Express Bus Advocacy Group

[Lil 57]

Just now, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

No 5:30 and no 6:30.

I saw the 5:30 on bus time, it was a 2XXX bus. But it only showed up in Queens.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

4 minutes ago, Lil 57 said:

I saw the 5:30 on bus time, it was a 2XXX bus. But it only showed up in Queens.

Nope. That was the 5pm trip.

Edited February 15, 2019 by Via Garibaldi 8

[Lil 57]

2 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Nope. That was the 5pm trip.

Ok, thanks for clarifying. It was still on Queens Blvd at 6:15 so that's why it might of confused me.

[QM1to6Ave]

I guess 5/7 buses is a relative improvement lol. I caught an empty QM5 at 7:00 because it was bunched with another QM5 that was jam packed right in front of it smh

[Via Garibaldi 8]

27 minutes ago, Lil 57 said:

Ok, thanks for clarifying. It was still on Queens Blvd at 6:15 so that's why it might of confused me.

I have the log on my office computer. Was running out after cleaning up myofficr for the day and didn’t transfer the log to the iPad. I will post it tomorrow.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Some updates:

-Tonight's service has been a DISASTER: Some screen shots:

The 6pm was severely late, and the by 7pm, the 6pm, 6:15 and 6:30 were nowhere near done with the pick-up. 3375 is actually not the 6pm. It's the 6:15pm.

A number of missing buses, and trips that took two hours or close to that on a number of lines.  We now have Senator Biaggi joining Assemblyman Dinowitz and Weprin us in calling for an audit of express bus service.  We have also began reaching out to reporters that have joined our group for potential interviews to speak further on how horrendous the service has been.

Below are three BxM2 buses packed together...

More to come...

[QM1to6Ave]

Unbelievable. I left the city early on Friday before the long weekend to start my vacation early, and even at 4 pm the QM buses were running 15 mins late

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

President's Day Schedules are out for the Staten Island Express routes. Don't know if there was advanced notice on these schedules:

http://web.mta.info/nyct/service/bus/spcl_presDay.htm

Notes:

• SIM1 bus service ends an hour later than normal (SIM1C service starts at 9:20 AM instead of 8:22 AM) in the AM, and 30 minutes later than normal in the PM.
• There is no SIM3 bus service, all service will run as SIM3C throughout the day.
• SIM4 bus service operates every 20 minutes instead of every 5-6 minutes.
• There is no SIM4X, SIM8X bus.
• The SIM6, SIM7, SIM31 & SIM32 will be operating every 20-30 minutes.
• The SIM22 will be operating every 30 minutes.
• The SIM25 & SIM26 will be operating every 20-35 minutes.

Edited February 17, 2019 by BM5 via Woodhaven

[Lil 57]

29 minutes ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

President's Day Schedules are out for the Staten Island Express routes. Don't know if there was advanced notice on these schedules:

http://web.mta.info/nyct/service/bus/spcl_presDay.htm

Notes:

• SIM1 bus service ends an hour later than normal (SIM1C service starts at 9:20 AM instead of 8:22 AM) in the AM, and 30 minutes later than normal in the PM.
• There is no SIM3 bus service, all service will run as SIM3C throughout the day.
• SIM4 bus service operates every 20 minutes instead of every 5-6 minutes.
• There is no SIM4X, SIM8X bus.
• The SIM6, SIM7, SIM31 & SIM32 will be operating every 20-30 minutes.
• The SIM22 will be operating every 30 minutes.
• The SIM25 & SIM26 will be operating every 20-35 minutes.

Isn't this just a copy-paste of the MLK schedules. The SIM1C also runs every 30 minutes most of the day. Worse than Sunday service.

[QM1to6Ave]

I got an email saying there would be an extra 6 am and 7 am departure on the QM5 on President's Day

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

59 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said:

I got an email saying there would be an extra 6 am and 7 am departure on the QM5 on President's Day

That's correct. There will also be a 7:10 AM trip on the QM2 from Bay Terrace on top of the existing Saturday Schedule for President's Day.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

We posted this information in our group several days ago, and yes what is posted above is correct. Due to the complaining in my group and in the other group, they have been adding these special schedules. Long overdue because I’ve been slamming them over it. They don’t comment in either group, but they do review what is posted and try to act on it. I was speaking with someone the other day about the Wi-Fi and BusTime situation as well and the need for it to be fixed, particularly out of Ulmer Park Depot. Constant complaints about it. When I was in Bay Ridge checking out the conditions of bus stops along Shore Road, I noticed the same thing. Coming back at Shore Road and 72nd, the bus was not on BusTime. Wi-Fi and BusTime are both on the agenda for next week. I want to know how often are buses checked for both and what the procedure is overall in terms of who handles it. From what I understand, the vendor has to come to the depot to fix it, so it depends on the depot and how responsive they are to fix such issues. Some depots are more responsive than others like Yonkers Depot.

Edited February 17, 2019 by Via Garibaldi 8

[7-express]

They also have some special hourly schedule for the QM20 but it doesn't appear to be published anywhere and it differs from the MLK day schedule.  Thanks for the transparency?  At least I don't have to work today.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

35 minutes ago, 7-express said:

They also have some special hourly schedule for the QM20 but it doesn't appear to be published anywhere and it differs from the MLK day schedule.  Thanks for the transparency?  At least I don't have to work today.

Yeah the only place they published it was in BusTime:

How's that for transparency?  We told our QM20 riders about it in the group using other apps which had the times published, otherwise we wouldn't have known when they were running.

Edited February 18, 2019 by Via Garibaldi 8

[QM1to6Ave]

No 7 pm QM1 tonight. 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

11 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

No 7 pm QM1 tonight. 

I know. I was in Bryant Park having a coffee looking to see if it came. I didn’t see a 5:30 or a 6:30 either. Meeting is this morning. All ready to go. Agenda was finalized yesterday... 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

VERY productive meeting. I will post all of the key points later. The room was PACKED with MTA personnel, so crowded that there was barely a seat available for myself, the rep. from Senator Biaggi’s office and another person that helps me run the group, Ali.  We had TWO reps from DOT there. Sarah Wyss was also present and seemed very interested in hearing our suggestions and feedback about bus stop restorations for Staten Island riders. Also had Danny Cassella there, QM reps, X27, 28, 37, 38 reps, etc. Basically the entire network was represented. I was a bit taken back by how many people were there, but still pushed ahead. 

Key points for now:

-Questioned their ability to be trusted to run more “frequent” service given the disaster that has been with lines like the QM1. I noted the fact that there has been NO 5:30 trip for WEEKS at the height of rush hour and how it is ridiculous and unacceptable. They promised to have a look at the missing trips. I will send them the trips later along with other comments. We also discussed fixing the runtimes for the QMs in general, especially the mess with the Union Turnpike corridor.

-Discussed overcrowding on X27 in AM from 7-8. MTA believes they have enough buses, but construction is hindering things and exacerbating overcrowding in the AM. They expect construction to finish in May. They continue to monitor the situation with a dispatcher there daily, and we will continue to listen to feedback as well until service is where it needs to be.

-SIM2, SIM30, X18, X14 riders:
We expressed the need to RESTORE the SIM2 both off-peak and weekends in some capacity. We believe that the service was pulled far too soon and wasn’t advertised enough. Sarah Wyss asked for advertising suggestions and we gave some examples. We also requested a X14 restoration in some fashion to run with the SIM35. We will follow up on this as well.

-For the X18, the consensus was that people were going to the ferry. We told them that people were DRIVING to other express bus lines as far as Hylan Blvd, and that a restoration MUST be looked at. Additionally, we expressed dissatisfaction with the North Shore being left out for more improvements. For the SIM30, we will send the bus stop requests that have been listed to be restored by customers and they will look at each of them with the DOT.

-While we disagreed about the missing bus fiasco, they also agreed to look at specific trips that continue to go missing. We will provide a list.

-HOV lanes: Since the City does not have control over the expressways yet, they could not say what could be done. However, we will be meeting with Senator Biaggi’s office for the Bronx express bus lines to continue that discussion. For Queens, we will consider the same thing. The Gowanus is currently being discussed by Staten Island and Brooklyn elected officials. We will continue to advocate for HOV lanes Citywide for ALL express bus riders.

-Bus shelters/bus stops: We will submit a list to DOT for review of the ones noted here and by other customers that were either dangerous or could use a bus shelter.

-Bus lanes are to be finished on Madison at some point up to 60th street. DOT will do their best to paint bus lanes at times that are outside of the rush but they have to work with a budget and manpower. 6th Avenue was also discussed and they will look at the idea of double bus lanes in the future.

-Grilled the MTA on planned events and the disaster that was the holiday contingency plan last year, and stressed the need to do better and make changes. We will send our proposal for that as well, along with where the DOT is with Transit Signal Priority.

-Any other missing trips that you guys have noted regularly will be sent for review and we will continue to monitor service Citywide.

-WiFi and BusTime: The MTA realizes that BusTime has been a problem and Danny Cassella noted that the agency was working on it. Seems to be an issue with Verizon and replacing antennas. If you notice problems with other buses, note the bus # and we will send it to them. Regarding Wi-Fi, we will have to look into this further. The response that we received about issues requiring a password was not satisfactory. Essentially they seem to believe that there isn’t a problem. There is a BIG one.

MORE TO COME...

Edited February 20, 2019 by Via Garibaldi 8

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Before I forget... We also discussed the lollipop countdown clocks versus the SBS style ones. DOT manages both and they were adamant about not introducing those SBS style ones to express bus lines. I am NOT accepting that answer. They told me it isn’t a question of funding either. They just want to use those for the SBS brand only. They seem to think that people usually can track their bus on the phones and do so anyway. Meanwhile they acknowledge that with the lollipop countdown clocks they can only put in three slots max, even when more buses stop there. I also mentioned how many of them were broken.

We will do a follow-up on everything in the coming days.

 

Also, with 6th Avenue, a traffic study needs to be undertaken. Likely looking at a year for double bus lanes, but for now they acknowledged that they can at least repaint the bus lane that exists and finish the bus lane on Madison.

[trife86]

Interesting Cassella showed up but no other union heads....

[Via Garibaldi 8]

22 minutes ago, trife86 said:

Interesting Cassella showed up but no other union heads....

Well they seemed to have another meeting right after so a lot of them had to leave. Cassella stayed until the end. Sat right across from me. I was grilling all of them. They were a good sport and he answered my questions as best as he could. The only thing I called BS on was his Wi-Fi comment, claiming that Wi-Fi works and is unsecure when we have customers complaining daily about no Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi requiring a password. Additionally, he claimed that 99% of express bus service was being filled on Staten Island. I almost fell out of my chair when I heard that. I said REALLY!??! So how do you explain passengers waiting for 40 minutes plus for an express bus during rush hour regularly? Basically blaming traffic. He also claimed that they are working on a dash board to show service filled for each line. I had to hold myself back from laughing. Such BS. Numbers are definitely fabricated, but I accepted that because I know what the next step is. If the service keeps going missing, we are asking for an audit of express bus service Citywide, and then we’ll see what that audit says.

Edited February 20, 2019 by Via Garibaldi 8

[7-express]

45 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Before I forget... We also discussed the lollipop countdown clocks versus the SBS style ones. DOT manages both and they were adamant about not introducing those SBS style ones to express bus lines. I am NOT accepting that answer. They told me it isn’t a question of funding either. They just want to use those for the SBS brand only. They seem to think that people usually can track their bus on the phones and do so anyway. Meanwhile they acknowledge that with the lollipop countdown clocks they can only put in three slots max, even when more buses stop there. I also mentioned how many of them were broken.

We will do a follow-up on everything in the coming days.

 

Also, with 6th Avenue, a traffic study needs to be undertaken. Likely looking at a year for double bus lanes, but for now they acknowledged that they can at least repaint the bus lane that exists and finish the bus lane on Madison.

Pathetic they can't show more than 3 lines worth of countdown times.  So the one at 59/Lex will forever remain useless to QM20 riders while the QM3 slot will only get lit up 3 times a day.

 

Any reaction to putting the QM buses back on 57th instead of 59th?

[trife86]

51 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Well they seemed to have another meeting right after so a lot of them had to leave. Cassella stayed until the end. Sat right across from me. I was grilling all of them. They were a good sport and he answered my questions as best as he could. The only thing I called BS on was his Wi-Fi comment, claiming that Wi-Fi works and is unsecure when we have customers complaining daily about no Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi requiring a password. Additionally, he claimed that 99% of express bus service was being filled on Staten Island. I almost fell out of my chair when I heard that. I said REALLY!??! So how do you explain passengers waiting for 40 minutes plus for an express bus during rush hour regularly? Basically blaming traffic. He also claimed that they are working on a dash board to show service filled for each line. I had to hold myself back from laughing. Such BS. Numbers are definitely fabricated, but I accepted that because I know what the next step is. If the service keeps going missing, we are asking for an audit of express bus service Citywide, and then we’ll see what that audit says.

In reality maybe it meant 99% of those trips left the depot? ( That's why you will see some busses that might have bad wifi or bad farebox. Whatever is needed to make service will be done sometimes)

If they made it or got short turned or anything is another story.

 

But I will say they do try to cover trips pretty regularly and send out mass messages about OT

 

But than again I might be coming at it from a more hopeful view than you or most lol.

Edited February 20, 2019 by trife86

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 hour ago, 7-express said:

Pathetic they can't show more than 3 lines worth of countdown times.  So the one at 59/Lex will forever remain useless to QM20 riders while the QM3 slot will only get lit up 3 times a day.

 

Any reaction to putting the QM buses back on 57th instead of 59th?

Yes, we had a long discussion about 59th. I told them 59th is a MESS!! Those were my exact words, and I went on to say that it’s a parking lot and those buses need to go back on 57th street. An  rep responded and then one of the DOT reps responded. The  rep. said that the reason for moving the QM2, 3, 20 and 32 was to have easier access getting back to Queens. I told them I realized that, but we have been receiving a LITANY of complaints about the disaster that service has been since that change, and something HAS to be done about it. I did NOT hold back or mence words either. He huffed and puffed as if to say yes we know and we have tried to fix it, but he agreed to look at it again. One of the DOT reps said that they also don’t want so many buses down the 57th street corridor, and that basically even with a bus lane on 57th, there’s only so much that can be done. That said, we will follow up on this and see what the plan is. I told them if the buses must stay on 59th then some sort of mitigation MUST be done to get those buses moving. I added that ALL OF THESE REASONS were why ridership was declining... 59th street debacle, inaccurate detour information, endless congestion, and the TONS of missing buses.

 

 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 hour ago, trife86 said:

In reality maybe it meant 99% of those trips left the depot? ( That's why you will see some busses that might have bad wifi or bad farebox. Whatever is needed to make service will be done sometimes)

If they made it or got short turned or anything is another story.

 

But I will say they do try to cover trips pretty regularly and send out mass messages about OT

 

But than again I might be coming at it from a more hopeful view than you or most lol.

Yeah left the depot... MAYBE... But then there are times when drivers don’t have a bus to make service or there aren’t enough drivers. OT is an ongoing thing on Staten Island. Been that way since I lived there. As you said they are always asking about OT on the radio, which never made sense to me. If they just hired so many drivers, how are they still in need of so much OT?

[7-express]

1 hour ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Yes, we had a long discussion about 59th. I told them 59th is a MESS!! Those were my exact words, and I went on to say that it’s a parking lot and those buses need to go back on 57th street. An  rep responded and then one of the DOT reps responded. The  rep. said that the reason for moving the QM2, 3, 20 and 32 was to have easier access getting back to Queens. I told them I realized that, but we have been receiving a LITANY of complaints about the disaster that service has been since that change, and something HAS to be done about it. I did NOT hold back or mence words either. He huffed and puffed as if to say yes we know and we have tried to fix it, but he agreed to look at it again. One of the DOT reps said that they also don’t want so many buses down the 57th street corridor, and that basically even with a bus lane on 57th, there’s only so much that can be done. That said, we will follow up on this and see what the plan is. I told them if the buses must stay on 59th then some sort of mitigation MUST be done to get those buses moving. I added that ALL OF THESE REASONS were why ridership was declining... 59th street debacle, inaccurate detour information, endless congestion, and the TONS of missing buses.

 

 

They need to find a way to get rid of all street parking during the afternoon rush hour on 59th from 5th Ave through to 2nd Ave.  Usually one side is blocked by Citi Bike or commercial parking and that just kills lane capacity.  That's the only way 59th will get some relief from the traffic madness.