimes Ripple Effect at http://jforjustice.co.uk/banksters

[Via Garibaldi 8]

I think it would be cool if Bus Time could tell you how full a bus was. For example, a packed bus would show up as Red, a light bus as Green, SRO as Yellow, something like that. If a bus is packed, and the next bus is not you could chose to wait for the next bus, especially if you're already at the stop and they're bunched.

 

The information could be relayed by the B/O pressing a button or something as the cheap solution. On Clever devices website, they note one of their products being Automatic Passenger Counting. (Yes I know that Staten Island uses proprietary technology). Automatic Passenger Counting Technology APC | APC | Automatically Count Passengers on Bus | NTD Reporting System

 

LOL... I was thinking about this the other nite while using Bus Time. If the buses are bunched I usually can assume that I can pick the empty one but you never know. It's something that can be suggested to the . They have an e-mail you can reply to.

 

 

-------

Now getting back to the topic at hand... It's hard to see if the is really looking to improve. Only time will tell. I can say that the last few days of traveling have been great overall. The one thing that confused me last night was I was in the office trying to see when I would leave and catch an X10 and I had my laptop on in my office to see where the buses were. I had missed one bus and was looking to see when another one would come and didn't see anything for a while and I was thinking Jesus, they're running a "reduced" schedule, but this is ridiculous!! I turned to work on my desktop for a minute and then went back to check and I kept checking and boom, I see a bus heading to what I thought was my stop but he was heading up Madison to 57th st upon further inspection. What happens apparently sometimes is that the buses don't show up on the tracking system and then suddenly they'll appear. I'm wondering if it has to do with the B/O having to hit a button or if they automatically turn off tracking when the B/O turns off the bus or how does that work?? :confused: It's tricky because if you're close to the beginning of the route, you could be fooled into thinking there is no bus and then a bus appears on the map that has already made a few stops. :eek: That's why I give myself 5 - 10 minutes depending on where I'm at in case there's a delay in the tracking.

[checkmatechamp13]

It really isn't that big of a deal......

 

That's easy for you to say since you use the express bus, because the B/O can just floor it along the expressway, but on the local bus, the bus basically isn't allowed to get ahead of schedule at any point (though they might be a little bit lenient if it's towards the end of the route)

 

And there are plenty of times when the B/Os have to kill time because there's too much time built into the schedule, even if they pick up everybody they're supposed to. Like I've mentioned, there were times when the bus came a couple of minutes late, and then managed to get ahead of schedule while trying their hardest not to do so (of course, since I was already on the bus, I wasn't complaining because it helped me make my connection)

 

I don't really think the decision to extend any bus service is too prudent in the current fiscal climate, especially in Staten Island. Every other borough (especially Brooklyn) is begging to get routes reinstated, and here comes SI asking for new service. No is the correct answer.

 

 

Just because we didn't have the service in the first place doesn't necessarily mean it's not as necessary to have the extension done as it is to restore service in the other boroughs.

 

In other words, say you have two areas with exactly the same characteristics (traffic patterns, ridership, demographics, etc). One area had bus service that was cut, and the other area didn't have bus service at all. It isn't necessarily a better idea to restore the cut route first vs. extending the bus where there wasn't service before.

 

I'm just saying that it's not necessarily true. I'm not mentioning any specific examples of whether service should be restored in one area vs. added in another.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

I don't really think the decision to extend any bus service is too prudent in the current fiscal climate, especially in Staten Island. Every other borough (especially Brooklyn) is begging to get routes reinstated, and here comes SI asking for new service. No is the correct answer.

 

And going with that, it's too early to judge him if you're just going off of that. I know writing a story you need to have something to say, but honestly, I don't think there's too much of a story... yet. Lhota literally just walked in and he denied an extension of service when the MTA is out of money... that's not revolutionary.

 

Walder's problem was not his personality but his lack of funds. He was incredibly qualified for the job and his work in London was exemplary. I'm not too impressed that he bailed for a bigger paycheck, but he had no money to work with, everybody hated him for making the necessary decisions, and the job was incredibly difficult. Nothing crazy about him leaving there, and saying his 'personality' was at fault just wasn't true. The MTA needs money. Badly.

 

Now to answer your title? Yes. It will be the same old politics. And as always, it won't be the MTA chair's fault, it'll be Albany's fault. Until the MTA head has money to play with (Pataki's fault, basically), it's going to be the same standstill we've been sitting in for ages. I'm not impressed Lhota is a Giuliani guy, but it's too early for a story here.

 

Really?? Why shouldn't service be extended if the cost is NEUTRAL, meaning it costs the NOTHING to provide the service???? Your statement is completely ignorant and bias. What are you supposed to mean with that "now here comes Staten Island" comment, like we're not supposed to get any service but Brooklyn can ask for their routes to be re-instated as if they're somehow better than us?? Is it because Staten Island is mainly Republican?? :mad: Like I said, everything is political with you, so I'm not shocked that you'd make a statement like that. Each borough has service needs, INCLUDING Staten Island. We can't get service improvements, but we can pay the same level of taxes like the rest of the boroughs though right? The S83 was proposed with cost neutrality in mind and they still refuse to consider it because they've got it set in their minds that the S53 doesn't suffer from bunching and delays, which couldn't be any further from the truth.

 

Any extensions that we've asked for have been proposed with cost neutrality in mind. The X22 extensions were done recently costing the NOTHING, so to say that no extensions should be done because of budget issues is just being lazy. They can improve service if they were creative without increasing costs. The whole cost debate is a cop out.

 

Now, on to your "political anti-Republican" rant... How nice of you to mention Pataki as a villain while leaving out all of your Democratic "cronies" that have slashed funding to the , the most recent being Cuomo... But of course you would omit that and big up Republican governors and mayors from years ago to smear the Republicans. It would be nice for once if you told the full story of both sides and not just how f-ed up the Republicans are like the Democrats are saints. :tdown:

 

Finally, why should the have "money to play with" in these difficult fiscal times?? They need to learn how to do more with less, just like the rest of us. :mad: They're in this fiscal mess partially because they've spent too much time over the years having "money to play with" literally. They need more funding, yes, but they've got to show that they can be more responsible with the monies that they receive.

 

 

That's easy for you to say since you use the express bus, because the B/O can just floor it along the expressway, but on the local bus, the bus basically isn't allowed to get ahead of schedule at any point (though they might be a little bit lenient if it's towards the end of the route)

 

And there are plenty of times when the B/Os have to kill time because there's too much time built into the schedule, even if they pick up everybody they're supposed to. Like I've mentioned, there were times when the bus came a couple of minutes late, and then managed to get ahead of schedule while trying their hardest not to do so (of course, since I was already on the bus, I wasn't complaining because it helped me make my connection)

 

Stop complaining already. There's a schedule for a reason and they're supposed to follow it. You yourself have complained about buses coming early and more times than none you've been the victim of them coming early more than you've benefited from it. You need to give yourself enough time to make your connections and read the schedule and you would be fine. With Bus Time now there is no excuse. Buses will follow the schedule as they're supposed to so long as there is no traffic or other issues and you'll have to live with it and give yourself enough time instead of running around all the time. Are you going to go to work late several times a month because you don't get up with enough time?? That's exactly what you're doing now and you've got no one to blame but yourself. If I showed up to work late the way you show up to school late I would've been fired years ago. :tdown: And please don't give me the excuse about having AP classes and after school activities. I had them too and guess what??? I still made my classes on time in the morning.

 

 

Just because we didn't have the service in the first place doesn't necessarily mean it's not as necessary to have the extension done as it is to restore service in the other boroughs.

 

In other words, say you have two areas with exactly the same characteristics (traffic patterns, ridership, demographics, etc). One area had bus service that was cut, and the other area didn't have bus service at all. It isn't necessarily a better idea to restore the cut route first vs. extending the bus where there wasn't service before.

 

I'm just saying that it's not necessarily true. I'm not mentioning any specific examples of whether service should be restored in one area vs. added in another.

 

 

We've been promised better service for over 20 years now. Staten Island has fought for a new bus depot for so long and now that we have Charleston we still see the same level of inadequate service. Says a lot about what the thinks of Staten Island.

[S78 via Hylan]

Just because there's a new depot in Staten Island, doesn't necessarily mean that there will be fast improvements. You keep talking about how screwed up SI bus service is meanwhile, there are other borougs that need improved bus service as well.

 

I understand that cost neutral is better when making service changes, for example, CSI students want the buses that drop them off at the front gate to be extended further into the campus. That to me is a good idea.

 

And undersatnd this, service improvements do not happen overnight. Of course they will take time and I'm not just talking about SI either. Not everywhere we go, buses and subways will run exactly on schedule. If you current travel plan begins to fail for you, then find another way to get to work.

[checkmatechamp13]

Stop complaining already. There's a schedule for a reason and they're supposed to follow it. You yourself have complained about buses coming early and more times than none you've been the victim of them coming early more than you've benefited from it. You need to give yourself enough time to make your connections and read the schedule and you would be fine. With Bus Time now there is no excuse. Buses will follow the schedule as they're supposed to so long as there is no traffic or other issues and you'll have to live with it and give yourself enough time instead of running around all the time. Are you going to go to work late several times a month because you don't get up with enough time?? That's exactly what you're doing now and you've got no one to blame but yourself. If I showed up to work late the way you show up to school late I would've been fired years ago. :tdown: And please don't give me the excuse about having AP classes and after school activities. I had them too and guess what??? I still made my classes on time in the morning.

 

 

And I'm supposed to somehow take advantage of BusTime without a SmartPhone, right? And how do you know that "more times than not" I lose out when they come early? There are times when I benefitted from them coming early, and there are also times when the bus came late as well and I lost out.

 

And that's exactly the point: If they tighten the schedules up, they won't come early.

 

And I know the schedule by heart, but it doesn't do you any good if you can't make it to the stop before the bus does. And WTF are you talking about with connections? I take one bus to school and then walk because I know the S46 won't show up in time. And yeah, when you depend on public transportation, you have to run around to keep up with the schedule. I don't only chase after buses on my way to school: If I'm on my way home and I see the bus, you really think I'm going to let it go?

 

And you don't know what my situation is. How do you know I'm not an insomniac or anything? And how do you know what I'm going to do when I get to work? The last time I checked, I'm not making money going to school, so what's my motivation?

 

None of your reasons are good enough to jutify why the speed of the buses shouldn't be increased where possible. Even if I'm not in a hurry, do you really think I like sitting on slow buses? How is mass transit supposed to compete with the car if the bus stops at every other light even when there's no need to?

[Via Garibaldi 8]

And I'm supposed to somehow take advantage of BusTime without a SmartPhone, right?

 

I knew you would bring up that excuse... You choose not to have a smart phone, so it is what it is. Besides, Molinaro just gave $200,000 for display times to be put into major bus shelters across the island so when they're installed you can use them. :cool:

 

And how do you know that "more times than not" I lose out when they come early? There are times when I benefitted from them coming early, and there are also times when the bus came late as well and I lost out.

 

How do I know?? Because you've stated it, that's how. Don't even try it. Now suddenly you benefit so much from the buses coming early. Spare me because I recall you complaining about the buses being bunched or you missing the bus more than getting it. You don't fool me for one second. With the way you wait until the last minute to get to the stop, you barely give yourself enough time for an early bus, especially if they're almost 10 minutes early. It doesn't take rocket science to figure out that if the buses come early and you arrive at the stop just before the bus is due (as you claim you do or often talk about chasing buses down) then you usually aren't going to get them.

 

And that's exactly the point: If they tighten the schedules up, they won't come early.

 

No, that's not the point. The schedules are clearly designed for them to drive safely and not like speed demons. I've been on several local buses since I started using Bus Time and the speed has been just fine and I've made my connections to the express bus at the time stated on the schedule. What I'm noticing is very few people running the bus down because the bus is at the stop when it should be, which is a good thing, so you have more even loading levels so long as there aren't other factors for the buses to bunch.

 

And I know the schedule by heart, but it doesn't do you any good if you can't make it to the stop before the bus does.

 

It sure doesn't, not if you leave yourself no time to make it now does it? That's a rhetorical question, so no answer needed.

 

And WTF are you talking about with connections? I take one bus to school and then walk because I know the S46 won't show up in time.

 

Oh really?? And what about all of the times that you've posted about trying to catch S46s?? You are so full of ish and you know it. LOL

 

And yeah, when you depend on public transportation, you have to run around to keep up with the schedule. I don't only chase after buses on my way to school: If I'm on my way home and I see the bus, you really think I'm going to let it go?

 

Well I depend on public transportation and I do just fine and yes, I occasionally will run for a bus too, but I'm not going to twist an ankle just to catch a friggin' bus. They'll be another one. I also am not running for several blocks like you do for a bus. That's just insane and reckless. You put yourself and everyone on the bus in danger with that behavior trying to force the door open when it is already closed. :tdown::tdown:

 

And you don't know what my situation is. How do you know I'm not an insomniac or anything?

You yourself (not me) stated that you have so much work and after school activities, so that's why you get so little sleep. Was that a lie or was I reading things??

 

And how do you know what I'm going to do when I get to work? The last time I checked, I'm not making money going to school, so what's my motivation?

 

With no education you more than likely won't have a decent paying job, so that's your motivation right there unless you're fine being unsuccessful unless you come out with some genius invention and strike it rich. Some of your comments show that you have a lot to learn about how things work in the real world.

 

None of your reasons are good enough to jutify why the speed of the buses shouldn't be increased where possible. Even if I'm not in a hurry, do you really think I like sitting on slow buses? How is mass transit supposed to compete with the car if the bus stops at every other light even when there's no need to?

 

Are you kidding me? If I'm in a serious hurry, I am not going to take a friggin' bus. If I'm looking for "speed" as qj likes to say, I'll take a taxi. Buses will compete with cars by being on time that's how. If the buses were crawling and getting to their destinations extremely late specifically because of them driving slow then that would be one thing, but they're not. They're on time and getting there safely which is what is important.

[BrooklynBus]

I don't really think the decision to extend any bus service is too prudent in the current fiscal climate, especially in Staten Island. Every other borough (especially Brooklyn) is begging to get routes reinstated, and here comes SI asking for new service. No is the correct answer.

 

And going with that, it's too early to judge him if you're just going off of that. I know writing a story you need to have something to say, but honestly, I don't think there's too much of a story... yet. Lhota literally just walked in and he denied an extension of service when the MTA is out of money... that's not revolutionary.

 

Walder's problem was not his personality but his lack of funds. He was incredibly qualified for the job and his work in London was exemplary. I'm not too impressed that he bailed for a bigger paycheck, but he had no money to work with, everybody hated him for making the necessary decisions, and the job was incredibly difficult. Nothing crazy about him leaving there, and saying his 'personality' was at fault just wasn't true. The MTA needs money. Badly.

 

Now to answer your title? Yes. It will be the same old politics. And as always, it won't be the MTA chair's fault, it'll be Albany's fault. Until the MTA head has money to play with (Pataki's fault, basically), it's going to be the same standstill we've been sitting in for ages. I'm not impressed Lhota is a Giuliani guy, but it's too early for a story here.

 

The story was a lot more than the one decision not to extend service on the S93 and the article didn't conclude that an extension was even the orrect decision, only that a no to any service improvements may have not been the orrect response.

 

Regarding Walder, it is well known he was not getting along with the unions and did much to antagonize them, sometimes at the expense of the riders like once not filling open runs when a bus operator was sick causing waits of 60 minutes on a route with 30 minute headways. Also, if he was such the expert you claim he was, why is he so surprised now that the infrastructure was in a such horrible state? He should have known that when he accepted the position in NY, and perhaps should have turned it down. He knew there was no money to rebuild the system. it appears to me that Jay Walder was only interested in Jay Walder. He came back to boost his pension and left as soon as he saw a more lucrative offer. You are giving the guy too much credit.

[checkmatechamp13]

1) I knew you would bring up that excuse... You choose not to have a smart phone, so it is what it is. Besides, Molinaro just gave $200,000 for display times to be put into major bus shelters across the island so when they're installed you can use them. :cool:

2) How do I know?? Because you've stated it, that's how. Don't even try it. Now suddenly you benefit so much from the buses coming early. Spare me because I recall you complaining about the buses being bunched or you missing the bus more than getting it. You don't fool me for one second. With the way you wait until the last minute to get to the stop, you barely give yourself enough time for an early bus, especially if they're almost 10 minutes early. It doesn't take rocket science to figure out that if the buses come early and you arrive at the stop just before the bus is due (as you claim you do or often talk about chasing buses down) then you usually aren't going to get them.

 

3) No, that's not the point. The schedules are clearly designed for them to drive safely and not like speed demons. I've been on several local buses since I started using Bus Time and the speed has been just fine and I've made my connections to the express bus at the time stated on the schedule. What I'm noticing is very few people running the bus down because the bus is at the stop when it should be, which is a good thing, so you have more even loading levels so long as there aren't other factors for the buses to bunch.

 

4) It sure doesn't, not if you leave yourself no time to make it now does it? That's a rhetorical question, so no answer needed.

 

5) Oh really?? And what about all of the times that you've posted about trying to catch S46s?? You are so full of ish and you know it. LOL

 

6) Well I depend on public transportation and I do just fine and yes, I occasionally will run for a bus too, but I'm not going to twist an ankle just to catch a friggin' bus. They'll be another one. I also am not running for several blocks like you do for a bus. That's just insane and reckless. You put yourself and everyone on the bus in danger with that behavior trying to force the door open when it is already closed. :tdown::tdown:

 

7) You yourself (not me) stated that you have so much work and after school activities, so that's why you get so little sleep. Was that a lie or was I reading things??

 

8) With no education you more than likely won't have a decent paying job, so that's your motivation right there unless you're fine being unsuccessful unless you come out with some genius invention and strike it rich. Some of your comments show that you have a lot to learn about how things work in the real world.

 

9) Are you kidding me? If I'm in a serious hurry, I am not going to take a friggin' bus. If I'm looking for "speed" as qj likes to say, I'll take a taxi. Buses will compete with cars by being on time that's how. If the buses were crawling and getting to their destinations extremely late specifically because of them driving slow then that would be one thing, but they're not. They're on time and getting there safely which is what is important.

 

1) None of the stops I use have shelters so that still doesn't help me.

 

2) And I've also mentioned times when the bus coming in early has helped me get to school on time, or make the ferry.

 

And as far as my day-to-day commutes, there haven't been any buses that arrived at my stop 10 minutes early (either that, or it was short trips like from CSI, so if I miss the bus I just walk it). Most of the time it was just a couple of minutes.

 

3) And I keep on mentioning instances where the drivers are driving on the slow side and still end up having to pull over and wait at stops.

 

And you keep on saying that there are routes where they don't have enough runtime, and now suddenly it's impossible that they have routes where there is too much runtime? Isn't that how we got into the discussion about early buses in the first place? And you said yourself the X10 always shows up early, and the only way it fills its runtime is if its crowded and the driver isn't aggressive (e.g. He's not going through yellow lights and things like that).

 

4) So again, BusTime doesn't help me.

 

5) I pretty much gave up on the S46 (going to school) since they botched up the schedule, so no, this year I've only taken it a handful of times (and only if it was right at the stop or something, because I'm not going to actually wait for it)

 

6) I wasn't running for the bus that time: I was trying to make it to the bus stop (but yes, I did catch that bus). I wasn't even running hard: It was just dark and I didn't see the crack.

 

And how the f*ck does that put people in danger trying to pull open the door? If there's space (and there always is), I'm going in, no exceptions. And if I choose to run several blocks for a bus (on a sidewalk, and not doing anything crazy), again, how is that unsafe for anybody?

 

7) And did I say that was the only reason? No I didn't, and I can assure you there's a valid reason why I don't get sleep aside from the after-school activities (and the AP classes that are just as easy as the regular version), but I'm not going to start putting my medical history online.

 

8) You don't fail out of school for being late, especially considering my high grades.

 

The time I show up to school has no immediate (short-term) bearing on how much money I make.

 

9) And if the runtime were shortened, they'd still be ontime and be able to drive safely.

 

And wouldn't you prefer getting to your destination earlier rather than later? Even if you're not in a serious hurry? That extra 5 minutes you save, you can use to go into a store and get a snack or something.