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

[NY1635]

12 minutes ago, Lex said:

Aren't the tanks rated for 20 years?

For that matter, which of the Orion VIIs are 12 years old? (And if NICE is trying to replace them, it speaks volumes about how shit the maintenance of those buses has been.)

NICE has good maintenance. The problem is that Nassau bus riders just don't like the look or sound of the Orion VIIs. Nassau residents really like the express buses more than regular ones. 

Edited November 26, 2019 by NY1635

[Mtatransit]

4 hours ago, NY1635 said:

NICE has good maintenance. The problem is that Nassau bus riders just don't like the look or sound of the Orion VIIs. Nassau residents really like the express buses more than regular ones. 

Most of Nassau county residents wouldn't be caught dead riding the bus.

The people who ride NICE are:

People reverse commuting from Queens

Students

People too poor to afford cars.

 

It doesn't matter what bus NICE uses. NICE used to have those Foothill buses with nice seats... didn't make a difference

Edited November 26, 2019 by Mtatransit

[NY1635]

1 minute ago, Mtatransit said:

Most of Nassau county residents wouldn't be caught dead riding the bus.

The people who ride NICE are:

People reverse commuting from Queens

Students

People too poor to afford cars.

 

It doesn't matter what bus NICE uses. NICE used to have those Foothill buses with nice seats... didn't make a difference

People who ride the NICE bus just want to get in and out of the Nassau Hub (Mineola, Hicksville, Hempstead, Roosevelt Field/NCC) before the sun sets. Poor people in Nassau own cars, they just use it for short trips or heading out east into Suffolk. The only routes that I see outright admit they hate are the n1, n6, n16, n24, and n40/41.  Nassau residents don't hate the bus system, they hate that Hempstead has the most bus service while routes like the n45, n50, and n73, n80, n19, or n72 to Babylon get cut, or the n20 get split in half. 

In short, it's less that they hate the bus system and more they feel that Hicksville/East Meadow area is being neglected by a lack of routes.

[NY1635]

Laura Curran's Husband now has a contract with the MTA. Now he can order those coach buses those LIRR riders desperately want.

https://www.newsday.com/long-island/politics/curran-nassau-1.39283812

[Hound]

4 hours ago, NY1635 said:

Laura Curran's Husband now has a contract with the MTA. Now he can order those coach buses those LIRR riders desperately want.

https://www.newsday.com/long-island/politics/curran-nassau-1.39283812

I guess this means the MTA will come back to Nassau?

 

[NY1635]

5 hours ago, Hound said:

I guess this means the MTA will come back to Nassau?

 

No. The MTA doesn't want to hear the complaints of Nassau residents and have no problem with city residents taking the Nassau Buses.

NICE ordered new buses with harder seats so they can give those old buses a power wash.

[User]

What does the door announcement in this video say?

Looks like it's taken on the N70 at Farmingdale State College:

Also, the uploader of this video has some other funny videos from NICE rides posted on YouTube.

[NY1635]

40 minutes ago, User said:

What does the door announcement in this video say?

Looks like it's taken on the N70 at Farmingdale State College:

Also, the uploader of this video has some other funny videos from NICE rides posted on YouTube.

Route n70, AHRC Loop, but that's Farmingdale State College. Maybe they're planning to loop around Farmingdale?

IIRC, the n70 was created mostly as a work shuttle for people who commuted over to Newsday in Melville. That became moot when the Dolan Family lost control over Newsday some time in the past. There also used to be a work shuttle from Farmingdale LIRR and Newsday before the MTA cut it for budget reasons.  

I also remember hearing that SCT commuters hate doing the transfer at Farmingdale State College between the S1 and other routes because the bus operator at the other bus refuse to the transfer. It's also hard to know the transfer points on Suffolk Routes without paper schedule or the internet. 

Edited December 27, 2019 by NY1635

[NY1635]

2 hours ago, NY1635 said:

Route n70, AHRC Loop, but that's Farmingdale State College. Maybe they're planning to loop around Farmingdale?

IIRC, the n70 was created mostly as a work shuttle for people who commuted over to Newsday in Melville. That became moot when the Dolan Family lost control over Newsday some time in the past. There also used to be a work shuttle from Farmingdale LIRR and Newsday before the MTA cut it for budget reasons.  

I also remember hearing that SCT commuters hate doing the transfer at Farmingdale State College between the S1 and other routes because the bus operator at the other bus refuse to the transfer. It's also hard to know the transfer points on Suffolk Routes without paper schedule or the internet. 

Nevermind, AHRC is just like BOCES in that it's for people with disabilities and Elderly. They must be testing out a new loop around Farmingdale since NICE want their one seat ride around Airport Plaza and the Farmingdale Area. They must be making space for that pilot Farmingdale-Babylon shuttle SCT is planning between running via Route 109. 109 is just like 110 in that it's a state road. n71 serves everything west of 110 and Carmans Mill Road, SCT is east of 110. It's political boundaries because it's unknown if county legislators would agree to fund Nassau-Suffolk Travel. According to NICE, the n72 got cut back because they lost 800 customers, most of them were in Suffolk getting to Farmingdale.

[User]

NICE got sued for a Workers' Comp dispute: 

Quote

A New York appellate court ruled that an injured bus driver did not forfeit his entitlement to benefits by making deliberate misrepresentations about his condition even though video surveillance indicated he was capable of more activity than his doctor had expected him to be able to perform.

https://law.justia.com/cases/new-york/appellate-division-third-department/2019/528808.html

[N6 Limited]

Just noticed a N43 PDF has a N1 map and weekday timetable.

http://www.nicebus.com/NICE/media/NiceBusPDFSchedules/NICE-n43_MapSchedule.pdf

[User]

6 hours ago, N6 Limited said:

Just noticed a N43 PDF has a N1 map and weekday timetable.

http://www.nicebus.com/NICE/media/NiceBusPDFSchedules/NICE-n43_MapSchedule.pdf

What is funny is that they do that at least once every time that they make schedule changes.

[NY1635]

17 hours ago, N6 Limited said:

Just noticed a N43 PDF has a N1 map and weekday timetable.

http://www.nicebus.com/NICE/media/NiceBusPDFSchedules/NICE-n43_MapSchedule.pdf

You guys are supposed to read the schedule from left to right. It seemed as if they borrowed Suffolk's techinques and made it nicer. 

Anywho, the only noticeable change I recognized is the n54/55 getting more hours and starting at 4 am in the morning for hospital and medical staff in Amityville. 

Lot of CNA use it to get to work and have been giving NICE grief since many of them are mothers, grandmothers. It's also perfect to coordinate with people who are connecting from the n6. Same goes for n72. They just made the start time earlier than later for security-hospitality agents.

I wish they made the n35 south of Baldwin end later around midnight  or 1am for people who don't have access to the n36. 

[User]

Are n20/21 buses no longer allowed to make the roundabout turns in Great Neck on South Station Plaza or Welwyn Rd? If yes, when did this become a rule?

Every bus continues over the tracks and makes a right turn onto North Station Plaza which is a fairly tight turn if there are cars heading west on that street waiting at the stoplight. Buses then make a right onto Barstow Road to come around to the bus stop. With all of the buses parked on North Station Plaza as well as the usual traffic in both directions, this seems like an added time that isn't needed if drivers can make the roundabout turn without issue.

[NY1635]

11 hours ago, User said:

Are n20/21 buses no longer allowed to make the roundabout turns in Great Neck on South Station Plaza or Welwyn Rd? If yes, when did this become a rule?

Every bus continues over the tracks and makes a right turn onto North Station Plaza which is a fairly tight turn if there are cars heading west on that street waiting at the stoplight. Buses then make a right onto Barstow Road to come around to the bus stop. With all of the buses parked on North Station Plaza as well as the usual traffic in both directions, this seems like an added time that isn't needed if drivers can make the roundabout turn without issue.

That was mostly due to the area being too congested. The n20 needs to be full time between Hicksville and Rosyln. Have the n20 terminate at the Industrial Park for city workers. It's mostly college students who keep acting a fool on Northern, especially the ones over at NYIT, CW Post and LIU. 

Still think the n48/49 should be extended to SUNY Old Westbury during the campus season to help the n20. It used to go to Jericho Quad before it got dialed back to Hicksville.

Rode the n24 yesterday and I think the n79 needs midday service for Saturday and Sunday Service. Turned out it was a Jersey Fam who wants his money in Suffolk and trying to get out before dusk. Kept telling him that MS-13 don't want him making a move on their girls.

[NY1635]

3 minutes ago, NY1635 said:

That was mostly due to the area being too congested. The n20 needs to be full time between Hicksville and Rosyln. Have the n20 terminate at the Industrial Park for city workers. It's mostly college students who keep acting a fool on Northern, especially the ones over at NYIT, CW Post and LIU. 

Still think the n48/49 should be extended to SUNY Old Westbury during the campus season to help the n20. It used to go to Jericho Quad before it got dialed back to Hicksville.

Rode the n24 yesterday and I think the n79 needs midday service for Saturday and Sunday Service. Turned out it was a Jersey Fam who wants his money in Suffolk and trying to get out before dusk. Kept telling him that MS-13 don't want him making a move on their girls.

the n22 is fine as is. It's just a nice ride along New Cassel, maybe have the n24a or n22a terminate at NCC for college Students. Heard the n16j got discontinued, mostly because n16 has too many variants.

Make the n16x the following: Roosvelt Field, NCC All Stops, Hempstead Transit Center, Franklin at Newmans Court, Franklin at Graham, Molloy College, RVC Railroad Station, Merrick at Park Avenue, and Baldwin Silver Lake during the Rush.

EDIT: Correcting my information. Using a Laptop ATM,

New Schedules took in Effect on Sunday.

Edited January 6, 2020 by NY1635

[Future ENY OP]

On 12/9/2019 at 10:51 AM, NY1635 said:

Laura Curran's Husband now has a contract with the MTA. Now he can order those coach buses those LIRR riders desperately want.

https://www.newsday.com/long-island/politics/curran-nassau-1.39283812

There’s an updated article dated 12/13/19 that the husband of Laura Curran and his Law firm  has withdrew from the contract. Article doesn’t fully specify to why he withdrew from the contract. However, let’s just say conflict of interest. 
 

[NY1635]

I found my old bus schedule for the n22/22A.

It took the n22A 1 hour to reach Roosvelt Field Skipping Mineola

The n22 took a hour and 5 minutes serving both the mall and the Mineola terminal, 2 hours to get to Hicksville.

NICE just formatted the schedule incorrectly. Is it possible to bring back the LIB's font? It's easier to read.

NICE had too many timepoints listed causing so much confusion.

The n27 just needs to be 30 minutes midday. Weekends is debatable because Roslyn Road is too dark at night to see properly. 

[N6 Limited]

When did the N6 Express start using 193rd street to go between Jamaica Ave and Hillside Ave?

[NY1635]

The n25 will be traveling along Covert Avenue between Stewart and Jericho Turnpike starting on February till Fall because they're doing construction on NHP Road to eliminate the grade crossing at the LIRR Station. 

The new stop will be at Stewart Avenue and NHP Road

https://www.nicebus.com/Service-Alerts

Edited January 16, 2020 by NY1635

[User]

Anyone want to advertise on NICE Bus? - http://www.nicebusads.com/

[N6 Limited]

15 hours ago, User said:

Anyone want to advertise on NICE Bus? - http://www.nicebusads.com/

Featuring a route map from 2012

Edited January 20, 2020 by N6 Limited

[FamousNYLover]

On 1/5/2020 at 10:12 PM, User said:

Are n20/21 buses no longer allowed to make the roundabout turns in Great Neck on South Station Plaza or Welwyn Rd? If yes, when did this become a rule?

Every bus continues over the tracks and makes a right turn onto North Station Plaza which is a fairly tight turn if there are cars heading west on that street waiting at the stoplight. Buses then make a right onto Barstow Road to come around to the bus stop. With all of the buses parked on North Station Plaza as well as the usual traffic in both directions, this seems like an added time that isn't needed if drivers can make the roundabout turn without issue.

Some n20H/20G/n21 bus drivers still make U-turn on South Plaza.

I think some bus drivers properly going through North Plaza because of idiot car drivers doesn't understand buses need to make 90^ U-turn on South Plaza.

Instance, 8:17pm n20H bus that becomes 9:20pm Flushing bus and sometimes bus gets to Great Neck early, sometimes s/he layover on north side.

If bus is late like on Sunday, bus driver just turn around at rotary instead.

Sometimes bus driver who does H trips become G trip also purposely late.

It always confuse some passengers.

In past 8:15pm n20H bus driver who does 9:20pm n20G let passengers stay onboard the bus, including few drivers asked to pay for Flushing onboard at front.

However after few driver changed, all drivers seem to be different.

Majority of n20G bus drivers does round trip still use U-turn by market.

If wheelchair passenger was to board at Jericho Whole Food and heading to Queens via n20H/n20G at 8:17pm, bus driver properly need to let wheelchair passenger stay onboard bus.

I think that's reason why some n20G/H and n21 buses are turning right atNorth Station Plaza, turn right at Buttonwood Rd, turn right at South Station Plaza to save time.

Edited January 26, 2020 by FamousNYLover

[FamousNYLover]

On Sunday, January 19th, after vegan event at Zen Garden, I met one of best male B/O on 5:05pm n20G Flushing bus.

Since it was very cold outside, this male bus driver let everyone get in bus to stay in warm bus before sign automatically change to n20G.

This driver greeted everyone. Once at City Line, he said, "Glenwood St-City Line, LAST STOP IN NASSAU COUNTY. TRANSFER TO MTA NYCT BUS"

At Flushing-Main St, "FLUSHING-MAIN ST! LAST STOP. Transfer to NYCT  train, MTA NYCT BUS! HAVE WONDERFUL DAY EVERYONE."

Edited January 26, 2020 by FamousNYLover

[Lawrence St]

I was reading the NICE bus wiki and I saw that several routes were discontinued between 2016-2017. Were these low ridership routes? Were they merged into other routes?