SI Express Route Public Hearing Request, M4 Truncation, July 2018 Schedule Changes

[Q43LTD]

Did you prefer the straightened route or the Bell route?

[Future ENY OP]

5 hours ago, IAlam said:

Idk if this was mentioned but I saw posters on QV buses saying the Q27 will go back to its original route on Bell Blvd, starting July 2nd.

Looks like construction 🚧 has ended. If you get a chance get a snapshot of the new GO indicating the Q27 is back on Bell Blvd. 

Also, any word for the extension to Merrick yet? Something tells me in a few more years that the 27 is going to eat up the 77’s current ridership and possibly extend to 147th or Green Acres. 

[IAlam]

12 hours ago, Q43LTD said:

Did you prefer the straightened route or the Bell route?

It never really bothered me I could care less, in the long run, it won't affect the runtime through the area.

8 hours ago, Future ENY OP said:

Looks like construction 🚧 has ended. If you get a chance get a snapshot of the new GO indicating the Q27 is back on Bell Blvd. 

Also, any word for the extension to Merrick yet? Something tells me in a few more years that the 27 is going to eat up the 77’s current ridership and possibly extend to 147th or Green Acres. 

I did but since you can't upload pictures directly to the forum I'm not gonna bother. If you really want to see the poster you can hop on any QV bus. From what I saw most QV buses had the poster.

[Gotham Bus Co.]

On 6/29/2018 at 2:29 PM, Future ENY OP said:

Looks like construction 🚧 has ended. If you get a chance get a snapshot of the new GO indicating the Q27 is back on Bell Blvd. 

Also, any word for the extension to Merrick yet? Something tells me in a few more years that the 27 is going to eat up the 77’s current ridership and possibly extend to 147th or Green Acres. 

The Q27 never used Bell. The official route is (northbound) Springfield, 56th Avenue, right Luke Place, right 216th Street, left 48th Avenue. That path once formed a road that separated two farms 100 years ago. Check out NYCityMaps and call up the 1924 aerial map of zip code 11364.

[Gotham Bus Co.]

On 6/29/2018 at 9:23 AM, IAlam said:

Idk if this was mentioned but I saw posters on QV buses saying the Q27 will go back to its original route on Bell Blvd, starting July 2nd.

 

Only 3.5 years for an 18-month sewer project. Not too bad.

[checkmatechamp13]

On 7/1/2018 at 4:52 PM, Vtrain said:

On the Staten Island express bus study, they should have kept the following:

-SI bound SIM6 should have remained on Lexington Av between East 57th St & East 23rd St.

-Manhattan bound SIM5 & SIM5x should run as a downtown loop & still run along Trinity Pl & Church Av, the same goes for the Staten Island bound as well.

-Good news, the SIM15 will continue to use the Downtown Loop, see the SIM15 map & you'll notice that the Downtown Loop was restored back.

-Off peak & weekend SIM2c should be extended to Midtown Manhattan & not terminate in Lower Manhattan where the majority of riders are going to Midtown during off peak & weekends, nobody wants to transfer in Lower Manhattan between the SIM2c & another express route, subway or the M55 to reach Midtown.

They put the SIM6/SIM10 together on 5th because they wanted people to have both options for Hylan service on the same street.

Not wild about the Downtown Loop in general. I would've preferred they just run to Worth Street.

I must be a nobody then. Aside from the fact that there's people who start/end their trips Downtown, there's also people who choose to transfer for the subway even when the express bus offers a one-seat ride and it's not fair to have their bus delayed because of traffic and parades in Midtown. (I personally think all off-peak express service should've been like that) The SIM2 off-peak service was an added cost. They originally didn't want to run it period. 

BTW they put an overlay of their routes on Google Maps, as of 7/6/18

[checkmatechamp13]

10 hours ago, Vtrain said:

What's the google map page website that they put this on to.

For somebody who is so interested in this matter, you should've just checked the site mta.info/siexpressbus , since that's where all the information is always posted.

In any case, looking at the new map, Downtown, it looks like the SIM1/4 are paired up at stops and the SIM2/32/34 are grouped up. Along 5th Avenue, it looks like the SIM3/8, SIM6/10/31, and SIM22/23/24/25/26/30 are grouped up. (Personally, I would've had the SIM30/31 put with the SIM3/8 since that would somewhat keep all the North Shore routes together for the people who can take the first bus that comes). With their proposed setup, North Shore riders have to choose in advance between the SIM3 & SIM30. Also, considering the entire Midtown-Hylan ridership base will be concentrated on the SIM6/10, that's another reason for them to have their own stops (the SIM31 can only really be used as a backup to head to the ETC)

As far as the northern Midtown terminals go, the SIM23/24 continue to terminate at 5th/Madison & 59th, the SIM3/6/10/30 terminate at Central Park South, and the SIM8/22/25/26/31 terminate at 57th & Lexington. Off-peak, the SIM1C/3C/4C all terminate at Central Park South and share their Manhattan stops going down.

Also, the SIM5X will apparently be skipping some stops in Manhattan (it will stop at Battery/Greenwich, Water/Whitehall, and Water/Fulton, and bypass Water/Old Slip and Water/Maiden, as well as stop short of Water/Frankfort)

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 minute ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

For somebody who is so interested in this matter, you should've just checked the site mta.info/siexpressbus , since that's where all the information is always posted.

Your link doesn't work...

[checkmatechamp13]

1 minute ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Your link doesn't work...

It's the standard site that they've been using the whole time.

http://nymta.civicconnect.com/content/together-let’s-make-commuting-faster-staten-island-express-bus-riders

I just tell people it's mta.info/siexpressbus because it's easier to remember, and it redirects to that Civic Connect site anyway.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 minute ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

It's the standard site that they've been using the whole time.

http://nymta.civicconnect.com/content/together-let’s-make-commuting-faster-staten-island-express-bus-riders

I just tell people it's mta.info/siexpressbus because it's easier to remember, and it redirects to that Civic Connect site anyway.

It doesn't redirect you anywhere. Anywho, they need to show what the timetables will look like already. It seems as if they plan on springing this at the last minute.  That's when we'll see what they're up to.

[checkmatechamp13]

1 minute ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

It doesn't redirect you anywhere. 

On Google Chrome it does, at least on my computer. In any case, go to that hyperlinked URL I posted and it'll have the information. 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Just now, checkmatechamp13 said:

On Google Chrome it does, at least on my computer. In any case, go to that hyperlinked URL I posted and it'll have the information. 

Yeah I'm there. I'm still trying to get over some of these changes... So basically SIM30 is serving ALL of Forest Avenue and there's no other Midtown bus. I'm sure I've said this before, but I still think that's a huge mistake.  I can recall on several instances when they had issues with buses come out Meredith and they had to scramble and have a back up bus come and get us.  This is going to be something.  

[checkmatechamp13]

2 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Yeah I'm there. I'm still trying to get over some of these changes... So basically SIM30 is serving ALL of Forest Avenue and there's no other Midtown bus. I'm sure I've said this before, but I still think that's a huge mistake.  I can recall on several instances when they had issues with buses come out Meredith and they had to scramble and have a back up bus come and get us.  This is going to be something.  

I'll put it this way (and I do see where they're coming from), they say that on the North Shore especially is where they have a lot of Midtown routes that travel via Downtown , compared to the South Shore, where most of the routes run directly to Midtown via NJ (which is another issue, the lack of Downtown service), and on Hylan Blvd where you have the routes that run up the FDR). 

So it seems like the main route that they're going to be pushing for the North Shore is the SIM3 (which is basically the X42 rerouted to Port Richmond). It'll take Midtown riders from the X10B, X12, and X14 (as well as present-day X42 riders of course), and then there's also the SIM30 & SIM31 available. They did make a note of it that the X12/42 corridor is more centralized in terms of serving North Shore express riders, compared to the X10/11 corridor (if you think about it, there's not many express riders north of Forest Avenue, and then south of Gannon Avenue, you start heading towards the Greenbelt), so the X12/42 corridor is right in the middle. That's why they were looking forward to adding off-peak service to that corridor as well. 

Of course, as we've agreed, the real issue is the schedules, and it irks me that they haven't even released preliminary spans and frequencies (only "they'll run frequently", and "most routes will run until 7pm"). A more solid answer, like making a table that says (for example) "SIM3: 5am-9am and 3pm-7pm, every 6-10 minutes" would at least give their plan a little more substance.

[Lawrence St]

Jesus Christ how many routes is the X17 being split up into?

[S78 via Hylan]

59 minutes ago, Lawrence St said:

Jesus Christ how many routes is the X17 being split up into?

Just two main routes: The SIM4 and SIM8.

[Lawrence St]

11 hours ago, S78 via Hylan said:

Just two main routes: The SIM4 and SIM8.

I counted 5.

[checkmatechamp13]

8 hours ago, Lawrence St said:

I counted 5.

The SIM4 is literally the X17A. The SIM8 covers most of the X17J but the SIM22/23/24 provide quicker alternatives for the South Shore portion of the route. During off-peak hours, the SIM4C covers the X17 north of the Greenridge area (that's technically the neighborhood by the ETC), and the SIM2 covers the Arden Heights portion of the X17.

What annoys me is that they don't list the SIM33 as an alternative to the X12, since it covers the Greenwich Village portion (and can also be used as a backup to get Downtown)

[Lil 57]

I just realized that the SIM30 was split into 2 branches, One ending at Victory/Clove and one (SIM30b) ending at Tompkins/Hlyan. Some of the Midtown express buses were also extended to East Midtown. Also, some of the stops being eliminated are being removed in SI.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 minute ago, Lil 57 said:

I just realized that the SIM30 was split into 2 branches, One ending at Victory/Clove and one (SIM30b) ending at Tompkins/Hlyan. Some of the Midtown express buses were also extended to East Midtown. Also, some of the stops being eliminated are being removed in SI.

Yeah, you're a little late to the party... 

[Statty]

M4 change is happening July 15th. Seems like last stop is 33rd st and itll layover on either 33rd/32nd & 5th av corner or on the corner of 32nd street once making that left.

[Orion6025]

2 hours ago, Statty said:

M4 change is happening July 15th. Seems like last stop is 33rd st and itll layover on either 33rd/32nd & 5th av corner or on the corner of 32nd street once making that left.

Wait... weren't they planning on terminating the m4 in the 50s this summer? Or was that shot down a while ago?

[FLX9304]

On 7/1/2018 at 4:52 PM, Vtrain said:

On 7/1/2018 at 4:52 PM, Vtrain said:

SIM23 & SIM24 should be taken over by the MTA, not Academy Bus.

 

Not yet. 

[FLX9304]

1 hour ago, Orion6025 said:

Wait... weren't they planning on terminating the m4 in the 50s this summer? Or was that shot down a while ago?

Shot the hell down due to complaints 

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

2 hours ago, Orion6025 said:

Wait... weren't they planning on terminating the m4 in the 50s this summer? Or was that shot down a while ago?

That was the original proposal, for the Q32. That received backlash, so the MTA decided then to cut the M4 instead to 41st Street, but I guess it'll terminate at 32nd Street.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

I'm annoyed at how they keep truncating routes in Midtown.  Anyone who needs service below 34th street... I guess they think they're supposed to cab it or schlepp to the subway.