New express bus service: MTA continues to answer riders' concerns

[trife86]

4 hours ago, SIMplicity said:

The SIM2, SIM4 and SIM4c looked pretty messy. Downtown the scheduled runtime between Chambers St (2/4) or Worth (4C) and Barclay, the next stop, is 15 MINUTES. From Chambers to Barclay that’s 4 blocks. So it takes 15 mins to go 4 blocks, but the next 14 blocks with 3 stops along the way are supposed to take 10 minutes? And if you look at the schedules it’s such an obvious error. I’m not sure if the SIM2/4 left Chambers at the regularly scheduled time, or left 12-13 mins after that so they would arrive at Barclay at the scheduled time.

And speaking of the SIM2 how about that stop at Arden/Woodrow where the bus stop/digital bus arrival sign is across the street from where the bus actually stops...

What a mess...

The bus stop sign error is DOTs problem, MTA just operates the route. DOT handles the bus stops.

[B35 via Church]

1 hour ago, trife86 said:

The bus stop sign error is DOTs problem, MTA just operates the route. DOT handles the bus stops.

Just what I pointed out in another post... There's a serious lack of cohesion b/w the two entities.

[trife86]

10 minutes ago, B35 via Church said:

Just what I pointed out in another post... There's a serious lack of cohesion b/w the two entities.

What gets even better is snowed in bus stops. Sanitation is responsible for bus stops without shelters and the DOT Supposed to handle the ones with shelters. I guess no one remembers what their duties are when it comes time LOL.

[QM1to6Ave]

16 hours ago, trife86 said:

What gets even better is snowed in bus stops. Sanitation is responsible for bus stops without shelters and the DOT Supposed to handle the ones with shelters. I guess no one remembers what their duties are when it comes time LOL.

I always wondered about that! 

I've seen those guys in the pick up trucks that normally clean the bus shelters shovel them out on occasion in the winter. Are they contracted by DOT? I forget the name of the company, I think it is french-sounding or something like hat. 

[B35 via Church]

8 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

I always wondered about that! 

I've seen those guys in the pick up trucks that normally clean the bus shelters shovel them out on occasion in the winter. Are they contracted by DOT? I forget the name of the company, I think it is french-sounding or something like hat. 

JCDecaux (which acquired CEMUSA).

[Via Garibaldi 8]

11 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

I always wondered about that! 

I've seen those guys in the pick up trucks that normally clean the bus shelters shovel them out on occasion in the winter. Are they contracted by DOT? I forget the name of the company, I think it is french-sounding or something like hat. 

The people that maintain the bus shelters are supposed to clean them out during snow storms. I see them regularly in Riverdale hosing down the bus shelters, and now they have them snap a photo to show that they actually did the work.

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

The SIM6, SIM10, and SIM31 buses will now stop at 5th Avenue & 41st Street going SB, instead of at 43rd Street.

Service Change  Posted: 08/22/2018  8:13AM 
 

As promised, we've been monitoring the brand new Staten Island express bus service since the first bus left the depot, and we've been making immediate adjustments in response to customer feedback and observations on the ground.

So far identified and addressed:

Great news for SIM8 customers: We've added supplemental Midtown, Manhattan-bound service departing Huguenot, Staten Island at 6:00AM.

We've added SIM4c service to make it easier to travel to the College of Staten Island. A S/B bus now departs Midtown, Manhattan at 7:40AM.

We've expanded our early morning Midtown, Manhattan-bound SIM1c service with four extra buses departing Eltingville Transit Center at 4:10AM, 4:26AM, 4:41AM and 4:56AM.

Looking to take early morning SIM10 service? We've added more Midtown, Manhattan-bound buses departing Eltingville Transit Center at 4:48AM and 4:58AM.

We've increased Midtown, Manhattan-bound SIM34 bus service departing Mariners Harbor, Staten Island at 6:54AM and 7:54AM.

Starting today, the Staten Island-bound SIM6, SIM10, and SIM31 bus stop previously located at 5th Avenue and 43rd Street will be at 5th Avenue and 41st Street, to allow for faster trips by allowing for southbound buses to bypass the congestion of 42nd Street.

We are continuing to review PM rush service including monitoring closely when it is necessary and feasible to add additional buses.

It's important to us for Staten Islanders to understand our new SIM network as well as our vision for further improvements. Don't forget to sign up for the new SIM routes' e-alerts at mymtaalerts.com

[BrooklynBus]

 

On 8/18/2018 at 2:02 PM, NewFlyer 230 said:

I’m starting to think that this whole system redesign is a way for the MTA to secretly cut service while telling people that these routes are better than the old ones. Can’t wait to see what they do with the local and limited routes. I guarantee since this is the MTA we are talking about the riders will get the shorter end of the stick.

 

On 8/18/2018 at 2:20 PM, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Of course it is. How do you do a redesign that only costs an extra $1 million dollars???

Of course it's just a way to cut service. They are not looking to make better connections between neighborhoods and reduce transferring to save time. They are looking for elimating bus segments one block apart and to reduce stops so people will have to walk further and the buses go more quickly. But people aren't t interested in the amount of time spent on the bus. They are interested in their total trip time. 

When I created the B1 40 years ago, the goal was not to save money but simplify routing and make urban easier to travel. I proposed that four separate routes on 86 Street be converted into a single route with north south routing also straightened out. Too bad it wasn't all done. 

And how can you say the new SI routing will cost an extra $1 million per year when you are not considering revenue? Not only do they need to separate Planning from budgeting, they must consider total demand not just bus riders. When someone leaves the system to use Uber instead because of horrendous bus service, they are no longer considered part of demand and service is eventually reduced causing others to abandon the system. They know this and don't care because they want fewer riders so they can provide less service and lose less money. Stupid idiots. 

[trife86]

7 minutes ago, BrooklynBus said:

 

 

Of course it's just a way to cut service. They are not looking to make better connections between neighborhoods and reduce transferring to save time. They are looking for elimating bus segments one block apart and to reduce stops so people will have to walk further and the buses go more quickly. But people aren't t interested in the amount of time spent on the bus. They are interested in their total trip time. 

When I created the B1 40 years ago, the goal was not to save money but simplify routing and make urban easier to travel. I proposed that four separate routes on 86 Street be converted into a single route with north south routing also straightened out. Too bad it wasn't all done. 

And how can you say the new SI routing will cost an extra $1 million per year when you are not considering revenue? Not only do they need to separate Planning from budgeting, they must consider total demand not just bus riders. When someone leaves the system to use Uber instead because of horrendous bus service, they are no longer considered part of demand and service is eventually reduced causing others to abandon the system. They know this and don't care because they want fewer riders so they can provide less service and lose less money. Stupid idiots. 

You created the B1? Lol

[Future ENY OP]

22 minutes ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

The SIM6, SIM10, and SIM31 buses will now stop at 5th Avenue & 41st Street going SB, instead of at 43rd Street.

 

 

What’s with the increase of the midtown service?. What happen to Downtown service? Also, there needs to be more SIM express bus routes. 21 routes is NOT enough for a borough that heavily relies on express buses. 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

23 minutes ago, trife86 said:

You created the B1? Lol

Yes, he worked with the  for many years as a Bus Planner. He is now retired, but I've met him at Town Hall Meetings for bus service in Brooklyn.  

14 minutes ago, Lil 57 said:

The moved the SIM6, 10 and 31 stop to 41st from 43rd. (Old X1, 7, 9 stop) Lets see if that helps...

This is from social media, per Oddo's office:

 

Quote

We are troubled by the accounts of underutilization at the Park & Ride at Capodanno. I know this related to route changes. We are discussing
-James Oddo

As someone who's been actively speaking to my fellow x2(Madison) riders I've heard all sorts of various reasons for not utilizing the P&R at Capodanno.

They ranged from; I only have one car and my husband leaves before I do, I medically can not drive, I don't have a car, I can't afford extra gas money.
From what I've heard people are using First Ave as a Transfer Point for the correct ave they need.

People on hylan who need Madison takes the SIM10 to 1st ave and transfers to SIM6/SIM6x/SIM31

People on Capodanno who need a 6th ave bus will get off at 1st ave and transfer to SIM3/SIM10

There was a collective voice of not wanting to rely solely on local Manhattan transportation for fear of train delays and local bus service that has stops on every block.

This is something I've been trying in vain to stress to with the MTA for months now.

The fact of the matter is express bus riders pay for EXPRESS BUS service and the is trying to FORCE the subway and local buses down their throats. I was an express bus rider on Staten Island for over 6 years, and I had no interest in using the subway regularly to reach the express bus. In fact I had a job that required the subway from the express bus and I quit less than a month in because I hated the commute. If the subways were reliable it would be one thing, but they are plagued with the delays and overcrowded. It makes no sense to push more people to use a system that is broken.    

[SIMplicity]

49 minutes ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

Great news for SIM8 customers: We've added supplemental Midtown, Manhattan-bound service departing Huguenot, Staten Island at 6:00AM.

We've added SIM4c service to make it easier to travel to the College of Staten Island. A S/B bus now departs Midtown, Manhattan at 7:40AM.

We've expanded our early morning Midtown, Manhattan-bound SIM1c service with four extra buses departing Eltingville Transit Center at 4:10AM, 4:26AM, 4:41AM and 4:56AM.

 Looking to take early morning SIM10 service? We've added more Midtown, Manhattan-bound buses departing Eltingville Transit Center at 4:48AM and 4:58AM.

 We've increased Midtown, Manhattan-bound SIM34 bus service departing Mariners Harbor, Staten Island at 6:54AM and 7:54AM.

 Starting today, the Staten Island-bound SIM6, SIM10, and SIM31 bus stop previously located at 5th Avenue and 43rd Street will be at 5th Avenue and 41st Street, to allow for faster trips by allowing for southbound buses to bypass the congestion of 42nd Street.

Sure they can call added service or a stop location change “great news” but when the changes are to correct a silly stop placement (anyone could’ve figured out it would block buses turning onto 42nd), or the addition of a 6am trip that was probably left out in error, or the fixing of a 75-minute ridiculous service gap, well...

How about the SIM7, 22, 31 and 32? Those routes were overcrowded; they should have longer spans and increased frequencies. And still no fix to the huge service gaps for Gannon, Watchogue and Port Richmond.

And those 6:54 and 7:54am SIM34s were lazy quick-fixes. The frequency is all screwed up. 6:15, 6:30, 6:45, 6:54, 7:00, 7:12, 7:24, 7:36, 7:48, 7:54, 8:00. They should’ve changed it to 10-minute headways starting at 6:45 until 8:05.

[checkmatechamp13]

12 minutes ago, SIMplicity said:

Sure they can call added service or a stop location change “great news” but when the changes are to correct a silly stop placement (anyone could’ve figured out it would block buses turning onto 42nd), or the addition of a 6am trip that was probably left out in error, or the fixing of a 75-minute ridiculous service gap, well...

How about the SIM7, 22, 31 and 32? Those routes were overcrowded; they should have longer spans and increased frequencies. And still no fix to the huge service gaps for Gannon, Watchogue and Port Richmond.

And those 6:54 and 7:54am SIM34s were lazy quick-fixes. The frequency is all screwed up. 6:15, 6:30, 6:45, 6:54, 7:00, 7:12, 7:24, 7:36, 7:48, 7:54, 8:00. They should’ve changed it to 10-minute headways starting at 6:45 until 8:05.

I believe somewhere they mentioned it would be an even 10 minute headway so they adjusted the surrounding trips

[Via Garibaldi 8]

2 hours ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

The SIM6, SIM10, and SIM31 buses will now stop at 5th Avenue & 41st Street going SB, instead of at 43rd Street.

 

 

That's working out well tonight... Sarcasm...

This bus (SIM10) is already standing room only at 41st and 5th!!

[Future ENY OP]

9 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

That's working out well tonight... Sarcasm...

This bus (SIM10) is already standing room only at 41st and 5th!!

This is going to backfire on the if they don't make the necessary changes ASAP.. Way-a-go for saving 1 million dollars.. SMDH.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 minute ago, Future ENY OP said:

This is going to backfire on the if they don't make the necessary changes ASAP.. Way-a-go for saving 1 million dollars.. SMDH.

This is just so poorly planned. I really think they meant well, but this plan only works in a perfect scenario where you don't have cars constantly blocking the bus lanes to turn EVERY other damn block, trucks making deliveries on 5th, construction or other things blocking the bus lanes.  You cannot have this many buses coming down 5th Avenue. Just not doable.  If they wanted to do this they should've made THREE bus lanes on 5th and TWO for cars. It sounds excessive but given how frequently the two bus lanes are blocked, having that third one would likely make things a bit better and then maybe this could work.  The bus stops are just a mess because if you have any little delay in service you're going to have lines so long that they go almost down one full city block and that's not an exaggeration either.  It looks like they have both the X37, X38 AND three SIM express buses all stopping at the same stop, and the X37 and X38 are also scheduled to arrive quite frequently (the X37 runs about every 6 minutes as well, so how in the world are all of these buses going to pick up all of the passengers at these stops with these long lines and not back up service as other buses wait to pull into the same stops?) The lines for this bus stop almost reach where the M1, M2, M3, M4 and Q32 stop at, which is absurd. Then you also have to deal with ALL of those people having to dip their Metrocards.  This redesign should've been done IN CONJUNCTION with a new and FAST payment system, otherwise the little savings you get with fewer stops (assuming your bus actually comes as scheduled) is eaten up sitting in traffic and sitting at bus stops loading passengers.  God it's just infuriating to see how incompetent the  is!!  These are peoples' livelihoods they're messing with. People are paying extra money now for baby sitting because of this screw up, more people having to drive and clog up the roads or transfer or spend an extra 20 - 30 minutes or more each way now for a service that was supposed to improve their commutes at the end of August.  Unbelievable...

On top of that I'm hearing about protests Downtown and LARGE gaps in SIM7 service and others.  This is why you can't have service all on one corridor. Any protest or anything and you can forget it.  

[trife86]

On 8/21/2018 at 1:16 AM, SIMplicity said:

The SIM2, SIM4 and SIM4c looked pretty messy. Downtown the scheduled runtime between Chambers St (2/4) or Worth (4C) and Barclay, the next stop, is 15 MINUTES. From Chambers to Barclay that’s 4 blocks. So it takes 15 mins to go 4 blocks, but the next 14 blocks with 3 stops along the way are supposed to take 10 minutes? And if you look at the schedules it’s such an obvious error. I’m not sure if the SIM2/4 left Chambers at the regularly scheduled time, or left 12-13 mins after that so they would arrive at Barclay at the scheduled time.

And speaking of the SIM2 how about that stop at Arden/Woodrow where the bus stop/digital bus arrival sign is across the street from where the bus actually stops...

What a mess...

Everyone knows about the digital signage, the DOT handles installing the signs that's on them....

[trife86]

40 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

This is just so poorly planned. I really think they meant well, but this plan only works in a perfect scenario where you don't have cars constantly blocking the bus lanes to turn EVERY other damn block, trucks making deliveries on 5th, construction or other things blocking the bus lanes.  You cannot have this many buses coming down 5th Avenue. Just not doable.  If they wanted to do this they should've made THREE bus lanes on 5th and TWO for cars. It sounds excessive but given how frequently the two bus lanes are blocked, having that third one would likely make things a bit better and then maybe this could work.  The bus stops are just a mess because if you have any little delay in service you're going to have lines so long that they go almost down one full city block and that's not an exaggeration either.  It looks like they have both the X37, X38 AND three SIM express buses all stopping at the same stop, and the X37 and X38 are also scheduled to arrive quite frequently (the X37 runs about every 6 minutes as well, so how in the world are all of these buses going to pick up all of the passengers at these stops with these long lines and not back up service as other buses wait to pull into the same stops?) The lines for this bus stop almost reach where the M1, M2, M3, M4 and Q32 stop at, which is absurd. Then you also have to deal with ALL of those people having to dip their Metrocards.  This redesign should've been done IN CONJUNCTION with a new and FAST payment system, otherwise the little savings you get with fewer stops (assuming your bus actually comes as scheduled) is eaten up sitting in traffic and sitting at bus stops loading passengers.  God it's just infuriating to see how incompetent the  is!!  These are peoples' livelihoods they're messing with. People are paying extra money now for baby sitting because of this screw up, more people having to drive and clog up the roads or transfer or spend an extra 20 - 30 minutes or more each way now for a service that was supposed to improve their commutes at the end of August.  Unbelievable...

On top of that I'm hearing about protests Downtown and LARGE gaps in SIM7 service and others.  This is why you can't have service all on one corridor. Any protest or anything and you can forget it.  

Maybe it will have the MTA bring a bigger case to the DOT to have more enforcement or even perhaps a 3rd bus lane, hell busses would be smooth if certain streets bus traffic only during rush hour.

 

Cause at this point the MTA can say they tried everything and just blame it all on traffic (as traffic is really the #1 problem) without mentioning other major issues I think traffic trump's all 

 

Who really knows....

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 minute ago, trife86 said:

Maybe it will have the MTA bring a bigger case to the DOT to have more enforcement or even perhaps a 3rd bus lane, hell busses would be smooth if certain streets bus traffic only during rush hour.

 

Cause at this point the MTA can say they tried everything and just blame it all on traffic (as traffic is really the #1 problem) without mentioning other major issues I think traffic trump's all 

Well as I said, even with traffic moving smoothly on 5th, you have too many buses on 5th and too many bus stops where there are several buses that have to pick up there. That alone causes increased congestion as buses wait to pull in.  You would need some sort of SBS service where people pay in advance before boarding to really get buses in and out quickly given how frequent they're trying to have buses come down there. The DOT can only do but so much. They have traffic agents out there, but you went from having SI express buses on Lex, some on 42nd, etc. to ALL of them coming down 5th for Midtown.  Just absurd. 

[trife86]

12 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Well as I said, even with traffic moving smoothly on 5th, you have too many buses on 5th and too many bus stops where there are several buses that have to pick up there. That alone causes increased congestion as buses wait to pull in.  You would need some sort of SBS service where people pay in advance before boarding to really get buses in and out quickly given how frequent they're trying to have buses come down there. The DOT can only do but so much. They have traffic agents out there, but you went from having SI express buses on Lex, some on 42nd, etc. to ALL of them coming down 5th for Midtown.  Just absurd. 

Yeah all good points...

I believe May of next year is when the pilot for whatever tapless / tap / app system for payment is supposed to start.

As a pilot program it will be along side with the good ol farebox until full implementation which is still la few years to go

It starts in Staten island although we have 0 information on it.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

6 minutes ago, trife86 said:

Yeah all good points...

I believe May of next year is when the pilot for whatever tapless / tap / app system for payment is supposed to start.

As a pilot program it will be along side with the good ol farebox until full implementation which is still la few years ago

It starts in Staten island although we have 0 information on it.

Smh... Figures...

[trife86]

1 minute ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Smh... Figures...

That's what our Union told us, but as everything we shall believe it when we see it

[checkmatechamp13]

1 hour ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

On top of that I'm hearing about protests Downtown and LARGE gaps in SIM7 service and others.  This is why you can't have service all on one corridor. Any protest or anything and you can forget it.  

The SIM7 was on a completely separate corridor. The issues with that route are insufficient service, plain and simple. They scheduled it every 12 minutes when it's supposed to cover all X1/7/9 riders in Greenwich Village and all X7/9 riders on West Street. I took one look at the schedule when it was first released, called a friend who takes the X7, and she flipped out, rightfully so.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Just now, checkmatechamp13 said:

The SIM7 was on a completely separate corridor. The issues with that route are insufficient service, plain and simple. They scheduled it every 12 minutes when it's supposed to cover all X1/7/9 riders in Greenwich Village and all X7/9 riders on West Street. I took one look at the schedule when it was first released, called a friend who takes the X7, and she flipped out, rightfully so.

I know that.  That doesn't change my overall point which you're confusing.  We're focusing on two different things. My overall focus has been on the  packing too many buses on one corridor which you don't seem to have a problem with BTW which makes no sense to me, as you bitched endlessly about bunching and long waits, which is exactly what we're seeing with this new plan. You've been focusing on the service gaps and lack of frequency which seems to  be what you're obsessed with.  That can be fixed to a degree with adding buses here and there. 

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

Lol...

Service Change  Posted: 08/22/2018  8:08PM 
 

SIM3, SIM4C, SIM31, SIM32 and SIM33 buses are detoured because of DOT work on N Gannon Av between Slosson Av and Bradley Av.

Detour is as follows:

SIM3, SIM4C, SIM31, SIM32 and SIM33 Northbound: Via North Gannon Av,right on Slosson Av, left on Victory Blvd, left on Bradley Av, right on North Gannon Av and regular route.

Corresponding stops will be made along detour route.

 

Delays  Posted: 08/22/2018  7:16PM 

BM1, BM2, BM3, BM4, BM5, BXM3, BXM4, BXM6, BXM7, BXM8, BXM9, BXM10, BXM11, M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M42, M55, Q32, SIM3, SIM10, SIM22, SIM23, SIM24, SIM25, SIM26, X27, X28, X37 and X38 bus service is running with delays because of traffic on 5 Av between 57 St to 42 St.