Q44 SBS Discussion

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

I really wonder how bus lanes in the Roosevelt Avenue Area will work. They don't seem plausible with the congestion of vehicles all over the place.

[bobtehpanda]

I really wonder how bus lanes in the Roosevelt Avenue Area will work. They don't seem plausible with the congestion of vehicles all over the place.

 

The way it is now, a lane of Main St might as well be bus-only during rush-hour. I imagine lanes would be offset and buses would pull off the lanes into the stop (since bus bulbs in this location would be way too disruptive)

[NewFlyer 230]

I really don't think SBS will work on the Q44. One bring because if the Whitestone Bridge is backed up forget about it. That and Flushing Main Street can delay the Q44 big time. Bus lanes in Flushing I don't know. If the residents can barely read which direction the bus heading I wonder if they would understand what the bus lane will do.

[Gotham Bus Co.]

 If the residents can barely read which direction the bus heading I wonder if they would understand what the bus lane will do.

 

People all over the city can read and understand but pretend not to when it suits their interests.

[bobtehpanda]

I really don't think SBS will work on the Q44. One bring because if the Whitestone Bridge is backed up forget about it. That and Flushing Main Street can delay the Q44 big time. Bus lanes in Flushing I don't know. If the residents can barely read which direction the bus heading I wonder if they would understand what the bus lane will do.

 

Considering how well the turn restrictions at Main and Roosevelt and Main and Kissena have worked over the past few years, Flushing drivers seem very capable of following road rules when directed to. The bus lanes are also a garish red.

 

People all over the city can read and understand but pretend not to when it suits their interests.

 

I feel it's a regional problem as well. The amount of times I've taken the commuter rails and seen people doing their nails (cutting, filing, polishing, all of that) right by the courtesy posters is baffling, especially since it's supposedly more classy than the subway.

[Cait Sith]

I really don't think SBS will work on the Q44. One bring because if the Whitestone Bridge is backed up forget about it. That and Flushing Main Street can delay the Q44 big time. Bus lanes in Flushing I don't know. If the residents can barely read which direction the bus heading I wonder if they would understand what the bus lane will do.

You make it sound as if the Whitestone is backed up 24/7. The Whitestone isn't always that backed up, most of the time it actually moves even with moderate traffic, but there are days when it gets backed up and when it does, it's just delays up to 7-10 minutes. It's not that bad.

 

As for Main Street, with off-board fare payment, that would speed things up at the bus stop. You could make the same comparison to the Bx12 and Fordham Road with all the nonsense those buses go through and the SBS out there still works. And that corridor is much more busy than Flushing.

 

I like the idea of bus lanes within the Main Street hub area, I don't like the idea of them going outside of that(particularly North of Northern Blvd)

[nuyorican]

The bus lanes are needed along Archer ave and Hillside ave to Queens Blvd and on Main St from Horace Harding to Northern Blvd. I think on Stuphin they need to get rid of the dollar cabs that park and double park on Stuphin they do what they want make u turns and left turns at 91ave. They block all the bus stops on Stuphin.

[John from Flushing]

As a regular q44 rider the problem is on Main street, between elder ave & 37th ave,..People jay walk in front of the bus all the time, they don't even look before they jay walk, jay walking is a serious problem as I seen the bus drivers have to stop and give the right of way to the jay walkers, I even seem old ladies in the night time jay walk on main street by cherry av pushing there shopping cart, one driver even beeped the horn at lady and the lady didn't even budge. I get off at west farms to get the 2 train, and in Bronx there is too many local stops, if bx9 was extended to whitestone bridge & have Sbs-44 go express in Bronx, stops would be, Lafayette ,Parkchester the and last stop should be West farms, bedcause there is a dispatcher always there by car wash if Sbs-44 was late he/she could adjust the bus to its proper time point. At 180 there is not dispatcher.

[bstar1]

Q44 really needs SBS status seriously it will work.

[Cait Sith]

The bus lanes are needed along Archer ave and Hillside ave to Queens Blvd and on Main St from Horace Harding to Northern Blvd. I think on Stuphin they need to get rid of the dollar cabs that park and double park on Stuphin they do what they want make u turns and left turns at 91ave. They block all the bus stops on Stuphin.

 

Archer Avenue already has bus lanes....that are hardly ever used. Sutphin Blvd would not work with bus lanes. The city wont get rid of those cabs.

[bobtehpanda]

Archer Avenue already has bus lanes....that are hardly ever used. Sutphin Blvd would not work with bus lanes. The city wont get rid of those cabs.

 

Aren't the Archer lanes curbside? Curbside tends to work a lot less well than offset.

 

The city really does need to crack down on cabs though, particularly outside Jamaica Station. If only buses could be equipped with cameras to catch the license plates of offending drivers...

[Cait Sith]

Aren't the Archer lanes curbside? Curbside tends to work a lot less well than offset.

 

The city really does need to crack down on cabs though, particularly outside Jamaica Station. If only buses could be equipped with cameras to catch the license plates of offending drivers...

 

One side of Archer Avenue is off and on the curb(the side by Jamaica Center and what have you), the other side is on the curb, but is hardly ever used because buses layover on that side sometimes.

 

Though it varies, heading to Sutphin, Archer Avenue between Parsons and 153rd or so is on the curb. Heading to Merrick, between 153rd and Parsons is mostly off the curb(to allow parking for bus layovers and such)

 

From Parsons heading to Merrick, the only bus lane in that area is completely on the curb.

[NewFlyer 230]

I was on the Q44 was Sunday from Booth Memorial to Main Street and I just don't see where a bus lane would go without causing a huge congestion of traffic. And it also seems like random things happen to cause traffic as well you got them big coach buses that double park anywhere as well as those delivery trucks. People letting people out of their car sometimes in the bus stop as well. On Sunday the Q58 couldn't turn and this car was just sitting there for like a two minute until it decided to go around the bus. We still had to wait for the light.

[John from Flushing]

I was on the Q44, Last Friday night went down to Jamaica, this was around 6pm, on my way back, Huge amount of traffic on Archer ave, and Big yellow cheese school bus was parked in Q44 bus stop ( Archer ave and Suthin Blvd), Bus had no choose but to pull into the curb because a wheelchair passenger wished to board, The bus driver was beeping his horn non stop but cheese bus would not move, & about 30 people at stop wanted to get on, but driver wanted to park in stop he said he wasn't going to move intill cheese bus left, so finally after big crowd yelled at school bus to move it finally moved, it took us about 10 minutes to pick up wheelchair passenger, and then on Hillside traffic was bad due to a broken down green cab in right lane, it was about 40 minutes from Jamaica center to main street and queens bvld, we all told the driver to pick up the speed and go fast, but he wouldn't, this is why I like the big white buses I board in flushing and those white vans they speed fast bc they know passenger have to go places, and once on main street and union turnpike it took us 5 traffic light rotations to just to get into the bus stop, then in left lane I saw 3 more Q44 pass us by, The wheelchair passenger got off at Booth memorial (Ny Hospital) Q44 needs a separate bus lane from Jamaica all the way up main street to union street up to last stop in queens, It can be done by removing parking along the route and writing in big yellow letters "BUS LANE NO CARS SUBJECT TO $ 50 DOLLAR TICKET"

[FamousNYLover]

I was on the Q44, Last Friday night went down to Jamaica, this was around 6pm, on my way back, Huge amount of traffic on Archer ave, and Big yellow cheese school bus was parked in Q44 bus stop ( Archer ave and Suthin Blvd), Bus had no choose but to pull into the curb because a wheelchair passenger wished to board, The bus driver was beeping his horn non stop but cheese bus would not move, & about 30 people at stop wanted to get on, but driver wanted to park in stop he said he wasn't going to move intill cheese bus left, so finally after big crowd yelled at school bus to move it finally moved, it took us about 10 minutes to pick up wheelchair passenger, and then on Hillside traffic was bad due to a broken down green cab in right lane, it was about 40 minutes from Jamaica center to main street and queens bvld, we all told the driver to pick up the speed and go fast, but he wouldn't, this is why I like the big white buses I board in flushing and those white vans they speed fast bc they know passenger have to go places, and once on main street and union turnpike it took us 5 traffic light rotations to just to get into the bus stop, then in left lane I saw 3 more Q44 pass us by, The wheelchair passenger got off at Booth memorial (Ny Hospital) Q44 needs a separate bus lane from Jamaica all the way up main street to union street up to last stop in queens, It can be done by removing parking along the route and writing in big yellow letters "BUS LANE NO CARS SUBJECT TO $ 50 DOLLAR TICKET"

Even with Bus Only Lane, it wouldn't work.

 One time I was at Jay St/Fulton St Mall, car driver drove onto Bus Only Fulton Street Mall in Brooklyn Heights.

Another time, I have seen bad drivers driving through Mineola Bus Station either right way or wrong way, well as Roosevelt Field Bus Terminal.

[bobtehpanda]

One side of Archer Avenue is off and on the curb(the side by Jamaica Center and what have you), the other side is on the curb, but is hardly ever used because buses layover on that side sometimes.

 

Though it varies, heading to Sutphin, Archer Avenue between Parsons and 153rd or so is on the curb. Heading to Merrick, between 153rd and Parsons is mostly off the curb(to allow parking for bus layovers and such)

 

From Parsons heading to Merrick, the only bus lane in that area is completely on the curb.

 

I would hope they move all the relevant bus lanes offset; in a place with a lot of bus stops, specifically Flushing, buses would have to overtake those in stops, thus making the lane not very useful at all. Plus, Queens is parking obsessed, so offset lanes might actually get a better reception than taking away parking (see: Merrick SBS)

 

Even with Bus Only Lane, it wouldn't work.

 One time I was at Jay St/Fulton St Mall, car driver drove onto Bus Only Fulton Street Mall in Brooklyn Heights.

Another time, I have seen bad drivers driving through Mineola Bus Station either right way or wrong way, well as Roosevelt Field Bus Terminal.

 

"Once upon a time, I saw a bad thing happen with X in a place that was about 10 miles away and very different, so good things can never happen with it."

[John from Flushing]

Every evening rush hour there is a yellow school bus parked in q44-bus stop on archer ave and suthin blvd and q44 has to pick up in the street bc the long bus doesn't fit in the stop, when q44 is double parked in street this backs up traffic on archer ave, the school buses parking in bus stop is the cause of the problem, on other side a green peterpan bus parks in bus stop every night resulting in q44 and q20 to park in street to let people off. so even with bus lanes and sbs service, if yellow and green buses park in bus stop the delays will continue, this happenes every night but I never see yellow or green bus get towed or ticket.

[FamousNYLover]

Every evening rush hour there is a yellow school bus parked in q44-bus stop on archer ave and suthin blvd and q44 has to pick up in the street bc the long bus doesn't fit in the stop, when q44 is double parked in street this backs up traffic on archer ave, the school buses parking in bus stop is the cause of the problem, on other side a green peterpan bus parks in bus stop every night resulting in q44 and q20 to park in street to let people off. so even with bus lanes and sbs service, if yellow and green buses park in bus stop the delays will continue, this happenes every night but I never see yellow or green bus get towed or ticket.

I think that's Queens College shuttle bus.

[John from Flushing]

how can we stop queens college shuttle bus from parking in the q44 bus stop? Since q44 cant pull into curb the big long bus has to park in street to pick up and drop off resulting in traffic backing up all the way to Jamaica center. Also on other side green private peterpan bus parks in bus stop along with illegal cabs.

[B35 via Church]

Even with Bus Only Lane, it wouldn't work.

 One time I was at Jay St/Fulton St Mall, car driver drove onto Bus Only Fulton Street Mall in Brooklyn Heights.

Another time, I have seen bad drivers driving through Mineola Bus Station either right way or wrong way, well as Roosevelt Field Bus Terminal.

Fitting you bring this up, because that happened this afternoon... Fool almost collided with a 41 pulling out of the lane.

(it was in the right direction, but that's besides the point)

 

As far as Fulton Mall strip, I went downtown yesterday & noticed a couple cars driving along the strip.... To be honest, I don't see anyone out there that would enforce that regulation.... Those fulton mall flashlight cops (security guards....or whatever the hell those people are) sure as hell aren't going to enforce it....

[NewFlyer 230]

I think that's Queens College shuttle bus.

Yeah those Queens College shuttle buses. They run all day and on weekends too. They kind of steal ridership but it was probably created because people got fed up with the Q25. The Q64 seems to satisfy people because there is none that goes to Forest Hills. Some of those drivers are reckless and me and a few other people almost got hit by one.

[nuyorican]

I was on the Q44, Last Friday night went down to Jamaica, this was around 6pm, on my way back, Huge amount of traffic on Archer ave, and Big yellow cheese school bus was parked in Q44 bus stop ( Archer ave and Suthin Blvd), Bus had no choose but to pull into the curb because a wheelchair passenger wished to board, The bus driver was beeping his horn non stop but cheese bus would not move, & about 30 people at stop wanted to get on, but driver wanted to park in stop he said he wasn't going to move intill cheese bus left, so finally after big crowd yelled at school bus to move it finally moved, it took us about 10 minutes to pick up wheelchair passenger, and then on Hillside traffic was bad due to a broken down green cab in right lane, it was about 40 minutes from Jamaica center to main street and queens bvld, we all told the driver to pick up the speed and go fast, but he wouldn't, this is why I like the big white buses I board in flushing and those white vans they speed fast bc they know passenger have to go places, and once on main street and union turnpike it took us 5 traffic light rotations to just to get into the bus stop, then in left lane I saw 3 more Q44 pass us by, The wheelchair passenger got off at Booth memorial (Ny Hospital) Q44 needs a separate bus lane from Jamaica all the way up main street to union street up to last stop in queens, It can be done by removing parking along the route and writing in big yellow letters "BUS LANE NO CARS SUBJECT TO $ 50 DOLLAR TICKET"

 

 

Every evening rush hour there is a yellow school bus parked in q44-bus stop on archer ave and suthin blvd and q44 has to pick up in the street bc the long bus doesn't fit in the stop, when q44 is double parked in street this backs up traffic on archer ave, the school buses parking in bus stop is the cause of the problem, on other side a green peterpan bus parks in bus stop every night resulting in q44 and q20 to park in street to let people off. so even with bus lanes and sbs service, if yellow and green buses park in bus stop the delays will continue, this happenes every night but I never see yellow or green bus get towed or ticket.

 

 

I think that's Queens College shuttle bus.

 

 

how can we stop queens college shuttle bus from parking in the q44 bus stop? Since q44 cant pull into curb the big long bus has to park in street to pick up and drop off resulting in traffic backing up all the way to Jamaica center. Also on other side green private peterpan bus parks in bus stop along with illegal cabs.

 

It is that Queens College Shuttle bus he really backs up things on Archer Ave there are days when he is completely in the Q44 stand and the Q44 has to pick up from the street loading about 40 people takes a while. They should move that Queens College Shuttle bus around the corner to Stuphin. 

[John from Flushing]

I called 311 a few times to complain, I even went off bus and got the mta bus Disp who is in q60 stop on suthin blvd he came

Over told cheese bus to move but cheese bus driver didn't want to talk to

Him he shut his window another problem is cheese bus leaves his motor running and children in Jamaica have to breathe toxic fumes from bus the fumes are dark gray

[FamousNYLover]

I called 311 a few times to complain, I even went off bus and got the mta bus Disp who is in q60 stop on suthin blvd he came

Over told cheese bus to move but cheese bus driver didn't want to talk to

Him he shut his window another problem is cheese bus leaves his motor running and children in Jamaica have to breathe toxic fumes from bus the fumes are dark gray

Also speaking of cheese bus, there's Resort Casino shuttle bus using Q53 stop at Broadway/75th St.

[John from Flushing]

Cheese bus also parks in q20 local stop on Main Street & Sandford ave, and big white casino bus double parks on Main Street and blossim ave, today I took q20 bus instead of q44 the q20 bus had no sign on it but driver was nice and gave me free transfer to q44