realizm Posted July 17, 2014 Share #1 Posted July 17, 2014 In 1980, when a transit strike halted buses and subway trains throughout New York’s five boroughs, residents in some of the most marooned parts of the city started using their own cars and vans to pick people up, charging a dollar to shuttle them to their destinations. Eleven days later, the strike ended, but the cars and vans drove on, finding huge demand in neighborhoods that weren’t well served by public transit even when buses and trains were running. The drivers eventually expanded their businesses, using thirteen-seat vans to create routes in places like Flatbush, Jamaica, Far Rockaway, and downtown Brooklyn. Today, dollar vans and other unofficial shuttles make up a thriving shadow transportation system that operates where subways and buses don’t—mostly in peripheral, low-income neighborhoods that contain large immigrant communities and lack robust public transit. The informal transportation networks fill that void with frequent departures and dependable schedules, but they lack service maps, posted timetables, and official stations or stops. There is no Web site or kiosk to help you navigate them. Instead, riders come to know these networks through conversations with friends and neighbors, or from happening upon the vans in the street. Vans have had a long and tumultuous regulatory history, with oversight changing hands several times in the past thirty or so years and drivers—who are largely immigrants themselves—facing police harassment. Since 1994, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission has been issuing van licenses, allowing vehicles to serve parts of the city with sufficient public need. Still, the number of illegal, unlicensed vans continues to outstrip by far the four hundred and eighty-one licensed ones. The licensed vans operate under highly restrictive rules, which forbid them from picking up along New York City’s innumerable bus routes and require all pick-ups to be prearranged and documented in a passenger manifest. For the past year, I have been researching, riding, and mapping the city’s dollar vans. Dollar-van lines, by their nature, change slightly from day to day owing to the needs of passengers, road maintenance, or the caprice of drivers, but this map represents the major lines and connections that define New York City’s shadow transportation system. Read more: Source =========================================================================================== *Many thanks to SevenEleven for the hattip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N6 Limited Posted July 17, 2014 Share #2 Posted July 17, 2014 Interesting read. I didn't know about the Chinatown routes or the one in the Bronx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Up Front Posted July 21, 2014 Share #3 Posted July 21, 2014 How long has the GA Mall van been a thing? I've been around the mall countless times and even by the garage, I've never seen anything but NICE and NYCT buses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missabassie Posted July 21, 2014 Share #4 Posted July 21, 2014 How long has the GA Mall van been a thing? I've been around the mall countless times and even by the garage, I've never seen anything but NICE and NYCT buses.No no no... The green acres vans usually hang out in some of the empty parking lots, but its been a while since I've been out there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N6 Limited Posted July 22, 2014 Share #5 Posted July 22, 2014 How long has the GA Mall van been a thing? I've been around the mall countless times and even by the garage, I've never seen anything but NICE and NYCT buses. Years! I took one to the mall like in the 90s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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