Express Bus Advocacy Group

[Lawrence St]

46 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Jerome is a problem because of the overhead subway line.  I will ask what if anything the DOT is doing or can do. Perhaps the BxM4 can be moved elsewhere.  As for the BxM3, the solution would be to move the bus stops elsewhere.  

Not really, it's just shifting the SB lane near the sidewalk and creating a passing point for the NB so cars can bypass the buses.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 minute ago, Lawrence St said:

Not really, it's just shifting the SB lane near the sidewalk and creating a passing point for the NB so cars can bypass the buses.

Not really what? Not sure what you're referring to.  

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

18 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

So these issues have been happening even after there's a new pick?  

If you have any comments about the QM34, please list them as well. 3rd Avenue generally moves better with less issues, but still.  I also heard from a QM25 user in my group who has long waits and then has to sit in traffic. One of her trips took over an hour and 30 minutes to get to Queens.

Regarding the QM15, I used them for several months on Saturdays and found that each driver did their own thing. I found myself often running for it in the mornings because the drivers were constantly running hot at 57th and 3rd. I get the impression that the new traffic pattern on Woodhaven Blvd may also be impacting service.  Any comments about that or in general would be appreciated, as I have asked the DOT to attend these meetings as well.

---

On a side note, I have also been in talks with the Comptroller's Office.  We plan to meet as well.  We've thrown out a general time for now and will finalize that as we get close to that date.  One of the things that we will be discussing in these meetings is finding ways to meet on-time performance, which has been abysmal now for years.

The QM34 is smoother on the pick-up portion in the PM, but the express portion is where delays occur. It specifically is an issue in the Maspeth area (Maurice Avenue to around 74 Street). That area has buses crawling, and some B/Os usually take the service road to avoid it (but it can still be slow too, just not as slow). Ideally, an HOV or bus lane of sorts should be placed here. 

 

The Woodhaven bus lanes have helped buses from falling behind by too much, especially those trips that used to consistently depart late from their terminals. The BM5 May need some tweaking to its Saturday schedule, because outbound trips after 2 PM, and the 12:20 PM and 1:20 PM trips tend to run late (likely partially a result of traffic conditions in Brooklyn too). 

 

 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

4 minutes ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

The QM34 is smoother on the pick-up portion in the PM, but the express portion is where delays occur. It specifically is an issue in the Maspeth area (Maurice Avenue to around 74 Street). That area has buses crawling, and some B/Os usually take the service road to avoid it (but it can still be slow too, just not as slow). Ideally, an HOV or bus lane of sorts should be placed here. 

 

The Woodhaven bus lanes have helped buses from falling behind by too much, especially those trips that used to consistently depart late from their terminals. The BM5 May need some tweaking to its Saturday schedule, because outbound trips after 2 PM, and the 12:20 PM and 1:20 PM trips tend to run late (likely partially a result of traffic conditions in Brooklyn too). 

 

 

Regarding the BM5, I used it once in Woodhaven  and I'm also thinking that perhaps buses just leaving late is part of the problem.

[QM1to6Ave]

9 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

My meeting will focus on the entire express bus network, but also what traffic issues are causes these buses to run so poorly, so yes, I wrote to my contacts yesterday and requested that the DOT be present (and they have agreed to invite them) because I am going to be asking them A LOT of questions regarding traffic.  There are a lot of DOT problems at play causing this mess and they need to start addressing them.  That Q46 issue you mentioned is just one of my things that I am adding to my list.  I suspect that the meeting will easily last two hours or more, and we will likely be having subsequent meetings because there is no way all of this will be addressed at once.  I've also been monitoring the bus lanes on 5th, 6th and Madison which is where most of the express buses run, and it is absolutely amazing how many cars park in them and sit there. The express buses don't have a chance in hell because they still have to fight through traffic.  

This is what I see every day now on the main avenues that are supposed to be "bus only" lanes. Ridiculous... There's even a DOT car parked in the bus only lane that sat there for over 20 minutes!! 

 

 

Hahaha city-owned vehicles are the worst offenders. My favorite are the NYPD Traffic vehicles that sit parked in the bus lanes

[Via Garibaldi 8]

2 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said:

Hahaha city-owned vehicles are the worst offenders. My favorite are the NYPD Traffic vehicles that sit parked in the bus lanes

I couldn't believe it.  The worst part was seeing about 4-5 cars come and park right in the bus lane in the bus stop!  That DOT car was parked there for at least 20 minutes on the corner causing all sorts of congestion.  That photo was shared with several elected officials and the DOT, so whoever that is may have a problem.  Not a good look for an agency that is supposed to be combating congestion.

[Lil 57]

Welcome to Saturday Morning SIM3C issues! Here are some highlights of the morning.

1. The 6:30 AM trip to Midtown left around 15 minutes late.

2. The 6:50 trip to Midtown didn't show up but came bunched with the 7:10 trip to Midtown, leaving a 40-50 minute gap in SIM3C service when the buses are supposed to be running on 20-minute headways at the time.

Edited October 20, 2018 by Lil 57

[Via Garibaldi 8]

We’ve taken three QM trips today. Currently on the QM6 to Lake Success. We’ve tried TWICE to ride a QM5 to Glen Oaks and both trips the driver skipped the entire loop! The second time around, we got off of a QM2 at 57th and 3rd and waited. Bus#3124 then reappears on BusTime already on Queens Blvd.  Several people were left stranded waiting for the 16:00 QM5 to Glen Oaks.

[QM1to6Ave]

3 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

We’ve taken three QM trips today. Currently on the QM6 to Lake Success. We’ve tried TWICE to ride a QM5 to Glen Oaks and both trips the driver skipped the entire loop! The second time around, we got off of a QM2 at 57th and 3rd and waited. Bus#3124 then reappears on BusTime already on Queens Blvd.  Several people were left stranded waiting for the 16:00 QM5 to Glen Oaks.

I happened to see the 16:00 QM5 pass by Union Tpke and 164th street at 17:15. I don't know what games were being played, but it should not take that long to get to that stop 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

23 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said:

I happened to see the 16:00 QM5 pass by Union Tpke and 164th street at 17:15. I don't know what games were being played, but it should not take that long to get to that stop 

The 15:00 QM5 that skipped all of the pick-up stops will be reported to road ops. I’m actually on that bus now. He’s the 18:00 QM6 out of Lake Success and when I boarded inside the North Shore Towers he gave me a look like who am I. He will soon find out... Felt horrible for the people that waited an hour in the cold for the next QM5.

Edited October 20, 2018 by Via Garibaldi 8

[Via Garibaldi 8]

So since there was a detour on 6th Avenue today, we decided to take several express bus trips with the QMs. All QMs should’ve been picking up along 6th until 42nd street, then turning onto 42nd, taking that to Madison and taking Madison Avenue to the regular route. The QM drivers are known to skip the entire loop during detours (I have burned on several routes over the years such as the QM15) including the last few stops such as 57th and Lex or 59th and Lex for the QM2, so we logged the following trips with the following results:

Detour information and on-time performance for Saturday, 10.20:

-12:00 QM5 to Glen Oaks: skipped first two stops on 6th Avenue, and ran via Madison only. Could not get bus.

-12:10 QM2 to Bay Terrace: ran per detour partially; came up Madison, but turned on 57th and did not come over to 59th, so the last two pick-up stops were not made. Bus#3188. Finished on-time in Bay Terrace at 13:26.

-13:40 QM2 to Midtown, 57th street: on-time, went via Mitchell Gardens accordingly (some drivers skip this part of the route on weekends, which is a good 5 stops), forcing riders to wait another hour for the next bus. Bus finished on-time with detour. Bus#3002. Courteous driver.

-15:00 QM5 to Glen Oaks: skipped all stops including 57th and Lex. After we got off of the QM2, we waited there for the QM5, since several people were waiting to see what would happen. No QM5 ever came despite us checking BusTime, and magically, Bus#3124 appeared back on BusTime going to Glen Oaks. Several people stranded. We then decided to wait for the 15:30 QM6 at the same stop. This bus did the correct detour and we took it to Lake Success-North Shore Towers.

-15:30 QM6 to Lake Success: on-time. Detour done correctly. Bus#3207. Dirty floor. Finished on-time.

-18:00 QM6 to Midtown: Bus#3124 that skipped entire route on the 15:00 QM5 earlier; dirty floor; arrival at Main Street 18:36, late. 19:42 finish, almost 20 minutes late. Upon getting off at 57th and Lex, we decided to ask if he was the 15:00 QM5 to Glen Oaks. He claimed he wasn’t, but his bus was definitely the same bus that we couldn’t get earlier, so either he or another driver of the same bus was playing games. He appeared to be a veteran too, so I don’t think he was a rookie who didn’t know what he was doing.

-Accept Student Metrocards on the express bus? While waiting for the 15:00 QM5, we spoke to several express bus customers. One of them would like to see the  accept Student Metrocards on the express bus, at least for part of the fare. I told her we would put it on the list for discussion since she sends her child to a specialized school.

So far only two trips have been on-time today. We took a BxM2 this morning (07:30 trip) that finished about 10 minutes late.

 

 

 

Edited October 21, 2018 by Via Garibaldi 8

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

With the SI express buses, I know this is being covered, but take a look at the SIM2 when possible. Those buses tend to run late at any point of the day. Currently, the 8:15 PM trip has left Chambers about two minutes ago (at 8:40 PM).

 

The bus before it is also late, in Huguenot (when it should have already arrived at Tottenville). I hope the MTA fixes the SIM2 in January. 

Edited October 21, 2018 by BM5 via Woodhaven

[Lil 57]

13 hours ago, Lil 57 said:

Welcome to Saturday Morning SIM3C issues! Here are some highlights of the morning.

1. The 6:30 AM trip to Midtown left around 15 minutes late.

2. The 6:50 trip to Midtown didn't show up but came bunched with the 7:10 trip to Midtown, leaving a 40-50 minute gap in SIM3C service when the buses are supposed to be running on 20-minute headways at the time.

In addition to this the 13:00 SIM3C trip to Port Richmond was around 15 minutes late and the 13:30 SIM3C trip to Port Richmond was bunched as well. (The 13:30 trip was near schedule but IDK why there was another SIM3C bunched with it even though the 13:00 trip left around 13:15. Maybe it was the 12:35 trip running an hour late?)

Both of the SIM3C trips I took today came bunched on 20-30 minute headways. 

Edited October 21, 2018 by Lil 57

[Via Garibaldi 8]

On-time performance has been abysmal at all hours. In our upcoming meetings, we are going to be asking what measures has the agency taken to improve on-time performance since they were last audited in 2015? When they were last audited, nearly a third of all express buses were late (roughly 31%) and from the trips we’ve logged (many of them at off-peak hours that should favor the  ), we find that more and more trips are late, either starting late and/or finishing late. Setting aside the Staten Island express bus redesign, we see no measures taken aside from elongating the schedules, by a good 20 minutes in some cases, and those trips STILL finish late more times than not.  The bus lanes are often clogged and are not enforced, and there aren’t enough of them. None of the express buses (including the newest Prevosts) have traffic signal priority. The agency continues to use a slow and outdated payment in the Metrocard, which slows down boarding and trips. 

 

Edited October 21, 2018 by Via Garibaldi 8

[Via Garibaldi 8]

38 minutes ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

With the SI express buses, I know this is being covered, but take a look at the SIM2 when possible. Those buses tend to run late at any point of the day. Currently, the 8:15 PM trip has left Chambers about two minutes ago (at 8:40 PM).

 

The bus before it is also late, in Huguenot (when it should have already arrived at Tottenville). I hope the MTA fixes the SIM2 in January. 

Yeah right. Right now there seems to be a big fight going on about giving drivers more run time. The union wants more than just more run time and the  doesn’t want to give up run time plus more. Something will have to give because what we hear from express bus passengers on Staten Island and Citywide is that trips are taking longer and longer. My last two trips going home during Thursday and Friday we’re HORRIBLE. Roughly two hours and thirty minutes to get to Riverdale on Thursday, and Friday I took the 22:30 and the Deegan was literally a parking lot. The trip took an hour and forty-one minutes to be exact since I logged it.

Edited October 21, 2018 by Via Garibaldi 8

[QM1to6Ave]

55 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

So since there was a detour on 6th Avenue today, we decided to take several express bus trips with the QMs. All QMs should’ve been picking up along 6th until 42nd street, then turning onto 42nd, taking that to Madison and taking Madison Avenue to the regular route. The QM drivers are known to skip the entire loop during detours (I have burned on several routes over the years such as the QM15) including the last few stops such as 57th and Lex or 59th and Lex for the QM2, so we logged the following trips with the following results:

Detour information and on-time performance for Saturday, 10.20:

-12:00 QM5 to Glen Oaks: skipped first two stops on 6th Avenue, and ran via Madison only. Could not get bus.

-12:10 QM2 to Bay Terrace: ran per detour partially; came up Madison, but turned on 57th and did not come over to 59th, so the last two pick-up stops were not made. Bus#3188. Finished on-time in Bay Terrace at 13:26.

-13:40 QM2 to Midtown, 57th street: on-time, went via Mitchell Gardens accordingly (some drivers skip this part of the route on weekends, which is a good 5 stops), forcing riders to wait another hour for the next bus. Bus finished on-time with detour. Bus#3002. Courteous driver.

-15:00 QM5 to Glen Oaks: skipped all stops including 57th and Lex. After we got off of the QM2, we waited there for the QM5, since several people were waiting to see what would happen. No QM5 ever came despite us checking BusTime, and magically, Bus#3124 appeared back on BusTime going to Glen Oaks. Several people stranded. We then decided to wait for the 15:30 QM6 at the same stop. This bus did the correct detour and we took it to Lake Success-North Shore Towers.

-15:30 QM6 to Lake Success: on-time. Detour done correctly. Bus#3207. Dirty floor. Finished on-time.

-18:00 QM6 to Midtown: Bus#3124 that skipped entire route on the 15:00 QM5 earlier; dirty floor; arrival at Main Street 18:36, late. 19:42 finish, almost 20 minutes late. Upon getting off at 57th and Lex, we decided to ask if he was the 15:00 QM5 to Glen Oaks. He claimed he wasn’t, but his bus was definitely the same bus that we couldn’t get earlier, so either he or another driver of the same bus was playing games. He appeared to be a veteran too, so I don’t think he was a rookie who didn’t know what he was doing.

-Accept Student Metrocards on the express bus? While waiting for the 15:00 QM5, we spoke to several express bus customers. One of them would like to see the  accept Student Metrocards on the express bus, at least for part of the fare. I told her we would put it on the list for discussion since she sends her child to a specialized school.

So far only two trips have been on-time today. We took a BxM2 this morning (07:30 trip) that finished about 10 minutes late.

 

 

 

One of my friends in high school used his student metrocard for part of the QM2 fare (it used to cover 50% of the fare or something). I remember him  telling me how the B/O used to give him a hard time, and my friend had to print out the Metrocard rules and show it to the B/O, and then pay the rest of the fare in quarters. 

 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

4 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said:

One of my friends in high school used his student metrocard for part of the QM2 fare (it used to cover 50% of the fare or something). I remember him  telling me how the B/O used to give him a hard time, and my friend had to print out the Metrocard rules and show it to the B/O, and then pay the rest of the fare in quarters. 

 

That is crazy.

[Lil 57]

37 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

That is crazy.

IMO, I think that there should be a Student MetroCard that is accepted on express buses for students that go to school in a different bourgh.

[checkmatechamp13]

1 hour ago, Lil 57 said:

In addition to this the 13:00 SIM3C trip to Port Richmond was around 15 minutes late and the 13:30 SIM3C trip to Port Richmond was bunched as well. (The 13:30 trip was near schedule but IDK why there was another SIM3C bunched with it even though the 13:00 trip left around 13:15. Maybe it was the 12:35 trip running an hour late?)

Both of the SIM3C trips I took today came bunched on 20-30 minute headways. 

I was waiting for the S59 a little before 10pm and checked BusTime and saw that the S59 was (roughly) on-time, but the last SIM3C was about 55 minutes late (since the last bus leaves Port Richmond at 9pm). I mean in some ways it's good that it's an unofficial span extension, but realistically, most people planned around that last bus being there and are wondering where it is. 

And at the same time, two SIM3C buses were bunched going downtown, with a third one not too far behind (maybe 15-20 minutes when it's running every 30 minutes).

I remember once on a weekday around 11pm, I saw the 10pm bus (last bus) go by and I did a double-take.

I mean it's better than going missing entirely, but if the last bus of the night is an hour late, some people may give up on it entirely, because they don't know if it's cancelled or late (and also, who wants to wait an extra hour for a bus?)

Edited October 21, 2018 by checkmatechamp13

[trainfan22]

1 hour ago, QM1to6Ave said:

One of my friends in high school used his student metrocard for part of the QM2 fare (it used to cover 50% of the fare or something). I remember him  telling me how the B/O used to give him a hard time, and my friend had to print out the Metrocard rules and show it to the B/O, and then pay the rest of the fare in quarters. 

 

Interesting that student metrocards get a discount during rush hour, but the senior/disabled metrocard doesn't work period on express buses during both rush hours. Even the MTA commuter railroads allows the senior/disabled ticket during the PM rush and reverse peak AM rush.

[Lil 57]

Just now, checkmatechamp13 said:

I was waiting for the S59 a little before 10pm and checked BusTime and saw that the S59 was (roughly) on-time, but the last SIM3C was about 55 minutes late (since the last bus leaves Port Richmond at 9pm). I mean in some ways it's good 

And at the same time, two SIM3C buses were bunched going downtown, with a third one not too far behind (maybe 15-20 minutes when it's running every 30 minutes).

I remember once on a weekday around 11pm, I saw the 10pm bus (last bus) go by and I did a double-take.

I mean it's better than going missing entirely, but if the last bus of the night is an hour late, some people may give up on it entirely, because they don't know if it's cancelled or late (and also, who wants to wait an extra hour for a bus?)

I saw that happening with the X10 back in July. Comming home on the 8:30 PM X10 and at 9:53, the 9:05 X10 is leaving Port Richmond.

Also I remember the last S57 (10:00 PM to New Dorp on a Sunday) leaving 50 minutes late.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

6 hours ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

I was waiting for the S59 a little before 10pm and checked BusTime and saw that the S59 was (roughly) on-time, but the last SIM3C was about 55 minutes late (since the last bus leaves Port Richmond at 9pm). I mean in some ways it's good that it's an unofficial span extension, but realistically, most people planned around that last bus being there and are wondering where it is. 

And at the same time, two SIM3C buses were bunched going downtown, with a third one not too far behind (maybe 15-20 minutes when it's running every 30 minutes).

I remember once on a weekday around 11pm, I saw the 10pm bus (last bus) go by and I did a double-take.

I mean it's better than going missing entirely, but if the last bus of the night is an hour late, some people may give up on it entirely, because they don't know if it's cancelled or late (and also, who wants to wait an extra hour for a bus?)

 

6 hours ago, Lil 57 said:

I saw that happening with the X10 back in July. Comming home on the 8:30 PM X10 and at 9:53, the 9:05 X10 is leaving Port Richmond.

Also I remember the last S57 (10:00 PM to New Dorp on a Sunday) leaving 50 minutes late.

A lot of people just give up. Some waited for the QM5 and others took an Uber or the QM6.

7 hours ago, Lil 57 said:

IMO, I think that there should be a Student MetroCard that is accepted on express buses for students that go to school in a different bourgh.

We will inquire about why it was eliminated and the possibility of it being reinstated. I would imagine the agency may balk given their financial standing, but as the lady at the QM5 stop said, if parents are willing to the difference why not? Give the kids their three trips like they normally get, and they pay the difference with coins or a Metrocard.

Edited October 21, 2018 by Via Garibaldi 8

[SIMplicity]

16 hours ago, Lil 57 said:

IMO, I think that there should be a Student MetroCard that is accepted on express buses for students that go to school in a different bourgh.

I agree. My high school is in Manhattan but the average student commute is over an hour, people come from all over the city and the tri-state area. (Just saying, it’s sad that some kids from Connecticut have a commute at least 20-30 minutes shorter than mine.) A bunch of kids who go to my school take the express buses (SIM, QM and BxM). A student MetroCard to cover part of the cost would be ideal (and fair). Especially when the alternatives are lacking. A few of my friends live in transit deserts in Queens and the express bus is the only option that makes sense to get to school. For me, if I didn’t take the SIMs, it would be either the S78 to the S79 to the R to the N to the 4/5, or the S59 to the SIR to the ferry to the 4/5. I would never make it to school. I’d probably have to wake up almost an hour earlier each morning. 

18 hours ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

With the SI express buses, I know this is being covered, but take a look at the SIM2 when possible. Those buses tend to run late at any point of the day. Currently, the 8:15 PM trip has left Chambers about two minutes ago (at 8:40 PM).

The bus before it is also late, in Huguenot (when it should have already arrived at Tottenville). I hope the MTA fixes the SIM2 in January. 

I just checked BusTime and the 2:30pm SIM2 left Tottenville 24 minutes late at 2:54pm (bus#2578). The 3:00pm bus left on time, just six minutes behind it.

The 2:45pm SIM2 (#2732) from Chambers passed Battery/Washington and entered the tunnel at 2:49 instead of the scheduled 2:56.

[Lil 57]

17 hours ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

I was waiting for the S59 a little before 10 pm and checked BusTime and saw that the S59 was (roughly) on-time, but the last SIM3C was about 55 minutes late (since the last bus leaves Port Richmond at 9 pm). I mean in some ways it's good that it's an unofficial span extension, but realistically, most people planned around that last bus being there and are wondering where it is.

 

Another thought, the 9:00 PM SIM3C bus to Midtown on Saturdays goes back with the 10:30 PM Bus to Port Richmond. Meaning that the 11 PM, 11:30 PM and 12 AM buses are all deheads from Staten Island. Since the Midtown Route is reasonably quick at that time, wouldn't it be reasonable to convert those deheads into Midtown SIM3C trips? New trips would leave at 9:30 PM, 10:00 PM and 10:30 PM and come back on the 11 PM, 11:30 PM and 12 AM trips, respectively. 

Edited October 21, 2018 by Lil 57

[Around the Horn]

10 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Give the kids their three trips like they normally get, and they pay the difference with coins or a Metrocard.

You can't even pay the difference on a half fare card with another MetroCard... its ridiculous...

It would have been great in high school if I could load money on a Student Metro and it just deduct the 1.25 every time I dipped it.

(Sorry for the side tangent, but this reminded me of it)