Express Bus Advocacy Group

[Via Garibaldi 8]

39 minutes ago, Gotham Bus Co. said:

 

The Queens Bus Network Redesign seems to have all  trips using the LIE west of 188th.

Yes because in the Queens Redesign those buses wouldn't make stops west of 188th St. That is not the case now.

[IAlam]

So this was found on an express bus today

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

1 hour ago, IAlam said:

*Chicken*

So this was found on an express bus today

^^^With the price of eggs maybe they can start selling them on the side. That'll start patching up a little bit of their deficit. 

Edited March 16, 2023 by BM5 via Woodhaven

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 hour ago, IAlam said:

So this was found on an express bus today

Yeah morning rush hour bus from Riverdale. Chicken supposedly hopped on the bus at the depot with the driver in Yonkers.

[QM1to6Ave]

1 hour ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Yeah morning rush hour bus from Riverdale. Chicken supposedly hopped on the bus at the depot with the driver in Yonkers.

The chicken probably wanted to sit in the front seat, but the B/O was blocking it with his bags

[Via Garibaldi 8]

3 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said:

The chicken probably wanted to sit in the front seat, but the B/O was blocking it with his bags

I'm still working on that and the Stop Requested screen issues.

Edited March 16, 2023 by Via Garibaldi 8

[checkmatechamp13]

7 hours ago, Icebreaker768 said:

Follow up above ^ What are the steps I can take to push the MTA to use the LIE on the return trip, unless there is a reason they are not allowed to use the LIE?

You can submit your comment here: https://contact.mta.info/s/customer-feedback

Also, submit another one here: https://contact.mta.info/s/forms/bus-network-redesign

Also, submit a comment on the Remix map: https://platform.remix.com/project/98ad8e7f/line/5d35f7e2?latlng=40.71868,-73.91026,11&layer=hifi&dir=1

Reach out to your local representatives and community board with a copy of your confirmation number and see if they can pressure the MTA to change the route. (As noted, in the Queens Bus Redesign, the QM5 is proposed to take the LIE in both directions all the way out to 188th Street, but there's nothing preventing them from at least doing it to Queens Blvd now). My guess is that, since it runs up Queens Blvd coming from the Queensborough Bridge, it is easier to keep it on Queens Blvd rather than heading down Van Dam Street with all the traffic, only to get off a few exits later at Queens Blvd.

6 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Yeah, I just said. It's the normal route and has been for years.  That's like asking why the buses take the Queensborough bridge going to Queens and the Midtown Tunnel going to Manhattan. lol

And he has every right to ask that question as well...it should be the Queens-Midtown Tunnel in both directions, and buses should go down 5th/Lexington rather than making a whole extra loop.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

23 minutes ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

And he has every right to ask that question as well...it should be the Queens-Midtown Tunnel in both directions, and buses should go down 5th/Lexington rather than making a whole extra loop.

Listen I asked you to stop tagging me and it seems like you have a hard time understanding.  I am not interested in speaking with you. If you continue to harass me, I will speak with the mods. No means no. Stop tagging me. This is the second time I'm saying it.

-----

@IceBreaker768

For every person that wants an express bus down the LIE, there is someone else that has complained about buses being stuck on the LIE (some QM5 trips do use the LIE back to Queens), so everyone has their opinion about which way routes should go.  For that reason I don't get into that discussion because someone will always complain.  You asked the question about why it goes the way it goes back to Queens and I hope I answered it.  That's the routing it has had for years and some take the LIE as the standard route (Super Express trips) and others here and there to avoid traffic, but it isn't set in stone because the LIE has its own problems at times, so there is no perfect route.

[Lawrence St]

What’s with the tension in this thread? 

 

Heres a picture of a chicken on a QM2:

https://ibb.co/0cVt73Q

[QM1to6Ave]

2 hours ago, Lawrence St said:

What’s with the tension in this thread? 

 

Heres a picture of a chicken on a QM2:

https://ibb.co/0cVt73Q

I thought sometime posted tgis was a Yonkers bus?

[Lawrence St]

33 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said:

I thought sometime posted tgis was a Yonkers bus?

Isn’t the chicken farm near the terminal for the QM2? I don’t recall a chicken farm being anywhere near a Yonkers line.

[danielhg121]

46 minutes ago, Lawrence St said:

Isn’t the chicken farm near the terminal for the QM2? I don’t recall a chicken farm being anywhere near a Yonkers line.

So that was your basis for determining how the chicken ended up on the bus? lol

Anyway, VG8 did say in his group that it was the BxM2 where the chicken got onboard. According to the driver, it just hopped on at the Yonkers Depot.

[Lawrence St]

7 hours ago, danielhg121 said:

So that was your basis for determining how the chicken ended up on the bus? lol

Anyway, VG8 did say in his group that it was the BxM2 where the chicken got onboard. According to the driver, it just hopped on at the Yonkers Depot.

My basis was twitter telling me this was a QM2…

[Lawrence St]

The BxM18 is suppose to hold for connections from the BxM1 and 2 right?

[checkmatechamp13]

58 minutes ago, Lawrence St said:

The BxM18 is suppose to hold for connections from the BxM1 and 2 right?

No. The holding point is 34th Street southbound and 56th Street northbound, neither of which are BxM1/2 stops.

[Lawrence St]

Just now, checkmatechamp13 said:

No. The holding point is 34th Street southbound and 56th Street northbound, neither of which are BxM1/2 stops.

Which routes are the connection?

[checkmatechamp13]

Just now, Lawrence St said:

Which routes are the connection?

The other BxM and QM routes. There's no specific route that it's timed with.

Honestly, it's pointless having the BxM18 holding for the schedule heading southbound, given that the SIM1C/33C (and to a certain extent the X27/28) also provide express bus service from Midtown to Downtown (not to mention the numerous subway and local bus options)

[Icebreaker768]

QM5 / QM6 major problems in the afternoon

Hell of a commute today, Long story below:

Took the 1:40 PM QM5 out of Glen Oaks. Everything was fine until we arrived at Union Turnpike and Parsons BLVD. Wheelchair person attempted to board the bus, and the lift broke down on a NEW bus.The B/O of the QM5 was very kind and understanding. We were delayed by at least 20 mins for the first attempt, then a QM6 pulled up behind us, and we all moved to the QM6. The wheelchair individual tried to board that bus and then the lift AGAIN broke down. This was a new bus so what the heck??

At this point we are delayed for 1hour+, and people are requesting Ubers from Eastern Queens all the way to the city because the entire express bus on Union Turnpike is delayed. We end up having to wait for a third bus. The wheel chair individual again attempts to board the bus again.

On the Third attempt, me and another passenger who are both engineers were able to help the three Bus Operators get the individual on {Lift was having trouble at first going up}. First and foremost this is unacceptable that the new busses are not able to get a wheelchair man on the bus. 

Second all of us passengers deserve a refund after being delayed for at least an hour, bus operators were very helpful and kind and it wasn't their fault, but we should not have been delayed 1 hour getting into the city, we all were late to work, and some had to take Ubers all the way down to Queens. College point operators the three of them were very kind and understanding.

 

Below are all the photos and videos I took of this incident:

Bus Operator on phone with College Point Mechanics

Image 1: 

<a href="https://ibb.co/MSkmYMF"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/6w0k3gj/IMG-1883.jpg" alt="IMG-1883" border="0"></a><br /><a target='_blank' href='https://geojsonlint.com/'>geojson coordinates order</a><br />

 

Lift breaking down on second NEW bus Qm6

Image 2:

<a href="https://ibb.co/8K5xyXf"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/LktgTvc/70111278296-52838904-F3-E0-4616-9024-225625-F2382-C.jpg" alt="70111278296-52838904-F3-E0-4616-9024-225625-F2382-C" border="0"></a><br /><a target='_blank' href='https://geojsonlint.com/'>geo file online</a><br />

 

Video of Lift breaking down:

<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/810290835?h=c669cec056" width="640" height="1138" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p><a href="https://vimeo.com/810290835">IMG_1884.MOV</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user95423446">Icebreaker768 roblox</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

Video of ALL OF US STRANDED 1 HOUR +

<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/810290022?h=94da572f85" width="640" height="564" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

Tweet to MTA:

 

[Icebreaker768]

Links didnt work, will reupload:

 

Photo 1: https://ibb.co/MSkmYMF

Photo 2: https://ibb.co/8K5xyXf

 

Video 1: Lift Broken: 

Video 2: All of us stranded 1 Hr + 

 

 

 

[Q101 E Midtown]

21 hours ago, Icebreaker768 said:

QM5 / QM6 major problems in the afternoon

Hell of a commute today, Long story below:

Took the 1:40 PM QM5 out of Glen Oaks. Everything was fine until we arrived at Union Turnpike and Parsons BLVD. Wheelchair person attempted to board the bus, and the lift broke down on a NEW bus.The B/O of the QM5 was very kind and understanding. We were delayed by at least 20 mins for the first attempt, then a QM6 pulled up behind us, and we all moved to the QM6. The wheelchair individual tried to board that bus and then the lift AGAIN broke down. This was a new bus so what the heck??

At this point we are delayed for 1hour+, and people are requesting Ubers from Eastern Queens all the way to the city because the entire express bus on Union Turnpike is delayed. We end up having to wait for a third bus. The wheel chair individual again attempts to board the bus again.

On the Third attempt, me and another passenger who are both engineers were able to help the three Bus Operators get the individual on {Lift was having trouble at first going up}. First and foremost this is unacceptable that the new busses are not able to get a wheelchair man on the bus. 

Second all of us passengers deserve a refund after being delayed for at least an hour, bus operators were very helpful and kind and it wasn't their fault, but we should not have been delayed 1 hour getting into the city, we all were late to work, and some had to take Ubers all the way down to Queens. College point operators the three of them were very kind and understanding.

Damn that sucks. It seems W/C lifts on coach buses can be very prone to malfunctioning. I've seen it happen on a few Prevosts and MCI.

[Lawrence St]

@Via Garibaldi 8 will this issue with bustime on the BxM1 ever be fixed?

[QM1to6Ave]

On 3/21/2023 at 4:07 PM, Icebreaker768 said:

QM5 / QM6 major problems in the afternoon

Hell of a commute today, Long story below:

Took the 1:40 PM QM5 out of Glen Oaks. Everything was fine until we arrived at Union Turnpike and Parsons BLVD. Wheelchair person attempted to board the bus, and the lift broke down on a NEW bus.The B/O of the QM5 was very kind and understanding. We were delayed by at least 20 mins for the first attempt, then a QM6 pulled up behind us, and we all moved to the QM6. The wheelchair individual tried to board that bus and then the lift AGAIN broke down. This was a new bus so what the heck??

At this point we are delayed for 1hour+, and people are requesting Ubers from Eastern Queens all the way to the city because the entire express bus on Union Turnpike is delayed. We end up having to wait for a third bus. The wheel chair individual again attempts to board the bus again.

On the Third attempt, me and another passenger who are both engineers were able to help the three Bus Operators get the individual on {Lift was having trouble at first going up}. First and foremost this is unacceptable that the new busses are not able to get a wheelchair man on the bus. 

Second all of us passengers deserve a refund after being delayed for at least an hour, bus operators were very helpful and kind and it wasn't their fault, but we should not have been delayed 1 hour getting into the city, we all were late to work, and some had to take Ubers all the way down to Queens. College point operators the three of them were very kind and understanding.

 

Below are all the photos and videos I took of this incident:

Bus Operator on phone with College Point Mechanics

Image 1: 

<a href="https://ibb.co/MSkmYMF"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/6w0k3gj/IMG-1883.jpg" alt="IMG-1883" border="0"></a><br /><a target='_blank' href='https://geojsonlint.com/'>geojson coordinates order</a><br />

 

Lift breaking down on second NEW bus Qm6

Image 2:

<a href="https://ibb.co/8K5xyXf"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/LktgTvc/70111278296-52838904-F3-E0-4616-9024-225625-F2382-C.jpg" alt="70111278296-52838904-F3-E0-4616-9024-225625-F2382-C" border="0"></a><br /><a target='_blank' href='https://geojsonlint.com/'>geo file online</a><br />

 

Video of Lift breaking down:

<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/810290835?h=c669cec056" width="640" height="1138" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p><a href="https://vimeo.com/810290835">IMG_1884.MOV</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user95423446">Icebreaker768 roblox</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

Video of ALL OF US STRANDED 1 HOUR +

<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/810290022?h=94da572f85" width="640" height="564" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

Tweet to MTA:

 

(I missed this post somehow until now)

Oh boy, that's ridiculous. I recognize those B/Os, good guys. I've only seen one wheelchair passenger get onto/off of a Prevost, and the B/O didn't really know what he was doing. I think they use the lifts so infrequently that they A- break down and B- the B/Os forget how to use them without regular practice/use

[Lawrence St]

That’s odd. He normally replies, where is he?

[QM1to6Ave]

For anyone who takes CP routes regularly, I just heard back from one of my elected officials, to whom I complained about the blocked seat issue. This is what they told me:

"I heard back from my contact at the MTA - she spoke with the Depot and they have made announcements and spoken with operators. Please let me know if you continue to see these issues."

So, please post on here if you continue to see blocked seats and send in complaints with specific times, routes, etc.

I have personally started to see some improvements in this area...

[7-express]

On 4/18/2023 at 12:09 PM, QM1to6Ave said:

For anyone who takes CP routes regularly, I just heard back from one of my elected officials, to whom I complained about the blocked seat issue. This is what they told me:

"I heard back from my contact at the MTA - she spoke with the Depot and they have made announcements and spoken with operators. Please let me know if you continue to see these issues."

So, please post on here if you continue to see blocked seats and send in complaints with specific times, routes, etc.

I have personally started to see some improvements in this area...

Anecdotally, I have seen fewer front seats blocked off this month but it could very well because of different drivers with this pick.