Superstorm Sandy: After the Storm: NYC Bus Service

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Well, all of it's back above Spring now and it looks like they'll have basically all of Manhattan by the end of the day.

 

and are back fully....

[Q43LTD]

This is a bad time to be in the Rockaways now

[nostalgia]

I decided to post this thread on the bus side instead of the subway side because I expect this side to have more bus knowledge.

 

The Rockaways were hit hard. Trammels drawbridge is out of service for a month so there's no service to Mott Avenue or Beach 116th Street.

 

service has been restored to Flatbush Avenue. To minimize travel to/from the Rockaways, what is your opinion of extending the Q22 to the Flatbush Avenue terminal and extending the Q35 to Mott Avenue? This should help people going to Manhattan. Right now, they have to go to the station at Rockaway Blvd.

[GojiMet86]

I can tell you buses on the Manhattan side take Bowery/3rd to 55th (57th for artics), left, left on Lex, then take Lex to 23rd, left on 23rd, right on 3rd, down Bowery/3rd, and then down to either the Williamsburg or Manhattan bridges depending on the shuttle. Brooklyn side I've only taken the Jay St. shuttle at the moment, and I honestly have no clue how that shuttle or the Hewes/Barclays shuttles turned around (just looked like a mess to me).

 

 

It was a big mess on Thursday. I was there in the middle of the day, so I missed out on the big rush hour crowds. They had at least like 3 different drop-off points coming from Manhattan. By the time I was coming back, they had buses lined up on Flatbush Avenue to at least near that park around 7th Avenue.

[checkmatechamp13]

I'm confused... Why are they running express buses Downtown if the local bus B/Os refuse to drive Downtown??? There are two X10s going Downtown right now....

 

 

 

Yeah, they did the same thing with the X17 I was on. A guy I talked to going into Manhattan said that the night before, they sent buses up West Street and through the Holland Tunnel to reach Manhattan (They weren't clear on what they did with the X10s). But tonight, we went up West Street, across Canal Street, and then over the Manhattan Bridge.

 

I wonder what they did with the BM buses, since they go onto the FDR Drive from Midtown. Did they have them just go straight onto the Manhattan Bridge from the FDR or did they make them go down Water Street and then go back up or what? (And the same with the X27/28). But with the Brighton Line out, those buses were probably all packed before they got out of Midtown anyway. A BM1 I said at 57th & Lexington had a ton of standees and it was only like the third stop.

 

On a side note, I didn't realize the buses have a code for "See sign below". I guess the sign said where in Brooklyn the shuttle bus was going to (Jay Street, Hewes Street, or Atlantic Avenue).

 

I decided to post this thread on the bus side instead of the subway side because I expect this side to have more bus knowledge.

 

The Rockaways were hit hard. Trammels drawbridge is out of service for a month so there's no service to Mott Avenue or Beach 116th Street.

 

service has been restored to Flatbush Avenue. To minimize travel to/from the Rockaways, what is your opinion of extending the Q22 to the Flatbush Avenue terminal and extending the Q35 to Mott Avenue? This should help people going to Manhattan. Right now, they have to go to the station at Rockaway Blvd.

 

 

I don't even think there's any service out to the Rockaways at this time. They say:

 

Q11, Q21, Q22, Q35, Q41, Q52 buses terminate at Pitkin Av.

Please allow additional travel time.

 

Of course, the Q22 & Q35 don't even pass by Pitkin Avenue, but I think the point is that there's no local bus service out to the Rockaways (Because of blackout conditions)

 

Once they can get some sort of bus service out there, I think they should extend the Q52 to Far Rockaway, to connect them with the at Rockaway Blvd. If you extend the Q35 to Far Rockaway, you could end up delaying the route (I mean, I know you have to compensate for the lack of service, but still)

 

On a side note, what's the story with the QM16/17? On the QM6 last night, I heard them go on the radio and say something about the QM17 not going to Far Rockaway (which I guess is obvious if they're not running the local buses down there). Then where does it terminate? Because I saw a QM16 & QM17 last night. Unless they're only serving stops in Howard Beach or something.

[nostalgia]

Yeah, they did the same thing with the X17 I was on. A guy I talked to going into Manhattan said that the night before, they sent buses up West Street and through the Holland Tunnel to reach Manhattan (They weren't clear on what they did with the X10s). But tonight, we went up West Street, across Canal Street, and then over the Manhattan Bridge.

 

I wonder what they did with the BM buses, since they go onto the FDR Drive from Midtown. Did they have them just go straight onto the Manhattan Bridge from the FDR or did they make them go down Water Street and then go back up or what? (And the same with the X27/28). But with the Brighton Line out, those buses were probably all packed before they got out of Midtown anyway. A BM1 I said at 57th & Lexington had a ton of standees and it was only like the third stop.

 

On a side note, I didn't realize the buses have a code for "See sign below". I guess the sign said where in Brooklyn the shuttle bus was going to (Jay Street, Hewes Street, or Atlantic Avenue).

 

 

 

I don't even think there's any service out to the Rockaways at this time. They say:

 

Q11, Q21, Q22, Q35, Q41, Q52 buses terminate at Pitkin Av.

Please allow additional travel time.

 

Of course, the Q22 & Q35 don't even pass by Pitkin Avenue, but I think the point is that there's no local bus service out to the Rockaways (Because of blackout conditions)

 

Once they can get some sort of bus service out there, I think they should extend the Q52 to Far Rockaway, to connect them with the at Rockaway Blvd. If you extend the Q35 to Far Rockaway, you could end up delaying the route (I mean, I know you have to compensate for the lack of service, but still)

 

On a side note, what's the story with the QM16/17? On the QM6 last night, I heard them go on the radio and say something about the QM17 not going to Far Rockaway (which I guess is obvious if they're not running the local buses down there). Then where does it terminate? Because I saw a QM16 & QM17 last night. Unless they're only serving stops in Howard Beach or something.

 

 

How about extending the Q22 to Flatbush Avenue since it already goes to Riis Park?

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Well I just got refunded for my Express Bus pass from last week... Almost got the entire $50.00 refunded... $39.27 to be exact... $7.14 a day X 5 days and half of the day on Sunday... Anyone else ripped off who paid for an unlimited pass in advance should also request a refund throught their credit card company.

[East New York]

The shuttle bus service between Brooklyn and Manhattan was a total disaster, and whoever planned that crap out needs to go back to elementary. There is no way in hell the line for the bus should have wrapped around multiple city blocks, and they know they needed more buses. 3-5 hours waiting time for a but was unacceptable. Especially when I passed WF, and 126 and they had a lot full of buses. 126 not so much, but WF could have sent at least another 10 buses to the city. BP, CH, were the only depots I didn't see any buses from.

 

They had a ton of new C40's from every depot.

[aemoreira81]

The shuttle bus service between Brooklyn and Manhattan was a total disaster, and whoever planned that crap out needs to go back to elementary. There is no way in hell the line for the bus should have wrapped around multiple city blocks, and they know they needed more buses. 3-5 hours waiting time for a but was unacceptable. Especially when I passed WF, and 126 and they had a lot full of buses. 126 not so much, but WF could have sent at least another 10 buses to the city. BP, CH, were the only depots I didn't see any buses from.

 

They had a ton of new C40's from every depot.

 

 

To me, what was really needed was articulated buses. After service was suspended on Wednesday and Thursday night on lower Manhattan routes, the M14 buses that were pulled should then have been placed on the shuttle to provide extra capacity, as well as surplus M15 and M101/2/3 buses.

 

BTW, Baisley Park did have at least 3611 there, and I did see some ECH buses there, including 6013.

 

As for service in the Rockaways, what I would do is run the Q22 closed-door to Brooklyn College bypassing the Beach 169 Street stop, which would be made by the Q35 instead (Queens-bound in the cutoff, Brooklyn-bound at the regular spot). After Beach 149 Street, the Q22 would then stop at Avenue U, Kings Highway, and Brooklyn College, carrying no passengers wholly within Brooklyn.

[MHV9218]

The shuttles definitely didn't cope well with the high volume crowds at all, but as a system, it did run pretty quickly. The NYPD kept those buses moving, as a whole each trip I took once in motion was almost as quick as the subway would have been...getting on the bus, that was another story. Not even sure if more buses would have been the solution, there just needed to be a better setup for boarding. Every single depot sent buses, but today the Manhattan fleets definitely dominated whereas the first two days it seemed like JG, QV, KB, and GH sent the most buses. BP sent a lot of buses, ECH buses were in part used for police service and in part for shuttles, and even FR sent buses! Moral of the story? It's a very good thing that they subways are back, I'll say that much.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

I would agree... Why were all of those artics sitting around not being used?? Friday I had a long lunch over on 3rd in the 40s... Was watching from the window of the Belgian restaurant I was in... The lines were unbelievable and the buses were few... There were amazing lines for the QM express buses... I thought maybe the wine was fooling me about the lines but nope... The lines kept getting longer and longer. Smh Then walking up Lex in the 40s I saw an incredible line for the shuttle buses... My co-workers who live in Brooklyn left the office at 16:15 fearing that it would take hours for them to get home and they're pretty far north in Brooklyn. One lives in Brooklyn Heights and the other lives near Williamsburg.

[Cait Sith]

The shuttles definitely didn't cope well with the high volume crowds at all, but as a system, it did run pretty quickly. The NYPD kept those buses moving, as a whole each trip I took once in motion was almost as quick as the subway would have been...getting on the bus, that was another story. Not even sure if more buses would have been the solution, there just needed to be a better setup for boarding. Every single depot sent buses, but today the Manhattan fleets definitely dominated whereas the first two days it seemed like JG, QV, KB, and GH sent the most buses. BP sent a lot of buses, ECH buses were in part used for police service and in part for shuttles, and even FR sent buses! Moral of the story? It's a very good thing that they subways are back, I'll say that much.

 

 

I wouldnt say that Manhattan Division dominated today, Brooklyn and Queens Division definitely took the cake today. Gun Hill and Kingsbridge were also out there along with every S.I Depot

[MHV9218]

Definitely a lot of Bk buses but I didn't see nearly as much Queens action today, tons of Quill LFSAs/O7s/RTSes, TU O7s, and MHV OGs/NGs. The first two days it almost seemed like SI had it, tons of Yukon and Charleston buses. Guess it all depends on what part of the shuttle you were around for though.

[Chargerdodge9]

If MTA Long Island Bus was still around, I bet we would of seen a ton of buses from Mitchel Field Depot and a few from Rockville Centre Depot.

[Nova RTS 9147]

If MTA Long Island Bus was still around, I bet we would of seen a ton of buses from Mitchel Field Depot and a few from Rockville Centre Depot.

 

 

If MTA Long Island Bus was still around, you wouldn't see a damn thing from either depots. Since when has ever LIBus ever provided buses for MTA Subway issues?

[Chargerdodge9]

Actually, they did once in 2010.

[NovaLFSSeeker]

Well I just got refunded for my Express Bus pass from last week... Almost got the entire $50.00 refunded... $39.27 to be exact... $7.14 a day X 5 days and half of the day on Sunday... Anyone else ripped off who paid for an unlimited pass in advance should also request a refund throught their credit card company.

 

I was wondering if we would be reimbursed for the lost days on the unlimited metros how do I go about this?

[Via Garibaldi 8]

I was wondering if we would be reimbursed for the lost days on the unlimited metros how do I go about this?

 

I was reimbursed by my credit card company, not the . The has been quiet about this and as far as I'm concerned, if no one makes a stink I don't think they plan on doing anything. Now I've been without TV since the storm hit and my cable provider issued me a credit for the days that I've been without TV. The on the other hand seems to think it's okay to take people's money using the excuse of the Hurricane and having to recover and all of that. Same nonsense with Irene too...

 

What I decided to do was see when I started using my Unlimited Express Bus card and break it down by day:

 

-Saturday (27.10.12) I used the card and service was normal so I deducted $7.14 for that day as monies I would've paid.

 

-Sunday (28.10.12) I requested a credit of half of $7.14 cents since service was ended early.

 

-Monday through Friday I requested $7.14 for each day since Monday there was no service, Tuesday there was no express bus service and Wednesday through Friday was supposed to be free, so they'll be reimbursed for all of the free service they provided, but meanwhile we're supposed to pay in advance, be told we're getting free service and then get no refund unless we file a dispute? Really ridiculous. I think I stated somewhere that I wrote to a Senator (Senator Marty Golden & Assemblywoman Meng about the 's practices) because this behavior is disgusting and we as riders cannot sit back and be taken for a ride literally.

 

Storm or no storm we are due refunds and since the won't issue them, I'm going to fight to see that legislation is introduced to force them to issue refunds under these circumstances in the future. Assemblywoman Meng has been vocal about the 's practices with these sorts of issues before and I think that with her and Senator Golden (who is a member of the Capital Review Board) working together and some constituents making a stink we can stop this nonsense from happening.

[Fresh Pond]

 

 

If MTA Long Island Bus was still around, you wouldn't see a damn thing from either depots. Since when has ever LIBus ever provided buses for MTA Subway issues?

 

 

-Jamaica cutover

-That G.O a few years back...even sent their MCI out there

[Nova RTS 9147]

-Jamaica cutover

-That G.O a few years back...even sent their MCI out there

 

 

Wasnt the Jamaica cutover LIRR?

[Fresh Pond]

 

 

Wasnt the Jamaica cutover LIRR?

 

 

But everyone was out there

[Cait Sith]

-Jamaica cutover

-That G.O a few years back...even sent their MCI out there

 

 

Which was technically our MCI lol.

[Nova RTS 9147]

But everyone was out there

 

 

Which is completely irrelevant to the point. Only one time did LI Bus actually come out to help the MTA subway, and to my knowledge those buses were about to be retired. Any other time LI Bus never sends anything out to help when the Subway is out.

[qjtransitmaster]

The shuttle bus service between Brooklyn and Manhattan was a total disaster, and whoever planned that crap out needs to go back to elementary. There is no way in hell the line for the bus should have wrapped around multiple city blocks, and they know they needed more buses. 3-5 hours waiting time for a but was unacceptable. Especially when I passed WF, and 126 and they had a lot full of buses. 126 not so much, but WF could have sent at least another 10 buses to the city. BP, CH, were the only depots I didn't see any buses from.

 

They had a ton of new C40's from every depot.

 

It was so bad I saw a huge line for BM buses even people who normally don't use BMs were waiting for BMs but when we found out the last bus left everybody was literally about to riot. I took QM5 to Q44 due to lost patience.

[Chargerdodge9]

I read on here a few years ago that they actually did use Orion V CNGs for shuttle service as well. Also, I remember seeing photos of MTA Long Island Bus Orion V CNGs in Manhattan transporting recovery works on the days following 9/11.