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

[67thAve]

I think it's Merrick Road/Park Av in RVC. To avoid having to cross Sunrise Hwy.

 

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N43:

-6:55 AM from Freeport to RF should be scheduled to leave at 7:00 AM to allow time for passengers on the N4 which arrives at 6:55 AM at Freeport.

-There should be 3-4 N43 Limited runs in the morning from 7AM to 9AM towards NCC and 4 to 5 in the PM from 3-5PM towards Freeport making Local stops between Roosevelt Field and NCC then stops at

-Hempstead Turnpike

-Front Street

-Jerusalem Ave

-Pennywood Ave

-Freeport LIRR

These runs will leave Freeport 7-10 minutes before the local. From NCC to Freeport can take up to 45 minutes alone. It's an idea worth trying. There's a lack of Limited-Stop service on the North South routes.

Elmont Flexi: Reduce to hourly.

FCS: Eliminate

 

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Oh... my bad. That's actually not a bad idea then.

 

As for north-south limited service, I think the n40/41 would be a better corridor to try it out on.

Edited February 6, 2017 by MrBeardedBread

[NY1635]

I can agree with that idea for the Elmont Flexi. Rockaway is a faster, straighter road than Corona, is closer to more residences/businesses, as well as only a block away from the current route, so current riders don't need to walk much further.

 

As for the other three:

 

-With the Mercy Medical Shuttle, why would you extend it all the way to Merrick? It's quite a long ways away, and I don't see how the shuttle will gain much more in terms of riders.

-The n43 could probably be extended during rush hours to Bellmore, but with the current budget situation, I doubt that would happen.

-I'd personally cut the Jericho Quad leg of the n48. If it MUST be kept, I would certainly switch to utilizing minibuses.

 

I was suggesting extending the Mercy shuttle over to Merrick Rd and Park Avenue in RVC, so that people can connect to the n4 without having to cross Sunrise Highway. I noticed that most of the riders in that area were coming from the n4 on Merrick Road more so than the LIRR station itself.  Ironically, I avoided suggesting that the n43 the to Merrick LIRR via Merrick Road because it sounded to redundant and confusing.

 

As for the n48, I just find it easier to have it run full length from Jerhico Quad to Hempstead rather than have it split in two sections.

[FamousNYLover]

My updated on RED.

My updated suggestion.

n1: Eliminate peak Jamaica trip. Hewlett service is needed.

Elmont Flexi: Every hour rush hour, small van.

n4/4X: Current.

Rockville Centre Community Shuttle: Eliminate

n15: Implement n15X trip. n15X will only make limited stops between Long Beach and Hempstead, stopping at Mercy Medical Center,  and all n15/15X trips will operate via Garden City routing between Hempstead and Roosevelt Field Mall. n15X rush hours only. n15 24-hour.

n16: Eliminate Saturday.

Mercy Medical Community Shuttle: Eliminate.and replace by n15X.

n19: Keep it. Implement Sunday service on S20 Loop using small van.

n20G/H: Restore back to direct n20 bus service between Hicksville and Flushing via Great Neck.

n21: Rush Hour Only.

n22: 24-hour.

n23: Service should run about 5:00~23:00.

n24: East Meadow branch eliminated.

n25: More hours needed.

n26: Add one more trip in rush hour.

n27: Operate between Glen Cove and Roosevelt Field Mall.

n28: Restore and implement Roslyn Station, serving Roslyn Industiral Park, Harbor Link Golf Course, Amsterdam at Harborside, and Helen Killer Blind Center Sandy Points. Use small van service.

n31: Rush Hour only.

n32: 24-hour. Midnight service every 90 minutes.

n33: 24-hour with 90 minutes headway after last weekday bus.

n35: 24-hour. Extend to Amber Court and Home Depot on Jericho Turnpike during rush hours.

n36: Needed or operate as Summer Service Only.

n40: 24-hour.

n41: Needed.

n45: Needed. Use small van service.

n51:: Eliminate

n54: Rush Hour Only.

n55: Keep as it is.

n57: All rush hour trips operate clockwise loop.

n58: Eliminate US Merchant House.

Freeport Community Shuttle:Elimante

n70: Hempstead-Farmingdale State University.

n71:

n72: Implement n72 to operate limited-stop during rush hour between Hempstead and NYS 110, stopping at major stop. Other time local stops between Hempstead and Babylon Train Station.

Hicksville-Wantagh Community Shuttle: Use small van.

n78: Eliinate.

n79: More service to meet mall hours. n79 will serve Plainnview loop both direction.

n80: Merge to n81.

n81: Use smaller van.

n88: Needed. Restore Theater service.

 

[R32 3838]

i wonder how many orion V's are left

[N4 Via Merrick Rd]

i wonder how many orion V's are left

There's still a handful of them, I just stepped off 1697. It had a really bad screeching noise.

 

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[NY1635]

n81 should be extended to Quad (minibus). MMC Shuttle could be eliminated

 

The MMC shuttle is being kept to serve the hospital, and keep people from using the n16 to Molloy College to get to Mercy.

[67thAve]

There's still a handful of them, I just stepped off 1697. It had a really bad screeching noise.

 

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I was also on 1697 (7:01 northbound from Hempstead), and yes, that screeching noise was indeed terrible. It always seems that an Orion V plows that trip.

[N4 Via Merrick Rd]

I was also on 1697 (7:01 northbound from Hempstead), and yes, that screeching noise was indeed terrible. It always seems that an Orion V plows that trip.

Seems like we were on the same bus... I took it from RVC around 6:25-6:30ish

 

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Edited February 6, 2017 by N4 Via Merrick Rd

[Mtatransit]

The MMC shuttle is being kept to serve the hospital, and keep people from using the n16 to Molloy College to get to Mercy.

I usually only see maybe one person, or at most two person board at MMC only stops. Most ridership come from RVC, and Randall Av

[NY1635]

I usually only see maybe one person, or at most two person board at MMC only stops. Most ridership come from RVC, and Randall Av

 

There's just no alternative to the shuttle for the Hospital in the area, unless one is brave enough to navigate from the hospital to Molloy to catch the n16 on Hempstead Avenue.

[RtrainBlues]

Two things tie up the N43: the traffic light at Front Street and the circuitous detour through the entire NCC.  Didn't the N45 used to only go through part of the college to save running time?  it wouldn't be the end of the world of they consolidated all the NCC stops into one or two stops - heaven forbid NCC students had to walk a block or two along the campus to a different campus stop, so the whole bus could move along faster.  Time = extra driver salaries.

[NY1635]

Two things tie up the N43: the traffic light at Front Street and the circuitous detour through the entire NCC.  Didn't the N45 used to only go through part of the college to save running time?  it wouldn't be the end of the world of they consolidated all the NCC stops into one or two stops - heaven forbid NCC students had to walk a block or two along the campus to a different campus stop, so the whole bus could move along faster.  Time = extra driver salaries.

 

The n45 and n51 used to use Selfridge Avenue to reach Stewart, that all changed when the Life Science Building was completed in 2012 and then both buses were rerouted to follow the n16 to East Lot on Endo to serve the new building. As for the n43, it needs to go thru the whole Campus in order to reach Corporate Drive. Endo Blvd is the only street that reaches Corporate Drive while Selfridge ends on Stewart, and Quentin Roosevelt only leads to the Mall.

[RtrainBlues]

Maybe the N43 needs to be rerouted onto Stewart Ave to further save running time, especially with the N45 going away.  I see a lot more passengers getting on along Stewart Ave than the circuitous detour via Corporate Drive.  Those who need the Corporate Drive area can take the N22 or N24 instead.

 

They really should think about consolidating all the stops for the NCC into one or two stops.  it's especially crazy going northbound when just when you think they finally did the whole loop, they then go and do a loop a second time which adds another several minutes with the backed-up traffic light to get out of the campus.  Same for the Welfare Office at 60 Charles Lindbergh - the passengers can just walk down one little block to Oak Street/Westbury Blvd to catch the bus. 

 

All these circuitous detours are adding running time and costing NICE money.  Not the end of the world if you need to walk a block to catch the bus so it doesn't need to make a long detour.

[NY1635]

Maybe the N43 needs to be rerouted onto Stewart Ave to further save running time, especially with the N45 going away.  I see a lot more passengers getting on along Stewart Ave than the circuitous detour via Corporate Drive.  Those who need the Corporate Drive area can take the N22 or N24 instead.

 

They really should think about consolidating all the stops for the NCC into one or two stops.  it's especially crazy going northbound when just when you think they finally did the whole loop, they then go and do a loop a second time which adds another several minutes with the backed-up traffic light to get out of the campus.  Same for the Welfare Office at 60 Charles Lindbergh - the passengers can just walk down one little block to Oak Street/Westbury Blvd to catch the bus. 

 

All these circuitous detours are adding running time and costing NICE money.  Not the end of the world if you need to walk a block to catch the bus so it doesn't need to make a long detour.

 

The n22 and n24 don't run anywhere close to the Corporate Drive area to be an alternative to the 43, especially if one is coming from Target or the Loews Theater. It's a pretty long walk from those places to East Gate Blvd for the n22/24 or even Merchants Concourse for the n35. The n43 isn't that long a route that certain parts need to be cut. It's a 35-40 minute ride from Roosevelt Field to Freeport.

 

In the past, consolidating all the stops for NCC to just Student Union, Bradley Hall, and the Bookstore would've been possible. Now that the Life Science Building exists over by Endo, it's simply not possible for NICE to consolidate any of them and then tell students to walk all the way from the back of the Campus over to say, Student Union or Bradley Hall to catch the bus.

 

As for 60 Charles Lindbergh, that's never going to happen because it's a one of the most used stops on the n16 and the n27.

Edited February 7, 2017 by NY1635

[Hound]

All this will change when Mangano goes to jail. The contract with Veolia is going to be cancelled & the MTA is going to be taking over, funded by the state.

[NY1635]

All this will change when Mangano goes to jail. The contract with Veolia is going to be cancelled & the MTA is going to be taking over, funded by the state.

 

The County Legislators of both Nassau and Suffolk are already fighting to get the state to fund their bus networks, arguing that Long Island's economy is dependent on a very reliable bus network to take people to their jobs, schools, and homes.  As for Manago, it's highly unlikely that he'll run for reelection as his own party refuses to nominate him after he got arrested.  The future Nassau's bus system really depends on whoever is the replaces the current County Executive.

Edited February 7, 2017 by NY1635

[67thAve]

All this will change when Mangano goes to jail. The contract with Veolia is going to be cancelled & the MTA is going to be taking over, funded by the state.

It's time to face the music. Transdev, whether you like them or not, is here to stay for a while. I do feel that they can operate a capable network, but the funding levels right now are so low that no matter who is in charge, the system will be a mess.

[FamousNYLover]

If n79 is gone, is possible for following.

Extend n24 via n79 from Hicksville Station to Walt Whitman Mall.

 

If n19 bus is gone, is possible to have n4 extended via n19 bus between Freeport and Sunrise Mall?

Edited February 8, 2017 by FamousNYLover

[Mtatransit]

If n79 is gone, is possible for following.

Extend n24 via n79 from Hicksville Station to Walt Whitman Mall.

 

If n19 bus is gone, is possible to have n4 extended via n19 bus between Freeport and Sunrise Mall?

If you would like the n4 or the n79 to be routinely half an hour late like the old n20, sure. But it won't save any money. Just because a route designation is gone doesn't equals saving, plus a lot of n24 interline with the 79 anyways Edited February 8, 2017 by Mtatransit

[NY1635]

If n79 is gone, is possible for following.

Extend n24 via n79 from Hicksville Station to Walt Whitman Mall.

 

If n19 bus is gone, is possible to have n4 extended via n19 bus between Freeport and Sunrise Mall?

 

No on both suggestions. Both routes are already long and extending the n4 to Sunrise Mall, or the n24 to Walt Whitman will just make them more prone to delays. Besides, Sunrise Mall is still served by the n54/55, which connects to the n43 at Jerusalem and Uniondale Avenues.

 

What's at the Walt Whitman and Sunrise Malls that makes them different from Broadway Mall in Hicksville, or even Roosevelt Field?

Edited February 8, 2017 by NY1635

[Mtatransit]

No on both suggestions. Both routes are already long and extending the n4 to Sunrise Mall, or the n24 to Walt Whitman will just make them more prone to delays. Besides, Sunrise Mall is still served by the n54/55, which connects to the n43 at Jerusalem and Uniondale Avenues.

 

What's at the Walt Whitman and Sunrise Malls that makes them different from Broadway Mall in Hicksville, or even Roosevelt Field?

Abosolutely nothing, the only reason the buses go there is presumly to make connection with other buses Edited February 8, 2017 by Mtatransit

[FamousNYLover]

If there's no n79, there will be no connection to/from HART fixed-route or patransit connection.

[checkmatechamp13]

If there's no n79, there will be no connection to/from HART fixed-route or patransit connection.

 

Right, so if anything, you should just advocate for keeping the n79 around instead of having the n24 cover a ridiculous extension.

 

And in any case, the LIRR runs from Hicksville to Huntington and Greenlawn/Northport, which results in connections to the HART system (for those who can't access the S1 via a transfer from the n70/72). Keeping a route just so that NICE can continue to say it offers connections to the 4 HART routes is simply ridiculous. Now if we're talking coverage in Plainview & Woodbury, and general connectivity (connections to HART and the S1/23/29/54), now we have actual reasons to keep the n79.

[B35 via Church]

If there's no n79, there will be no connection to/from HART fixed-route or patransit connection.

JFC, This doesn't mean you extend the n24....

 

Jamaica to South Huntington via Hicksville; clearing through Nassau County... What is the matter with you?

 

Abosolutely nothing, the only reason the buses go there is presumly to make connection with other buses

That's what Whitman mall's been relegated to, ever since it got "simon-ized".....

[Hound]

JFC, This doesn't mean you extend the n24....

 

Jamaica to South Huntington via Hicksville; clearing through Nassau County... What is the matter with you?

 

That's what Whitman mall's been relegated to, ever since it got "simon-ized".....

"simonized"=no "bus people" wanted