Via Garibaldi 8 Posted February 20, 2012 Share #26 Posted February 20, 2012 If I'm not mistaken, I believe that the B/O needs to have the destination sign set for the system to acknowledge the bus. If he changes it to "next bus please" or turns off the bus on his break, I believe it will not show up. If he does not change the sign back before the next run, it think it will not show up. Wonderful... So we can expect more buses to be MIA on the friggin map. This should not be controlled by the B/O. It should be automated or something to make it more accurate. The thing is though I've seen buses with the correct destination signage that still don't show on the map and these aren't Xcelsiors either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
checkmatechamp13 Posted February 20, 2012 Share #27 Posted February 20, 2012 If I'm not mistaken, I believe that the B/O needs to have the destination sign set for the system to acknowledge the bus. If he changes it to "next bus please" or turns off the bus on his break, I believe it will not show up. If he does not change the sign back before the next run, it think it will not show up. Wonderful... So we can expect more buses to be MIA on the friggin map. This should not be controlled by the B/O. It should be automated or something to make it more accurate. The thing is though I've seen buses with the correct destination signage that still don't show on the map and these aren't Xcelsiors either. To both of you: They have to be set seperately, so the B/O could set the destination sign, but not the BusTime feature. The question is: What happens if the bus gets crowded and the B/O puts up "Next Bus Please"? I assume that if they're set seperately, it'll still show up on the map, and when it gets to your stop, you'll have the pleasure of seeing the bus flag you. (Or if you're lucky, you can force your way on, but still) I think some B/Os might not be putting the sign up because they're coming a little bit early (but for a good reason, such as meeting the ferry) and don't want to face disiplinary action. But that wouldn't explain why he forgot to set it coming from St. George. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted February 20, 2012 Share #28 Posted February 20, 2012 To both of you: They have to be set seperately, so the B/O could set the destination sign, but not the BusTime feature. The question is: What happens if the bus gets crowded and the B/O puts up "Next Bus Please"? I assume that if they're set seperately, it'll still show up on the map, and when it gets to your stop, you'll have the pleasure of seeing the bus flag you. (Or if you're lucky, you can force your way on, but still) Well can someone shed some light on what the exact process is? I mean if they're going to run this damn thing, the B/Os should at least have some sort of check features that they have to go through to ensure that the thing is on and working properly. Otherwise, it's pointless to spend millions in a bus tracking system that is not reliable. I still feel that it should be automated. Let the B/Os focus on driving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
checkmatechamp13 Posted February 20, 2012 Share #29 Posted February 20, 2012 Well can someone shed some light on what the exact process is? I mean if they're going to run this damn thing, the B/Os should at least have some sort of check features that they have to go through to ensure that the thing is on and working properly. Otherwise, it's pointless to spend millions in a bus tracking system that is not reliable. I still feel that it should be automated. Let the B/Os focus on driving. I added this part onto my previous post. I think some B/Os might not be putting the sign up because they're coming a little bit early (but for a good reason, such as meeting the ferry) and don't want to face disiplinary action. But that wouldn't explain why he forgot to set it coming from St. George. I mean, I guess the only solution to that would be to allow a certain leeway period in instances such as that, and inform the B/Os that they are being allowed that leeway period. Since they wouldn't have anything to hide, there'd be no disincentive to turn off the BusTime feature. For instance, if an S48 is scheduled to miss the ferry by 5 minutes, they could tell the driver that, starting from say, Forest Avenue/Bard Avenue, he can start coming slightly early. On some commuter rail lines, they often make a note that the train can depart up to 5 minutes early from certain points. So if they made a note of that on the bus schedule, people would know to arrive a little bit earlier than normal if they're traveling at certain times, and it would be alright. The passengers can make their connection without the B/O getting in trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted February 20, 2012 Share #30 Posted February 20, 2012 I added this part onto my previous post. I mean, I guess the only solution to that would be to allow a certain leeway period in instances such as that, and inform the B/Os that they are being allowed that leeway period. Since they wouldn't have anything to hide, there'd be no disincentive to turn off the BusTime feature. For instance, if an S48 is scheduled to miss the ferry by 5 minutes, they could tell the driver that, starting from say, Forest Avenue/Bard Avenue, he can start coming slightly early. On some commuter rail lines, they often make a note that the train can depart up to 5 minutes early from certain points. So if they made a note of that on the bus schedule, people would know to arrive a little bit earlier than normal if they're traveling at certain times, and it would be alright. The passengers can make their connection without the B/O getting in trouble. Well all I know is TWO S48s going to Arlington were supposedly "MIA according to Bus Time, which is ridiculous. If they're going to roll this thing out then be accurate with it or don't bother. I don't like playing this stupid guessing game. Then there's the issue of one bus showing as arriving and then another completely different bus comes that's not on Bus Time. Happened last week on the X10. A 22XX was shown on the map, but a 27XX came instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
checkmatechamp13 Posted February 20, 2012 Share #31 Posted February 20, 2012 Well all I know is TWO S48s going to Arlington were supposedly "MIA according to Bus Time, which is ridiculous. If they're going to roll this thing out then be accurate with it or don't bother. I don't like playing this stupid guessing game. Then there's the issue of one bus showing as arriving and then another completely different bus comes that's not on Bus Time. Happened last week on the X10. A 22XX was shown on the map, but a 27XX came instead. Only you would notice something as trivial as the bus type. In any case, you're right that every single bus on the road should be showing up on BusTime. I'm just suggesting one possible course of action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted February 20, 2012 Share #32 Posted February 20, 2012 Only you would notice something as trivial as the bus type. In any case, you're right that every single bus on the road should be showing up on BusTime. I'm just suggesting one possible course of action. The bus type wasn't important, but the real issue was that one bus came that was not on Bus Time when another was supposed to be coming, so I guess that 22XX was a ghost bus. I wrote to Bus Time about these recent incidents and I also filed a complaint with the requesting that buses be held on time as they're supposed to. Bus Time is showing the need to have buses tracked to avoid buses showing up 10 minutes early when the bus only runs once every 30 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cait Sith Posted February 21, 2012 Share #33 Posted February 21, 2012 The situation was the same with the 3rd Gens but they eventually got to them. Mind you, the Xcelsiors were delayed because of the Clever-Devices in them. There may be an issue with them now but at the same time, when I caught 4873 on the S76 a while ago, that unit was on bustime.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIR North Shore Posted February 21, 2012 Share #34 Posted February 21, 2012 The situation was the same with the 3rd Gens but they eventually got to them. Mind you, the Xcelsiors were delayed because of the Clever-Devices in them. There may be an issue with them now but at the same time, when I caught 4873 on the S76 a while ago, that unit was on bustime.... I tried to check and see if the xcelsiors were on bustime after I saw them pass and no dice. It shown a large gap in service. Just imagine if there are Xcelsiors running back to back! :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cait Sith Posted February 21, 2012 Share #35 Posted February 21, 2012 I tried to check and see if the xcelsiors were on bustime after I saw them pass and no dice. It shown a large gap in service. Just imagine if there are Xcelsiors running back to back! :eek: I wouldn't be surprised at all. That's what happened when the 3rd Gens showed their faces on the island. When I saw a significant gap on the S40/90, I was like "Something aint right about this!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grand Concourse Posted February 21, 2012 Share #36 Posted February 21, 2012 I'm not familiar with this bus time thing. Is it some sort of device attached to the farebox or something? Also when all the buses are finished being delivered, would they be consolidated (Xcelsiors to QV, Novas to UP, O7 3g to SI)? I mean if it's a certain bus type that has an issue then why not swap those buses with another group? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cait Sith Posted February 21, 2012 Share #37 Posted February 21, 2012 I'm not familiar with this bus time thing. Is it some sort of device attached to the farebox or something? Also when all the buses are finished being delivered, would they be consolidated (Xcelsiors to QV, Novas to UP, O7 3g to SI)? I mean if it's a certain bus type that has an issue then why not swap those buses with another group? I think they are some sort of boxes, I remember someone posting pictures of the devices on here somewhere. I doubt they'll be consolidated as all three buses are being tested in different environments and terrains. While we are on the subject of bustime....an interesting find was made by yours truly... Since when do MCIs run on the S46?! LOL! This was NOT photoshopped!! The bus is off the line now. Via G, I think we have a problem!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoSpectacular Posted February 21, 2012 Share #38 Posted February 21, 2012 I'm not familiar with this bus time thing. Is it some sort of device attached to the farebox or something? The GPS tracking devices are installed wherever they can be placed without too much inconvenience.. Photo courtesy of MTA Photos on Flickr: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattTrain Posted February 21, 2012 Share #39 Posted February 21, 2012 4888 on Bustime! on the S46 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRG Posted February 21, 2012 Share #40 Posted February 21, 2012 Lol...I remember last week there was an MCI signed as S79 at the depot. But then it was taken out of service. I believe 4873 and 4888 are the only Xcelsiors that have BusTime...last week my friend and I were waiting for the S40 at Port Richmond Terminal and the 3:49 bus from Park/Richmond to Saint George wasn't on the map. That gave me a hint that something was coming and sure enough, it was...an Xcelsior!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattTrain Posted February 21, 2012 Share #41 Posted February 21, 2012 Lol...I remember last week there was an MCI signed as S79 at the depot. But then it was taken out of service. I believe 4873 and 4888 are the only Xcelsiors that have BusTime...last week my friend and I were waiting for the S40 at Port Richmond Terminal and the 3:49 bus from Park/Richmond to Saint George wasn't on the map. That gave me a hint that something was coming and sure enough, it was...an Xcelsior!!! Why didn't you take a photo of that, just kidding. Ahh I see now, they must be going around putting the GPS tracking on the XD40s as we speak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted February 21, 2012 Share #42 Posted February 21, 2012 I think they are some sort of boxes, I remember someone posting pictures of the devices on here somewhere. I doubt they'll be consolidated as all three buses are being tested in different environments and terrains. While we are on the subject of bustime....an interesting find was made by yours truly... Since when do MCIs run on the S46?! LOL! This was NOT photoshopped!! The bus is off the line now. Via G, I think we have a problem!! It's not the first time that I've saw MCIs on local bus lines per Bus Time. It happened a few weeks ago on the S53. I was tracking the S53 to catch one over to the X10 and there was a 22XX supposedly at the Port Richmond terminal then it disappeared. I still haven't figured out what it means either because it's happened before when a 22XX appears signed up as say an X30, sits at the terminal and then disappears or just stays there. I got burned royally by that one. lol I'm laughing now but I was a bit annoyed then because I thought the last X30 was late and sat in the office waiting for it to come since it was cold out.... Had to take the X12 home. 4888 on Bustime! on the S46 Lol...I remember last week there was an MCI signed as S79 at the depot. But then it was taken out of service. I believe 4873 and 4888 are the only Xcelsiors that have BusTime...last week my friend and I were waiting for the S40 at Port Richmond Terminal and the 3:49 bus from Park/Richmond to Saint George wasn't on the map. That gave me a hint that something was coming and sure enough, it was...an Xcelsior!!! Why didn't you take a photo of that, just kidding. Ahh I see now, they must be going around putting the GPS tracking on the XD40s as we speak. I got on an Xcelsior this morning on the S54. An 8XXX was heading towards the West Brighton terminal so I thought he would be doing the trip to Eltingville, so since I didn't see anything on Bus Time, I just hoped that the bus would come and then an Xcelsior came which didn't show on the Bus Time map. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XcelsiorBoii4888 Posted February 21, 2012 Share #43 Posted February 21, 2012 Theres an xcelsior on bustime right now as we speak....4888 on the S48 heading towards ST George... 11:17 2/21/12 and s51 4893 towards Grant City....11:18 2/21/12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted February 21, 2012 Share #44 Posted February 21, 2012 I just got a response back from MTA Bus Time regarding some of the "MIA" buses on the Bus Time map: "Dear Mr. Bugatti, Thank you very much for having taken the time to contact us. We sincerely apologize for the frustration using MTA Bus Time may have caused. We rely on input such as this to improve the system. We appreciate you describing the incident with great detail, which made the process of tracking down the issue for us much easier. We were able to follow up on the matter with S48 route and Bus #7063 not appearing on the map. We’ve identified, thanks to your valuable feedback, that the incident appears to be symptoms of a minor bug that we are currently working to resolve. We will include the fix in one of our on-going updates very soon. We hope that (aside from this) you are enjoying using MTA Bus Time, that you will continue to use it. Please keep the feedback coming. The MTA Bus Time Team" I replied that many of the Xcelsiors along with other buses are not appearing on the Bus Time map and that I hope they get all of them on up to speed and soon, so we'll see. :cool: ------------- UPDATE Just got this response from them about other MIA buses on Bus Time... Write in and they'll try to take care of it! "Dear Mr. Bugatti, Thank you very much for your response and additional feedback. We appreciate you bringing the issue with a limited number of buses not showing up in MTA Bus Time to our attention. We are working diligently to continue to ensure that the MTA Bus Time system covers every bus on Staten Island. We would sincerely appreciate it if you contacted us again when you discover a specific instance with MTA Bus Time not tracking a bus, just like you've done earlier today and provide us with as much detail as possible. If and when this happens again, please do us the favor of sending the following information: - Date and time - Route and Stop (ideally, the 6-digit stop code) - The 4-digit number of the bus that came early/unexpectedly. - Detailed description of the problem as you experienced it. This will help us with understanding the nature of the problem and ultimately improving the service. We will be happy to follow up with you on our findings. Thank you for having taken the time to write us and help us with improving MTA Bus Time. Please don't hesitate to contact us anytime. The MTA Bus Time Team" You can reach them at "MTABusTime@mtahq.org". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
checkmatechamp13 Posted February 21, 2012 Share #45 Posted February 21, 2012 Since when do MCIs run on the S46?! LOL! This was NOT photoshopped!! The bus is off the line now. Via G, I think we have a problem!! VG8 would probably go nuts if his precious MCIs were actually being used by us local riders. The horror! 4888 on Bustime! on the S46 What's with all those weird loops around Port Richmond High School? I know there are some trippers that come from there, but they don't deviate off the route at all. :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted February 21, 2012 Share #46 Posted February 21, 2012 VG8 would probably go nuts if his precious MCIs were actually being used by us local riders. The horror! Damn straight I would. :mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S78 via Hylan Posted February 22, 2012 Share #47 Posted February 22, 2012 As far I as I know, 4873, 4888 and 4893 can be tracked on Bustime. Now, the rest of Castleton's batch should be getting GPS software installed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted February 22, 2012 Share #48 Posted February 22, 2012 As far I as I know, 4873, 4888 and 4893 can be tracked on Bustime. Now, the rest of Castleton's batch should be getting GPS software installed. I just wrote to Bus Time again because yet another bus this morning did not appear on Bus Time. Bus 7081 was MIA on the map, but he came on time. Second S54 in two days and the same run... Same thing happened yesterday on the S54 when I was taking it to the X12. Of course Monday 2 S48s in a row didn't show on the map. They've got to get it together. I wrote to them and asked why not have the new buses outfitted with the tracking device BEFORE putting them on the road?? :mad: It's not like they can't hold the buses a few days until they are updated, or are they that backed up at the depots?? I also asked that they put a friggin' scroll bar on the Bus Time site for Android users. When I go to put in a route, I can't scroll down to see all of the stops along the route which is rather annoying. I have to pick a random stop that I can see and then hit it, find the bus I'm looking for (if it appears) and then tap on it to track it. I suspect that they haven't finished some of the Prevosts either, which would explain why folks are saying that so many X17s don't appear on the map but show up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S78 via Hylan Posted February 22, 2012 Share #49 Posted February 22, 2012 I suspect that they haven't finished some of the Prevosts either, which would explain why folks are saying that so many X17s don't appear on the map but show up. Um, the X17 is out of Charleston. The Prevosts are at Yukon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted February 22, 2012 Share #50 Posted February 22, 2012 Um, the X17 is out of Charleston. The Prevosts are at Yukon. Um, not all X17s run out Charleston buddy. I've seen plenty of X17s that were Prevosts out of Yukon... You can never go by what some route sheet tells you when it comes to Staten Island. I've even seen X17s out of Meredith. In fact an X10 was out of Meredith this morning and that is supposed to be out of Castleton. If they need someone to cover a run, they'll ask over the radio and whoever is available will do the run, regardless of the depot. At least it works this way on Staten Island. I ride various express buses on the island, so I've seen a bit of everything. :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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