Via Garibaldi 8 Posted September 12, 2018 #1 Posted September 12, 2018 (edited) After careful consideration, I've decided to form an express bus advocacy group, which I will be leading. While it's in its infancy, our core mission is the following: -To represent all express bus riders across New York City to advocate for better service. This means that when the agency proposes service cuts, instead of allowing them to vote without anyone speaking against them, they'll be a group out there speaking at the board meetings and at other events to remind the agency of why express bus service exists and its importance to the various communities around the City. We feel that the agency has become obsessed with meeting its fiscal obligations while sacrificing on service, and we cannot stand by and allow this to continue as hundreds of passengers face longer commutes, more time away from their families, and higher and higher costs by way of fare increases, and having to take cabs and the like to get to and from work, school and other events on a daily basis. This is a critical time for transportation in NYC, and the fact that the economy is booming along with the population, and ridership continues to decline shows a serious problem with service across all platforms. Since our group is just launching, I will be posting more particulars later. You are free to PM if you are interested in joining. We understand that people have other obligations, and this is why I will be the one doing most of the grunt work (speaking at meetings, contacting elected officials, etc.) since I have experience doing these things from previous projects I've undertaken, but we appreciate anyone joining who wants to assist where they feel that their contributions will work best. That's it for now. I want to also state that the purpose of this thread is to encourage positive discussion on the aforementioned topic, so I will not be responding to any negative comments or anything that is going to throw the thread off into something that it shouldn't be, nor any personal attacks, as I don't have the time for it. Via Garibaldi 8 Edited February 20, 2019 by East New York 14 Quote
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted September 12, 2018 Author #2 Posted September 12, 2018 Exhausting express bus trips from Manhattan: Send us your stories Updated Sep 11, 5:21 PM; Posted Sep 11, 3:03 PM Staten Island express bus riders have voiced concerns regarding the daily return trip from Manhattan. (Staten Island Advance/Sydney Kashiwagi) By Erik Bascome tbascome@siadvance.com STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Now more than three weeks into Staten Island's redesigned express bus network, riders have continued to malign their daily return trips from Manhattan. "The evening is a chaotic event," said SIM32 rider Gary Bendel. "The buses are either running late or they're full by the time they get to you." While the MTA has already made many changes in response to customer feedback, customers have stated they are still getting home from work much later than under the previous network. To this point, the following changes have been announced to the Manhattan side of the newly redesigned express bus network: The Staten Island-bound SIM10 and SIM31 bus stop, previously located at Fifth Avenue and 43rd Street, was moved to Fifth Avenue and 41st Street. SIM6, SIM22 and SIM26 buses now travel south along Lexington Avenue (instead of Fifth Ave) during the p.m. rush. SIM1c: Added trip out of Central Park South, departing at 2:00 p.m. SIM6: Added two trips at 7:20 and 7:50 p.m. SIM7: Added two trips at 2:30 and 3 p.m. SIM7: Added trip that leaves Broadway and 13th Street at 7:18 p.m., stopping at West Street and Vesey Street at 7:42 p.m. SIM35: Added two trips at 6:35 and 7:05 p.m. But riders say that much more needs to be done in order to optimize the lengthy return trips. "This is a quality-of-life issue and people are absolutely outraged," said Bendel, who has accumulated over 100 signatures on a petition to improve service for the Willowbrook area. We want to hear from you with other ways the MTA can improve upon the return trip for Staten Island's express bus riders. Has your return commute gotten longer since the the MTA implemented the new express bus system? Are there longer lines at your Manhattan stops? Have bus drivers passed you by without stopping? Have you experienced standing room only conditions? Source: https://www.silive.com/news/2018/09/exhausting_express_bus_trips_f.html --- We also encourage any express bus riders be it on Staten Island or elsewhere to post here and tell us how your daily commutes are going. We will be compiling examples for board meetings and other events to show how service needs to be improved. 0 Quote
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted September 12, 2018 Author #3 Posted September 12, 2018 (edited) Please let us know of any Brooklyn, Queens or Bronx Express Bus Social Media Pages. We'd like to engage with these riders to see what they're dealing with on a daily basis. We're already actively talking with Staten Island express bus riders to address their issues and bring them before the in the coming weeks. Edited September 12, 2018 by Via Garibaldi 8 0 Quote
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted September 12, 2018 Author #4 Posted September 12, 2018 From James Oddo via Twitter: Tomorow @NYCTBus President Andy Byford, @ATULocal726 President Danny Cassella and I and our teams are doing an Edit Board with @siadvance to speak openly and candidly about the express bus redesign. We are working every day to get this right and we have to be accountable. 0 Quote
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted September 13, 2018 Author #5 Posted September 13, 2018 We're still seeing lots of missing express buses Citywide. Serious issue that the can't make service... 0 Quote
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted September 14, 2018 Author #6 Posted September 14, 2018 Some recent developments and other announcements: Staten Island will be seeing service increases that are desperately needed come October. We still see severe overcrowding on a daily basis on numerous express bus routes. We hope that these service increases will finally address this problem. https://www.silive.com/news/2018/09/mta_express_bus_changes_new_si.html In the meantime, we continue to field complaints on various express bus lines on Staten Island and will be bringing the issues below before the Board later this month and urging them to address them. Issues include but are not limited to: -Express buses with no air conditioning/poor maintenance on some Staten Island Express Buses. We will be calling for better maintenance to ensure that this isn't an ongoing problem. -Outdated express buses in Queens and parts of the Bronx. We will be calling on the to accelerate the upcoming order of express buses to finally retire these MCI buses as they should be and modernize the fleet for QM express bus riders and some BxM express bus riders. We have been seeing an increase in the use of 2002 MCIs on lines like the QM2, QM5 and QM6 which lack modern amenities that other riders have such as working Wi-Fi or the ability to charge laptops and cell phones. -Inquire about the enforcement of bus lanes as well as traffic signal priority to keep our express buses moving. -Inquire about the rise in missing scheduled express buses and why so many trips aren't being filled. This has been an ongoing problem that has been particularly bad this year across the City. -Maintain service levels across all express bus lines so that cuts that are occurring late at night on the Union Turnpike corridor as well as on the QM2 stop, as these communities have no subways and limited options, thus we will be urging the to consider restoring the 00:10 QM2 express bus back to Bay Terrace during weeknights. More to come... 3 Quote
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted September 14, 2018 Author #8 Posted September 14, 2018 (edited) 18 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said: Love all of this! If you have any other specific problems that you want addressed, please put them here. I'll likely only be attending one of the board meetings this month (there's only two of them anyway) due to obligations I already have with meetings for work, and I only three minutes to speak. However, I'm going to draft up a list of talking points to cover in those three minutes and then follow up with some of the general complaints when I meet Byford at one of the upcoming workshops in Riverdale. I would like to give him those talking points personally so that he can have them and address them accordingly as time goes on. The idea is to introduce them and follow up on them at subsequent meetings to keep them aware of what's going on and then have them start doing something about these problems. I don't want to spend too much time focusing on one specific borough per se because we already have some Staten Island express bus riders that are quite pissed off with service that will be attending, so I want to address issues that are problems Citywide first and as time goes on, we'll be bringing specific problems to the table, be it for the Union Turnpike corridor or a specific line even. Edited September 14, 2018 by Via Garibaldi 8 0 Quote
QM1to6Ave Posted September 15, 2018 #9 Posted September 15, 2018 2 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said: If you have any other specific problems that you want addressed, please put them here. I'll likely only be attending one of the board meetings this month (there's only two of them anyway) due to obligations I already have with meetings for work, and I only three minutes to speak. However, I'm going to draft up a list of talking points to cover in those three minutes and then follow up with some of the general complaints when I meet Byford at one of the upcoming workshops in Riverdale. I would like to give him those talking points personally so that he can have them and address them accordingly as time goes on. The idea is to introduce them and follow up on them at subsequent meetings to keep them aware of what's going on and then have them start doing something about these problems. I don't want to spend too much time focusing on one specific borough per se because we already have some Staten Island express bus riders that are quite pissed off with service that will be attending, so I want to address issues that are problems Citywide first and as time goes on, we'll be bringing specific problems to the table, be it for the Union Turnpike corridor or a specific line even. I don't have any different points to add. I think the increased hours of service, new buses, and reduce missing buses are the most critical issues, personally. 0 Quote
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted September 15, 2018 Author #11 Posted September 15, 2018 (edited) 29 minutes ago, R68OnBroadway said: Do you have a website? Not yet. One thing at a time. I have a lot on my plate. I have a few people that will be helping me but most of it will be on my shoulders. These are all things that we have to sort out. Today I was working on my presentation. Very difficult to squeeze in several topics in three minutes so I can't spend too much time on one thing. If anything we'll probably have a social media page before a website. For a website I need a host and a few other things, which isn't expensive but still costs something, so we'd need a budget of some sort for general expenses. 29 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said: I don't have any different points to add. I think the increased hours of service, new buses, and reduce missing buses are the most critical issues, personally. I think for the board meeting, my goal is try to squeeze in the following: -Briefly introduce our group and its purpose. -Touch upon current problems such as missing express buses Citywide and urge the importance of having fillers in place to ensure prompt service and avoid large gaps and overcrowding -Highlight the need for more bus lanes but more importantly that they are enforced on a daily basis and mention what is constantly clogging them (trucks, cars, construction, etc.). Call on Trottenberg to take a more hands on approach and work more closely with the agency given her role on the board and her being the head of the DOT. Request that the DOT reassess placement of bus stops. Leading to more congestion, as some are inaccessible due to overgrown vegetation, etc. -Call for an end of cuts to Union Turnpike Corridor and Bay Terrace branches, and restoration of buses like the QM2 00:10 to Bay Terrace. I was able to squeeze all of this into my rehearsals so we'll see. Aside from that we need to start introducing myself to elected officials. We had some upsets in place such as Tony Avella. We have to see who will take their place and see what their views are on transportation. Edited September 15, 2018 by Via Garibaldi 8 4 Quote
SIMplicity Posted September 15, 2018 #12 Posted September 15, 2018 One complaint I have is the Central Park South terminus. Buses have to head down CPS, turn left onto 7th, turn left onto 57th, cross 57th two avenues, and turn right onto 5th Ave. That causes extreme reliability issues for the SIM3/6/10/30 (biggest problems are with the SIM6/10). The turns take a long time and 57th St is extremely congested. Buses are always bunching on 57th. I've seen on BusTime for instance three SIM10s along the entirety of 5th Ave and 23rd Street while SIX SIM10s are sitting along 7th Ave and 57th Street. The simple solution (if feasible) would be to move the CPS stop to the other side of the street between 6th and 5th (facing towards 5th). Then those turns wouldn't be necessary, buses would just turn right onto 5th. For the SIM6 maybe it could start at Lexington/57th which would be ideal in terms of improving reliability. I wanted to check out how the SIM6 is doing on Lex a few days ago. (Answer: not great.) I waited at 41st around 4pm for over 15 minutes. The bus was stuck in traffic on 57th. The driver (extremely nice) said that starting the route and making the turn onto 7th Ave took her a really long time, and crossing 57th five avenues was a nightmare. That bus filled up by 34th Street, leaving behind upwards of 40 passengers from 34th down with no buses nearby (there were two bunched up at 57th and 6th, a long ways back). And it was POURING RAIN. Question: Are rush-hour bus-only turn signals possible? (For Madison/42nd left turn, and 5th/42nd right turn, both of which get congested.) Also I'd be happy to help out with the express bus advocacy group in some way. 0 Quote
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted September 15, 2018 Author #13 Posted September 15, 2018 (edited) 45 minutes ago, SIMplicity said: One complaint I have is the Central Park South terminus. Buses have to head down CPS, turn left onto 7th, turn left onto 57th, cross 57th two avenues, and turn right onto 5th Ave. That causes extreme reliability issues for the SIM3/6/10/30 (biggest problems are with the SIM6/10). The turns take a long time and 57th St is extremely congested. Buses are always bunching on 57th. I've seen on BusTime for instance three SIM10s along the entirety of 5th Ave and 23rd Street while SIX SIM10s are sitting along 7th Ave and 57th Street. The simple solution (if feasible) would be to move the CPS stop to the other side of the street between 6th and 5th (facing towards 5th). Then those turns wouldn't be necessary, buses would just turn right onto 5th. For the SIM6 maybe it could start at Lexington/57th which would be ideal in terms of improving reliability. I wanted to check out how the SIM6 is doing on Lex a few days ago. (Answer: not great.) I waited at 41st around 4pm for over 15 minutes. The bus was stuck in traffic on 57th. The driver (extremely nice) said that starting the route and making the turn onto 7th Ave took her a really long time, and crossing 57th five avenues was a nightmare. That bus filled up by 34th Street, leaving behind upwards of 40 passengers from 34th down with no buses nearby (there were two bunched up at 57th and 6th, a long ways back). And it was POURING RAIN. Question: Are rush-hour bus-only turn signals possible? (For Madison/42nd left turn, and 5th/42nd right turn, both of which get congested.) Also I'd be happy to help out with the express bus advocacy group in some way. I think this is another issue that we’re going to have to address. We were talking about 57th street earlier in fact and the endless back-ups. There are too many buses starting out from Central Park South and as you said 57th is a nightmare. I know what they’re trying to do.... Serve the people on the very far West Side of Midtown that lost service past 6th Avenue. I just think that sticking the buses on 57th like so many North Shore express buses that used to do that would come from over by 12th Avenue is a big mistake. As for helping, we need all the help we can get. I was supposed to meet with some folks today over lunch but I was a mess this morning health wise, so we’ll meet next week. What the Advocacy Group could use is hearing from as many express bus riders as possible. Staten Island is the only borough that has social media pages for express bus riders. Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx do not, so one thing we’d like to explore is finding ways to reach those riders if possible. Do we start pages for those boroughs or do we do outreach at bus stops? Lots of things to discuss... Of course I’m familiar with a lot of routes since I use the express buses everywhere, but still. There could be things that I’m not aware of and we also want express bus riders to know that they have someone in their corner. I think that’s been a huge frustration. We complain to our elected officials and a lot of them don’t even know what bus lines run through their own districts! Edited September 15, 2018 by Via Garibaldi 8 0 Quote
Around the Horn Posted September 15, 2018 #14 Posted September 15, 2018 Love this! If you could squeeze in something about the gaps between peak and off peak service that would be great. 10 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said: Some recent developments and other announcements: Staten Island will be seeing service increases that are desperately needed come October. We still see severe overcrowding on a daily basis on numerous express bus routes. We hope that these service increases will finally address this problem. https://www.silive.com/news/2018/09/mta_express_bus_changes_new_si.html In the meantime, we continue to field complaints on various express bus lines on Staten Island and will be bringing the issues below before the Board later this month and urging them to address them. Issues include but are not limited to: -Express buses with no air conditioning/poor maintenance on some Staten Island Express Buses. We will be calling for better maintenance to ensure that this isn't an ongoing problem. -Outdated express buses in Queens and parts of the Bronx. We will be calling on the to accelerate the upcoming order of express buses to finally retire these MCI buses as they should be and modernize the fleet for QM express bus riders and some BxM express bus riders. We have been seeing an increase in the use of 2002 MCIs on lines like the QM2, QM5 and QM6 which lack modern amenities that other riders have such as working Wi-Fi or the ability to charge laptops and cell phones. -Inquire about the enforcement of bus lanes as well as traffic signal priority to keep our express buses moving. -Inquire about the rise in missing scheduled express buses and why so many trips aren't being filled. This has been an ongoing problem that has been particularly bad this year across the City. -Maintain service levels across all express bus lines so that cuts that are occurring late at night on the Union Turnpike corridor as well as on the QM2 stop, as these communities have no subways and limited options, thus we will be urging the to consider restoring the 00:10 QM2 express bus back to Bay Terrace during weeknights. More to come... 1 Quote
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted September 15, 2018 Author #15 Posted September 15, 2018 (edited) 18 minutes ago, Around the Horn said: Love this! If you could squeeze in something about the gaps between peak and off peak service that would be great. When you say “gaps”, you mean the time that the X37 ends versus when the X27s start up by 57th? Off-peak, I have heard some rumblings about the service not being frequent enough on both the X27 and X28, and on weekends, folks in Bay Ridge hate the fact that weekend service to Bay Ridge ends so early. I have heard this myself when I’ve been on the last buses going to Manhattan. After the X27 was restored on weekends, I wrote to Senator Golden again asking that more off-peak service be considered. I even think you could run the X27 past 00:30. Put in a 01:30 bus for example during the week and even extend service past 22:15 on weekends to Bay Ridge. However, the pattern service for both the X27 and X28 seem to indicate that the last bus that goes to Manhattan is the last ones coming back to Sea Gate and Bay Ridge respectively, so I’m not sure how the would feel about some deadheads, but we can certainly run these ideas by Senator Golden and some others down there. They were all extremely helpful when I asked for help in restoring the X28 on weekends. They circulated my petitions when I asked them to and Senator Golden continued to write letters requesting the service as well. Edited September 15, 2018 by Via Garibaldi 8 0 Quote
checkmatechamp13 Posted September 15, 2018 #16 Posted September 15, 2018 1 hour ago, SIMplicity said: One complaint I have is the Central Park South terminus. Buses have to head down CPS, turn left onto 7th, turn left onto 57th, cross 57th two avenues, and turn right onto 5th Ave. That causes extreme reliability issues for the SIM3/6/10/30 (biggest problems are with the SIM6/10). The turns take a long time and 57th St is extremely congested. Buses are always bunching on 57th. I've seen on BusTime for instance three SIM10s along the entirety of 5th Ave and 23rd Street while SIX SIM10s are sitting along 7th Ave and 57th Street. The simple solution (if feasible) would be to move the CPS stop to the other side of the street between 6th and 5th (facing towards 5th). Then those turns wouldn't be necessary, buses would just turn right onto 5th. For the SIM6 maybe it could start at Lexington/57th which would be ideal in terms of improving reliability. I wanted to check out how the SIM6 is doing on Lex a few days ago. (Answer: not great.) I waited at 41st around 4pm for over 15 minutes. The bus was stuck in traffic on 57th. The driver (extremely nice) said that starting the route and making the turn onto 7th Ave took her a really long time, and crossing 57th five avenues was a nightmare. That bus filled up by 34th Street, leaving behind upwards of 40 passengers from 34th down with no buses nearby (there were two bunched up at 57th and 6th, a long ways back). And it was POURING RAIN. Question: Are rush-hour bus-only turn signals possible? (For Madison/42nd left turn, and 5th/42nd right turn, both of which get congested.) It seems that was their "compromise" of providing West Midtown service (Since the SIM3 replaces the X12/14/42, and the SIM30 replaces the X30). I agree they should've just left it at 11th Avenue (though personally, I think the SIM30 should actually continue east to connect with the Lexington Avenue Line). A lot of buses layover at Quill during middays, and even if they don't, the West Side Highway is right there to deadhead back. I know it's not as big of an issue off-peak, but I don't see why the SIM4C terminates at Central Park South, especially since it heads over to Madison Avenue. They should've just had that terminate at 57th & Lexington. 0 Quote
checkmatechamp13 Posted September 15, 2018 #17 Posted September 15, 2018 Just now, Via Garibaldi 8 said: When you say “gaps”, you mean the time that the X37 ends versus when the X27s start up by 57th? Off-peak, I have heard some rumblings about the service not being frequent enough on both the X27 and X28, and on weekends, folks in Bay Ridge hate the fact that weekend service to Bay Ridge ends so early. After the X27 was restored on weekends, I wrote to Senator Golden again asking that more off-peak service be considered. I even think you could run the X27 past 00:30. Put in a 01:30 bus for example during the week and even extend service last 22:15 on weekends. However, the pattern service for both the X27 and X28 seem to indicate that the last bus that goes to Manhattan is the last ones coming back to Sea Gate and Bay Ridge respectively, so I’m not sure how the would feel about some deadheads, but we can certainly run these ideas by Senator Golden and some others down there. They were all extremely helpful when I asked for help in restoring the X28 on weekends. They circulated my petitions when I asked them to and Senator Golden continued to write letters requesting the service as well. There's still a bunch of peak/off-peak gaps both at the beginning and end of the PM rush on the SIM routes. The SIM4C/31, SIM4/4C/32, SIM3C/34/35, and even the SIM1C/7 aren't properly coordinated and there's giant gaps between peak buses and off-peak buses. They're starting to address them (I think they're going to add an earlier SIM34 as part of those changes), but much more needs to be done. 0 Quote
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted September 15, 2018 Author #18 Posted September 15, 2018 (edited) 2 minutes ago, checkmatechamp13 said: There's still a bunch of peak/off-peak gaps both at the beginning and end of the PM rush on the SIM routes. The SIM4C/31, SIM4/4C/32, SIM3C/34/35, and even the SIM1C/7 aren't properly coordinated and there's giant gaps between peak buses and off-peak buses. They're starting to address them (I think they're going to add an earlier SIM34 as part of those changes), but much more needs to be done. Yes I’m aware of those gaps, but he’s asking about Bay Ridge service In particular. This thread for all complaints across the City. I want to compile an ongoing list of them. I’m due another trip on Staten Island in fact but I’m skipping it until this mess is a little more tolerable. I was out there prior to the SIM change in fact and my commute in and out with the X10 was smooth. Edited September 15, 2018 by Via Garibaldi 8 0 Quote
Around the Horn Posted September 15, 2018 #19 Posted September 15, 2018 Yes I was referring to the gap between the X27 and the X37 0 Quote
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted September 15, 2018 Author #20 Posted September 15, 2018 52 minutes ago, Around the Horn said: Yes I was referring to the gap between the X27 and the X37 I’ll have a look and see. I know that some buses on both branches suffer from overcrowding during the rush for sure when buses bunch or are backed up. Is it just a question of long waits or overcrowding when the X37 ends and the X27 starts? 0 Quote
FamousNYLover Posted September 15, 2018 #21 Posted September 15, 2018 I also think SIM express buses using Madison Av should make left turn at 57th St, turn right at 6th Av, turn left at 59th St, drop off, then turn left at 7th Av, turn left at 58th St, share layover with Academy SIm23/SIm24 buses. When horse carriages are removed from 59th St-60th St, SIm express bus drivers can layover on 59th St between tour bus stop and 6th Av. 0 Quote
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted September 15, 2018 Author #22 Posted September 15, 2018 1 hour ago, FamousNYLover said: I also think SIM express buses using Madison Av should make left turn at 57th St, turn right at 6th Av, turn left at 59th St, drop off, then turn left at 7th Av, turn left at 58th St, share layover with Academy SIm23/SIm24 buses. When horse carriages are removed from 59th St-60th St, SIm express bus drivers can layover on 59th St between tour bus stop and 6th Av. I think it’s too much turning. All buses coming up Madison should terminate at 3rd and 57th. 0 Quote
Lawrence St Posted September 15, 2018 #23 Posted September 15, 2018 There should be some BxM4 trips that are extended to run to Getty Square from Woodlawn. 0 Quote
checkmatechamp13 Posted September 16, 2018 #24 Posted September 16, 2018 9 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said: I think it’s too much turning. All buses coming up Madison should terminate at 3rd and 57th. The old X12/14/30/42 (which are basically the SIM3/30) terminated at 57th & 11th. I think serious consideration should be given to restoring that terminal (given that it was a straight shot to Quill Depot with more space to layover at). Also, with their emphasis on transferring, the SIM3 doesn't connect to the 7th & 8th Avenue Lines, since it comes from the FDR Drive. There's still a lot of offices by Columbus Circle, and then further west, you have John Jay College. I agree that at the minimum, the SIM4C should terminate at 57th & 3rd like the old X10/17 used to (Honestly, I think the SIM30 should terminate there as well, since it offers a connection to the Lexington Avenue Line at Lexington & 59th) 0 Quote
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted September 16, 2018 Author #25 Posted September 16, 2018 (edited) 3 hours ago, checkmatechamp13 said: The old X12/14/30/42 (which are basically the SIM3/30) terminated at 57th & 11th. I think serious consideration should be given to restoring that terminal (given that it was a straight shot to Quill Depot with more space to layover at). Also, with their emphasis on transferring, the SIM3 doesn't connect to the 7th & 8th Avenue Lines, since it comes from the FDR Drive. There's still a lot of offices by Columbus Circle, and then further west, you have John Jay College. I agree that at the minimum, the SIM4C should terminate at 57th & 3rd like the old X10/17 used to (Honestly, I think the SIM30 should terminate there as well, since it offers a connection to the Lexington Avenue Line at Lexington & 59th) I understand why they stopped having any express buses go up to that far west. 57th has worsened traffic wise and it adds a ton of time to the trips with relatively few people served, especially in the morning. I actually used to get on often time by 8th and 57th to go home. I can’t recall anyone ever being on those trips that far west. The same is true in the AM. I would get off by Columbus Circle and would usually be the last one off when going that far west. However, we both know that there are people that work that far west based on feedback. It’s difficult. I was on 57th for a bit yesterday in fact. I need to go back again to check out something, but the issue is there are a lot of people that will be up in arms if you start some routes right on 5th say by 58th street or something since they have to travel so far East to reach the bus. Nevertheless, you would at least satisfy those who work in that vicinity of 57th. Was there any feedback from people who work in those areas during the workshops? Another idea is to have some of them run like the X27 and X28 do and have them terminate right by 57th and Madison, but then the question is layover problems. Perhaps the best solution is to restore one stop by 9th Avenue and 42nd. If you have that, those people can get off for the far west side and take the local bus up or down. I did see some people use that stop in the morning on the old X30, but they didn’t have that stop coming home, but they managed I guess to make their way to 8th Avenue coming home since the buses need to make their way to the tunnel. Edited September 16, 2018 by Via Garibaldi 8 0 Quote
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