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WTF is going on at CP??


QM1to6Ave

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I don't know if I have had some sort of curse on me in the last two weeks, or if there is something happening at CP....

In the last 2 weeks, I have been on three different express buses that broke down in the middle of the run. They all broke down in the same way...there would be a beeping noise for a few minutes, then the whole bus just shuts off and rolls to a stop in the middle of the street, with smoke coming out of the engine in the rear of the bus. I've never had more than one bus break down every year or so.

There have also been four different buses that I saw this week which did not show up at all on Bustime (two QM5's, a QM6, and a QM35). I have never seen that so frequently before. 

I also had a QM5 B/O blow completely past me at the stop today, even though I flagged down the bus like I do every single day. 

Also, only about 1 in 10 CP express buses I catch have WiFi, even though they are all supposed to have it by the end of next month. 

What in the world is going on here?? 

 

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Ever since they've cut off-peak service, I've been seeing a lot of QM5's via Fresh Meadows during the PM rush hour, with no QM1's on the line whatsoever (the latest case I've seen was this afternoon). I don't know where these QM1 buses come from, how the runs are structured, etc., but I will agree that there is mismanagement on the Union Turnpike corridor during the rush hour. 

What I also wanna know is when they will start increasing the runtimes in Manhattan on weekdays to reflect actual travel time. 

 

I don't deal with CP express bus service, but one of the local lines in my area (Q38) is based out of CP. Ever since the Ridgewood reroute and Fresh Pond Road Bridge Construction, it's like an excuse for operating behind schedule. Now, I understand service being behind because of a detour, but there's no reason why there should be instances of three buses bunching on Sundays (when headways are every 30 minutes). It also doesn't help that what used to be my "go-to" route (the Q47) has gone to utter shit (also apparently, because of another long-term detour).

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10 minutes ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

Ever since they've cut off-peak service, I've been seeing a lot of QM5's via Fresh Meadows during the PM rush hour, with no QM1's on the line whatsoever (the latest case I've seen was this afternoon). I don't know where these QM1 buses come from, how the runs are structured, etc., but I will agree that there is mismanagement on the Union Turnpike corridor during the rush hour. 

What I also wanna know is when they will start increasing the runtimes in Manhattan on weekdays to reflect actual travel time. 

 

I don't deal with CP express bus service, but one of the local lines in my area (Q38) is based out of CP. Ever since the Ridgewood reroute and Fresh Pond Road Bridge Construction, it's like an excuse for operating behind schedule. Now, I understand service being behind because of a detour, but there's no reason why there should be instances of three buses bunching on Sundays (when headways are every 30 minutes). It also doesn't help that what used to be my "go-to" route (the Q47) has gone to utter shit (also apparently, because of another long-term detour).

 

The QM1's very often disappear, especially heading back to Queens in the evening rush 

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You know it's a sign of the times where you have people getting on the bus with the expectation of being able to charge their phones (and the disappointment when the ability isn't there).... Just listening in on people's conversations from time to time, this is a growing complaint....

On the LIRR (don't know about MNRR), there is a mad dash to get to those seats nearest to the outlets (which is actually a very minor reason I find myself taking the RR less now.... having to watch out for cords as I'm walking along the aisle, shouldn't have to be a thing....)

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7 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

I don't know if I have had some sort of curse on me in the last two weeks, or if there is something happening at CP....

In the last 2 weeks, I have been on three different express buses that broke down in the middle of the run. They all broke down in the same way...there would be a beeping noise for a few minutes, then the whole bus just shuts off and rolls to a stop in the middle of the street, with smoke coming out of the engine in the rear of the bus. I've never had more than one bus break down every year or so.

There have also been four different buses that I saw this week which did not show up at all on Bustime (two QM5's, a QM6, and a QM35). I have never seen that so frequently before. 

I also had a QM5 B/O blow completely past me at the stop today, even though I flagged down the bus like I do every single day. 

Also, only about 1 in 10 CP express buses I catch have WiFi, even though they are all supposed to have it by the end of next month. 

What in the world is going on here?? 

 

LMAO. Sorry to laugh, but your situation gave me flashbacks to when I would use express buses out Castleton that were in HORRID condition.  We'd have the same thing happen that you described. We'd break down all over the place (going into the Battery Tunnel always seemed to be a favorite scenario <_<), numerous buses with NO HVAC.  It was like riding bus service in a third world country.  As for what's going on with CP, I guess some things never change. Cait Sith has tried to say that their maintenance is ok, but I stand by what I've seen and heard.  Their maintenance seems to be non-existent, and I even had one B/O out of Yonkers complaining about how they were so backed up at CP at fixing buses that they were sending buses up to Yonkers Depot to get them fixed.  Just crazy...

It also makes no sense that they would accept 15 buses that are 13 years old or more in age, and they use those buses regularly because I see them on various routes including the BxM9 since CP has some of those trips during rush hour.  Those buses were garbage on Staten Island, and to see them at CP in service so frequently is just hilarious.  You take them from Castleton and Yukon, two depots with terrible maintenance in the past, and now give them to CP?  Like really... LOL

There also seems to be a large rotation going on with new guys mixing in with the old timers.  I've seen the same thing at Yonkers.  We get a newbie here and there and we've also had some missing trips.  I think what's happening in some cases is buses are so late that they don't even bother sending them out, so the trip goes missing.  

Last Saturday was an absolute disaster.  I called myself getting the 10:00 BxM2 to the city to head to Sur la table and Crate and Barrel down in Soho.  Did you know I didn't get to Sur la table until after 12:00??!? The 10:00 was a no-show.  The BxM1s were also a mess.  The bus I got on was actually 30 minutes late (I realized this later as the bus became crazy crowded handling the BxM2 10:00 load, and two loads of BxM1 riders).  In fact it was so crowded that I got off in Inwood and got on the next one which had a whopping two people on it. <_<  I realized that despite the driver being late, he went on his usual break up at 263rd and then went into service, as I had all of the buses on BusTime.  

I don't know about the QM5 and QM6, but I know Yonkers has been receiving a litany of complaints about service, and I've been continuing to follow up with my elected officials on the issue.  They've been trying to address the issues over the last year, but there have still been slip-ups with missing buses both peak and off-peak.  When I went to Queens some weeks ago, I got the QM6 in and the QM2 out and had no issues. The buses are never dirty from passengers, but it's clear that they don't clean them very much (no mopping or dusting - that kind of cleaning that is needed).  The (MTA) was supposed to finalize the bid for new express buses last year and they've been holding off. I think it's time to contact elected officials to start pressing them to get that done.  Those 2001 2002 buses need to go now, as it is negatively impacting service across the board.  Our tax dollars are paying for new buses and yet they aren't using the newer buses as much as they should be.  I see no reason to be putting those old buses out as regularly as they are.  Unacceptable. You also have some B/O's that think it's great to be driving a "relic".  The thing is it isn't them that's waiting out in the elements when those buses break down and can't make service. 

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1 hour ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

LMAO. Sorry to laugh, but your situation gave me flashbacks to when I would use express buses out Castleton that were in HORRID condition.  We'd have the same thing happen that you described. We'd break down all over the place (going into the Battery Tunnel always seemed to be a favorite scenario <_<), numerous buses with NO HVAC.  It was like riding bus service in a third world country.  As for what's going on with CP, I guess some things never change. Cait Sith has tried to say that their maintenance is ok, but I stand by what I've seen and heard.  Their maintenance seems to be non-existent, and I even had one B/O out of Yonkers complaining about how they were so backed up at CP at fixing buses that they were sending buses up to Yonkers Depot to get them fixed.  Just crazy...

It also makes no sense that they would accept 15 buses that are 13 years old or more in age, and they use those buses regularly because I see them on various routes including the BxM9 since CP has some of those trips during rush hour.  Those buses were garbage on Staten Island, and to see them at CP in service so frequently is just hilarious.  You take them from Castleton and Yukon, two depots with terrible maintenance in the past, and now give them to CP?  Like really... LOL

There also seems to be a large rotation going on with new guys mixing in with the old timers.  I've seen the same thing at Yonkers.  We get a newbie here and there and we've also had some missing trips.  I think what's happening in some cases is buses are so late that they don't even bother sending them out, so the trip goes missing.  

Last Saturday was an absolute disaster.  I called myself getting the 10:00 BxM2 to the city to head to Sur la table and Crate and Barrel down in Soho.  Did you know I didn't get to Sur la table until after 12:00??!? The 10:00 was a no-show.  The BxM1s were also a mess.  The bus I got on was actually 30 minutes late (I realized this later as the bus became crazy crowded handling the BxM2 10:00 load, and two loads of BxM1 riders).  In fact it was so crowded that I got off in Inwood and got on the next one which had a whopping two people on it. <_<  I realized that despite the driver being late, he went on his usual break up at 263rd and then went into service, as I had all of the buses on BusTime.  

I don't know about the QM5 and QM6, but I know Yonkers has been receiving a litany of complaints about service, and I've been continuing to follow up with my elected officials on the issue.  They've been trying to address the issues over the last year, but there have still been slip-ups with missing buses both peak and off-peak.  When I went to Queens some weeks ago, I got the QM6 in and the QM2 out and had no issues. The buses are never dirty from passengers, but it's clear that they don't clean them very much (no mopping or dusting - that kind of cleaning that is needed).  The (MTA) was supposed to finalize the bid for new express buses last year and they've been holding off. I think it's time to contact elected officials to start pressing them to get that done.  Those 2001 2002 buses need to go now, as it is negatively impacting service across the board.  Our tax dollars are paying for new buses and yet they aren't using the newer buses as much as they should be.  I see no reason to be putting those old buses out as regularly as they are.  Unacceptable. You also have some B/O's that think it's great to be driving a "relic".  The thing is it isn't them that's waiting out in the elements when those buses break down and can't make service. 

I agree about those 2XXX series buses. I cringe every time I see one coming (not that I can ever read what the destination sign says LOL). 

 

And the Midtown tunnel is where two of the breakdowns happened for me.I wonder if all the exhaust and heat in the tunnel is the final straw that kills the engine if it is already not working properly. 

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1 hour ago, QM1to6Ave said:

I agree about those 2XXX series buses. I cringe every time I see one coming (not that I can ever read what the destination sign says LOL). 

 

And the Midtown tunnel is where two of the breakdowns happened for me.I wonder if all the exhaust and heat in the tunnel is the final straw that kills the engine if it is already not working properly. 

We had two of them at Yonkers Depot for a bit, and I was NOT pleased to see them at all. It was obvious they cleaned them up a little (seats didn't stick me with screws/nails coming out of them like they used to on Staten Island when I would go to sit down), but the shocks were not great at all, and I kept thinking we were going to break down at any moment. We don't have any now thank God (they all went to Eastchester), but there were a few times that they were on the BxM2 at night that I was on the Upper East Side and would refuse to take them and would walk over to the BxM1 instead. Total rip-off for $6.50. There are no overhead chargers anywhere, and of course no internet. And as you said, reading the signage is a PITA.

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What the both of you are talking about with CP & YON, is what I don't miss about what's been going on with SC either....

The f****ed up seats (I've esp. been noticing more seats where the recliner is faulty/broken - one of the things I abhor w/ NJT's MCI's !!!), the "missing" trips, skipping stops (well, with the BM's, you have those that go super express after the height of the PM rush, that are supposed to be stopping off in Lwr. Manhattan), and I haven't been on one of the BM's yet that had any USB sockets on em (not that I'm personally seeking them for any use), the malfunctioned destination signs, the list goes on.....

...and something else to add to the mix is this (IMO) palpable, IDGAF from the b/o's - the rookies, the vets, it does not matter.... They seemingly arrive & leave whenever they want; I don't even bother looking at the posted timetable's at the bus stops anymore (I question if they're even updated in the first place, but that's neither here nor there)...... Anyway, I remember some of us mentioning the overly talkative b/o's on the expresses (generally speaking) - I don't see too much passenger/driver interaction anymore either; which is personally fine by me, as I don't have anything to say to 'em anyway - makes for a quieter ride in that regard....

I don't want to imagine what things are like, having to rely on, or otherwise taking express buses with any regularity nowadays.... Even the limited usage I make of them, doesn't "amount" to the quote-unquote, buzzword, premium fare.....

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I'm guessing someone's cutting corners on maintenance at that depot, which is causing buses to break down and some runs going missing. This sounds similar what I've been hearing about NICE ever since Nassau privatized their bus service. The difference is that NICE can at least blame the County Executive for cutting their funding, which is causing quality of service to decrease since the county owns the buses and depots. MTA can't do the same thing because it will turn into a pointless argument over whether Cuomo or de Blasio is at fault for not sourcing the money.

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19 minutes ago, NY1635 said:

I'm guessing someone's cutting corners on maintenance at that depot, which is causing buses to break down and some runs going missing. This sounds similar what I've been hearing about NICE ever since Nassau privatized their bus service. The difference is that NICE can at least blame the County Executive for cutting their funding, which is causing quality of service to decrease since the county owns the buses and depots. MTA can't do the same thing because it will turn into a pointless argument over whether Cuomo or de Blasio is at fault for not sourcing the money.

This is nothing like NICE at all.  As far as I know there isn't a shortage of man power there.  CP maintenance just isn't doing their job.  Plain and simple.  Some guys at Yonkers have worked out of CP for a bit, and they've mentioned how CP doesn't prioritize keeping their buses in good shape.  They will send out buses in whatever condition.

4 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

What the both of you are talking about with CP & YON, is what I don't miss about what's been going on with SC either....

The f****ed up seats (I've esp. been noticing more seats where the recliner is faulty/broken - one of the things I abhor w/ NJT's MCI's !!!), the "missing" trips, skipping stops (well, with the BM's, you have those that go super express after the height of the PM rush, that are supposed to be stopping off in Lwr. Manhattan), and I haven't been on one of the BM's yet that had any USB sockets on em (not that I'm personally seeking them for any use), the malfunctioned destination signs, the list goes on.....

...and something else to add to the mix is this (IMO) palpable, IDGAF from the b/o's - the rookies, the vets, it does not matter.... They seemingly arrive & leave whenever they want; I don't even bother looking at the posted timetable's at the bus stops anymore (I question if they're even updated in the first place, but that's neither here nor there)...... Anyway, I remember some of us mentioning the overly talkative b/o's on the expresses (generally speaking) - I don't see too much passenger/driver interaction anymore either; which is personally fine by me, as I don't have anything to say to 'em anyway - makes for a quieter ride in that regard....

I don't want to imagine what things are like, having to rely on, or otherwise taking express buses with any regularity nowadays.... Even the limited usage I make of them, doesn't "amount" to the quote-unquote, buzzword, premium fare.....

Now that I have the X27 and X28 back, I don't use the BM3 as often, especially since it stops running back to Manhattan so early, but their maintenance started going down the tubes several years ago on the express bus lines. Additionally, the trips take longer and longer and longer.  If you need to get to Southern Brooklyn, you had better give yourself an hour and thirty minutes and going back to Manhattan, it seems as if none of the drivers attempt to speed up the commute.  They don't ask where you're going anywhere.  The do the entire Downtown Loop and then go to Midtown. 

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4 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Now that I have the X27 and X28 back, I don't use the BM3 as often, especially since it stops running back to Manhattan so early, but their maintenance started going down the tubes several years ago on the express bus lines. Additionally, the trips take longer and longer and longer.  If you need to get to Southern Brooklyn, you had better give yourself an hour and thirty minutes and going back to Manhattan, it seems as if none of the drivers attempt to speed up the commute.  They don't ask where you're going anywhere.  The do the entire Downtown Loop and then go to Midtown. 

Last time I rode a BM bus there were only two passengers including me. We were both going to the last stop and essentially since the driver didn't ask he went to the downtown loop and again through slow Madison av traffic. If he had just asked us he could've taken 1st Av and gotten some extra break time. 

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11 hours ago, IAlam said:

Last time I rode a BM bus there were only two passengers including me. We were both going to the last stop and essentially since the driver didn't ask he went to the downtown loop and again through slow Madison av traffic. If he had just asked us he could've taken 1st Av and gotten some extra break time. 

A lot of these guys don't care now, especially if they are part-timers.

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3 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

A lot of these guys don't care now, especially if they are part-timers.

It's seems everyone driving coaches from MTA buses are part timers that normally don't drive the specific route now days.

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41 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said:

I haven't seen the regulars who used to do the Qm1/5/6 at all during this pick, which surprised me. 

I'm not surprised.  One thing that I have been noticing is some of the Yonkers trips are now being done by guys out of Eastchester Depot.  There's  BxM1 via Inwood bus that I've seen the last two days and I noticed the guy driving it had an Eastchester bus. Overall the guys without seniority move around a lot, and the ones with seniority can be out for a number of things. You also have some that retire and some that are fired. Some are out on disability and on and on.  You'd be surprised at how some guys move up the seniority chain...

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Maybe CP is just too busy fixing the countless number of their local buses. The express buses (while a minority in their lot, although pretty even) is prob outside the lot(dhing, doing runs) so perhaps they don't see much time in maintenance. Or maybe they're prioritizing the local buses because they get absolutely slammed, so it just may be a matter of priorities on their list. Their express buses do get slammed, don't get me wrong but maybe not as frequently. For example, I see a QM20 outside my apartment every day and that bus is packed but the QM3 on Northern within the same timeframe has only a few riders. 

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17 hours ago, danielhg121 said:

Maybe CP is just too busy fixing the countless number of their local buses. The express buses (while a minority in their lot, although pretty even) is prob outside the lot(dhing, doing runs) so perhaps they don't see much time in maintenance. Or maybe they're prioritizing the local buses because they get absolutely slammed, so it just may be a matter of priorities on their list. Their express buses do get slammed, don't get me wrong but maybe not as frequently. For example, I see a QM20 outside my apartment every day and that bus is packed but the QM3 on Northern within the same timeframe has only a few riders. 

Cp's express buses are the most heavily used in Queens, There's no reason they shouldn't be prioritized. 

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8 hours ago, 46Dover said:

Wow.  I’m late to the party as usual lol.

i have a good friend who works out of College Point.  He usually operates the QMs in the evenings.  I’ll have to ask him if he’s experienced any of these issues

Thanks! Let is know what you learn

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On ‎11‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 6:52 AM, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

A lot of these guys don't care now, especially if they are part-timers.

On ‎11‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 10:08 AM, IAlam said:

It's seems everyone driving coaches from MTA buses are part timers that normally don't drive the specific route now days.

On ‎11‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 5:08 PM, QM1to6Ave said:

I haven't seen the regulars who used to do the Qm1/5/6 at all during this pick, which surprised me. 

Smells like attrition to me.....

On ‎11‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 12:32 PM, IAlam said:

Cp's express buses are the most heavily used in Queens, There's no reason they shouldn't be prioritized. 

While true, it isn't really saying much... Look at what's left to compare them with !

On ‎11‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 6:35 PM, danielhg121 said:

Maybe CP is just too busy fixing the countless number of their local buses. The express buses (while a minority in their lot, although pretty even) is prob outside the lot(dhing, doing runs) so perhaps they don't see much time in maintenance. Or maybe they're prioritizing the local buses because they get absolutely slammed, so it just may be a matter of priorities on their list. Their express buses do get slammed, don't get me wrong but maybe not as frequently. For example, I see a QM20 outside my apartment every day and that bus is packed but the QM3 on Northern within the same timeframe has only a few riders. 

Don't buy any prioritization of locals over expresses for a second.... CP's maintenance (regardless of type of service) used to be one of, if not the best in the city.. Don't know what's been goin on up there lately.....

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On 11/13/2017 at 9:09 AM, B35 via Church said:

Don't buy any prioritization of locals over expresses for a second.... CP's maintenance (regardless of type of service) used to be one of, if not the best in the city.. Don't know what's been goin on up there lately.....

Poor management. 

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