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

[Astoria Line]

I was on the 6:48 n6X out of 165 yesterday. Crushed all the way to the front all the way until Hilton. Really friendly B/O though, he was telling me and a few other passengers about how he thinks the MTA will come back. All the passengers were complaining and saying that service sucks worse on the n6 since Veolia took over.

 

I don't really have complaints, but I frequent three of the highest ridership NICE Bus routes (n6, n15 & n4) so I'm more fortunate than some of the other riders.

Edited October 3, 2013 by Astoria Line

[Astoria Line]

I'm sure you think service could be better, like an N6 LIMITED instead of the n6 Express being the only thing besides the local. And an N4 LIMITED making all the major stops needed to get the buses as busy as the locals. Right?

 

Here's what i think:

 

n6 - MAKE WESTMINSTER AN N6X stop again..... that will basically make it an LIB n6L

 

n4 - I actually think it is fine... I think the n4 operators are given too much time on the route (express and local). They drag or cruise a lot and ugh its aggravating. Oh and make Central Ave a n4X stop.

Edited October 3, 2013 by Astoria Line

[PinePower]

Rode a midday n35 from Westbury today, the 1:05pm trip and it's the first time I did so in quite awhile. The hourly service is not enough, by Merrick & Privado things were already getting crowded. Must've picked up 20 passengers along Post Ave alone...I got off at Privado, I'm sure it got crushed at NCC.

They gotta restore 30 min headways middays on it. Its stuff like this that causes ridership to drop, ppl dont want to wait an hour for a bus and then be jammed and maybe not even get a seat.

[Vistausss]

@Astoria: LMAO. And then everyone will complain about lack of service once comes back because they will do a worse job with that sh*t amount of money Nassau will give 'em (just like they do with NICE).

 

Btw, Central Ave is added to the n4x, as was announced yesterday.

Edited October 3, 2013 by Vistausss

[N6 Limited]

And there's no NICE service literally anywhere near there.  Garden City CAVEdwellers at their finest.  That park also right next to the abandoned St. Paul's Church and school...

 

Yeah its a bit of a walk!

N40/N41 is a bit of a walk, but they can use Able Ride to get there also.

 

 

I was on the 6:48 n6X out of 165 yesterday. Crushed all the way to the front all the way until Hilton. Really friendly B/O though, he was telling me and a few other passengers about how he thinks the MTA will come back. All the passengers were complaining and saying that service sucks worse on the n6 since Veolia took over.

 

I don't really have complaints, but I frequent three of the highest ridership NICE Bus routes (n6, n15 & n4) so I'm more fortunate than some of the other riders.

Was it crushed from the Terminal, 169th or 179th?

 

One good thing is that they extended n6X service until about 7:20pm.

 

 

Rode a midday n35 from Westbury today, the 1:05pm trip and it's the first time I did so in quite awhile. The hourly service is not enough, by Merrick & Privado things were already getting crowded. Must've picked up 20 passengers along Post Ave alone...I got off at Privado, I'm sure it got crushed at NCC.

They gotta restore 30 min headways middays on it. Its stuff like this that causes ridership to drop, ppl dont want to wait an hour for a bus and then be jammed and maybe not even get a seat.

That's their efficiency plan, I'm sure quite a few people got off at Roosevelt Field. If it got crushed at Nassau, it's not like they don't have the N16 and N6x to use.

 

It's like when people were complaining about the n23 getting full on Roslyn Road, everyone was able to get on and half the bus spilled out at Hillside Ave to take the n22 anyway, and so technically an additional bus would have been a waste of resources.

 

Not that I'm condoning their actions, since I now take the bus to commute and I avoid the n6 if I can, in the mornings I prefer the rush hour n1 trips, and if I know I'm going to miss the last one in the evening at 7:30pm, I'll find something to do which postpones my arrival in Jamaica till about 11pm, when the n6 isn't a clown car disguised as a bus.

 

I made a post the other day about how I can see why there was a drop in ridership, when I said I was on a bus with about 65 people on it, It wasn't hyperbole, there was literally about 65 people on the bus, all 41 seats filled and about 20+ standees. 

 

 

I wonder how they're going to implement the Automatic Passenger Counting systems. They should put them on every bus and log every trip so they know exactly what's going on. 

 

Do agencies that use these APC devices to schedule and interline short turns?

 

For example, if they know that a large group of riders take the n6 to Franklin Ave, then take the N25 to Great Neck, and also a lot of riders ride from Great Neck to Flushing, do they schedule a driver to do a

N6 - Jamaica - Franklin Square/Franklin Ave then change signs

N25 - Franklin Square - Great Neck then change signs

N20 - Great Neck - Flushing?

 

Does anyone know any systems that do that?

[FamousNYLover]

When I went to TAC Meeting on September meeting, I was coming from 3:50pm Oyster Bay Train and when I got off at Roslyn Station at 4:21, 4:00pm n27 Hempstead was 5 minutes early, so I had no choice but to close under the railroad crossing gate with Orange Vest on and because I didn't want to miss the TAC Meeting.

Next thing, NICE need to study n23 and n27 connections on Weekends.

Maybe this weekend I could study n23/n27 weekend route.

[Amtrak7]

Do agencies that use these APC devices to schedule and interline short turns?

 

For example, if they know that a large group of riders take the n6 to Franklin Ave, then take the N25 to Great Neck, and also a lot of riders ride from Great Neck to Flushing, do they schedule a driver to do a

N6 - Jamaica - Franklin Square/Franklin Ave then change signs

N25 - Franklin Square - Great Neck then change signs

N20 - Great Neck - Flushing?

 

Does anyone know any systems that do that?

 

APC isn't that smart, it only records OTP and ons/offs and not origin-destination/transfer pairs.

[Astoria Line]

N40/N41 is a bit of a walk, but they can use Able Ride to get there also.

 

 

Was it crushed from the Terminal, 169th or 179th?

 

One good thing is that they extended n6X service until about 7:20pm.

 

 

That's their efficiency plan, I'm sure quite a few people got off at Roosevelt Field. If it got crushed at Nassau, it's not like they don't have the N16 and N6x to use.

 

It's like when people were complaining about the n23 getting full on Roslyn Road, everyone was able to get on and half the bus spilled out at Hillside Ave to take the n22 anyway, and so technically an additional bus would have been a waste of resources.

 

Not that I'm condoning their actions, since I now take the bus to commute and I avoid the n6 if I can, in the mornings I prefer the rush hour n1 trips, and if I know I'm going to miss the last one in the evening at 7:30pm, I'll find something to do which postpones my arrival in Jamaica till about 11pm, when the n6 isn't a clown car disguised as a bus.

 

I made a post the other day about how I can see why there was a drop in ridership, when I said I was on a bus with about 65 people on it, It wasn't hyperbole, there was literally about 65 people on the bus, all 41 seats filled and about 20+ standees. 

 

 

I wonder how they're going to implement the Automatic Passenger Counting systems. They should put them on every bus and log every trip so they know exactly what's going on. 

 

Do agencies that use these APC devices to schedule and interline short turns?

 

For example, if they know that a large group of riders take the n6 to Franklin Ave, then take the N25 to Great Neck, and also a lot of riders ride from Great Neck to Flushing, do they schedule a driver to do a

N6 - Jamaica - Franklin Square/Franklin Ave then change signs

N25 - Franklin Square - Great Neck then change signs

N20 - Great Neck - Flushing?

 

Does anyone know any systems that do that?

 

 

It was crushed from 169th. I'm actually happy that n6X service was extended. I think it should be until 8pm at least, but its a start

[N6 Limited]

APC isn't that smart, it only records OTP and ons/offs and not origin-destination/transfer pairs.

I realize that, I was thinking to the extent of bus systems studying ridership from APC around certain time frames to implement something like that.

 

It was crushed from 169th. I'm actually happy that n6X service was extended. I think it should be until 8pm at least, but its a start

Yes, this is why the N6x didn't do well when it started at 179th. n6 riders know better to stay on that past 169th because they may not be able to board the bus and you're definitely not getting a seat. At least if you get off at 169th, you have the option to walk to the bus terminal to guarantee that you board and/or get a see. Until they address that , short turns to 179th are going to be empty. Not to mention when the MTA had N6 short turns to 179th it caused issues, because people would get on wanting to go to the terminal.

[PinePower]

When I went to TAC Meeting on September meeting, I was coming from 3:50pm Oyster Bay Train and when I got off at Roslyn Station at 4:21, 4:00pm n27 Hempstead was 5 minutes early, so I had no choice but to close under the railroad crossing gate with Orange Vest on and because I didn't want to miss the TAC Meeting.

 

Next thing, NICE need to study n23 and n27 connections on Weekends.

Maybe this weekend I could study n23/n27 weekend route.

 

They need to fix this. Met a few passengers today telling me the n23's are pulling out a few minutes early on weekends leaving them to wait another hour. It's not acceptable...period. 

[PinePower]

Today I had a not so nice day, and it changed who I'm gonna be voting for. There was absolutely no excuse for the pathetic service I got from NICE today. 

I needed to be in Glen Cove by 5:30pm. So I figured getting the n22 that arrives in Westbury at 3:36pm, to the n27 that leaves RF at 3:57pm would give me enough time, as there's another n27 that leaves at 4:27pm if need be. Well the n22 didn't show up by 3:50pm, so I gave up on it  knowing the next n22 didn't arrive in Westbury for awhile (the 3:57pm n22x from Hicksville) so I walked over to the train station. As I did that crush loaded n22 passed but I wasn't gonna squeeze on. I hopped on 3:58pm train but came at 4:01pm, no good, since I'd never get to Mineola in time for the 4:07pm train, so I got off at Carle Place before anyone checked my ticket, and just walked over to Glen Cove Rd since I wasn't gonna chance that n22 again. Then NICE strikes again, the n27 doesn't show up until 4:55pm, over 20 minutes late. The farebox had a transfer jammed in it so I got a free ride, and the engine alarm going off was giving me a headache. I don't arrive in Glen Cove until 5:45pm, 15 minutes late for an appointment that I left for 2 1/2 hours ago...I probably could've WALKED there faster.

On the way I met some passengers, including one woman who works at the Burger KIng in Garden City Park, she told me earlier this week the n24 that she takes never showed up, and neither did the next one after that, she wound up walking all way from RF to her job, and not one n24 passed...WTF? Another couple told me they dont even bother going out on weekends, since the n23 always leaves Roslyn before the n27 arrives. They've written NICE and they said they'd look into it, they never do. How come this crap is still happening? It's been a year and a half since they made those changes to the n27 and they still haven't fixed the issue, it's clear they never will.

I know I'm sure Yuki will love this post, and I really have been trying to give NICE the benefit of the doubt. I was hoping with the additional funding they've gotten that service would improve, but it's clearly not. The irregular schedules dont help, the n22 can have 40 minute gaps followed by 10-20 min gaps, it's a recipe for bunching. I'm allowed to change my mind and I have. I'm not a fan of Tom Suozzi, but Mangano's running the bus system on such a small amount of county subsidy, it's pathetic, it shows how little he regards us. At least with Suozzi there's a chance, I say a chance, that more money will be put into the bus system. And if more is and NICE still can't deliver reliable service, maybe its time to bring back the .

I saw firsthand today why NICE is losing so many riders. That woman who works in Garden City Park said she's tired of allowing 4 hours to get to work and still being late, she's going to start taking the LIRR and walk from the Merillon Ave station.

If someone asked me if I was better off with bus service when Tom Suozzi and the MTA were running things, my honest answer would have to be yes.

I had the n35 every 20-30 minutes all times Mon-Sat. I had regular spaced n22 service usually every 20-30minutes. I had the n27 running its full route, full time. Enough of this express BS, just have limiteds, bring back what was around prior to Jan.1.2012, and call it a day.

[qjtransitmaster]

Today I had a not so nice day, and it changed who I'm gonna be voting for. There was absolutely no excuse for the pathetic service I got from NICE today. 

I needed to be in Glen Cove by 5:30pm. So I figured getting the n22 that arrives in Westbury at 3:36pm, to the n27 that leaves RF at 3:57pm would give me enough time, as there's another n27 that leaves at 4:27pm if need be. Well the n22 didn't show up by 3:50pm, so I gave up on it  knowing the next n22 didn't arrive in Westbury for awhile (the 3:57pm n22x from Hicksville) so I walked over to the train station. As I did that crush loaded n22 passed but I wasn't gonna squeeze on. I hopped on 3:58pm train but came at 4:01pm, no good, since I'd never get to Mineola in time for the 4:07pm train, so I got off at Carle Place before anyone checked my ticket, and just walked over to Glen Cove Rd since I wasn't gonna chance that n22 again. Then NICE strikes again, the n27 doesn't show up until 4:55pm, over 20 minutes late. The farebox had a transfer jammed in it so I got a free ride, and the engine alarm going off was giving me a headache. I don't arrive in Glen Cove until 5:45pm, 15 minutes late for an appointment that I left for 2 1/2 hours ago...I probably could've WALKED there faster.

On the way I met some passengers, including one woman who works at the Burger KIng in Garden City Park, she told me earlier this week the n24 that she takes never showed up, and neither did the next one after that, she wound up walking all way from RF to her job, and not one n24 passed...WTF? Another couple told me they dont even bother going out on weekends, since the n23 always leaves Roslyn before the n27 arrives. They've written NICE and they said they'd look into it, they never do. How come this crap is still happening? It's been a year and a half since they made those changes to the n27 and they still haven't fixed the issue, it's clear they never will.

I know I'm sure Yuki will love this post, and I really have been trying to give NICE the benefit of the doubt. I was hoping with the additional funding they've gotten that service would improve, but it's clearly not. The irregular schedules dont help, the n22 can have 40 minute gaps followed by 10-20 min gaps, it's a recipe for bunching. I'm allowed to change my mind and I have. I'm not a fan of Tom Suozzi, but Mangano's running the bus system on such a small amount of county subsidy, it's pathetic, it shows how little he regards us. At least with Suozzi there's a chance, I say a chance, that more money will be put into the bus system. And if more is and NICE still can't deliver reliable service, maybe its time to bring back the .

I saw firsthand today why NICE is losing so many riders. That woman who works in Garden City Park said she's tired of allowing 4 hours to get to work and still being late, she's going to start taking the LIRR and walk from the Merillon Ave station.

If someone asked me if I was better off with bus service when Tom Suozzi and the MTA were running things, my honest answer would have to be yes.

I had the n35 every 20-30 minutes all times Mon-Sat. I had regular spaced n22 service usually every 20-30minutes. I had the n27 running its full route, full time. Enough of this express BS, just have limiteds, bring back what was around prior to Jan.1.2012, and call it a day.

Why not just stop using N27 altogether and do LIRR?

[Mtatransit]

Today I had a not so nice day, and it changed who I'm gonna be voting for. There was absolutely no excuse for the pathetic service I got from NICE today. 

I needed to be in Glen Cove by 5:30pm. So I figured getting the n22 that arrives in Westbury at 3:36pm, to the n27 that leaves RF at 3:57pm would give me enough time, as there's another n27 that leaves at 4:27pm if need be. Well the n22 didn't show up by 3:50pm, so I gave up on it  knowing the next n22 didn't arrive in Westbury for awhile (the 3:57pm n22x from Hicksville) so I walked over to the train station. As I did that crush loaded n22 passed but I wasn't gonna squeeze on. I hopped on 3:58pm train but came at 4:01pm, no good, since I'd never get to Mineola in time for the 4:07pm train, so I got off at Carle Place before anyone checked my ticket, and just walked over to Glen Cove Rd since I wasn't gonna chance that n22 again. Then NICE strikes again, the n27 doesn't show up until 4:55pm, over 20 minutes late. The farebox had a transfer jammed in it so I got a free ride, and the engine alarm going off was giving me a headache. I don't arrive in Glen Cove until 5:45pm, 15 minutes late for an appointment that I left for 2 1/2 hours ago...I probably could've WALKED there faster.

On the way I met some passengers, including one woman who works at the Burger KIng in Garden City Park, she told me earlier this week the n24 that she takes never showed up, and neither did the next one after that, she wound up walking all way from RF to her job, and not one n24 passed...WTF? Another couple told me they dont even bother going out on weekends, since the n23 always leaves Roslyn before the n27 arrives. They've written NICE and they said they'd look into it, they never do. How come this crap is still happening? It's been a year and a half since they made those changes to the n27 and they still haven't fixed the issue, it's clear they never will.

I know I'm sure Yuki will love this post, and I really have been trying to give NICE the benefit of the doubt. I was hoping with the additional funding they've gotten that service would improve, but it's clearly not. The irregular schedules dont help, the n22 can have 40 minute gaps followed by 10-20 min gaps, it's a recipe for bunching. I'm allowed to change my mind and I have. I'm not a fan of Tom Suozzi, but Mangano's running the bus system on such a small amount of county subsidy, it's pathetic, it shows how little he regards us. At least with Suozzi there's a chance, I say a chance, that more money will be put into the bus system. And if more is and NICE still can't deliver reliable service, maybe its time to bring back the .

I saw firsthand today why NICE is losing so many riders. That woman who works in Garden City Park said she's tired of allowing 4 hours to get to work and still being late, she's going to start taking the LIRR and walk from the Merillon Ave station.

If someone asked me if I was better off with bus service when Tom Suozzi and the MTA were running things, my honest answer would have to be yes.

I had the n35 every 20-30 minutes all times Mon-Sat. I had regular spaced n22 service usually every 20-30minutes. I had the n27 running its full route, full time. Enough of this express BS, just have limiteds, bring back what was around prior to Jan.1.2012, and call it a day.

Alittle bit of overreaction here. I strongly understand how it feels to be late I just want to pull my hair out. I also understand that NICE has things to improve. The MTA was unefficient they created many pointless loops an example the n93 which took them a FEW YEARS TO CUT although they lost thousand of dollars on that route. AND demands 30-50 million dollars more. Remember the MTA wasn't sasify with the 9 million they had. I still remember your daily complants about the MTA and how there is missing runs. 

[PinePower]

Why not just stop using N27 altogether and do LIRR?

 

I should have taken the 3:27pm train to the 4:07pm Oyster Bay at Mineola and am going to do that next time.

[PinePower]

Alittle bit of overreaction here. I strongly understand how it feels to be late I just want to pull my hair out. I also understand that NICE has things to improve. The MTA was unefficient they created many pointless loops an example the n93 which took them a FEW YEARS TO CUT although they lost thousand of dollars on that route. AND demands 30-50 million dollars more. Remember the MTA wasn't sasify with the 9 million they had. I still remember your daily complants about the MTA and how there is missing runs. 

 

Yes the MTA had its problems for sure, but some of the things NICE has done are just assinine. When I hear what's going on with n27 on weekends I see no reason for it. Do we really need both the n80 & n81 running on Saturdays? If I was in their position, one of them would have been cut out and the buses used to restore the n27 at least to RF on weekends. And the irregular scheduling confuses passengers, they need to go back to a clockwork schedule people can understand. And the n6, as another poster pointed out and so many others have, should be restored to it's previous pattern with the n6L and more frequent service in evenings. MTA wasted money for sure, but NICE doesn't seem to know how to adequately serve riders. The news of another ridership decline this year was pretty much another reason.

Instead of what they did to bus service a year and a half ago, I'd have changed the south shore routes which carry the least, like this.

n14 would be eliminated (useless loop)

n19 service between Sunrise Mall and Freeport, every 30 minuets, weekdays, and only every other run going to Babylon.

n19 weekends would be every hour between Freeport and Babylon.

n36 would have Saturday service eliminated, and run rush hours only

n47 would be eliminated (useless loop)

n50 would run rush hours only

n51 would run rush hours only

n62 would be eliminated (useless loop)

n74 would run rush hours only (they did this)

n80 would run rush hours only, no Saturday service

 

Of course the reliability issue is another problem. The system really would do better with RBA, the Queens routes could share depots with MTAB and NYCT, which would be especially helpful if a bus dies in Queens. I'm really sorry to change my mind on this, it certainly wasn't this bad day alone, but combined with other stuff I've been seeing, hearing, and the ridership drop.

[Joel Up Front]

I saw a green Luminator-equipped Orion V earlier.  Too far away from it to see the number, but it had to be 1631.  I know 1627 has a very ill-sounding transmission and I think 1626 kicked the bucket.

[FamousNYLover]

Speaking off n35, during Car Free Days, 8:45 n35 Westbury was CRUSH LOADED from Baldwin Harbor to HTC.

[Vistausss]

What I'm actually the most surprised about is that so few people know what budget NICE is working with. Sure, NICE could do better even with that crappy budget but if only more people knew, maybe they would stand up and give Mangano a hard time over it. Now everyone outside of this forums is talking bad about NICE while not all of the problems are their fault. If only they knew...

[w8Hou]

Alittle bit of overreaction here. I strongly understand how it feels to be late I just want to pull my hair out. I also understand that NICE has things to improve. The MTA was unefficient they created many pointless loops an example the n93 which took them a FEW YEARS TO CUT although they lost thousand of dollars on that route. AND demands 30-50 million dollars more. Remember the MTA wasn't sasify with the 9 million they had. I still remember your daily complants about the MTA and how there is missing runs. 

You know why MTA demand $30-50 million more. Nassau undercut the deal with MTA. Everybody knows it, Nassau is not paying fare share to the bus system.

[FamousNYLover]

If it was up to me:

n14: Merge with n17 bus and provide frequent service during Mercy Hospital hour.

n27: Weekend service restore to/from Roosevelt Field Mall. Extend to Glen Cove Hospital during hospital shift hours.

n35: 

n48/49: Weekend service after Jericho service ends, extend to Jericho Whole Foods, and bus can turnaround at parking lot.

n50: Extend to SUNY Old Westbury to help relief overcrowding on n20.

n45: More midday service 

n80/81: Extend to CW POst via SUNY Old Westbury.

Edited October 4, 2013 by FamousNYLover

[N6 Limited]

Today I had a not so nice day, and it changed who I'm gonna be voting for. There was absolutely no excuse for the pathetic service I got from NICE today. 

I needed to be in Glen Cove by 5:30pm. So I figured getting the n22 that arrives in Westbury at 3:36pm, to the n27 that leaves RF at 3:57pm would give me enough time, as there's another n27 that leaves at 4:27pm if need be. Well the n22 didn't show up by 3:50pm, so I gave up on it  knowing the next n22 didn't arrive in Westbury for awhile (the 3:57pm n22x from Hicksville) so I walked over to the train station. As I did that crush loaded n22 passed but I wasn't gonna squeeze on. I hopped on 3:58pm train but came at 4:01pm, no good, since I'd never get to Mineola in time for the 4:07pm train, so I got off at Carle Place before anyone checked my ticket, and just walked over to Glen Cove Rd since I wasn't gonna chance that n22 again. Then NICE strikes again, the n27 doesn't show up until 4:55pm, over 20 minutes late. The farebox had a transfer jammed in it so I got a free ride, and the engine alarm going off was giving me a headache. I don't arrive in Glen Cove until 5:45pm, 15 minutes late for an appointment that I left for 2 1/2 hours ago...I probably could've WALKED there faster.

On the way I met some passengers, including one woman who works at the Burger KIng in Garden City Park, she told me earlier this week the n24 that she takes never showed up, and neither did the next one after that, she wound up walking all way from RF to her job, and not one n24 passed...WTF? Another couple told me they dont even bother going out on weekends, since the n23 always leaves Roslyn before the n27 arrives. They've written NICE and they said they'd look into it, they never do. How come this crap is still happening? It's been a year and a half since they made those changes to the n27 and they still haven't fixed the issue, it's clear they never will.

I know I'm sure Yuki will love this post, and I really have been trying to give NICE the benefit of the doubt. I was hoping with the additional funding they've gotten that service would improve, but it's clearly not. The irregular schedules dont help, the n22 can have 40 minute gaps followed by 10-20 min gaps, it's a recipe for bunching. I'm allowed to change my mind and I have. I'm not a fan of Tom Suozzi, but Mangano's running the bus system on such a small amount of county subsidy, it's pathetic, it shows how little he regards us. At least with Suozzi there's a chance, I say a chance, that more money will be put into the bus system. And if more is and NICE still can't deliver reliable service, maybe its time to bring back the .

I saw firsthand today why NICE is losing so many riders. That woman who works in Garden City Park said she's tired of allowing 4 hours to get to work and still being late, she's going to start taking the LIRR and walk from the Merillon Ave station.

If someone asked me if I was better off with bus service when Tom Suozzi and the MTA were running things, my honest answer would have to be yes.

I had the n35 every 20-30 minutes all times Mon-Sat. I had regular spaced n22 service usually every 20-30minutes. I had the n27 running its full route, full time. Enough of this express BS, just have limiteds, bring back what was around prior to Jan.1.2012, and call it a day.

 

When I took a trip on the n23/n27 it was clear that the N27 is one bus/driver going in a constant loop. So when the bus leaves early, riders should get the bus number when it comes and driver badge ID and report them, In fact, they should give whomever a few words for being a jerk. They're SUPPOSED to wait it's a scheduled connecting service. 

 

Since the GPS system isn't implemented yet, they should have the N27 and N23 drivers linked somehow, via walkie talkie or have a dispatcher there at all times. Perhaps they should have one at Northern Blvd also for the N20 connection.

 

Edit: almost forgot, I'm a bit confused. You said you hope service would have improved with the additional funding from the fare increase, and you believe it clearly has not improved,  and yet you think Suozzi potentially increasing funding would help?

Edited October 4, 2013 by N6 Limited

[PinePower]

What I'm actually the most surprised about is that so few people know what budget NICE is working with. Sure, NICE could do better even with that crappy budget but if only more people knew, maybe they would stand up and give Mangano a hard time over it. Now everyone outside of this forums is talking bad about NICE while not all of the problems are their fault. If only they knew...

 

I feel the same way. I'm not saying to kick NICE out and bring back the MTA right away, lets give them more money and see if they can do better. If not then maybe change companies. But the budget is the main problem, and that's all on Ed Mangano, who refuses to increase funding.

[Vistausss]

@n6l: I'm not sure what NICE is gonna use but GPS is really crappy, especially for communication b/w people. Hence the reason buses in my town only use it for the automated announcements.

[PinePower]

@n6l: I'm not sure what NICE is gonna use but GPS is really crappy, especially for communication b/w people. Hence the reason buses in my town only use it for the automated announcements.

 

The idea is that the GPS would be monitored by a dispatcher to improve OTP and connections, but that's only if the dispatchers and the folks at Veolia know what they're doing....

[PinePower]

Not only is there no information of alternate routing and bus stops, there's also a mistake! Took the LIRR today since I didn't know where to go to catch the bus.

 

http://nicebus.com/Passenger_Information/Service_Alerts/index.html

 

 

n22, n35  Westbury — Expect Route Delays

Saturday, October 5, 6:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.

Due to street fair on Post Ave, there will be no n23 service on Maple Avenue between Union Avenue and Ellison Avenue. There will also be no n35 service on Post Avenue between Rockland Avenue and Railroad Avenue.

Please allow additional travel time this day, to ensure that you arrive on time.

Edited October 6, 2013 by PinePower