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Why Do B/O's Drive So Slow Nowadays?


TeeLow

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This is actually the first time I've heard of NYPD strictly enforcing a bus lane. A shame it's curbside, though.

 

In all fairness, there is heavy bus usage on the road. Most bus lanes in the city should be 16 hours a day, 5 days a week (with reduced hours on Sat and Sun)

It's more of a "gotcha" tactic than anything else. You could travel in the bus lanes for the entire length and not see a cop or an agent. Then the next time as you go around a bus...an officer is directing you to the curb for a summons.

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It's more of a "gotcha" tactic than anything else. You could travel in the bus lanes for the entire length and not see a cop or an agent. Then the next time as you go around a bus...an officer is directing you to the curb for a summons.

 

I agree that the emphasis should be on consistent enforcement (and blocking lanes and redirecting traffic to gain tickets is something done to every class of road user; pedestrian, cyclist, motorist, etc.)

 

Fun fact: If New York City had as many road enforcement cameras per capita as DC, we'd have 1700 across the five boroughs. Albany is only allowing the placement of 150 near school zones, which is just silly (but you can thank AAA for that). Our Mayor-elect would like to repatriate the power to put speed and traffic cameras in as a home rule power, so here's to hoping he succeeds.

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To me, fast drivers I got on following bus.

NYCT and MTA Bus

Brooklyn: B8, B24, B44 LCL, B44 SBS, B46, B61, B103, BM3 (when MTA still used ex-Command CNG Bus)

Bronx: Bx3, Bx7, Bx10, Bx11, Bx12 SBS, Bx13, Bx15, Bx17, Bx41 LTD/SBS

Manhattan: M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M7, M8, M10, M11, M15 SBS, M20, M60, M66, M72, M79, M86, M96, M106.

Queens: Q3, Q5, Q6, Q6 LTD, Q10, Q10 LTD, Q20A/B, Q23, Q24, Q25, Q25 LTD, Q27, Q27 LTD, Q30/31, Q33 (old one), Q35, Q44, Q47, Q48, Q50, Q52, Q53, Q54, Q56, Q60, Q66, Q70, Q72, QM15, QM24.

Staten Island:

S40, S46, S59, S61, S79 SBS, S89, S90,

 

NICE Bus (Veolia): 

n1, n2/8, n4, n4x, n6, n6x/, n14, n15, n16/17, n20/L/21, n22/A/L/X, n23, n24, n25, n26, n27, n31/32, n33, n35, n40/41, n43, n45, n46, n48/49, n50, n51, n54/55, n57/58, n62, n70/71/72, n73/74, n79, n80/81, n87, n88.

 

Bee-Line Buses:

Almost every Bee-Line buses are fast drivers except for #60/#61 bus.

Beat me to it.

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Was that list even relevant though.... You can get a slow driver or a fast driver on any route....

It's not a precursor to anything; especially looking at most those bronx routes, buses typically are not fast (which seems to be the implication of a list like this)

 

Looks to me like Yuki wanted to create a list of routes.....

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Was that list even relevant though.... You can get a slow driver or a fast driver on any route....

It's not a precursor to anything; especially looking at most those bronx routes, buses typically are not fast (which seems to be the implication of a list like this)

 

Looks to me like Yuki wanted to create a list of routes.....

 

Yeahh I agree. In Staten Island you get more fast drivers then slow drivers. 

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Was that list even relevant though.... You can get a slow driver or a fast driver on any route....

It's not a precursor to anything; especially looking at most those bronx routes, buses typically are not fast (which seems to be the implication of a list like this)

 

Looks to me like Yuki wanted to create a list of routes.....

I think you know yuki by now dude it's his thing.

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  • 1 month later...

I'd rather have my bus run on or close to schedule driving slow (which I can plan for) than having every bus run hot and having no hope of catching the one scheduled. OTP has gotten better anecdotally in the last 10 years. That said, a realistic schedule without 10-15 minutes of padding never killed anybody.

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I'd rather have my bus run on or close to schedule driving slow (which I can plan for) than having every bus run hot and having no hope of catching the one scheduled. OTP has gotten better anecdotally in the last 10 years. That said, a realistic schedule without 10-15 minutes of padding never killed anybody.

Or, the buses could be sped up to the point where such padding would not be needed due to significant changes in road conditions and MTA could adjust the schedules accordingly (while not being unrealistic, just responding to significant changes in road conditions that help the buses move faster).

 

We may be thinking about different situations though; the situation I have in mind is that of a frequent and well-used bus route that uses unidirectional roads where traffic signals are better than average and has makes stops roughly every 0.3 to 0.7 mile, but deals with quite a bit of illegal [double] parking that delays service and causes MTA to have to have to account for these slowdowns by creating schedules with rather long, and possibly inflated, running times.

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Hello everybody....it's called Bus Track....call you on the radio.....you are running 5 min early...pull over and wait 5 min...what's your B.O......violation!!

 

And once BusTime goes live, they'll be able to track EVERYTHING! They'll even know when and if you changed your destination sign to something else.

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Hello everybody....it's called Bus Track....call you on the radio.....you are running 5 min early...pull over and wait 5 min...what's your B.O......violation!!

 

 

 

And once BusTime goes live, they'll be able to track EVERYTHING! They'll even know when and if you changed your destination sign to something else.

 

Bus Trek is already live and they have been tracking everything in queens and Brooklyn for almost two months now. Operators from jfk, lga and Jamaica that I know have all had encounters with it. Bustime for the riding public hasn't gone live yet but it is for supervision.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Yes it went live for us on Monday....they really got nothing else better to spend money on? How about a better pension for the x private line guys?? They should make every stop a time point just like it is on the guide a ride. This way everybody will be on the same page.

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I like to say they drive like they're sedated. There my be an IV tube they have stick in before the bus starts.

 

However that's one reason why people hate the bus. At one point the (MTA) didn't like competition from cabs, well if your buses moved faster than snails then people wouldn't avoid them as much.

 

If speed is an issue ride a train that I'm operating on a off peak hour...

Oh god. There was an (E) t/o that would crawl in the evenings for no apparent reason.

 

And once BusTime goes live, they'll be able to track EVERYTHING! They'll even know when and if you changed your destination sign to something else.

So will they get in trouble if they forget to change the terminal back at the start of a run? 

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Yes it went live for us on Monday....they really got nothing else better to spend money on? How about a better pension for the x private line guys?? They should make every stop a time point just like it is on the guide a ride. This way everybody will be on the same page.

 

You know, sometimes the MTA has to care about the riders too. Not to mention, this is orders of magnitude cheaper than better pensions.

 

Making every stop a time point is kind of ridiculous, since dwell at each stop can vary significantly, and it shouldn't be a problem if  you can make up time lost at one stop before you get to the next scheduled time point.

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With the tracking up and running they should be able to make better schedules no?

 

I'd prefer that buses not be early, but at the same time I don't want the b/o have to intentionally drive 10mph and try to get caught at traffic signals.

 

Speaking of Train/bus time. Are there any plans in the works to have train's and wait for transfers? For example, its 11:30PM and a Merrick Blvd bus is scheduled to leave Jamaica Center, but here is an (E) and (J) train at Sutphin Blvd or pulling into the station, could they wait for transferring passengers?

 

And with the new wifi going up in stations they could have electronic signs saying "There is a Q4 and Q85 waiting for your courtesy, you have 3 mins".

 

Or vice versa, a (F) is scheduled to leave an there is a Q43 pulling up to the station and outside the stairs there could be a sign "There is a (F) train waiting for transfers, you have 3 mins" or whatever

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With the tracking up and running they should be able to make better schedules no?

 

"The best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry."

 

Basically, plans have no way to account for on-the-ground realities that arise suddenly (dwell time is slower at stops because snow is blocking the way, abnormal amounts of people at a stop, wheelchair passengers who need to use the lifts, etc.)

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If the Dollar vans in SE queens are any indication of how many customers the MTA misses out on due to buses running slow there's room for improvement.

To speak specifically to that area (along Guy R Brewer where many run, the MTA has local constraints which the Dollar vans get around by ignoring traffic laws.

 



 

 


"However that's one reason why people hate the bus. At one point the (MTA) didn't like competition from cabs, well if your buses moved faster than snails then people wouldn't avoid them as much."

 

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If the Dollar vans in SE queens are any indication of how many customers the MTA misses out on due to buses running slow there's room for improvement.

 

To speak specifically to that area (along Guy R Brewer where many run, the MTA has local constraints which the Dollar vans get around by ignoring traffic laws.

 

 

 

 

 

TLC licenses the vans. Some even have bus plates. In Brooklyn the vans have two 'authorized' runs: Utica Ave btn Eastern Pkwy and Kings Plaza; Flatbush Ave btn Smith St & Kings Plaza. Police are supposed to ticket & tow improperly licensed vans and nail drivers who violate traffic laws. These guys drive like they're playing a video game!

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If the Dollar vans in SE queens are any indication of how many customers the MTA misses out on due to buses running slow there's room for improvement.

 

To speak specifically to that area (along Guy R Brewer where many run, the MTA has local constraints which the Dollar vans get around by ignoring traffic laws.

 

 

 

 

 

You think SE queens has it bad look at NJT!!!!! they are getting crushed by the vans on their GWB routes and the fact that GWB is spanish Harlem and those vans are run by Spanish transportation is making it worse for NJT.

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