Orion VII 4 Life Posted October 16, 2013 Share #1 Posted October 16, 2013 http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20131015/HOSPITALITY_TOURISM/131019931 Resorts World Casino in Queens will be a free bus ride away starting tomorrow, Oct. 16, for the throngs of tourists in Manhattan who have no idea the racino exists.On Wednesday, the racino, which includes a race track, will be rolling out 12 buses that will run from Monday though Sunday from 10 A.M. to 12 A.M. every 30 to 45 minutes from central destinations, including Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Columbus Circle and several hotels. They will run continuously between Manhattan and Queens.... Looks like a very nice service they're running here, I heard they were going to start Manhattan express buses but I didn't know they were going to make it free. Maybe a limited time promotion, or maybe not considering the amount of money they'll be getting from the pax anyway in the casino. Thoughts guys? Also, by the looks of them, the custom built buses being used may be very similar to a Chinese-built model used by the NJ dollar vans, 'course nicer though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cait Sith Posted October 16, 2013 Share #2 Posted October 16, 2013 I actually shot those same buses tonight...they look like the same make/manufacturer of the same buses that are in operation for Golden Touch. There was a convoy of at least 8 buses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theorem Ox Posted October 16, 2013 Share #3 Posted October 16, 2013 If I had to make a bet about the future of this service, they will probably change over to the same system that they do for buses going to other casinos in the region (Empire City, Mohegan Sun, Foxwoods, etc.). Namely, charge some nominal cost for the bus ride itself, payable in cash to the driver. In return, the driver will issue casino scrip for the same value, effectively "offsetting" the out-of-pocket cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vistausss Posted October 16, 2013 Share #4 Posted October 16, 2013 It's gonna be limited free because not many people want this bus service or visit the casino. At least, that's what I heard from people in the subway section of this forum in the thread about Aqueduct Racetrack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion VII 4 Life Posted October 16, 2013 Author Share #5 Posted October 16, 2013 It's gonna be limited free because not many people want this bus service or visit the casino. At least, that's what I heard from people in the subway section of this forum in the thread about Aqueduct Racetrack. The casino is mobbed, just not with Manhattan/tourist crowds. It's HUGE with older people in Brooklyn and Queens, if you ever go past it on the you'll always see a ton of Access a Ride vans parked out front, a lot of my family in Brooklyn will go there several times a week. Most Manhattanites and tourists either don't know about it or don't want to sit on the subway for an hour with a shuttle bus ride on top of it (except leaving from the Racetrack station). With the buses and ad campaign they're trying to start attracting Manhattan crowds, and it's gonna be interesting to see how it works out for em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trainmaster5 Posted October 17, 2013 Share #6 Posted October 17, 2013 It's gonna be limited free because not many people want this bus service or visit the casino. At least, that's what I heard from people in the subway section of this forum in the thread about Aqueduct Racetrack. This idea makes 100x more sense than screwing up regular train service for the regular commuter. Those who wish to visit the casino can use those buses to come and go like those who frequent AC or Foxwoods and the bus company and casino can cross-promote at will. As Orion rightly points out, how many tourists or residents of upper Manhattan or the Bronx want to shlep on a subway to the Big A ? With the buses you have the chance to pick up the tourist crowd although I believe the upper Manhattan/ Bronx crowd would be better served by heading to Empire-Yonkers. With the ever dwindling racing crowd maybe the track itself will be shuttered one day and an expanded casino operation will be built. I, too have seen the Access a Ride vans out front but as a semi-regular patron many people, myself included , have become bored with the limited gaming options at Aqueduct. The management obviously saw the same thing, hence the new bus service. Carry on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QM1to6Ave Posted October 17, 2013 Share #7 Posted October 17, 2013 The casino is mobbed, just not with Manhattan/tourist crowds. It's HUGE with older people in Brooklyn and Queens, if you ever go past it on the you'll always see a ton of Access a Ride vans parked out front, a lot of my family in Brooklyn will go there several times a week. Most Manhattanites and tourists either don't know about it or don't want to sit on the subway for an hour with a shuttle bus ride on top of it (except leaving from the Racetrack station). With the buses and ad campaign they're trying to start attracting Manhattan crowds, and it's gonna be interesting to see how it works out for em. Hah! I remember there was a scandal a while back with Access-A-Ride going all the way to Atlantic City, which they were not supposed to do, on a regular basis to take the old folks who wanted to go gambling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion VII 4 Life Posted October 17, 2013 Author Share #8 Posted October 17, 2013 Hah! I remember there was a scandal a while back with Access-A-Ride going all the way to Atlantic City, which they were not supposed to do, on a regular basis to take the old folks who wanted to go gambling.Pretty sure that was Yonkers (this is before Resorts world opened), I think in the end they actually did have to go a certain distance over the county line including the casino. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QM1to6Ave Posted October 17, 2013 Share #9 Posted October 17, 2013 Pretty sure that was Yonkers (this is before Resorts world opened), I think in the end they actually did have to go a certain distance over the county line including the casino. No, it was definitely Atlantic City. This was way back in 1995 or so (when the paratransit system was even more corrupt than it is now) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aemoreira81 Posted October 22, 2013 Share #10 Posted October 22, 2013 Not a bad idea if you ask me. It certainly looks more attractive than some of the casino buses currently run. I wonder if Empire City will step up its game, although to be fair, it is well-served by the #20 and #7 buses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4P3607 Posted October 22, 2013 Share #11 Posted October 22, 2013 I saw one of these near Queens Center earlier... was wondering about them. Those buses do seem to look pretty old though... (or poorly maintained). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion VII 4 Life Posted October 22, 2013 Author Share #12 Posted October 22, 2013 I saw one of these near Queens Center earlier... was wondering about them. Those buses do seem to look pretty old though... (or poorly maintained).Those casino buses you see around there with Chinese lettering are, IIRC, under different operators and come from Elmhurst/Jackson Heights and at a price too. I actually saw one of those in Midwood the other day. The free service uses red buses with all English lettering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTA Bus Posted October 22, 2013 Share #13 Posted October 22, 2013 This is what the buses look like. WP_001823 by MTA Bus, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric B Posted October 22, 2013 Share #14 Posted October 22, 2013 I'm still not seeing any exact pickup locations anywhere. I wanted to fan this, but was fighting a cold the past two RDO's, but may go next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GojiMet86 Posted October 22, 2013 Share #15 Posted October 22, 2013 That's probably an SLC-938L. I thought it might have been a TEMSA TS-35, but the decal logo is different. IMG_6717 by GojiMet86, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric B Posted October 28, 2013 Share #16 Posted October 28, 2013 OK, found the routes and stops now (didn't seem to be there before)! http://www.rwnewyork.com/visit-resorts-world/14-getting-here/610-manhattan-coach-bus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric B Posted November 4, 2013 Share #17 Posted November 4, 2013 Just tried this (from 97th/Columbus). Nice, new, new smelling, first time seeing white LED end sign (Said "TransExpress" or something like that). Has a restroom, on the right side (never saw that before), though it was locked. Only two other guys got on, I think at the second or third stop. Hit traffic from the marathon still going on (at night), then, it seems they don't want to go across the LIE, so it went down to 14th and across the Willy B and Metropolitan Ave. basically. So it was an hour and a half. Also got to try the new covered bridge to the Aqueduct station. Nice also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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