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Bus Riders Explore New Ways To Pressure MTA for Better Service


Via Garibaldi 8

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37 minutes ago, MysteriousBtrain said:

I'll just leave a recent experience I had be read over here. (Although I'll be referring to the system, I mainly want to focus on the bus system)

Last Monday was nearly a living hell for me. The (6) was crawling from my area to Bleecker St, and at the lower level, I missed the (F) and the next train was the (m), which took 15 min to leave the station. Instead of waiting for the (F) to reach Jay St (or take the (B) or (D) to Brooklyn and transfer to the (r), which I should of done in the first place) I take the (M) to Marcy Av and walked to the B67 since I checked the route on bustime and I figured that since there were two B67s bunched at the terminal, I thought that at least one of those buses would stay at least a few more minutes.

 

Nope, both buses left at the same time and I was stranded once more for nearly 30 minutes (and no I did not want to take the B62 because I felt the B67 was faster). By the time I made it to Jay Street, I was barely on time to make it to class and even so the only reason I was "on time" was because the professor forgot to bring her roster for class. Again, maybe I should of took the (B) or (D) to the (R) as I had a similar issue last year when I had to take an exam (and this might of been one of the reasons I had to drop classes), but the point I'm trying to make is even when you have bunching on a route, why the hell would you make two buses leave the terminal and not have at least one bus standby just in case. And the B67 isn't even that busy, especially in Williamsburg. 

Simple. One bus was late (really late) and I'm guessing the other was on time, so they both left at the same time. I will admit that the bunching is still a big problem when it comes to local bus service. I always put on BusTime when I need local bus service well in advance, wait for a pack to come and then choose which one to go with.

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On 10/7/2017 at 2:40 PM, checkmatechamp13 said:

The problem is that, unless the bus puts up "Next Bus Please", you don't know which buses are overcrowded (unless the B/O radios it in or something). But yes, I do agree with the general point.

The same "Next Bus Please" that amounts to much of nothing whenever I see them on some bus in motion? That one? Lol..... I hate to be a bit of a stick in the mud here, but some b/o's play around with the signs too much.... I'm not remotely joking - I have seen far more deadheading buses with that designation than any overcrowded bus.... "Next Bus Please" is used interchangeably with "Not in Service"....

 

....and my personal favorite, Bx13 Yankee Stadium.
After tonight's fix game, I doubt I'll be seeing that on any bus that isn't an (actual) Bx13 throughout the rest of the calendar year :lol:

14 hours ago, JubaionBx12+SBS said:

I like how most of the discussion in these bad bus service rants turns to traffic when the MTA has shown time and time again that traffic is not necessary to make a mockery of bus service. There are routes that bunch on 30 minute headways, there are routes that bunch at 10 pm on a Saturday (cough, cough... Bx31) with minimal traffic at that. What's the excuse for all the terrible service when traffic isn't clogging the streets? The only possible answer is that there's a deliberate sabotage of bus operations taking place. The conversation I want to have is focused on what the end goal(s) of such sabotage would be and how do we get the MTA to accomplish those without screwing over passengers. 

Some coincidence.... Sabotage was the exact word I used to describe all those dam power outages & shit that was taking place in the subway earlier this year.... Not to mention the derailments at Penn Station.... Speaking of which, and while I'm at it, sabotage is also the exact word I use to describe what I believe is going to happen with Penn Station in the near future.... For the sake of thousands of people, I hope I'm wrong, but I think there's going to be some "questionable activity" that's going to happen inside Penn... Activity consisting of well placed explosives....

Westfield World Trade "looks" nice though <_<

Anyway.... As to your actual point, all traffic is doing to bus service is exacerbating what's been going on when it comes to what & how MTA handles bus service, generally speaking..... Anyone that believes traffic is the sole cause of it all is either being naive or otherwise ignorant.... The MTA would use it as a convenient excuse, of course.....

The end goals of such sabotage will be nice, lavish vacations to be had by the already overpaid, overabundant amount of management, to parts of the world where I have absolutely no interest in ever venturing to.

 

3 hours ago, MysteriousBtrain said:

I'll just leave a recent experience I had be read over here. (Although I'll be referring to the system, I mainly want to focus on the bus system)

Last Monday was nearly a living hell for me. The (6) was crawling from my area to Bleecker St, and at the lower level, I missed the (F) and the next train was the (m), which took 15 min to leave the station. Instead of waiting for the (F) to reach Jay St (or take the (B) or (D) to Brooklyn and transfer to the (r), which I should of done in the first place) I take the (M) to Marcy Av and walked to the B67 since I checked the route on bustime and I figured that since there were two B67s bunched at the terminal, I thought that at least one of those buses would stay at least a few more minutes.

 

Nope, both buses left at the same time and I was stranded once more for nearly 30 minutes (and no I did not want to take the B62 because I felt the B67 was faster). By the time I made it to Jay Street, I was barely on time to make it to class and even so the only reason I was "on time" was because the professor forgot to bring her roster for class. Again, maybe I should of took the (B) or (D) to the (R) as I had a similar issue last year when I had to take an exam (and this might of been one of the reasons I had to drop classes), but the point I'm trying to make is even when you have bunching on a route, why the hell would you make two buses leave the terminal and not have at least one bus standby just in case. And the B67 isn't even that busy, especially in Williamsburg. 

I bet anything that one of those buses went empty all the way to Sands !

What you did that day is something I'm also guilty of; believing that I can hoof it to a terminal before the bus pulls out.... I used to have luck w/ that w/ the Q53 (woodside end) and the Q56 (jamaica end) some time ago... But the Q35 (rockaway end), I found myself doing so much running (to the next stop, because it would just pull out) that it wasn't even funny.... Anyway, it's not enough that you have buses on high headways bunching (which is a peeve of mine) - you also have both of them departing at the same time... Which tells me that one of those buses took its normal layover, and the other bus was either that damn late, or (the b/o) was otherwise d*cking around somehow.....

Other companies aren't near as forgiving; people are losing jobs over shit like this.... Whenever one of my guys however, comes in & brings up that the n23 was late or never showed, I just wave it off & tell em to get to work.... Not because I don't sympathize, but because I understand it.... If NICE was worth any grain of salt, I would be taking the n23 from LIRR Mineola instead of driving (not wholly because of NICEbus, b/c I have gripes w/ how service is on the LIRR main line also)..... B/o's at Mineola are good for pulling out, just as the train arrives (the taxi's however, miraculously, are all lined up in damn unison - I wouldn't doubt they know the schedules better than daily LIRR commuters do.... Gee, what a surprise!).....

Edited by B35 via Church
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5 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

What a stupid comment. Congestion is a problem citywide. Very few areas overall are seeing instances where buses are moving as they should, so obviously it would be stupid to install bus lanes just for the hell of it, not to mention a waste of money. BrooklynBus loves bringing up Woodhaven Blvd where traffic generally flows well (including buses) as if there are no other corridors in the city, and the reason is because it's the exception and not the rule. It's a wide corridor with lots of room, but other corridors aren't as wide and buses are constantly stuck in traffic. Even along parts of Woodhaven Blvd I have crawled on the QM15 where sections are narrower. Since I need to clarify myself for those who are dense <_<, in areas where buses are not reaching their full potential, bus lanes should be installed and then the DOT should study how long the lanes should be in affect (24/7, rush hours, etc.)

Well, I was referring to the specific comment about the portion of Kings Highway where the B82 already moves well. Yes, considering buses move people more efficiently than cars, it's obvious they should receive their fair share of road space.

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On October 5, 2017 at 3:54 PM, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

I was in Sheepshead Bay a few weeks ago, and couldn't believe that they not only turned part of Sheepshead Bay Rd into a one way street, but added that stupid island as well.  The whole thing is so weird and completely unnecessary, and it makes accessing the buses a royal PITA there.  I was actually walking to the Stop & Shop and then making my way to the express bus, but for those who need the local buses there, I feel for them.  Polly Trottenberg may actually be worse than Sadik Khan, which is saying something.  They way the lights have been synched is just ridiculous and it definitely impedes the flow of traffic so that you get to one green light and before you can start gaining any real speed, BOOM, here's a red light to slow you right back down. <_< If anything, I'd argue that Vision Zero has led to more road rage and less safety, not the other way around, and I don't trust the DOT's stats either.  I'm sure they're doctored to suit de Blasio's agenda.

We actually agree. The Sheepshead Bay changes were ridiculous and I fought hard to prevent them. The changes were also based on lies. DOT stated the buses get stuck on East 15 Street in traffic and that's why the route needed changing and the street should be closed. So I took a video the week before the change at 6 PM in the heart of the rush hour. It was posted on my change.Org petition that showed zero traffic at  6 PM in the heart of the rush hour.

All your other points are also valid. The only thing I disagree with you on us that Trottenberg may be worse than Sadik Khan. I spoke to Trottenberg several times and she remembers me. She seems like a nice person. The problem is that she won't stand up to de Blasio and is just his puppet. He calls all the shots, not her. 

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21 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

In some cases, HOV/bus lanes make sense. I would reward carpooling too, but people who insist on driving with only person in the car in congested areas... If they must drive they're going to sit in traffic either way so it is what it is. It's not like we have infinite amount of roads available. 

I suggested HOV for the bus lanes on Woodhaven. DOT flatly rejected HOV for any street that is not an expressway. I would have supported rush hour bus HOV lanes for Woodhaven even on the main road or bus only for the service road. But I am flatly opposed to what they are proposing. To make matters worse, it seems that in the short term they won't be providing the promised slip lanes making transferring between the main road and service road impossible except at Atlantic Avenue. So for them to claim there will be three lanes for general traffic is very misleading. If a bus switches to a regular lane to get around a stopped bus, that will leave only a single lane since you can't get to the service lane. Any accident in the main roadway would bring the entire boulevard to a standstill. 

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On 10/5/2017 at 9:16 PM, Trainmaster5 said:

I've read the proposals for bus-only lanes, night deliveries, better DOT/ (MTA) coordination and the like and it appears, at least to me, that people come up with "solutions" that are poorly thought out. Everyone seems to be focusing on their situation and overlooking the big picture. Suppose the DOT creates bus lanes in the outer boroughs to speed up bus transit ? Is this a rush hour only proposal or a 24/7 deal? I'm thinking Flatbush Avenue from Kings Plaza north to Grand Army Plaza for example. With this Vision Zero idea lowering the speed limits in various locations does anyone actually think that a B41 bus from the south is going to be faster than an auto, with 1 or 5 passengers, traveling along the same route ? I can't see how that's even remotely possible. BTW the last time I looked it was the motorist who was paying the fees that went toward the upkeep of the city streets, certainly as much as a non motorist, correct? The double parking argument in NYC is nothing but "pie in the sky" to the bus riders and the regular motorist alike. Take off the blinders and come back to the real world ASAP please. Let me realistic here. UPS, Fedex, DHL and the like pay NYC for the privilege of double parking on the city streets. I don't know the law/rules in effect today but as a former letter carrier for the USPS many years ago the NYPD or Parking enforcement agent could not ticket or interfere with me, period.  This brings me to another idea I feel is unrealistic and unworkable in the real world. Overnight delivery. I'm speaking of Brooklyn because I know that borough more than any other but I think what I'm saying applies to all of the outer boroughs. Michael's Meat market on Nostrand Avenue, businesses on Coney Island Avenue, Kings Highway, Utica , Fulton, Manhattan Ave, 86th St,or Pitkin Avenue all get daytime deliveries and have for at least the last 60 years that I've personally witnessed. I'm not talking big box stores but mom and pop stores. The backbone of any community. Are people suggesting that the owners remain overnight or hire new employees to receive these overnight deliveries? Do the owners resort to putting in 20+ hour days or give up and move on? Is anyone willing to pay the higher prices these places will be forced to charge? The bread, milk, bakery, package ( pizza boxes, etc) , beverage delivery people will charge these businesses more, as will UPS, FEDEX, and the like because they will have to pay their employees more, including night differential in many cases. Guess who ends up with the short end of the stick? Via, BrooklynBus, Interested rider, B35, and the rest of you are welcome to critique, pro or con and I won't be offended. I'm trying to get people thinking about the big picture, that's all. Carry on.

Regarding nighttime deliveries, it certainly is possible. If not ovenight, they should be restricted to after 7 PM. Also, there needs to be a distinction between a truck that double parks for five minutes to deliver a single item and truck that remain double parked for three hours or longer to unload an entire trailer. The problem is that it is legal for these trucks to double Park for three hours if there is no loading zone. 

Brighton Beach Avenue is a perfect example. The right lane is perpetually blocked on the north side of the street from 10 AM to 4 PM which us when all the trucks decide to make their deliveries. There are about 25 fruit stores in about three quarters of a mile. Even if there is only one truck per block double parked for three hours, the entire lane is closed off slowing traffic to about 5 mph. On some blocks there are two or three trucks double parked at any given time. I think there are only two truck loading zones which is thoroughly inadequate. Sometimes I even see trucks double parked when the curb is empty because the driver is not going to bother to move his truck when the spaces open up once he starts unloading. The merchants are opposed to more delivery zones and won't schedule deliveries for evening hours when they are open  so everyone gets screwed. Both the B1 and the B68 are constantly delayed because of this. On Kings Highway traffic must use the opposing lane when a truck is double parked on the narrow portion. 

Something needs to be done but no one is willing to tackle the problem. The MTA blames DOT and DOT blames the police department for lack of enforcement. And if there is any, the merchants will complain to the elected officials crying hardship so the little enforcement stops and it is business as usual. Many complaints result in a one say crackdown once every few years which accomplishes nothing. 

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On 9/30/2017 at 1:38 AM, Deucey said:

 

And they're gonna want $3 from me in March?? Eff that. 

 

 

They don't care. They'll scalp us all.

@N6 Limited they'll probably shrink the window of opportunity for people to speak up just to get one through so they can say, no one's opposed.

The MTA wasn't designed for success. It was designed to fail and pass the buck in an endless blame game.

Any member of the top brass will say what people want to hear until the bad news ends.

Edited by MassTransitHonchkrow
Read more comments and decided to thread in mentions to compliment replies
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On 10/8/2017 at 4:48 PM, BrooklynBus said:

I suggested HOV for the bus lanes on Woodhaven. DOT flatly rejected HOV for any street that is not an expressway. I would have supported rush hour bus HOV lanes for Woodhaven even on the main road or bus only for the service road. But I am flatly opposed to what they are proposing. To make matters worse, it seems that in the short term they won't be providing the promised slip lanes making transferring between the main road and service road impossible except at Atlantic Avenue. So for them to claim there will be three lanes for general traffic is very misleading. If a bus switches to a regular lane to get around a stopped bus, that will leave only a single lane since you can't get to the service lane. Any accident in the main roadway would bring the entire boulevard to a standstill. 

To be fair, HOV is basically unenforceable on a road like Woodhaven. The only reason it works on the LIE and in the other places that it does is that it's fairly trivial to police the entrances and exits to the lane and figure out who is not supposed to be in there.

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Look at HOV in SoCal vs NorCal - SoCal has lanes separated by double double yellow or by physical barriers, while NorCal just designates the fast lane as carpool/JOV during peak periods. Highway Patrol enforcement occurs, but in 16 years of driving in California, I used NorCal HOVs regularly driving solo and never got cited - like many others.

SoCal or on the LIE? Never tried because cops would pick me out quickly by sight or traffic cameras would record me.

It's a nice idea to bring it to streets in outer boroughs, but I'm sure it'd work just as well as fire lanes on Manhattan avenues did in the 90s - and you don't see them marked or enforced anymore...

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20 hours ago, bobtehpanda said:

To be fair, HOV is basically unenforceable on a road like Woodhaven. The only reason it works on the LIE and in the other places that it does is that it's fairly trivial to police the entrances and exits to the lane and figure out who is not supposed to be in there.

Isn't there something called cameras?

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On 10/12/2017 at 3:27 PM, BrooklynBus said:

Isn't there something called cameras?

Cameras are really good for looking at the outside of cars, like license plates. Cameras are really bad at looking at the inside of cars and being able to tell what constitutes a person, because what if one of those HOV people is a child who you can barely see above the seat, or a mannequin, or a sack of potatoes?

People tried to pull all sorts of crap when the bridges became HOV-only during the 2005 strike. We'd just see that happen again and again, and NYPD is not really interested in being traffic enforcer anyways because that's beneath them.

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9 hours ago, bobtehpanda said:

We'd just see that happen again and again, and NYPD is not really interested in being traffic enforcer anyways because that's beneath them.

So why the objection to State Troopers patrolling NYC streets and highways?

It's pretty common elsewhere - State police and local PD generating revenue citing drivers for bullshit with no turf war between them.

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17 hours ago, Deucey said:

So why the objection to State Troopers patrolling NYC streets and highways?

It's pretty common elsewhere - State police and local PD generating revenue citing drivers for bullshit with no turf war between them.

I personally do not give a crap about it, it was just pretty blatantly a power move.

Woodhaven is not a state road anyways (unlike the MTA B&T) so they technically do not have jurisdiction. Both state and county police monitor the HOV lanes on the LIE, for example.

Edited by bobtehpanda
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42 minutes ago, bobtehpanda said:

I personally do not give a crap about it, it was just pretty blatantly a power move.

Woodhaven is not a state road anyways (unlike the MTA B&T) so they technically do not have jurisdiction. Both state and county police monitor the HOV lanes on the LIE, for example.

Unless I've been mislead by a NYPD officer NY State Police have jurisdiction over ALL parts of the state. I've seen them on the Staten Island Expressway, the Belt Parkway, Dyre Avenue at Light Street, and Flatbush Avenue at Grand Army Plaza in the last 2 months. That's highway and local streets. BTW they'll often use the green and white State Park Police vehicles to patrol. I doubt that they're overstepping their jurisdiction. Carry on.

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34 minutes ago, MysteriousBtrain said:

Nah I was looking from a non-rider pov. And you do bring a point. If you are not affected, it will be more funny.

I don't know if he's a B/O or a conductor or what, but some people are really getting it stuck to them in terms of their transportation options.  If you have to take a local bus to the subway or a local bus, good luck.  I was coming home the other night on the BxM2 and some lady was complaining about how packed the local buses are.  Despite all of the hoopla, the local buses overall are still pretty bad, and I see rampant bunching regularly.  I'm not really affected by this because if the express buses are really bad, I can just opt for Metro-North to get to my office. 

I have been using the local buses a few times a week from my office to my tutoring session, but it is not a long ride, and it's just from my office to the Upper West Side, roughly one express stop on the subway, so I can always opt for a cab if need be.  A lot of people don't have that luxury.  They're either stuck with the local buses or the subway.  The situation is quite serious because people are now taking Ubers and taxis  long distances to get around because of how deplorable the system is becoming, and if you are spending for a monthly pass, plus having to resort to cabs just to get to your destination on-time that adds up fast.  Given how the cost of everything keeps rising here, it really is pinching some people, and it's only going to get worse before it gets better.

Edited by Via Garibaldi 8
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2 hours ago, Trainmaster5 said:

Unless I've been mislead by a NYPD officer NY State Police have jurisdiction over ALL parts of the state. I've seen them on the Staten Island Expressway, the Belt Parkway, Dyre Avenue at Light Street, and Flatbush Avenue at Grand Army Plaza in the last 2 months. That's highway and local streets. BTW they'll often use the green and white State Park Police vehicles to patrol. I doubt that they're overstepping their jurisdiction. Carry on.

Interesting. Honestly, it's hard to keep track of what exactly is and isn't kosher under home rule because it's so poorly defined.

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10 minutes ago, bobtehpanda said:

Interesting. Honestly, it's hard to keep track of what exactly is and isn't kosher under home rule because it's so poorly defined.

I’ve been all over the country and I’ve never known an area where State police and County Sheriffs (or equivalent general law enforcement agencies) don’t have jurisdiction. City police typically don’t cross city boundaries to patrol or pursue without approval from the neighboring jurisdictions, but county and state have universal jurisdiction within their borders (the latter is created by the state to administer state priorities and services, while cities are incorporated by petition to address petitioners’ priorities).

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On 10/15/2017 at 3:57 PM, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

I certainly don't doubt that... I don't know MysteriousBtrain is laughing, as he is probably one of the people affected by you. :lol:

if i knew you was on my train, i'd purposely would drag just to piss you off so you can run back here and talk about it! knowing you, your probably one of those that go out they way to report it too!!!

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