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MTA BusTime Discussion


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The EXP buses (QM1-QM20) in Manhattan does not have the new signage and schedules. There are new signage and schedules in some parts of Queens along those lines.

I would expect all the routes and stops to get the new schedules by the Spring Pick, which is very soon.

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The Bustime Mobile site needs to be improved. It only tells you which stop the buses in service are at but not when the next bus is scheduled to leave the terminal.

Sometimes it does. It'll say something like: "At terminal, scheduled to depart at" whatever time the bus is scheduled to leave.
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He's talking about the lollipop style bus stops. The old style of sheet metal signboards without destination information or stop name is still fairly prevalent in Queens.

Still see a couple of them between 59th and 63rd on Broadway.

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I helped a woman last night who was waiting on the Q3... I felt bad for her because it was pouring rain... So I pulled up the schedule to see how long she had to wait and told her... She thanked me as if I was a saint sent from heaven... All I did was tell her she had a 20min wait but he might come earlier which he did.. 3mins early

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Finally got to use BusTime with the BM's yesterday.  Used the BM3... We skipped the Downtown portion (Downtown Loop) since everyone wanted Midtown... The weird thing was that the bus disappeared from BusTime as we were taking the "Super Express" routing, which is odd because that must be on the map during the week. Once we came to the portion where the normal routing is, the bus re-appeared.  

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Finally got to use BusTime with the BM's yesterday. Used the BM3... We skipped the Downtown portion (Downtown Loop) since everyone wanted Midtown... The weird thing was that the bus disappeared from BusTime as we were taking the "Super Express" routing, which is odd because that must be on the map during the week. Once we came to the portion where the normal routing is, the bus re-appeared.

Technically they went off-route.

 

Even with the app I used (MTA Tracker), if the bus is on a detour or something of that nature, the bus would disappear from the map, then reappear when it gets back on route. I was on the BxM1 a few nights ago and I was tracking myself for the shits and giggles. Instead of going down Dyckman St to the Harlem River Drive, we used 204 St to 10 Av to the HRD and we disappeared off the map then came back on it

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Technically they went off-route.

 

Even with the app I used (MTA Tracker), if the bus is on a detour or something of that nature, the bus would disappear from the map, then reappear when it gets back on route. I was on the BxM1 a few nights ago and I was tracking myself for the shits and giggles. Instead of going down Dyckman St to the Harlem River Drive, we used 204 St to 10 Av to the HRD and we disappeared off the map then came back on it

This is different though... The routing we took is the same routing that a BM3 Super Express would take during the week and I would expect those buses to show on BusTime. What occurred on the BxM1 you took is normal because B/O's are allowed to use whatever routing once they've made all of the pick-ups.  That's been in place long before BusTime. When BusTime came into play some B/O's were following the routing to a tee and I wrote in and made a stink about it because it makes no sense for us to sit in traffic on the Deegan if the Harlem River Drive is not backed up for the sake of showing on BusTime since we're operating on the non pick-up segment of the route.

 

Let me give you another scenario of how I believe BusTime works.  We've taken shortcuts on the BxM2 where we had no drop-offs on the West Side (72nd & Columbus, 63rd & Broadway), so we take 5th down to Central Park South instead of using the Transverse, and then Central Park South over to 7th to continue Southbound.  When we come along Central Park South past 6th Avenue, the bus will show up as being Northbound en route to Riverdale-263 st even though it's really headed Southbound (via Kappock, to West Midtown).  I know because I've tracked the bus for the hell of it, so basically the bus should show up as long as it's somewhere along the actual route.  Maybe the Super Express BM3's don't show on BusTime along that segment, but I'll check it out one day when I have some time to burn.  I've been using BusTime since it started on Staten Island, and anything I can learn about it I want to know if it will improve my commute and how the technology works.

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Technically they went off-route.

 

Even with the app I used (MTA Tracker), if the bus is on a detour or something of that nature, the bus would disappear from the map, then reappear when it gets back on route. I was on the BxM1 a few nights ago and I was tracking myself for the shits and giggles. Instead of going down Dyckman St to the Harlem River Drive, we used 204 St to 10 Av to the HRD and we disappeared off the map then came back on it

 

Technically they went off-route.

 

Even with the app I used (MTA Tracker), if the bus is on a detour or something of that nature, the bus would disappear from the map, then reappear when it gets back on route. I was on the BxM1 a few nights ago and I was tracking myself for the shits and giggles. Instead of going down Dyckman St to the Harlem River Drive, we used 204 St to 10 Av to the HRD and we disappeared off the map then came back on it

There's so many different routings, the BxM1 needs it's own app.

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There's so many different routings, the BxM1 needs it's own app.

No, there's only three different routings.

 

BxM1 Super Express, via Riverdale Av, via Major Deegan, via Lex (serves North Riverdale & Riverdale only & bypasses Spuyten Duyvil)

BxM1 via Kappock St, via Major Deegan, via Lex (bypasses Inwood)

BxM1 via Inwood, via Harlem River Drive, via Lex (makes all stops & runs via the Harlem River Drive)

 

Any other routing is due to traffic or preferences by the B/O to not be stuck in traffic and since the Major Deegan backs up a lot, there's a tendency to go whichever way will be quicker.

 

 

If you live in Riverdale, none of this is confusing.  I use the Super Express which shaves off a good 10 - 15 minutes.  Those in Spuyten Duyvil also get a small savings if they don't have to stop in Inwood, provided that the Deegan isn't slammed.  There's enough ridership in Central Riverdale (Downtown Riverdale from 236th to Riverdale/Fieldston 239th to 246th) alone to fill up half of the Super Expresses and Spuyten Duyvil along Kappock has high usage as well, hence the variants.

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No, there's only three different routings.

 

BxM1 Super Express, via Riverdale Av, via Major Deegan, via Lex (serves North Riverdale & Riverdale only & bypasses Spuyten Duyvil)

BxM1 via Kappock St, via Major Deegan, via Lex (bypasses Inwood)

BxM1 via Inwood, via Harlem River Drive, via Lex (makes all stops & runs via the Harlem River Drive)

 

Any other routing is due to traffic or preferences by the B/O to not be stuck in traffic and since the Major Deegan backs up a lot, there's a tendency to go whichever way will be quicker.

 

 

If you live in Riverdale, none of this is confusing.  I use the Super Express which shaves off a good 10 - 15 minutes.  Those in Spuyten Duyvil also get a small savings if they don't have to stop in Inwood, provided that the Deegan isn't slammed.  There's enough ridership in Central Riverdale (Downtown Riverdale from 236th to Riverdale/Fieldston 239th to 246th) alone to fill up half of the Super Expresses and Spuyten Duyvil along Kappock has high usage as well, hence the variants.

I always get backed up on Lexington. That's where variants should come in and yes I know that's the route. I ride it almost every day. I've gone down 2nd Avenue to 96th, 10th Avenue to 202nd Street, turned at 116th, 106th and 79th, etc.

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I always get backed up on Lexington. That's where variants should come in and yes I know that's the route. I ride it almost every day. I've gone down 2nd Avenue to 96th, 10th Avenue to 202nd Street, turned at 116th, 106th and 79th, etc.

Well the variants along Lexington were taken away due to the BxM18 making stops in Midtown below 56th street.  

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This is different though... The routing we took is the same routing that a BM3 Super Express would take during the week and I would expect those buses to show on BusTime. What occurred on the BxM1 you took is normal because B/O's are allowed to use whatever routing once they've made all of the pick-ups. That's been in place long before BusTime. When BusTime came into play some B/O's were following the routing to a tee and I wrote in and made a stink about it because it makes no sense for us to sit in traffic on the Deegan if the Harlem River Drive is not backed up for the sake of showing on BusTime since we're operating on the non pick-up segment of the route.

 

Let me give you another scenario of how I believe BusTime works. We've taken shortcuts on the BxM2 where we had no drop-offs on the West Side (72nd & Columbus, 63rd & Broadway), so we take 5th down to Central Park South instead of using the Transverse, and then Central Park South over to 7th to continue Southbound. When we come along Central Park South past 6th Avenue, the bus will show up as being Northbound en route to Riverdale-263 st even though it's really headed Southbound (via Kappock, to West Midtown). I know because I've tracked the bus for the hell of it, so basically the bus should show up as long as it's somewhere along the actual route. Maybe the Super Express BM3's don't show on BusTime along that segment, but I'll check it out one day when I have some time to burn. I've been using BusTime since it started on Staten Island, and anything I can learn about it I want to know if it will improve my commute and how the technology works.

It may be the route that it takes during the week but not on weekends...it's still considered off route

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It may be the route that it takes during the week but not on weekends...it's still considered off route

That's the case but I'd be surprised if the system was that advanced to know that it was not a Super Express run but rather a regular run... I wonder if it can differentiate what bus is what by the coding in the destination sign? If that was the case I didn't get why it automatically assumed that the Southbound BxM2 was a Northbound bus just because of the shortcut it took.

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That's the case but I'd be surprised if the system was that advanced to know that it was not a Super Express run but rather a regular run... I wonder if it can differentiate what bus is what by the coding in the destination sign? If that was the case I didn't get why it automatically assumed that the Southbound BxM2 was a Northbound bus just because of the shortcut it took.

It probably can...or just from the farebox when the driver programs the route

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Transit times is a great app for this.If you type in an intersection then click on the bus you want it will show you the time it was supposed to get there.so you can determine how late or early the bus actually is.Earlier in Manhattan I saw buses that were 20 min late!

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Transit times is a great app for this.If you type in an intersection then click on the bus you want it will show you the time it was supposed to get there.so you can determine how late or early the bus actually is.Earlier in Manhattan I saw buses that were 20 min late!

The Roadify App for iPhone does that too. y4yzy8e9.jpg

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Transit times is a great app for this.If you type in an intersection then click on the bus you want it will show you the time it was supposed to get there.so you can determine how late or early the bus actually is.Earlier in Manhattan I saw buses that were 20 min late!

Is that on Android phones?

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Is that on Android phones?

It's on both Android and Apple.Tonight however both Roadify and transit times aren't showing the differences in the real-time and the schedules.

Maybe has something to do with the schedule changes taking place today

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Roadify is working again today.Some departures are not being shown.For example the next B12 is 14 min away from Albany and East New York but there is a scheduled one in 4 min.Is that because it's not showing up in bustime, or that departure never left for whatever reason?

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