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Based on how you constantly talk about how bus stops aren't located that far for most folks, it most certainly is a complaint.

 

 

What the hell are you talking about?

 

Yes, I'm further from a bus stop than most people in NYC. Am I complaining about it? No, because there isn't a good way to get a north-south route closer to me because of the way the street grid runs.

 

And besides, if your neighborhood is supposedly so influential, you should be able to get that bus routed closer to you. ;)

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What the hell are you talking about?

 

Yes, I'm further from a bus stop than most people in NYC. Am I complaining about it? No, because there isn't a good way to get a north-south route closer to me because of the way the street grid runs.

 

And besides, if your neighborhood is supposedly so influential, you should be able to get that bus routed closer to you. ;)

 

 

Uh no the stop is as close as it can get #1 as my walk is only about 5 - 7 minutes if that, so I'm not complaining.

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Guest Lance

Guys, this is getting ridiculous here. You two are arguing on whether or not you're close to the bus stop or not. Not whether or not the bus stop itself actually is or is not within walking distance. Just whether or not you think each other is complaining about it. Don't you two think that this may be a bit, um, much? It's not that serious that you have to keep dragging this out.

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Guys, this is getting ridiculous here. You two are arguing on whether or not you're close to the bus stop or not. Not whether or not the bus stop itself actually is or is not within walking distance. Just whether or not you think each other is complaining about it. Don't you two think that this may be a bit, um, much? It's not that serious that you have to keep dragging this out.

 

 

He started it. LOL. :P

 

In any case, I don't see the difference between being close to the stop and it being within walking distance. But whatever. This discussion is getting nowhere. He's going to keep insisting that I'm complaining when I'm not, so we might as well get back to the original point, which was BusTime.

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What's the point?

 

When I go out in the morning, the computer isn't on. The only good it would do me is to figure out if two buses are coming together, I could figure out whether to wait for the one I prefer, but all it's going to show me is the position of the buses. So I'll know where the S44 is and where the S89 is, but I won't know whether the S89 is going fast enough to bypass the S44. And besides, there were times where I made the bus by the skin of my teeth. I wouldn't even have time to bend down and tie my shoe, let alone look at a computer screen. I'd rather take that time spent looking at the screen to actually walk/run to the bus stop.

 

And besides that, I live kind of far from the bus stop. I have to walk almost 2/5 of a mile (the equivalent of about 8 city blocks) to reach the bus stop, and even more if I want the S89. It's hard to judge whether I'll be able to make it to the stop before the bus does, so like I said, I'd rather spend that extra minute or whatever going to the bus stop.

 

Outside of home, there's really no other place where I'd have access to a computer in time to see where the bus is.

 

 

That's nothing more than terrible timing. Really. All it is is comparing the time it takes to walk from your house to the bus with how far away the bus is.

 

It takes me about 5 minutes to walk from my house to the bus stop. So I know that when the s48 gets to South Avenue and Richmond Terrace, I need to start walking to Forest. When the s46 gets to Teleport, I start walking to Grandview. If by any chance I miss either, the s40 saves the day and pulls up 2 minutes later. But this works well because I have all these options. What I said above still applies though.

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That's nothing more than terrible timing. Really. All it is is comparing the time it takes to walk from your house to the bus with how far away the bus is.

 

It takes me about 5 minutes to walk from my house to the bus stop. So I know that when the s48 gets to South Avenue and Richmond Terrace, I need to start walking to Forest. When the s46 gets to Teleport, I start walking to Grandview. If by any chance I miss either, the s40 saves the day and pulls up 2 minutes later. But this works well because I have all these options. What I said above still applies though.

 

 

I agree 100%... When I lived on Staten Island and started using Bus Time, I would track the S53 and X30 and X14 amongst other buses. With the S53, I could literally just meet it down the street from the house, this way I could know for example if I could have a snack or if I needed to speed up my routine before heading out or if I should just call car service to get me over to the X10, as sometimes they would bunch up and become delayed as a result. In other words, Bus Time allows folks to do more things with their time rather than waiting for a bus that is late or may never show up. It most certainly has saved me a few times from being late or standing out in the freezing cold for no good reason, esp. since I liked to use the last bus of the morning and evening on SI. I can't wait for it to arrive to Riverdale because I like using the last BxM18 of the night and last night it was about 20 minutes late. I was very close to walking over to the BxM2 but I gave him a few more minutes because it was clear that he was delayed, as the Bronx express buses that I normally see all came later than usual down Madison and those buses all start around 23rd street, so I knew he was stuck in more traffic either Downtown or in Midtown further down. In my case though, knowing if the last BxM18 is coming or not can save a good 30 - 40 minutes on my commute. If I think the last BxM18 came already then I walk over to the BxM2 that runs every half an hour and then have to make all of the stops that I don't have to make on the BxM18, so like you said it's about having options and once you have your routes down and your backups, Bus Time takes some of the stress out of the "unknown".

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GUYS!!!!! VG8 & Checkmate, still going at it even after a mod told you to stop. Please, your debates tend to end sanity in threads sometimes...

 

Jus sayin... it's not hard to check a computer before leaving home.

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GUYS!!!!! VG8 & Checkmate, still going at it even after a mod told you to stop. Please, your debates tend to end sanity in threads sometimes...

 

Jus sayin... it's not hard to check a computer before leaving home.

 

 

Dude... Just mind your own business already. If the mods have a problem they'll address us personally.

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That's nothing more than terrible timing. Really. All it is is comparing the time it takes to walk from your house to the bus with how far away the bus is.

 

It takes me about 5 minutes to walk from my house to the bus stop. So I know that when the s48 gets to South Avenue and Richmond Terrace, I need to start walking to Forest. When the s46 gets to Teleport, I start walking to Grandview. If by any chance I miss either, the s40 saves the day and pulls up 2 minutes later. But this works well because I have all these options. What I said above still applies though.

 

 

First of all, there are a few lights and making or missing them can make a difference in how long it takes for the bus to get between points.

 

Second of all, what's the point? I already try to get out as fast as I can, and even if I could somehow look at the screen while on the go, all that's going to tell me is whether I'm going to make or miss the bus, which I could figure out anyway if I get to the bus stop and see the bus pulling out or something.

 

Third of all, everybody keeps ignoring the fact that there are times when one measley traffic light signal makes the difference between catching the bus and missing it. Why would I waste time looking at a computer screen when I could use that time to get to the stop?

 

I agree 100%... When I lived on Staten Island and started using Bus Time, I would track the S53 and X30 and X14 amongst other buses. With the S53, I could literally just meet it down the street from the house, this way I could know for example if I could have a snack or if I needed to speed up my routine before heading out or if I should just call car service to get me over to the X10, as sometimes they would bunch up and become delayed as a result. In other words, Bus Time allows folks to do more things with their time rather than waiting for a bus that is late or may never show up. It most certainly has saved me a few times from being late or standing out in the freezing cold for no good reason, esp. since I liked to use the last bus of the morning and evening on SI. I can't wait for it to arrive to Riverdale because I like using the last BxM18 of the night and last night it was about 20 minutes late. I was very close to walking over to the BxM2 but I gave him a few more minutes because it was clear that he was delayed, as the Bronx express buses that I normally see all came later than usual down Madison and those buses all start around 23rd street, so I knew he was stuck in more traffic either Downtown or in Midtown further down. In my case though, knowing if the last BxM18 is coming or not can save a good 30 - 40 minutes on my commute. If I think the last BxM18 came already then I walk over to the BxM2 that runs every half an hour and then have to make all of the stops that I don't have to make on the BxM18, so like you said it's about having options and once you have your routes down and your backups, Bus Time takes some of the stress out of the "unknown".

 

 

Yeah, well that's good for you, but I don't have any other options in the morning. I get out as fast as I can and hope the bus comes soon. Like I said, the buses aren't excessively unreliable (and don't start going on about the one or two times I said a bus came early), so if I get to the stop and a bus isn't there, I probably missed it. Looking at BusTime isn't going to make the bus show up any faster, so why bother?

 

GUYS!!!!! VG8 & Checkmate, still going at it even after a mod told you to stop. Please, your debates tend to end sanity in threads sometimes...

 

Jus sayin... it's not hard to check a computer before leaving home.

 

 

Let me ask you a question: Is my name LTA1992? Didn't think so. Mind your own damn business. :angry:

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First of all, there are a few lights and making or missing them can make a difference in how long it takes for the bus to get between points.

 

Second of all, what's the point? I already try to get out as fast as I can, and even if I could somehow look at the screen while on the go, all that's going to tell me is whether I'm going to make or miss the bus, which I could figure out anyway if I get to the bus stop and see the bus pulling out or something.

 

Third of all, everybody keeps ignoring the fact that there are times when one measley traffic light signal makes the difference between catching the bus and missing it. Why would I waste time looking at a computer screen when I could use that time to get to the stop?

 

 

 

Yeah, well that's good for you, but I don't have any other options in the morning. I get out as fast as I can and hope the bus comes soon. Like I said, the buses aren't excessively unreliable (and don't start going on about the one or two times I said a bus came early), so if I get to the stop and a bus isn't there, I probably missed it. Looking at BusTime isn't going to make the bus show up any faster, so why bother?

 

 

Okay clearly your mind is made up #1 on the issue and you don't use a cell phone either. #2 if you don't have any other options then it doesn't matter, but those of us with options we can see the benefits of Bus Time. In any event though perhaps it would save you from constantly running like a mad man trying to catch buses.

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Okay clearly your mind is made up #1 on the issue and you don't use a cell phone either. #2 if you don't have any other options then it doesn't matter, but those of us with options we can see the benefits of Bus Time. In any event though perhaps it would save you from constantly running like a mad man trying to catch buses.

 

 

Well, as of now, I'm incapable of running like I used to, so it's immaterial. But even before, I don't even see how it would've helped me. The only way would be if I knew that a bus was shortly behind, then I wouldn't run because there'd be another bus close by.

 

In any case, another issue is the "ghost buses". You don't know whether it's just a problem with the software or the bus is really MIA. And I've seen it on all routes to a certain extent. I'll be seeing like 2 buses on the entire S46 route in the middle of the day or something like that, and I doubt that's the case. (I mean, maybe a bus broke down or something, but to have that many missing buses on a regular basis just isn't possible, especially when I keep hearing buses pass by my classroom. I doubt buses are just going missing during my lunch break and are fine the rest of the day).

 

I mean, you said yourself that BusTime often showed a big gap in S54 service, but you got on a bus that came as scheduled. But you also mentioned having buses go MIA, which is pretty bad on 30 minute headways.

 

You both seriously need to get a room! The unhappily married couple of NYCTF!

 

 

Well, now we're just having a civil discussion.

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First of all, there are a few lights and making or missing them can make a difference in how long it takes for the bus to get between points.

 

Second of all, what's the point? I already try to get out as fast as I can, and even if I could somehow look at the screen while on the go, all that's going to tell me is whether I'm going to make or miss the bus, which I could figure out anyway if I get to the bus stop and see the bus pulling out or something.

 

Third of all, everybody keeps ignoring the fact that there are times when one measley traffic light signal makes the difference between catching the bus and missing it. Why would I waste time looking at a computer screen when I could use that time to get to the stop?

 

 

 

Yeah, well that's good for you, but I don't have any other options in the morning. I get out as fast as I can and hope the bus comes soon. Like I said, the buses aren't excessively unreliable (and don't start going on about the one or two times I said a bus came early), so if I get to the stop and a bus isn't there, I probably missed it. Looking at BusTime isn't going to make the bus show up any faster, so why bother?

 

 

 

Let me ask you a question: Is my name LTA1992? Didn't think so. Mind your own damn business. :angry:

 

 

I'm not going to lie, that last comment had me on the floor lol

 

It just takes practice.

 

1-you don't have to stare at your computer while getting ready. If you caught the same bus everyday, with an early and late bus as collateral, then the bus wouldn't seem unreliable.

 

2-you probably need to get up slightly earlier if you can't get out with enough time to catch the bus.

 

3-The goal of bus time isn't for you to get to the stop when the bus is there. It's to get to the bus stop with as little wait time as possible.

 

4-The way of thinking that you just showed me is terrible. In reality, people who just think, "What's the point", go nowhere.

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I'm not going to lie, that last comment had me on the floor lol

 

It just takes practice.

 

1-you don't have to stare at your computer while getting ready. If you caught the same bus everyday, with an early and late bus as collateral, then the bus wouldn't seem unreliable.

 

2-you probably need to get up slightly earlier if you can't get out with enough time to catch the bus.

 

3-The goal of bus time isn't for you to get to the stop when the bus is there. It's to get to the bus stop with as little wait time as possible.

 

4-The way of thinking that you just showed me is terrible. In reality, people who just think, "What's the point", go nowhere.

 

 

I wouldn't even bother with him. You're talking about a guy who is so frugal money wise that he rarely uses a cell phone. He could very well be from another generation. lol You and I are on the same page. Bus Time should've been here in NYC years ago. We had a similar system in Italy up in Bologna already set up back in 2004 which told you where the bus was, how long until the bus was due and everything right at the stop. I was very pleased to see such technology at that time. Fast forward to 2012 and the (MTA) is just now getting this to us... It's about time that the (MTA) stepped into the 21st century because they are far behind. Folks like checkmate are exactly why our transit system is further behind other systems.

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I'm not going to lie, that last comment had me on the floor lol

 

It just takes practice.

 

1-you don't have to stare at your computer while getting ready. If you caught the same bus everyday, with an early and late bus as collateral, then the bus wouldn't seem unreliable.

 

2-you probably need to get up slightly earlier if you can't get out with enough time to catch the bus.

 

3-The goal of bus time isn't for you to get to the stop when the bus is there. It's to get to the bus stop with as little wait time as possible.

 

4-The way of thinking that you just showed me is terrible. In reality, people who just think, "What's the point", go nowhere.

 

 

1) I never said it's unreliable, but let's not act like you could set your watch to the bus exactly. There are times when the bus gets a light or two ahead or behind, and that means it'll get to the stop at a slightly different time than when it's scheduled.

 

2) I have a bunch of reasons that I'm not going to get into as to why that's not possible. That's between me and my teachers.

 

3) No sh*t Sherlock.

 

4) I've already said what my reasons were. You don't want to accept them, that's your problem. My using BusTime or not isn't going to affect you in any way.

 

And you act like I apply "What's the point?" to everything I do. If I did that, I wouldn't have a 100+ average in school, now would I?

 

Folks like checkmate are exactly why our transit system is further behind other systems.

 

 

Well,"folks like checkmate" also attend those MTA meetings and try to get the system improved. If BusTime meant the difference between additional service or not, I'll take the extra service. I'd rather have a network that provides better coverage (sounds like some kind of cell phone commercial :P ) with no technological improvements rather than one with technological improvements and huge gaps in the network.

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Well,"folks like checkmate" also attend those MTA meetings and try to get the system improved. If BusTime meant the difference between additional service or not, I'll take the extra service. I'd rather have a network that provides better coverage (sounds like some kind of cell phone commercial :P ) with no technological improvements rather than one with technological improvements and huge gaps in the network.

 

 

Well that's funny because if you really were so for having the system improved, you could at least understand why some of us favor Bus Time. You've got this attitude that if it doesn't work for me then it there isn't a need for it and I disagree. Your constant downplaying of Bus Time shows this. We're not saying that Bus Time is the best thing ever, but if we can get something that is going to make our commutes easier and less stressful why not have it?? Just because you don't see how (or rather refuse to see how) you could benefit from it doesn't mean that others don't benefit from it.

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Well that's funny because if you really were so for having the system improved, you could at least understand why some of us favor Bus Time. You've got this attitude that if it doesn't work for me then it there isn't a need for it and I disagree. Your constant downplaying of Bus Time shows this. We're not saying that Bus Time is the best thing ever, but if we can get something that is going to make our commutes easier and less stressful why not have it?? Just because you don't see how (or rather refuse to see how) you could benefit from it doesn't mean that others don't benefit from it.

 

 

Yeah, I already said I understand why you like BusTime. When dealing with routes on 30 minute headways like the S54 or whatever, I could see how it's useful (and I already mentioned that). And I also said it's useful if you have an alternative, which I don't, but I know that doesn't apply. I never said it was completely pointless.

 

And yeah, as long as there are all these ghost buses rolling around, I'm going to keep downplaying BusTime. When you're regularly seeing large gaps in service on some routes, and aren't sure which buses are missing and which aren't, then is it really that useful?

 

Yeah, sure, if it helps people out with their commute, then sure, let's have it. Hell, it might even help attract additional riders and could help pay for itself. But in order for me to say that it's truly helping people, they're going to have to solve that problem of ghost buses. Maybe drivers are scared of being tracked, so they should adjust the schedules so if the B/O isn't doing anything crazy, he has nothing to fear.

 

For instance, right now I see 1 S46 pulling into the West Shore Plaza, one in the Elm Park/Mariners' Harbor area, and one pulling out of St. George. Eastbound, I see one a little north of the Teleport and one just west of Bard Avenue. I don't know the schedule offhand, but I know there's more buses on the road than that.

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Sometimes, the GPS inside the buses isn't always on when it should be. It could be that newly transfereed or delived buses have not had a GPS installed in them. For example. NG's 3961-3962 and 4513 were recent transferred to Charleston and were all in passenger service on the S74 and S78 but I couldn't locate any of them on Bustime.

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Yeah, I already said I understand why you like BusTime. When dealing with routes on 30 minute headways like the S54 or whatever, I could see how it's useful (and I already mentioned that). And I also said it's useful if you have an alternative, which I don't, but I know that doesn't apply. I never said it was completely pointless.

 

And yeah, as long as there are all these ghost buses rolling around, I'm going to keep downplaying BusTime. When you're regularly seeing large gaps in service on some routes, and aren't sure which buses are missing and which aren't, then is it really that useful?

 

Yeah, sure, if it helps people out with their commute, then sure, let's have it. Hell, it might even help attract additional riders and could help pay for itself. But in order for me to say that it's truly helping people, they're going to have to solve that problem of ghost buses. Maybe drivers are scared of being tracked, so they should adjust the schedules so if the B/O isn't doing anything crazy, he has nothing to fear.

 

For instance, right now I see 1 S46 pulling into the West Shore Plaza, one in the Elm Park/Mariners' Harbor area, and one pulling out of St. George. Eastbound, I see one a little north of the Teleport and one just west of Bard Avenue. I don't know the schedule offhand, but I know there's more buses on the road than that.

 

 

There are a number of reasons why some ghost buses are appearing and I've been in talks with the Bus Time team. Some buses don't have the equipment installed. Sometimes the equipment malfunctions and they don't know about it until folks like myself write in to them and tell them and then they have it fixed immediately. I get the feeling that the Bus Time team isn't that big either so they're really dependent upon THE PUBLIC TO REPORT INCIDENTS when they see them. If folks know that a bus isn't showing on Bus Time, don't just bitch about it! Let the Bus Time team know and they'll make sure it is either fixed or that the bus is scheduled to have the equipment installed. The system is still new and they admit that there are bugs, but they're working to make the system as smooth as possible, so be patient.

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  • 2 months later...

Bus_Time.jpg

Beginning July 1st, MTA Bus Time® will be available to customers who ride the B61 in Brooklyn.

Bus Time alerts riders to the status of their commute in real time, with actual bus locations available on the web, by text message and on smartphones. Bus Time is already in place borough-wide in Staten Island, on the M34/M34A SBS in Manhattan, and was originally introduced along the B63 in February 2011.

 

B63 customers who have been using Bus Time since last year should note the new text code to receive real-time bus information is 511123.

 

"Bus riders in Brooklyn, especially our customers in Red Hook will be thrilled with MTA Bus Time," said NYC Transit President Thomas F. Prendergast. "Having real-time bus arrival information in the palm of your hands will go a long way towards improving the customer experience. We look forward to bringing Bus Time to all of our customers city-wide by the end of 2013."

In order to inform B61 riders of the new service, the MTA initiated a campaign several weeks ago that consisted of:

 

  • Bus Interior Car Cards;

  • Bi-lingual brochure (English/Spanish);

  • Front ad placement;

  • Bus tail ad placement;

  • King size (side of bus) ad placement

 

MTA Bus Time takes the guesswork out of waiting for the next bus through the use of enhanced global positioning system (GPS) devices installed on buses. The GPS triangulates bus locations in real time. Accessible through cell phones and other electronic devices, all bus customers have to do is text a code that will be prominently displayed at their bus stop. They will immediately receive a return text with the real-time locations of the next several buses.

 

Electronically-savvy customers can also use their smartphones to snap a picture of a two-dimensional QR (Quick Response) code installed at every stop. A barcode-reading app, available free of charge, can then interpret this information, and take you directly to our mobile website.

 

The MTA Bus Time website, www.bustime.mta.info/ is accessible from any computer with an internet connection. The site presents map-based moving images representing the real-time location of every bus in service. The same information is available through smartphones, on a simplified website designed specifically for mobile phone browsers.

 

 

Source : http://mta.info/news/stories/?story=725

 

FINALLY!!

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