New ‘Select Bus Service’ comes to Webster Ave. to trim commute times by nearly 10 minutes

[Harry 1,053]

Getting from one end of Webster Avenue to the other just got a whole lot quicker for the unlikeliest of commuters — long-suffering bus riders. The subway-starved commercial thoroughfare — one of the busiest in all of the city — finally has a five mile-long “select bus service” route for the tens of thousands of riders who crawl every day. The new Bx41 SBS — which will have fewer stops and a slightly different route than the local    — will travel to and from East Gun Hill Rd. and East 149th St. and Third Ave., where it will connect with the Nos. and trains. The expected 20,000 bus riders a day should enjoy a 20% reduction in their travel times, thanks to dedicated lanes and a pre-pay system that allows riders to get on and off quicker.

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[BM5 via Woodhaven 4,903]

Well that's nice that Bx41 riders have limited stop service expanded and enhanced. I think they can make headways larger on Sundays if it doesn't pick up as much as its suppose to.

[IRT Bronx Express 357]

I still have to see how good SBS is between 168-170 Sts. When it was a LTD, service was really slow in that section.

[FamousNYLover 531]

When I took on July 2nd, 167th St SBS Southbound machines aren't working.

[Turbo19 2,509]

When I took on July 2nd, 167th St SBS Southbound machines aren't working.

It likely won't take long to get everything up to speed. In a month everything will function like every other SBS route*.

 

^{*Does not include the S79, which is a glorified limited and not a model SBS service.}

[B35 via Church 7,543]

When I took on July 2nd, 167th St SBS Southbound machines aren't working.

They'll get around to it.... They just came out w/ SBS on the route....

 

Iono man, you used to be more informative in your posts on the forums.... Now for whatever reason, you've turned into a complainer.....

 

^{*Does not include the S79, which is a glorified limited and not a model SBS service.}

lol.... they're all glorified limiteds

[qjtransitmaster 216]

They'll get around to it.... They just came out w/ SBS on the route....

 

Iono man, you used to be more informative in your posts on the forums.... Now for whatever reason, you've turned into a complainer.....

 

lol.... they're all glorified limiteds

glorified. Some can be in a class of their own Q53/52/B103/B7 = rapid lines The rapid class.

[B35 via Church 7,543]

glorified. Some can be in a class of their own Q53/52/B103/B7 = rapid lines The rapid class.

What ?

[Cait Sith 7,069]

glorified. Some can be in a class of their own Q53/52/B103/B7 = rapid lines The rapid class.

 

 

What ?

 

I didn't quite catch that either....even though what he just said has nothing to do with anything....

[bobtehpanda 5,331]

I didn't quite catch that either....even though what he just said has nothing to do with anything....

Hes going on about his speed fetish again

 

The B7 isnt even a limited...

[Turbo19 2,509]

glorified. Some can be in a class of their own Q53/52/B103/B7 = rapid lines The rapid class.

Rapid class, not at all man. The Q52 and Q53 bunch like crazy, the B103 is a hit or miss, and the B7 is just a regular local.

 

If you haven't already (which I know you have) go ride LA's Rapid Lines (again) and watch what they accomplish, like turning a 120-135 minute trip into a 45-60 minute one.

[qjtransitmaster 216]

Rapid class, not at all man. The Q52 and Q53 bunch like crazy, the B103 is a hit or miss, and the B7 is just a regular local.

 

If you haven't already (which I know you have) go ride LA's Rapid Lines (again) and watch what they accomplish, like turning a 120-135 minute trip into a 45-60 minute one.

So the LA rapids are really that fast? I know about how the silver line works.

Hes going on about his speed fetish again

The B7 isnt even a limited...

but it is still fast!!!

[Cait Sith 7,069]

Lets not go completely off topic...

[Turbo19 2,509]

Lets not go completely off topic...

We won't homie, just give us a hot minute.

 

 

So the LA rapids are really that fast? I know about how the silver line works.

In my personal experience LA Rapids such as the 704 on Santa Monica Boulevard or the 733 on Venice Boulevard can cut your trip time in half on most occasions, at least if you ride past the halfway point of the the route. Even on more congested corridors on Wilshire Boulevard the Rapid 720 and 920 can give substantial time savings.

 

Now, I did address what you said earlier, but I'll elaborate more on that. While I do feel the Q52, Q53, and B7 are just average local routes the B103 is fair. I suppose that service could be stepped up and perhaps in the future a transition to true SBS standards but for now I feel that route is fine as is and the current service suffices.

 

Not to digress, but if anything the MTA needs to improve the S79 over all else when the resources become available. Give the route to Charleston, provide service with artics, implement pre payment on the route, and provide a supplemental local variant at 30 minute headways.

[XcelsiorBoii4888 1,141]

We won't homie, just give us a hot minute.

 

 

In my personal experience LA Rapids such as the 704 on Santa Monica Boulevard or the 733 on Venice Boulevard can cut your trip time in half on most occasions, at least if you ride past the halfway point of the the route. Even on more congested corridors on Wilshire Boulevard the Rapid 720 and 920 can give substantial time savings.

 

Now, I did address what you said earlier, but I'll elaborate more on that. While I do feel the Q52, Q53, and B7 are just average local routes the B103 is fair. I suppose that service could be stepped up and perhaps in the future a transition to true SBS standards but for now I feel that route is fine as is and the current service suffices.

 

Not to digress, but if anything the MTA needs to improve the S79 over all else when the resources become available. Give the route to Charleston, provide service with artics, implement pre payment on the route, and provide a supplemental local variant at 30 minute headways.

I agreee 10000% about the S79

[Turbo19 2,509]

I agreee 10000% about the S79

Why thanks for your support.

[MTA Bus 1,334]

I'm happy that the S79 now makes less stops, but it is not a SBS route. It's just a glorified limited with bus lanes.

[bobtehpanda 5,331]

Not to digress, but if anything the MTA needs to improve the S79 over all else when the resources become available. Give the route to Charleston, provide service with artics, implement pre payment on the route, and provide a supplemental local variant at 30 minute headways.

 

I feel like MTA has worked itself into a tight corner here. In an attempt to spread political favors all over the place, they give the S79 SBS, even though the ridership only demands a limited. It certainly doesn't justify the investment of a full SBS route, so they don't give it to them. Instead, the whole thing blows up in their face - it's not a real SBS route, so Staten Island motorists see very little improvement and think it's nothing special, so they have little incentive to switch to it. Motorists' reactions are thus like a little kid presented with brussel sprouts - they're not going to touch it cause they automatically think it's worse. If they had given it full arctics, or even did that median lane in the original plans, then it would seem "higher-quality" and we'd see at least some mode-share improvement. So, Staten Island pols are able to continue with their delusion of "we don't get high quality transit, ever", and that's at least partially true.

 

Not only that, the Staten Island pols actually make the situation for SBS worse, and demand that everyone in the city suffer because they don't like their wrapped limited buses. So we end up with a situation where the decision to skimp and dilute the brand hurts the brand, but they can't take it away because it feeds into the island's victim complex (which is somewhat justified).

 

Honestly, the MTA seriously needs to ratchet up its brand promotion - the MTA ads aren't cutting it. If the MTA was actually serious about the SBS program and making it succeed beyond expectations (instead of using it as a way to get the feds to pay for bus improvements), there is one important psychological change they could do - add SBS routes to the map as full trunk lines. It sounds deceptively simple, but no one on earth is going to believe that it's a "subway on the surface" unless the MTA goes all out. If you're not a regular rider on these routes, you don't know that they exist, or that SBS is on them - no incentive to switch to the new mode. I had to convince at least five tourists that they were better off taking the M15 SBS to South Ferry a block over from Grand and Chrystie, rather than walk all the way to Canal and catch the . MTA does not realize how potent branding and marketing can be - they just follow DOT's lead. That needs to change.

[LTA1992 1,305]

S79 does not need Artics. Just saying.

[S78 via Hylan 1,067]

S79 does not need Artics. Just saying.

No, it doesn't. The route is fine the way it is now.

[Turbo19 2,509]

S79 does not need Artics. Just saying.

 

No, it doesn't. The route is fine the way it is now.

And why not?

 

If service on the S79 was provided with articulated buses there would be many benefits. Examples include the ease of installing a proof of payment system, the correlated ease of boarding and deboarding, the vehicles themselves which would have the ability to handle a larger amount of passengers and improved passenger perception of the service in part due to the above factors.

[S78 via Hylan 1,067]

And why not?

 

If service on the S79 was provided with articulated buses there would be many benefits. Examples include the ease of installing a proof of payment system, the correlated ease of boarding and deboarding, the vehicles themselves which would have the ability to handle a larger amount of passengers and improved passenger perception of the service in part due to the above factors.

I'm a frequent user of the line and it seems to work fine with NGs. As I explained earlier, it doesn't get hammered at every stop like other SBS routes like the Bx12 or M15 which is why it doesn't need proof of payment system.

 

And adding artics would mean longer headways too.

[bobtehpanda 5,331]

And why not?

 

If service on the S79 was provided with articulated buses there would be many benefits. Examples include the ease of installing a proof of payment system, the correlated ease of boarding and deboarding, the vehicles themselves which would have the ability to handle a larger amount of passengers and improved passenger perception of the service in part due to the above factors.

 

The capacity would be a bit overkill - SBS also means to provide frequent service.

 

The route is also so fast (and the stops so numerous and far apart) that POP isn't really needed, because dwell time isn't excessive.

 

This is why I said the MTA really shouldn't have given the S79 the SBS brand name, because it really didn't deserve it.

Edited July 7, 2013 by bobtehpanda

[qjtransitmaster 216]

I feel like MTA has worked itself into a tight corner here. In an attempt to spread political favors all over the place, they give the S79 SBS, even though the ridership only demands a limited. It certainly doesn't justify the investment of a full SBS route, so they don't give it to them. Instead, the whole thing blows up in their face - it's not a real SBS route, so Staten Island motorists see very little improvement and think it's nothing special, so they have little incentive to switch to it. Motorists' reactions are thus like a little kid presented with brussel sprouts - they're not going to touch it cause they automatically think it's worse. If they had given it full arctics, or even did that median lane in the original plans, then it would seem "higher-quality" and we'd see at least some mode-share improvement. So, Staten Island pols are able to continue with their delusion of "we don't get high quality transit, ever", and that's at least partially true.

 

Not only that, the Staten Island pols actually make the situation for SBS worse, and demand that everyone in the city suffer because they don't like their wrapped limited buses. So we end up with a situation where the decision to skimp and dilute the brand hurts the brand, but they can't take it away because it feeds into the island's victim complex (which is somewhat justified).

 

Honestly, the MTA seriously needs to ratchet up its brand promotion - the MTA ads aren't cutting it. If the MTA was actually serious about the SBS program and making it succeed beyond expectations (instead of using it as a way to get the feds to pay for bus improvements), there is one important psychological change they could do - add SBS routes to the map as full trunk lines. It sounds deceptively simple, but no one on earth is going to believe that it's a "subway on the surface" unless the MTA goes all out. If you're not a regular rider on these routes, you don't know that they exist, or that SBS is on them - no incentive to switch to the new mode. I had to convince at least five tourists that they were better off taking the M15 SBS to South Ferry a block over from Grand and Chrystie, rather than walk all the way to Canal and catch the . MTA does not realize how potent branding and marketing can be - they just follow DOT's lead. That needs to change.

Weak marketing is particularly to blame for weak off-peak ridership on many express buses not enough people know that the x27 is quicker or Qm 7&8 can help reduce travel time to not only downtown but to areas served by the train ect and such. Isn't the S79 SBS fast and frequent? MTA needs to promote express buses as well

[bobtehpanda 5,331]

Weak marketing is particularly to blame for weak off-peak ridership on many express buses not enough people know that the x27 is quicker or Qm 7&8 can help reduce travel time to not only downtown but to areas served by the train ect and such. Isn't the S79 SBS fast and frequent? MTA needs to promote express buses as well

 

I think you're forgetting about the fact that for the majority of people, express buses are a luxury that quite honestly isn't worth the money. Would you rather have a meal at that nice French restaurant every day, or would you pay for an express bus?

 

It's kind of like what happened to Metro Rapid - the initial two starter lines had way more bells and whistles, compared to the product that it is marketed as today.