WTF is going on at CP??

[BreeddekalbL]

1 hour ago, 78 via Stew Leonards said:

What happened to the days where express buses with only a few passengers on board would take short cuts and skip half the stops...??

They probably clamped down on that

[IAlam]

6 hours ago, BreeddekalbL said:

They probably clamped down on that

I find it odd because the MTA can save a lot of fuel with this practice.  

[78 via Stew Leonards]

Easy ways I can see certain routes skipping half the stops when necessary.

BxM1/2/18 (NB): 230th St, right on Riverdale Ave, jump straight to 239th St/HH Pkwy.

BxM2 (SB): 5th Ave straight down to 59th or 57th St, then swing over to 7th Ave

BxM3: (NB): Maj Deegan to Exit 11-Van Cort Pk South, then proceed to Broadway

BxM4: (NB): Maj Deegan to Exit 9-fordham Rd, Exit 8-179th St, Exit 11-Van Cort Pk South, or Exit 13-233rd St depending on where anyone is getting off
(this should be able to happen a lot, because the south bronx really isnt express bus territory)

BxM7: (NB) Bruckner Expwy straight up to Bartow and proceed to northern half of Co-Op City

BxM8: (NB) Bruckner Expwy, until passenger requests stop, then exit to Bruckner Blvd.

BxM10: (NB) Bruckner Expwy, north on Bronx River Pkwy, north on Boston Rd, all the way to Eastchester Rd.

BxM11: (NB) Bronx River Pkwy, north to Gun Hill, or 233rd St, if possible.

BxM18: (SB) 5th Ave, left on 23rd St, FDR Dr South, all the way to the southern loop, then back north on Church Ave for any stops.

 

QM1/5/31/35: (EB) Long Island Expressway, straight to 188th St, into Fresh Meadows Circle, proceed from there.

QM1/5/6/31/35/36: (EB) Long Island Expwy, Grand Central Pkwy, straight to Union Tpke, proceed from there.

QM3: (EB) Long Island Expressway, straight to Little Neck Pkwy, make final stop there.

QM4: (EB) Long Island Expwy, south on 164th St, proceed to Jewel Ave.

[QM1to6Ave]

On 11/27/2017 at 2:28 AM, 78 via Stew Leonards said:

What happened to the days where express buses with only a few passengers on board would take short cuts and skip half the stops...??

Occasionally I'll still have a B/O that does that late night or off-peak mid-day

[Via Garibaldi 8]

On 11/27/2017 at 2:28 AM, 78 via Stew Leonards said:

What happened to the days where express buses with only a few passengers on board would take short cuts and skip half the stops...??

See below...

11 hours ago, 78 via Stew Leonards said:

Easy ways I can see certain routes skipping half the stops when necessary.

1. BxM1/2/18 (NB): 230th St, right on Riverdale Ave, jump straight to 239th St/HH Pkwy.

2. BxM2 (SB): 5th Ave straight down to 59th or 57th St, then swing over to 7th Ave

3. BxM3: (NB): Maj Deegan to Exit 11-Van Cort Pk South, then proceed to Broadway

4. BxM4: (NB): Maj Deegan to Exit 9-fordham Rd, Exit 8-179th St, Exit 11-Van Cort Pk South, or Exit 13-233rd St depending on where anyone is getting off (this should be able to happen a lot, because the south bronx really isnt express bus territory)

5. BxM18: (SB) 5th Ave, left on 23rd St, FDR Dr South, all the way to the southern loop, then back north on Church Ave for any stops.

1. This set up still happens but not as often, mainly because a lot of ridership comes from Spuyten Duyvil (especially Kappock up to 232nd and Henry Hudson Parkway).  The BxM18 often times empties out by 232nd and Henry Hudson or even 235th or 239th up in Central Riverdale. The same is true of the BxM2.  Very few people ride the later buses up to North Riverdale.  Late nights if I get on and I'm the only one or it's just a few of us and they ask,  I'll let them know that I can get off further up along Henry Hudson Parkway, this way they can run up Riverdale Avenue to 239th and take Henry Hudson Parkway from there. The BxM1 however tends to have more people on it to North Riverdale (more Irish riders).

2. This set up still happens (usually the later BxM2 buses on weekends or weeknights) and I've had both.  5th can move very nicely so it does cut down on time a bit.

3. I've been meaning to get a Super Express BxM3 since I get on in Riverdale/Fieldston whenever I do use it, but usually can't catch one of them in the morning, but yes, I'm sure this happens too.  Yonkers has management that tries to be customer-oriented to ensure that ridership doesn't drop too much.  It's a small depot with four out of four out of the six express bus lines serving all or some of Riverdale (BxM1, BxM2, BxM3 and the BxM18), so it's either express or bust. 

4. Actually the BxM4 needs the ridership it gets from the South Bronx.  Those first two stops are very important (Grand Concourse and 158th/161st and Grand Concourse and 165th).  A lot of people use those stops especially during the rush hour. Off-peak it's mainly seniors with disabilities or older people in the co-ops that don't want to take the subway that will ride.  Ridership from Woodlawn is decent but certainly not enough on its own. After that there tends to be usage up in Norwood and Bedford Park, so I've only done the old Super Express trip via the Deegan to Woodlawn once and it was really fast.

5.  That's unnecessary.  The BxM18 takes a direct trip down 5th and Broadway.  When traffic moves I get Downtown in a reasonable amount of time.

6 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

Occasionally I'll still have a B/O that does that late night or off-peak mid-day

The QM2's still do it on weekends going to Bay Terrace.  They'll skip the Mitchell Garden and Parsons Blvd stops and entirely and stay on the Whitestone Expressway.  I can never take naps on that bus for this reason because they don't tell you and they just fly up the expressway and before you can get your coat on they're already pulling into the stop, so I have pay attention for sure. Those CP drivers fly.  I took the QM6 down Union Turnpike a while ago early in the morning on a weekend and it was me and another guy but we got to 164th street in no time. Going back to Manhattan with the QM2 late on weekends, we fly whichever way they take and make it in record time, so what I do is plan that in my commute and then track both the BxM1 AND BxM2 because I usually can connect to one of them immediately after getting off the QM2.

[QM1to6Ave]

9 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

 

The QM2's still do it on weekends going to Bay Terrace.  They'll skip the Mitchell Garden and Parsons Blvd stops and entirely and stay on the Whitestone Expressway.  I can never take naps on that bus for this reason because they don't tell you and they just fly up the expressway and before you can get your coat on they're already pulling into the stop, so I have pay attention for sure. Those CP drivers fly.  I took the QM6 down Union Turnpike a while ago early in the morning on a weekend and it was me and another guy but we got to 164th street in no time. Going back to Manhattan with the QM2 late on weekends, we fly whichever way they take and make it in record time, so what I do is plan that in my commute and then track both the BxM1 AND BxM2 because I usually can connect to one of them immediately after getting off the QM2.

 

Ha! Yeah,  morning rides back to Queens are great 

[78 via Stew Leonards]

It would be a great thing for all parties if some QM5/6s skipped the Queens Blvd hassle entirely and went LIE-GCP-Union Tpke!

[Cait Sith]

44 minutes ago, 78 via Stew Leonards said:

It would be a great thing for all parties if some QM5/6s skipped the Queens Blvd hassle entirely and went LIE-GCP-Union Tpke!

Not like that option is any better...

[IAlam]

22 hours ago, Cait Sith said:

Not like that option is any better...

Outside of rush it's actually not that bad. During rush the service road flows decently.

[QM1to6Ave]

14 minutes ago, IAlam said:

Outside of rush it's actually not that bad. During rush the service road flows decently.

I agree that off peak it is faster generally than Queens Blvd.  During the rush, I've found LIE is the same speed as Queens Blvd most of the time. 

[RestrictOnTheHanger]

1 hour ago, QM1to6Ave said:

I agree that off peak it is faster generally than Queens Blvd.  During the rush, I've found LIE is the same speed as Queens Blvd most of the time. 

During PM rush hour, the drivers from the downtown/Rego Park/SE Queens routes will more often than not use the service road between Maurice Ave and Queens Blvd. The service road is usually the same as or better than the main highway even with the lights. 

Sometimes on the QM10/11/12/40/42 if no one requests the Woodhaven blvd stop (the one under the bridge in the PM) the drivers will use the Queens Blvd exit and save 5 minutes not waiting to make turns. 

[FamousNYLover]

From my experience:

BM3 (ex-Command Bus with overrack): Due to heavey FDR Drive traffic, he went through Houston St exit, Ave C to 23rd St.

M60 SBS Westbound: After Lenox Av, bus took shortcut via Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd to 110th St to 106th St/West End.

 

[R32 3838]

Cp is becoming all express probably by next year. It is possible, the C40LF's would go to nyct to kill off all the remaining orion VII cng's. While the XN60's would kill off alot of D60HF's. 

I heard mta bus management wants this, now i see why nyct would give mta bus 64/6500 orion VII's. 

 

BP would loose the Qm4/44 & QM21

BP would gain the Q25, Q34 and Q65

LGA would loose their remaining express routes (i forgot which ones they have)

LGA would get back the Q19,Q23 &Q38 and gain the Q66. 

 

All subject to change but this might be the reality since they're pushing for this. Plus the Q25 is becoming SBS so it makes sense for BP to get it.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

50 minutes ago, R32 3838 said:

Cp is becoming all express probably by next year. It is possible, the C40LF's would go to nyct to kill off all the remaining orion VII cng's. While the XN60's would kill off alot of D60HF's. 

I heard mta bus management wants this, now i see why nyct would give mta bus 64/6500 orion VII's. 

 

BP would loose the Qm4/44 & QM21

BP would gain the Q25, Q34 and Q65

LGA would loose their remaining express routes (i forgot which ones they have)

LGA would get back the Q19,Q23 &Q38 and gain the Q66. 

 

All subject to change but this might be the reality since they're pushing for this. Plus the Q25 is becoming SBS so it makes sense for BP to get it.

These potential moves were mentioned in the Moves thread. I don't see what this has to do with the here and now at CP, but okay.

------

On another topic, like elsewhere, express bus service seems to be worsening at CP.  The amount of time that it takes to do that damn loop is ridiculous.  I took the QM2 a few weeks ago to Bay Terrace to do some shopping.  I got the 16:10 bus to Bay Terrace. It took almost one hour to get out of Manhattan. The bus arrived a good 15 minutes late at 6th and 36th.  I originally planned on getting it by Madison and 59th, and boy am I glad I didn't because the bus was forced to go on detour and had to skip that stop entirely.  While waiting at 6th and 36th, a QM2 via 57th street pulls in and the driver threw everyone off of the bus. I've heard that this is a regular occurrence where the B/Os kick the passengers off at 6th and 36th, but I've been lucky to not have it happen to me thus far when I've wanted 57th street.  Anywho, there was an argument with some of the passengers, with one middle aged guy getting into it with the B/O, and he (the passenger) stated that the dispatcher was a drunken Irishman to put it politely. lol It was clear that the passenger and the B/O had a history because the B/O complained about how the passenger "always did this" (in other words made a stink when he couldn't go further than 6th and 36th), and apparently the passenger knew that dispatch had ordered the B/O to go OOS I supposed to either eliminate overtime and/or to get the bus back on schedule for its next trip (if it had one).  The passengers that wanted to go further north were told to wait for the next bus, but eventually they all gave up and found another way, given how cold it was and the long wait.  The 16:10 trip eventually comes and I get to Whitestone almost two hours later.  Thank God I wasn't in a hurry.... The return trip was not that quick either, and we were detoured yet again, so I could not get off at 3rd and 34th as I requested.  Both of the drivers I got seemed to be rather new.

During the week, I get the impression that the buses are arriving on time because when I wait for the BxM2, I always see the usual QM buses coming at the same time, but that's usually off-peak. I think during peak periods, it's hit or miss.

[QM1to6Ave]

10 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

These potential moves were mentioned in the Moves thread. I don't see what this has to do with the here and now at CP, but okay.

------

On another topic, like elsewhere, express bus service seems to be worsening at CP.  The amount of time that it takes to do that damn loop is ridiculous.  I took the QM2 a few weeks ago to Bay Terrace to do some shopping.  I got the 16:10 bus to Bay Terrace. It took almost one hour to get out of Manhattan. The bus arrived a good 15 minutes late at 6th and 36th.  I originally planned on getting it by Madison and 59th, and boy am I glad I didn't because the bus was forced to go on detour and had to skip that stop entirely.  While waiting at 6th and 36th, a QM2 via 57th street pulls in and the driver threw everyone off of the bus. I've heard that this is a regular occurrence where the B/Os kick the passengers off at 6th and 36th, but I've been lucky to not have it happen to me thus far when I've wanted 57th street.  Anywho, there was an argument with some of the passengers, with one middle aged guy getting into it with the B/O, and he (the passenger) stated that the dispatcher was a drunken Irishman to put it politely. lol It was clear that the passenger and the B/O had a history because the B/O complained about how the passenger "always did this" (in other words made a stink when he couldn't go further than 6th and 36th), and apparently the passenger knew that dispatch had ordered the B/O to go OOS I supposed to either eliminate overtime and/or to get the bus back on schedule for its next trip (if it had one).  The passengers that wanted to go further north were told to wait for the next bus, but eventually they all gave up and found another way, given how cold it was and the long wait.  The 16:10 trip eventually comes and I get to Whitestone almost two hours later.  Thank God I wasn't in a hurry.... The return trip was not that quick either, and we were detoured yet again, so I could not get off at 3rd and 34th as I requested.  Both of the drivers I got seemed to be rather new.

During the week, I get the impression that the buses are arriving on time because when I wait for the BxM2, I always see the usual QM buses coming at the same time, but that's usually off-peak. I think during peak periods, it's hit or miss.

 

Hahaha! I constantly get thrown off the bus at 36th and 6th and placed on another bus, which is really frustrating, especially if I am only going up to, say, 48th street and the bus is right on time and not running late or anything like that, or if the next bus is not leaving for 20 minutes. 

The holiday traffic tends to make on time performance especially bad this time of year for the QM's  

[Via Garibaldi 8]

12 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said:

 

Hahaha! I constantly get thrown off the bus at 36th and 6th and placed on another bus, which is really frustrating, especially if I am only going up to, say, 48th street and the bus is right on time and not running late or anything like that, or if the next bus is not leaving for 20 minutes. 

The holiday traffic tends to make on time performance especially bad this time of year for the QM's  

Yes I know, and every year like I sucker I go out to Whitestone and shop... lol

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

14 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

 

Hahaha! I constantly get thrown off the bus at 36th and 6th and placed on another bus, which is really frustrating, especially if I am only going up to, say, 48th street and the bus is right on time and not running late or anything like that, or if the next bus is not leaving for 20 minutes. 

The holiday traffic tends to make on time performance especially bad this time of year for the QM's  

How has the Midtown Tunnel treated you? I stopped riding the express bus (on weekends) because I'm not dealing with the one hour delays into the Tube.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

4 minutes ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

How has the Midtown Tunnel treated you? I stopped riding the express bus (on weekends) because I'm not dealing with the one hour delays into the Tube.

On weekends if you go to the city late enough it's too bad actually.  Just avoid going during peak times.  I'm definitely going out to Whitestone again in the next few weeks (I prefer going when it's cold because I can walk with my things to the express bus and not be all sweaty, so I generally avoid the summer for that reason).  There's also generally less traffic when it is really cold out since a lot of people don't care for the cold.  If they hadn't cut those 23:00 trips back to the city, I would be taking those. That's what I used to do and it was beautiful.  I'd be in and out of the stores and back on the express bus and in the city in no time.  22:00 back to the city is cutting it too close if there is traffic going to Queens, so I don't do that unless I'm off from work so I can head out early.

[QM1to6Ave]

17 hours ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

How has the Midtown Tunnel treated you? I stopped riding the express bus (on weekends) because I'm not dealing with the one hour delays into the Tube.

I also stopped taking it on weekends. Although VG8 is right that there are some late times where the traffic thins out, if I need to go in mid-day, it is just not worth it. However, at least they are re-routing the buses off of the LIE for as long as possible on those days, but it is still ridiculous.

I don't understand how they are finished with all the construction in the first tube, but the second tube seems to be taking forever. 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

3 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

I also stopped taking it on weekends. Although VG8 is right that there are some late times where the traffic thins out, if I need to go in mid-day, it is just not worth it. However, at least they are re-routing the buses off of the LIE for as long as possible on those days, but it is still ridiculous.

I don't understand how they are finished with all the construction in the first tube, but the second tube seems to be taking forever. 

I saw one of the tubes when I went the last time and it looked like they were taking all of those tiles off and starting afresh.  I agree though about the length... Spring of 2018... We also were on detour so I had to get off at 34th and Park and walked back to the BxM1 with my bags, which I was not happy about.  When I go I usually stock up staples that I need and have a hard time finding or I get a good price.  The B/O didn't even announce the detour. I rang for the first stop when we were about the exit the tunnel and I'm like where in the hell are we going? Then the B/O asks me I wanted the stop and I'm like well this is as close as I'm going to get to 3rd so yeah I'll take it.    I think I'm going to make a few more trips out there while it's cold (I hate going there in the summer - too damn hot), but before this whole thing I started, I would go a few times a month.

[Cait Sith]

On 12/26/2017 at 11:28 AM, R32 3838 said:

Cp is becoming all express probably by next year. It is possible, the C40LF's would go to nyct to kill off all the remaining orion VII cng's. While the XN60's would kill off alot of D60HF's. 

I heard mta bus management wants this, now i see why nyct would give mta bus 64/6500 orion VII's. 

 

BP would loose the Qm4/44 & QM21

BP would gain the Q25, Q34 and Q65

LGA would loose their remaining express routes (i forgot which ones they have)

LGA would get back the Q19,Q23 &Q38 and gain the Q66. 

 

All subject to change but this might be the reality since they're pushing for this. Plus the Q25 is becoming SBS so it makes sense for BP to get it.

There was some sort of clause that prevents both CP & SC's C40s from leaving MTA Bus. Someone brought it up on the forums. I would think it has to do with the fact that they can't abandon the CNG fuel, as it's federally funded.

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

27 minutes ago, Cait Sith said:

There was some sort of clause that prevents both CP & SC's C40s from leaving MTA Bus. Someone brought it up on the forums. I would think it has to do with the fact that they can't abandon the CNG fuel, as it's federally funded.

Perhaps too costly, but what if LGA was converted to CNG fuel use.

 

On 12/27/2017 at 1:40 PM, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

On weekends if you go to the city late enough it's too bad actually.  Just avoid going during peak times.  I'm definitely going out to Whitestone again in the next few weeks (I prefer going when it's cold because I can walk with my things to the express bus and not be all sweaty, so I generally avoid the summer for that reason).  There's also generally less traffic when it is really cold out since a lot of people don't care for the cold.  If they hadn't cut those 23:00 trips back to the city, I would be taking those. That's what I used to do and it was beautiful.  I'd be in and out of the stores and back on the express bus and in the city in no time.  22:00 back to the city is cutting it too close if there is traffic going to Queens, so I don't do that unless I'm off from work so I can head out early.

From what I've seen, the traffic picks up around 1-2PM, and stays like that until the night. I generally take an inbound bus minutes to 2PM, so that won't really work. Not to say I like my current commute though. I can't wait until the traffic is over, so I can stop taking the  to/from Manhattan. It's a PITA to take the  on the weekends.

 

6 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

I don't understand how they are finished with all the construction in the first tube, but the second tube seems to be taking forever. 

2 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

I saw one of the tubes when I went the last time and it looked like they were taking all of those tiles off and starting afresh.  I agree though about the length... Spring of 2018... 

Yeah, they're taking down the tiles and placing new ones, in addition to new walkways IIRC. It has been a hot minute since I've been inside those tubes, so IDK the progress made on each tube. 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

26 minutes ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

Perhaps too costly, but what if LGA was converted to CNG fuel use.

 

From what I've seen, the traffic picks up around 1-2PM, and stays like that until the night. I generally take an inbound bus minutes to 2PM, so that won't really work. Not to say I like my current commute though. I can't wait until the traffic is over, so I can stop taking the  to/from Manhattan. It's a PITA to take the  on the weekends.

 

Yeah, they're taking down the tiles and placing new ones, in addition to new walkways IIRC. It has been a hot minute since I've been inside those tubes, so IDK the progress made on each tube. 

Yeah forget about 14:00.  I remember the first time I got burned going back to the city around that time, and here I am with my friggin' bags on the QM2 crawling towards the tunnel. It must've taken almost an hour to get through, and from there that's when I stopped coming regularly to shop.  It's much better late at night... I think that even when the tunnel work is done it will still be slow (the overall trip to and from) because of the speed limit and the syncing of the lights.

[QM1to6Ave]

2 hours ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

Perhaps too costly, but what if LGA was converted to CNG fuel use.

 

From what I've seen, the traffic picks up around 1-2PM, and stays like that until the night. I generally take an inbound bus minutes to 2PM, so that won't really work. Not to say I like my current commute though. I can't wait until the traffic is over, so I can stop taking the  to/from Manhattan. It's a PITA to take the  on the weekends.

 

Yeah, they're taking down the tiles and placing new ones, in addition to new walkways IIRC. It has been a hot minute since I've been inside those tubes, so IDK the progress made on each tube. 

The tube that is finished looks great, but the other tube looks like a piece of c**p. Bare walls down to the concrete, half the lights are still out, dust all over the place , hoses running all over. I really don't understand what they are doing in there every single weekend. Nothing ever seems to improve.  

[Via Garibaldi 8]

If CP is becoming all express, Lord help them.  They need to train their drivers on learning the damn routes and looking at a schedule.  My QM2 to Whitestone was 10 minutes early on Saturday and the bus was packed. I'm guessing some people must've missed the previous one.  Luckily I walked over to the stop early since I was tracking it, otherwise, I would've been waiting an hour for the next one.  Coming back from shopping, the QM2 I was due to take skipped the entire section of Parsons Blvd and the Mitchell Gardens area.  I got on further up in Whitestone to get the next one, but I was pissed having to wait in the cold for an hour with my bag.  They also need to stop throwing people off of the bus at 6th and 36th. The weekend prior to the one that passed, I was given the boot at 6th and 36th and had to get on a QM6 going towards Lake Success just to go one stop. 

I filed a complaint noting all of the nonsense I've had to deal with.  Those QM2's run through Mitchell Gardens and go via Parsons specifically to garner more ridership, and yet you have drivers trying to skip that segment of the route.