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

[B35 via Church]

13 hours ago, Mtatransit said:

Someone should look at NICE's new system map 

https://www.nicebus.com/getattachment/Tools/Maps-and-Schedules/NICE-System-Map-_Compressed.pdf.aspx

10 hours ago, Lex said:

I hope that's not considered an improvement.

8 hours ago, Q43LTD said:

The maps and the schedules are a downgrade from the LIB days.

Yikes.... This system map is plain old, bad.... HTC is a major hub, but it is not as vital as having the whole county bus map focally centered around it.... At first glance, it would have you think that everything emanates from HTC, with the skyblue colored lines being rather irrelevant.... Among other things, the map pretty much says f**k you if you're not riding between any two major xfer points.... Doesn't even show the main streets of operation buses run along...

14 hours ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

The new schedules look really sloppy, and make it harder to gather information. I mean, one has to consistently look at the front page to find out what the abbreviations mean in terms of the timepoints. The only thing that has somewhat improved is the route map. Here's the n6 timetable.

http://www.nicebus.com/NICE/media/NiceBusPDFSchedules/NICE-n6_MapSchedule.pdf

I'm going to go out on a limb & say they've bit this style/layout from another provider.... This is eerily reminiscent of something I've seen many moons ago (can't recall which city's bus system though)..... I will say that it does look cleaner than the previous schedule style/layout....

As far as what you're saying, there would be more room (letter space) for abbreviations, if they got rid of that crowd predictor bullshit (depicted with the green dots)....

[67thAve]

2 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

Yikes.... This system map is plain old, bad.... HTC is a major hub, but it is not as vital as having the whole county bus map focally centered around it.... At first glance, it would have you think that everything emanates from HTC, with the skyblue colored lines being rather irrelevant.... Among other things, the map pretty much says f**k you if you're not riding between any two major xfer points.... Doesn't even show the main streets of operation buses run along...

I'm going to go out on a limb & say they've bit this style/layout from another provider.... This is eerily reminiscent of something I've seen many moons ago (can't recall which city's bus system though)..... I will say that it does look cleaner than the previous schedule style/layout....

As far as what you're saying, there would be more room (letter space) for abbreviations, if they got rid of that crowd predictor bullshit (depicted with the green dots)....

Yeah. I also noticed the similarity, but I can't put my finger on which one...

As for the old style, it was the same design that the Savannah bus network (and, until recently, the New Orleans RTA) utilized.

If you want to see real cookie-cutter timetable design, most Australian timetables are designed by one firm (Transit Graphics), using a few relatively standardized templates. Not that I mind - they're quite good (and, to their credit, they've diversified the layouts in the past two years)!

Edited June 27, 2020 by 67thAve

[danielhg121]

For the n79 schedule, clicking on the PDF schedule, that last abbreviated timing point is South Huntington which according to the legend is EM but the map has it as SH labelled. Then the table also has it listed as SH, thanks for not being confusing. The n79 would be much quicker if they let it continue along Woodbury Rd instead of turning onto Manetto Hill and via Old Country but the ridership patterns probably don't support it. I'm kinda curious why they bother to keep the n78 around, the thing is more or less a n79 short-turn and for such light ridership levels like they state, why bother having short-turns?

On the n88, if you click the map pdf, it brings up an outdated schedule from 2013 which doesn't have the correct timing points and still has the n87 listed as a transfer.

I'm sure there are countless more errors but just wanted to point out a few examples. 

[B35 via Church]

1 hour ago, danielhg121 said:

For the n79 schedule, clicking on the PDF schedule, that last abbreviated timing point is South Huntington which according to the legend is EM but the map has it as SH labelled. Then the table also has it listed as SH, thanks for not being confusing. The n79 would be much quicker if they let it continue along Woodbury Rd instead of turning onto Manetto Hill and via Old Country but the ridership patterns probably don't support it. I'm kinda curious why they bother to keep the n78 around, the thing is more or less a n79 short-turn and for such light ridership levels like they state, why bother having short-turns?

On the n88, if you click the map pdf, it brings up an outdated schedule from 2013 which doesn't have the correct timing points and still has the n87 listed as a transfer.

I'm sure there are countless more errors but just wanted to point out a few examples. 

That's actually one of my gripes with the website; it's as if they don't know what files they have on the server.... They should go about deleting every single schedule they currently have on their servers, and then commence uploading the most updated schedule for every route.

[Zachary Transit]

Just recently, i noticed Orion VII Next Gen #1879 on the n4 with rear and side cameras similar to the ones on the XN40's. If anyone knows, could you tell me when NICE began installing external cameras on their Orions? Thanks!
Photo Links:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ba9fPNDcJZVhq4LCKwyiVs2kk2WifxF9/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EdGeOp6PzvF5VEEzf2S5qEKPTxld-S-n/view?usp=sharing

[danielhg121]

So I was looking at the n20G westbound timetable and there's one trip that starts at 2:45PM Plandome Rd/Northern and they added one new timing point just for this one trip so the timetable looks janky as hell, couldn't they put an asterisk to denote that trip is special. Anyone know why they bothered to add this to the schedule? This specific trip also skips Great Neck Plaza.

[jaf0519]

1 hour ago, danielhg121 said:

So I was looking at the n20G westbound timetable and there's one trip that starts at 2:45PM Plandome Rd/Northern and they added one new timing point just for this one trip so the timetable looks janky as hell, couldn't they put an asterisk to denote that trip is special. Anyone know why they bothered to add this to the schedule? This specific trip also skips Great Neck Plaza.

It isn’t a new trip. While on the schedule current as of June 28, 2020, it is the 2:45 PM trip, on older schedules, such as the pdf one from January, it was the 2:36 PM to Flushing. It is a school tripper designed to serve St. Mary’s high school just west of Plandome Rd. I remember it being on the schedule as a N20L Limited trip before NICE split the N20 into the N20G and N20H. It being a former limited trip is why it skips Great Neck Plaza and LIRR Station.

[danielhg121]

32 minutes ago, jaf0519 said:

It isn’t a new trip. While on the schedule current as of June 28, 2020, it is the 2:45 PM trip, on older schedules, such as the pdf one from January, it was the 2:36 PM to Flushing. It is a school tripper designed to serve St. Mary’s high school just west of Plandome Rd. I remember it being on the schedule as a N20L Limited trip before NICE split the N20 into the N20G and N20H. It being a former limited trip is why it skips Great Neck Plaza and LIRR Station.

Ahh okay, I was under the impression it was a special tripper of some kind. The school is still in session during the summer months?

[jaf0519]

27 minutes ago, danielhg121 said:

Ahh okay, I was under the impression it was a special tripper of some kind. The school is still in session during the summer months?

It’s kind of strange. To my knowledge the school is closed during the summer. The purpose the trip serves is like a school tripper, since it starts right at the school and roughly at dismissal time, but it operates even when school isn’t in session. If I had to guess, it probably has decent ridership and they just haven’t cut it.

[Kris Brain]

On 6/27/2020 at 9:38 PM, B35 via Church said:

That's actually one of my gripes with the website; it's as if they don't know what files they have on the server.... They should go about deleting every single schedule they currently have on their servers, and then commence uploading the most updated schedule for every route.

So, what's the lifespan on the tanks of the Orion VII NG CNG fleet anyway? I assume that the EPA10 CNGs are about 18 years or so, but what about the NGs?

[Kris Brain]

On 6/27/2020 at 7:05 PM, 67thAve said:

Yeah. I also noticed the similarity, but I can't put my finger on which one...

As for the old style, it was the same design that the Savannah bus network (and, until recently, the New Orleans RTA) utilized.

If you want to see real cookie-cutter timetable design, most Australian timetables are designed by one firm (Transit Graphics), using a few relatively standardized templates. Not that I mind - they're quite good (and, to their credit, they've diversified the layouts in the past two years)!

Seems that 2008 Orion VII NG CNG #1700 was in an accident the other day while working the n22. Going to be OOS for a while.

[Kris Brain]

On 7/9/2020 at 8:09 PM, Zachary Transit said:

Just recently, i noticed Orion VII Next Gen #1879 on the n4 with rear and side cameras similar to the ones on the XN40's. If anyone knows, could you tell me when NICE began installing external cameras on their Orions? Thanks!
Photo Links:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ba9fPNDcJZVhq4LCKwyiVs2kk2WifxF9/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EdGeOp6PzvF5VEEzf2S5qEKPTxld-S-n/view?usp=sharing

Is NICE going to repaint anymore Orion 7s?

[danielhg121]

6 hours ago, Kris Brain said:

Seems that 2008 Orion VII NG CNG #1700 was in an accident the other day while working the n22. Going to be OOS for a while.

Any pics of the accident?

[Kris Brain]

3 minutes ago, danielhg121 said:

Any pics of the accident?

No, but a guy named Andrew Lee posted the video a couple days ago on youtube.

[Kevin Madson]

On 7/9/2020 at 8:09 PM, Zachary Transit said:

Just recently, i noticed Orion VII Next Gen #1879 on the n4 with rear and side cameras similar to the ones on the XN40's. If anyone knows, could you tell me when NICE began installing external cameras on their Orions? Thanks!
Photo Links:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ba9fPNDcJZVhq4LCKwyiVs2kk2WifxF9/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EdGeOp6PzvF5VEEzf2S5qEKPTxld-S-n/view?usp=sharing

Alot of the Orion 7.501 EPA10 "3G" CNGs are getting them I noticed. Also, it seems like NICE bus is about to get $18 million in funding according to transit magazine. Some of that money will be used to purchase 23 new CNG buses (likely more Xcelsiors though it is not clear if they will be more XN40s, XN60s, or a mix of both).

[FamousNYLover]

On 7/16/2020 at 9:43 AM, danielhg121 said:

So I was looking at the n20G westbound timetable and there's one trip that starts at 2:45PM Plandome Rd/Northern and they added one new timing point just for this one trip so the timetable looks janky as hell, couldn't they put an asterisk to denote that trip is special. Anyone know why they bothered to add this to the schedule? This specific trip also skips Great Neck Plaza.

That's properly old.

[B35 via Church]

What route out there starting at LIRR Hicksville does NICE got using those minibuses? It was bus #2292 to be exact.... 8:30am trip was packed as shit... It left with standees on it.... It was at the n24/n78/n79 stop.

All the sign showed was the letter 'H'

Edited September 15, 2020 by B35 via Church

[Cait Sith]

5 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

What route out there starting at LIRR Hicksville does NICE got using those minibuses? It was bus #2292 to be exact.... 8:30am trip was packed as shit... It left with standees on it.... It was at the n24/n78/n79 stop.

All the sign showed was the letter 'H'

I can't think of any....I wonder if they pulled the shtick where they sent a cutaway to cover a route, most recently, they sent one to cover an n6x...and it broke down at 165.

[danielhg121]

7 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

What route out there starting at LIRR Hicksville does NICE got using those minibuses? It was bus #2292 to be exact.... 8:30am trip was packed as shit... It left with standees on it.... It was at the n24/n78/n79 stop.

All the sign showed was the letter 'H'

Usually, it's the n80 using them on the regular. Wouldn't be surprised if it ended up on any of the other routes you mentioned.

They did say they were using them on the n57, n78 and n80 as part of "vehicle flexing".

Edited September 15, 2020 by danielhg121

[B35 via Church]

2 hours ago, danielhg121 said:

Usually, it's the n80 using them on the regular. Wouldn't be surprised if it ended up on any of the other routes you mentioned.

They did say they were using them on the n57, n78 and n80 as part of "vehicle flexing".

Wasn't even thinking about the n80... Strange that there's no marked stop for it (which is why I said n24/n78/n79)... Further down that side of the block as you know, there's the n22/n48/49 stop, and even further than that, there's the n20h stop by itself....

I didn't get on this bus in question (didn't feel much like NICE fanning; just rode the LIRR out to Hicksville & back to ENY to see how the 3rd track project's coming along), but the way people piled onto it, it's as if they knew what bus it was.... But if you're telling me that you wouldn't be surprised if those minibuses pulled up as any one of those routes, it'd have been funny as shit if some of those people got on the wrong bus

I did not know that they're basically pulling a SCT out in eastern Nassau county, with the minibus usage & what not....

[Lex]

4 hours ago, Cait Sith said:

I can't think of any....I wonder if they pulled the shtick where they sent a cutaway to cover a route, most recently, they sent one to cover an n6x...and it broke down at 165.

I'm weak.

How did they possibly expect that to work at all? Even with general transit ridership being down, that's far from a low-ridership route.

[Cait Sith]

On 9/15/2020 at 10:00 AM, Lex said:

I'm weak.

How did they possibly expect that to work at all? Even with general transit ridership being down, that's far from a low-ridership route.

To be fair, it could have worked given the ridership levels during the pandemic.

But....in this case, it didn't.

[danielhg121]

Now that they've split the n22/24, when you transfer onto the other bus heading towards Hicksville or Jamaica, does it take your transfer? NICE gives 2 transfers I believe. 

[trainfan22]

 

 

 

Yuck, I'd rather them buy used REAL buses than use a damn cutaway van on the N22. If they struggling to make service then maybe NICE should consider buying some MTA 6500s until they receive new buses. MTA gave the PBL hand me down RTS's BEFORE the takeover happened. I remember riding them on the Q40 which was a Green Lines route. If not the MTA then maybe some other transit agency recently retired buses.

[B35 via Church]

Not that it makes a difference (given that both halves of the route gets good usage), but seeing where that bus is situated inside the terminal, that's the Mineola - Hicksville leg (the Jamaica bound buses arrive/depart on the opposite end of the terminal).... Figured there had to be something (else) up their sleeve as to why they decided to break up most n22 trips throughout the day....

The irony that he's now clamoring for the MTA to come back, when he was quite happy that the MTA ceased (providing buses for) Nassau County when LIB went under....

On a side note, damn, LIRR Mineola's butchered up...