Random Thoughts Thread - Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE)

[N6 Limited]

I'm talking about making Middle Neck Road the sole transfer point (rather than Great Neck LIRR). It would be more convenient to time the buses there. 

If you look at the schedule it looks like it is timed for Middle Neck Road & Northern Blvd Transfers. The Transfers at Great Neck LIRR are there and padded for simplicity, but the timings are ideal for transferring at Northern Blvd. 

 

With the Transit App, deciding where to transfer should be easy, you may be able to go up one more stop on Middle Neck Rd and Cross the street there instead of Northern Blvd at certain times.

[mac5689]

 

On my way to Casino Public Hearing, I got 10:00am n20G Great Neck #1910 and our connection was for 11:00 n20H Hicksville, but our bus got to Middle Neck Rd/Northern Blvd at 10:32, so we had to play Frogger across busy and dangerous Northern Blvd intersection to get on 10:30 n20H Hicksville #1877.

 

 

 

I have a question if you took the 10:00 n20G  and it was to connect to the 11:00 n20H why are you talking about crossing the road to get the 10:30 n20H?

 

Unless you typed the wrong time, then playing Frogger to cross the road would be your own fault because it sounds like you went to get the earlier bus then waiting for the the connection bus. Which wouldn't have nothing to do with NICE or the n20G/H not working. 

 

 

she told me Able-Ride drivers drive recklessly and she told me many Able-Ride B/O are speeding which is ADA violation. She had bumby ride all the way because Able-Ride drivers are turning first, speeding, etc.

 

Pretty sure speeding violates the law, not just ADA. 

 

How do you know that the bumpy ride was only due to speeding and turning, I assume fast, and that road conditions didn't also make it bumpy?

[mac5689]

The past 3 pages are the SCT Random Thoughts Thread...

 

I noticed that, also was waiting for someone to point that out, and I apologize seriously did not think that the discussion would have evolved like it did. 

[FamousNYLover]

I have a question if you took the 10:00 n20G  and it was to connect to the 11:00 n20H why are you talking about crossing the road to get the 10:30 n20H?

 

Unless you typed the wrong time, then playing Frogger to cross the road would be your own fault because it sounds like you went to get the earlier bus then waiting for the the connection bus. Which wouldn't have nothing to do with NICE or the n20G/H not working. 

 

 

Pretty sure speeding violates the law, not just ADA. 

 

How do you know that the bumpy ride was only due to speeding and turning, I assume fast, and that road conditions didn't also make it bumpy?

It not just only. Most of n20 riders who were on same bus didn't want to wait for 11:00am n20H bus, so they played Frogger to catch 10:30 n20H Bus.

 

She told me everytime when she used to take Able-Ride, she gets injured, so she don't take Able-Ride anymore.

[N6 Limited]

I have a question if you took the 10:00 n20G  and it was to connect to the 11:00 n20H why are you talking about crossing the road to get the 10:30 n20H?

 

Unless you typed the wrong time, then playing Frogger to cross the road would be your own fault because it sounds like you went to get the earlier bus then waiting for the the connection bus. Which wouldn't have nothing to do with NICE or the n20G/H not working. 

 

 

Pretty sure speeding violates the law, not just ADA. 

 

How do you know that the bumpy ride was only due to speeding and turning, I assume fast, and that road conditions didn't also make it bumpy?

This is a general reply in reverence to the conversation, not to you in particular, but, I do not like the term "speeding" it's very generic and full of propaganda. 

[N6 Limited]

*reference! 

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

And lots of n20 riders are benefitting from the more reliable service, but aren't being as vocal. The n20 is a fairly busy route, so "lots of people" are going to have lots of different opinions.

 

 

You mean cut the buses back from LIRR Great Neck? Wouldn't work, since you lose the connection to the LIRR itself, as well as to the n57/58 (and the shopping/residential district around the station). And where would you turn them around if not the LIRR station?

Not at all. The n20's/n21 would still go to Great Neck, but the transfer will be made at Middle Neck Road instead (and the timetable would denote that).

If you look at the schedule it looks like it is timed for Middle Neck Road & Northern Blvd Transfers. The Transfers at Great Neck LIRR are there and padded for simplicity, but the timings are ideal for transferring at Northern Blvd. 

 

With the Transit App, deciding where to transfer should be easy, you may be able to go up one more stop on Middle Neck Rd and Cross the street there instead of Northern Blvd at certain times.

Not all of them are timed though. Some come really close (like 2 minutes or less) to the point that if one bus is late, the riders are screwed.

[checkmatechamp13]

 

It not just only. Most of n20 riders who were on same bus didn't want to wait for 11:00am n20H bus, so they played Frogger to catch 10:30 n20H Bus.

 

According to the schedule, the 10:00am n20G arrives in Great Neck at 10:41am. Let's subtract 2 minutes for the segment between Northern Blvd and the LIRR station to get 10:39am. By that time, the 10:30am n20H out of Great Neck is scheduled to be all the way past Plandome Road. You were supposed to miss that bus by a long shot, and you (and the rest of those people running) made it. That video doesn't prove anything except you people need to plan your schedules better and be happy when things like this happen.

 

NICE actually made a post on their Facebook page saying that people overall are making their trips quicker, and your video was living proof of that.

 

On a side note, instances like this were part of the reason those center medians were put into place: To give pedestrians a safe place to wait in case they could only make it halfway across the street (including those transferring between buses).

 

And the guy in the blue jacket was waiting for the n25 (presumably the 10:32am departure from Great Neck), and if he was on your bus, he would've had to run to make that transfer anyway.

 

This is a general reply in reverence to the conversation, not to you in particular, but, I do not like the term "speeding" it's very generic and full of propaganda. 

 

Agree. You ever see that YouTube video out there: Speed kills (Your Pocketbook)?

 

There's a difference between driving recklessly, and driving on the fast side.

 

Not at all. The n20's/n21 would still go to Great Neck, but the transfer will be made at Middle Neck Road instead (and the timetable would denote that).

Not all of them are timed though. Some come really close (like 2 minutes or less) to the point that if one bus is late, the riders are screwed.

 

Are those times during rush hour or off-peak? (And in which direction, keeping in mind that the n20G is generally more frequent than the n20H)?

[N6 Limited]

Agree. You ever see that YouTube video out there: Speed kills (Your Pocketbook)?

 

There's a difference between driving recklessly, and driving on the fast side.

 

Yep I've seen that one, more people need to see it. And I agree with you, the sad thing is that many people don't know the difference. They think if you go above the speed limit you're automatically dangerous or reckless when it's typically in areas with artificially low speed limits. 

 

For example, some people think it's dangerous to drive above 55mph on the LIE, but the road was designed for 70-80mph traffic, so it's not dangerous or reckless, the artificially low speed limit is.

[mac5689]

It not just only. Most of n20 riders who were on same bus didn't want to wait for 11:00am n20H bus, so they played Frogger to catch 10:30 n20H Bus.

 

She told me everytime when she used to take Able-Ride, she gets injured, so she don't take Able-Ride anymore.

 

If they wanted to get the earlier bus then like I said it's the person's own fault for playing frogger. It's not NICE's fault that people don't want to wait for the next bus and therefore thought it was better to play a dangerous game of frogger to catch their earlier bus.

 

Famous that still didn't answer my question on how you know that it was caused by what she said and not because of or also caused by lets say the roadway had pot holes or such. It's horrible that she was injured but unless you have hard facts other then what she told you, how do you know she told you the truth or a can of worms.  No I'm not saying the lady was lying, for all I know she could be telling the truth, I have no way of proving whether or not she's telling the truth. I'm just merely stating that you have no way of knowing if she's telling the truth either, unless of course you were on the able-rides with her and didn't say anything LOL.

 

 

 

 

This is a general reply in reverence to the conversation, not to you in particular, but, I do not like the term "speeding" it's very generic and full of propaganda. 

 

I admit I wanted to use another word too, however only speeding came to mind. Out of Curiosity what term would you have used instead of speeding? 

[Hound]

That should be transfer point too.

Northern Blvd & Lakeville/Middle Neck Rd has always been an optional transfer point. Generally to & from the N25,as connections can be missed by transferring at GNRR. It now also benefits pass. transferring bet. the N20G,N20H & N21.

[N6 Limited]

I admit I wanted to use another word too, however only speeding came to mind. Out of Curiosity what term would you have used instead of speeding? 

Reasonable speed  j/k

Northern Blvd & Lakeville/Middle Neck Rd has always been an optional transfer point. Generally to & from the N25,as connections can be missed by transferring at GNRR. It now also benefits pass. transferring bet. the N20G,N20H & N21.

Has the split been a success?

[Joel Up Front]

Can you still transfer to/from the n20ABCXYZ at Northern Boulevard/Community Drive or any of the stops along that stretch before Middle Neck Road?  I never liked transferring at Great Neck because it was too far up to be timely by any standard.

Edited February 24, 2016 by Joel Up Front

[MTA Orion Bus]

How many times are some of you going to ask whether or not the n20G/H split has been a success? Untl some official statistics come out (preferably from someone other than NICE since I believe many of their statistics are as truthful as what the county spews out), it's purely opinion so just read the last few pages of posts in this thread or even the last pages of the threads in this section and it'll tell you. I mean, come on guys.

[N6 Limited]

How many times are some of you going to ask whether or not the n20G/H split has been a success? Untl some official statistics come out (preferably from someone other than NICE since I believe many of their statistics are as truthful as what the county spews out), it's purely opinion so just read the last few pages of posts in this thread or even the last pages of the threads in this section and it'll tell you. I mean, come on guys.

Hound would know better than anyone else here. 

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

Are those times during rush hour or off-peak? (And in which direction, keeping in mind that the n20G is generally more frequent than the n20H)?

 

Generally in the shoulder period in the PM, and the early PM rush towards Flushing from the n20H to the n20G. There are some occasions in the early AM and after the AM to Hicksville.

 

On Saturdays, none of the 20H buses are timed with the 20G at Great Neck, and barely make it at Middle Neck Road. On Sundays it's even worse, since people have to wait from 12-57 minutes for a bus to Flushing or Hicksville. That's why i believe the timing should be held at Middle Neck Road (they can continue on to the LIRR). 

[DS4Ever]

They. Should reinstate the n20 Flushin- Hicksville and havr it run hourly andthe n20 to Great Neck every 1/2 hour. ..also the n20 Flushin- Hicksville wouldSKIP the great. Neck loop and go straight down northern blvd(minor ddetour in Roslyn) ...also have a 1/2 hourly n20 from Great Neck-Hicksville

 

N21 should keep its currentroute. Unless is the people who decide the futuree of the n21

[NY1635]

Why was the n20 extended to Hicksville LIRR in the first place?

[MTA Orion Bus]

They. Should reinstate the n20 Flushin- Hicksville and havr it run hourly andthe n20 to Great Neck every 1/2 hour. ..also the n20 Flushin- Hicksville wouldSKIP the great. Neck loop and go straight down northern blvd(minor ddetour in Roslyn) ...also have a 1/2 hourly n20 from Great Neck-Hicksville

 

N21 should keep its currentroute. Unless is the people who decide the futuree of the n21

I got an idea. How about the n20 just be reinstated to it's original setup, and the n21 go back to being rush hours only. Oh no, we can't do that because of LIBRU's whining.

 

Why was the n20 extended to Hicksville LIRR in the first place?

To transport all the hicks.

[DS4Ever]

That works too. ^^^

[NY1635]

I got an idea. How about the n20 just be reinstated to it's original setup, and the n21 go back to being rush hours only. Oh no, we can't do that because of LIBRU's whining.

 

To transport all the hicks.

 

NICE should just ignore them and do just that. Those guys will complain no matter what changes NICE make to the system.

[checkmatechamp13]

Generally in the shoulder period in the PM, and the early PM rush towards Flushing from the n20H to the n20G. There are some occasions in the early AM and after the AM to Hicksville.

 

On Saturdays, none of the 20H buses are timed with the 20G at Great Neck, and barely make it at Middle Neck Road. On Sundays it's even worse, since people have to wait from 12-57 minutes for a bus to Flushing or Hicksville. That's why i believe the timing should be held at Middle Neck Road (they can continue on to the LIRR). 

 

The n20G is running every 10 minutes during that time, so it's not too bad. A little too much congestion, and before you know it, you're just in time for the next bus anyway.

 

Outbound (towards Hicksville) is a little bit harder, but at the same time, people have to build in a little bit of a cushion into their schedule anyway. The buses run every 6-10 minutes, and while in an ideal world, there would be optimal connections, unfortunately, that's not always the case. On the bright side, the n21 also provides service for those traveling between Great Neck and Roslyn, so not too many people are negatively impacted (not to mention the n25 for a small fraction of passengers)

 

Weekends, I'm not sure how the schedule is written with respect to how much layover time the buses have. The n20H and n21 appear to be timed with LIRR trains at Great Neck. So then it comes down to shifting the n20G times. If you have them depart Great Neck 5 minutes later, then you probably need to have them depart Flushing 5 minutes later too (assuming the drivers are mostly driving back and forth on the n20G for much of their shift). Which could work. 

 

I will say, the one time I tried this split route, I took the n21 to Middle Neck Road, crossed the street, and waited a few minutes for the n20G, which was running a few minutes late (in the meantime, that n21 was actually scheduled to do the next n20G trip 15 minutes later).

 

I got an idea. How about the n20 just be reinstated to it's original setup, and the n21 go back to being rush hours only. Oh no, we can't do that because of LIBRU's whining.

 

To transport all the hicks.

 

The thing is that NICE does have a point in that the n20 was very delay-prone due to its length. Somebody waiting at say, the Americana Manhasset trying to get to Hicksville has to deal with a bus coming all the way from Flushing, with all the traffic and crowding that has potential to hold up the bus.

 

And the n21/27 use 4 buses combined during off-peak hours, as opposed to 3 buses to run the n27 alone. Plus, the n21 replaces a lot of those n20 short-turns to Roslyn, so your proposal wouldn't really save any money.

 

I do agree that the LIBRU is full of crap. They just go on about trying to maintain every single route, regardless of whether it is near other routes or has very little ridership, while in the meantime, there's densely populated areas of Nassau County with no NICE service. (And then they complain about the location of the meetings instead of why it's necessary to have those meetings in the first place) 

[MTA Orion Bus]

@Tom Meadow I found PinePower's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000453775519

And I have another surprise coming soon.

 

The thing is that NICE does have a point in that the n20 was very delay-prone due to its length. Somebody waiting at say, the Americana Manhasset trying to get to Hicksville has to deal with a bus coming all the way from Flushing, with all the traffic and crowding that has potential to hold up the bus.

 

And the n21/27 use 4 buses combined during off-peak hours, as opposed to 3 buses to run the n27 alone. Plus, the n21 replaces a lot of those n20 short-turns to Roslyn, so your proposal wouldn't really save any money.

 

I do agree that the LIBRU is full of crap. They just go on about trying to maintain every single route, regardless of whether it is near other routes or has very little ridership, while in the meantime, there's densely populated areas of Nassau County with no NICE service. (And then they complain about the location of the meetings instead of why it's necessary to have those meetings in the first place) 

There had to be some money saved by cutting back the n21 or else NICE wouldn't have tried to do it in the first place. Between those buses running empty between Glen Cove and Roslyn, or the consistent dead-heads I see running the entire n20 route or taking the LIE from Queens all the way to Glen Cove Rd, there's just so much money being blown.

[FamousNYLover]

Only change I agree was n21 and n20L, well as n14, n17.

n62 was actually busy during summer.

n14 was only 2 people.

n17 was mostly carrying n16 riders who were either going to Hempstead or Rockville Cetre.

Only n2 Green Acres Loop, n50, n51, n73 and n81 buses should come back.

[N6 Limited]

n62 was actually busy during summer.

They should keep a route all year long because it's busy during the summer?