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Harry

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I think you're mixing up buses here. The 9 ran hourly weekdays only. Also, as I said, quite a load.

I am a little surprised to here the 129 being dead on Van Rennselear, when I get back from vacation, i'll take a look at that video I took on the 116, and re-examine ridership levels, because I do remember quite a few people getting on in North Albany, but I don't remember where they got off, so I could be wrong on that one. By the way, you're right about the 3. That thing was EMPTY.

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What I'm talking about with the 3 and 9 was over 10 years ago since then ridership dropped and dropped. I work with the Scheduling Department most of Phase 1 was my ideas I know all the ins and outs and most employees more then half. The 116 was going to stop in Downtown in the ORIGINAL Phase 2 Plan in replace with the New 129, but the Apartments on Ward's Ln would loose service completely so the 116 was left alone and just added midday frequency. The 114 was,created because UAlbany would give extra funding to operate a service from the College to Amtrak via Madison ONLY at night to transfer students going home during Christmas Break but they stopped funding It so being the 11 is straight out of UAlbanys pocket, and has been restructured in Phase 1 by cutting Crossgates and putting It completely on Western, CDTA figured why not create an actual full normal route To maintain what was loss for SUNY and attract new riders for highly suggestions to have better service on Madison Ave. The idea for Phase 1 was to eliminate duplication, eliminate routings that have been in place for over 30 years basically revive the entire route network.

 

The new BusPlus is REPLACING the 10, 11, and 12. Areas not served and stops not served will be covered by a redesign local service like the 1 and 355. This is two years from now so none of this has been thought of or worked on the only thing complete is the Studie/Analysis that was conducted. You might be able to find the Future BusPlus System Map online. When ever It gets implemented the last BusPlus route is combining the 6, 7, and 22....its proposed to start from Mt. Hope all the way to Watervliet then every other trip will either go into Troy like the 22 or continue on Route 32 to Downtown Cohoes.

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That looks interesting, i'll tell ya that. My apologies regarding the 9, I assumed you were talking about the 2011 schedule. Regarding BusPlus on route 22, I actually thought of something like that, but never thought it would actually come to light. That would be very interesting to see.

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The 22 and 905 are the only routes that pay for them selfs.

 

 

I could be wrong, but the 41 that goes down New Scotland looks like it would seeing how it's PACKED.

Besides that, I would expect a few others to be up there (Route #1 comes to mind), but besides that, that seems about it.

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Routes 40,41,42,43,44,45,46,48, and 49 are not real routes they are School Trippers ran off of money given by the school districts, When Phase 2 started they got build into the regular route schedules so there is no more 40-49. 46 became a regular route starting yesterday 12/31 known as 746, the new schedule is now on the CDTA website. There are plenty of routes up there like the 1 in ridership but it doesn't pay for it self The 12 is the second highest in ridership but doesn't pay for it self because majority of its riders are school students who don't pay, their school pays a fixed amount.

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No, it was build in to make their schedules more easier to understand. The trippers all stayed the same internally its just now more public. I don't know if you actually looked at the original PDF file for the School Routes Schedules that were on the CDTA website. If you did for example under Route 40 Albany High School each tripper under that route would have its own route such as Block 4029 would be the 12, before 2003 there was knowno Routituld justuse the normal route number (3,6,8,9:12,30, etc). But due to the Albany County Route Restructuring there is no more 3,8,9 so they got rid of all the routes entirely and building those trippers into the normal schedules based on the area that tripper serves. But internally not one thing has changed no trippers ans its still considered 40-49.

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Ok, that's what I thought. Also, I've seen a few people that aren't Hackett students on some of the trippers, since the change was implemented. Also, is there any way to access the old schedule anymore?

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  • 5 months later...

Biggest news first, shall we?

CDTA has officially announced the planning of two new BRT routes, one from Troy to the South End neighborhood in Albany, and the other from Downtown Albany to Crossgates Mall. The Hudson River route currently has the following stations planned: Morton, Madison, State, Clinton Square, Livingston, North Albany, Riverview Center, South Watervliet (which will have a P&R), Downtown Watervliet, Congress, Fulton/Riverfront, and Hoosick/Hedley (One part of the PDF says that that stop is planned for a future provision, while another says it is planned for the first phase). Future provisions include extensions to Cohoes, Waterford, and Port Of Albany. Passengers surveys have already been completed for local alternatives. Data collection has already begun, and the route will effect over 2 million annual riders. Next is the Washington/Western BRT which currently has the stops of Albany Bus Terminal, Broadway, State, Capitol/Hawk, Lark/Armory, Thurlow/UA Downtown, Quail, Partridge/St. Rose, Allen/Madison, Colonial, Harriman, UAlbany, Fuller/CSNE, and Crossgates which will also have a Park & Ride. The BRT line is expected to be on Western Avenue, and will include two new infrastructure projects. The first is a busway inside the Harriman and UAlbany campuses, and the second (and arguably more exciting) is a brand new transit center at Crossgates Mall, that is expected to include busways, and an indoor terminal/layover spot! Future provisions call for extensions to Rensselaer and New Karner Road. There are also provisions for the 905 to be extended to Scotia. The new BRT corridors will make a total of 40 miles of new BusPlus, which will be CDTA's top priority for the next five years.

Other exciting news: 

The 29 is now revived in some extent, because the 182 is now absorbing the 129, making a one-seat ride from Cohoes to Albany again. CDTA is also expected to have universal access with HVCC by the end of the year. NX Ridership has gone up 25-35% with an average of over 150 more boardings a day. Also, all routes introduced by Phase 1 Route Reconstruction are performing above the productivity threshold. CDTA is also debating changing the productivity threshold for trunk routes, because there are trunk routes, that are performing well, but are below the standard. Route #50 is also being re-classified as a neighborhood route because of the high headways.

Minor changes: 

Route #12 will have increased frequency on Saturdays, Route #224 will have increased frequencies during middays, Route #530 will have an extra trip to ease overcrowding, Route #712 will have additional trips, the 905 will have 15-minute headways well into the evening, and Route #875 will now serve the National Museum of Dance. Route #370 will now have a different route in Downtown Schenectady due to delays on the previous route.

 

http://www.cdta.org/documents/2013RoutePerformanceReport.pdf

 

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Biggest news first, shall we?

CDTA has officially announced the planning of two new BRT routes, one from Troy to the South End neighborhood in Albany, and the other from Downtown Albany to Crossgates Mall. The Hudson River route currently has the following stations planned: Morton, Madison, State, Clinton Square, Livingston, North Albany, Riverview Center, South Watervliet (which will have a P&R), Downtown Watervliet, Congress, Fulton/Riverfront, and Hoosick/Hedley (One part of the PDF says that that stop is planned for a future provision, while another says it is planned for the first phase). Future provisions include extensions to Cohoes, Waterford, and Port Of Albany. Passengers surveys have already been completed for local alternatives. Data collection has already begun, and the route will effect over 2 million annual riders. Next is the Washington/Western BRT which currently has the stops of Albany Bus Terminal, Broadway, State, Capitol/Hawk, Lark/Armory, Thurlow/UA Downtown, Quail, Partridge/St. Rose, Allen/Madison, Colonial, Harriman, UAlbany, Fuller/CSNE, and Crossgates which will also have a Park & Ride. The BRT line is expected to be on Western Avenue, and will include two new infrastructure projects. The first is a busway inside the Harriman and UAlbany campuses, and the second (and arguably more exciting) is a brand new transit center at Crossgates Mall, that is expected to include busways, and an indoor terminal/layover spot! Future provisions call for extensions to Rensselaer and New Karner Road. There are also provisions for the 905 to be extended to Scotia. The new BRT corridors will make a total of 40 miles of new BusPlus, which will be CDTA's top priority for the next five years.

Other exciting news: 

The 29 is now revived in some extent, because the 182 is now absorbing the 129, making a one-seat ride from Cohoes to Albany again. CDTA is also expected to have universal access with HVCC by the end of the year. NX Ridership has gone up 25-35% with an average of over 150 more boardings a day. Also, all routes introduced by Phase 1 Route Reconstruction are performing above the productivity threshold. CDTA is also debating changing the productivity threshold for trunk routes, because there are trunk routes, that are performing well, but are below the standard. Route #50 is also being re-classified as a neighborhood route because of the high headways.

Minor changes: 

Route #12 will have increased frequency on Saturdays, Route #224 will have increased frequencies during middays, Route #530 will have an extra trip to ease overcrowding, Route #712 will have additional trips, the 905 will have 15-minute headways well into the evening, and Route #875 will now serve the National Museum of Dance. Route #370 will now have a different route in Downtown Schenectady due to delays on the previous route.

 

http://www.cdta.org/documents/2013RoutePerformanceReport.pdf

Where does the #50 get it's riders from? It looks like it serves the middle of nowhere en route to saratoga springs.

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Where does the #50 get it's riders from? It looks like it serves the middle of nowhere en route to saratoga springs.

It does serve the middle of nowhere. During track season, it's packed (by Albany standards) from Schenectady riders. Off-season, while it does get a few riders from Schenectady, from what i've noticed, Milton and beyond is when ridership starts to improve. You also have to consider, Saratoga routes get really crappy ridership, so for a Saratoga route, it's doing pretty good. 

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It does serve the middle of nowhere. During track season, it's packed (by Albany standards) from Schenectady riders. Off-season, while it does get a few riders from Schenectady, from what i've noticed, Milton and beyond is when ridership starts to improve. You also have to consider, Saratoga routes get really crappy ridership, so for a Saratoga route, it's doing pretty good. 

well the saratoga routes don't go anywhere of interest and the ones that did ran once a week and got canned. remember 870 blunder and that 409 merchantville I think

Edited by qjtransitmaster
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  • 3 months later...

So, here's an update:

CDTA has just recieved about 20 Gilligs to replace their NABI's, and so far they have been complete lemons. I have been talking to a few drivers, and they have told me that they break down constantly, and the computers have gone haywire. The sinage is terrible, the trip computers have no idea what they're doing (A driver on one of the school trippers was told she was 10 minutes late, when in reality she was five minutes early.)

In other news, 325H is no longer doing the NX, but is instead now in regular express service in Schenectady.

 

So I've rode CDTA about ten times now, taking the bus to Crossgates Mall and Wal-Mart to pick things up for college. So far, I've taken the 12 and the 114, both of which are always crowded. I've had all Gillig buses, which smell nothing like the buses I'm used to in New York City or Long Island. Whatever the scent is, I don't like it. The service is okay, but I don't like the fact that the destination signs are programmed in a way that they show both the starting point and the ending point of a route, meaning you have to ask the driver where he's going every time. The fleet variety up here is not really in my favor, but I don't really live here anyway, so it doesn't matter.

 

You haven't gotten any Nova's? I know you haven't been up here long, and they aren't too common on those routes anymore, but I am still rather surprised. IIRC, the signs don't show the orgin, but on the 12 it does say "Crossgates" because it goes from the Wal-Mart to Crossgates.

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IMO I think cdta has a good amount of routes that have potential, but they do things ass backwards.

 

If you look at the schedule of the 905 today, that's a good example of it. 

 

 

But in reality, every upstate metropolis' transit system does things the opposite in some way or form.

Edited by Q23 Central Terminal
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Nope, I haven't gotten any Novas yet. Also, service on the 12 is terrible. On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, there are probably a hundred students at the bus stop here waiting for the bus to get to party houses on Washington Ave and the buses only come like every 15-20 minutes, usually with other people on them. You have to wait several buses before there's room and the dispatcher likes to be a complete jerk and hold up the line until the bus moves up to some exact spot of his liking for no reason. Last night, we had a K-9 unit cop at the bus stop (and now I think this is going to be a usual thing) because of the crowds wanting to get the bus. There is definitely insufficient bus service here.

 

Yeah, it's like that round the clock. Once during Dayglow there was a 60 minute delay on the 12. But then again, that's why SUNY gets 6 buses. And the reason why that hasn't changed, is beacuse that's normal and accepted up here. (Whenever I say that 15 minutes is an asanine amount of time to wait for a bus, people look at me like i'm crazy.)

 

 

IMO I think cdta has a good amount of routes that have potential, but they do things ass backwards.

 

If you look at the schedule of the 905 today, that's a good example of it. 

 

 

But in reality, every upstate metropolis' transit system does things the opposite in some way or form.

 

Believe it or not, outside of track season, the 905 is DEAD on Sundays. You got about 4 people a bus, with most stops being skipped. You actually have more people on the 355.

 

============================================================================

And now for your reguraly scheduled updates;

Troy is now all Gillg, with the NABI's being used very sparingly. (There are still some in service on some days, as only the hybrids in the new order are fully functoning)

And CDTA is now putting LFS's on night shifts, as most of them have been overhauled, meaning security cameras are now on them. LFS's are actually becoming quite common in my neighborhood. (13,100)

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That's acceptable up here?! Well, then CDTA Albany has absolutely no idea about crowd control.

It's accepted by the people. And they do have some sense of crowd control, as during the PM Peak, (at least going towards Crossgates) they run two buses per trip. Also keep in mind the bus wouldn't be so crowded if people would actually take those two steps. In addition, CDTA loses quite a bit on those trips because UAlbany students get on for free. (IIRC)

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Doesn't UAlbany or New York State reimburse CDTA to offset the cost of the students taking the bus? I would think they would.

They do.  But they do have the 10,11,12,114,190, and 712. In case you don't know there's a free shuttle run by CDTA from Crossgates to Walmart, so you can take the 114 and 190 over there and transfer. Since tonight is Friday, would you mind taking a pic for demonstration purposes, as I can't due to an event I have early tomorrow.

 

Edit: I meant of the crowds.

Edited by CDTA
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I'm going home this weekend, but I will take a pic next week. Also, I've never heard of that Crossgates-Walmart shuttle. Seems like such a short distance for a shuttle bus.

There's no public schedule or anything (probably why it has 0 riders) but it's there. I don't know the hours or frequency though. Also, you can't walk to/from Crossgates, so that's why that's there.

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Defnietly taking the 114 to school now. I can leave 10 minutes later, and I still get to school on time. Yeah, sometimes the 18 and 114 don't have seats, but still worth it, as it's a much shorter trip. (Especially if I can connect to the 6 tripper that picks up over there, as that'll actually get me to school faster than the tripper that picks up in my neighborhood)

 

Something that seriously bothers me up here.....

The bus will be packed, and then you realize there are actually seats in the back. People REFUSE to stand in the back. This is NOT GOOD, as on the LFS, the driver doesn't have control over the back door, so you are forced to push yourself through ~25 something people.

Edited by CDTA
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  • 4 months later...

CDTA doing it right!


I'm glad to see that wasn't for nothing, the first reverse peak trip on the 712 has been empty literally every day. 

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CDTA doing it right!

 

I'm glad to see that wasn't for nothing, the first reverse peak trip on the 712 has been empty literally every day. 

I see they have good data.

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