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Express Bus Advocacy Group


Via Garibaldi 8

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3 hours ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

It could just take the eastern half of the SIM30 along Forest & Victory like the old X16 and then have the SIM30 start at Jewett and just serve Port Richmond & Mariners Harbor/Graniteville. That way people in the West Brighton/Randall Manor area don't have to backtrack through the whole island to reach the Goethals Bridge.

Only thing is it doesn't serve that area around Martling Avenue but if they can improve the schedule of both halves of the SIM30 split so that it ends later in the AM and starts earlier in the PM then it would be a good tradeoff IMO (because otherwise you know how they've been with restorations....they give back one route like the SIM11 and then they make cuts to a completely unrelated aspect of the SIM10....I can picture them doing the same with the SIM3 if you're not careful which is probably why she asked if you would run the X14 to Port Richmond....but just because you dodged that doesn't mean you're in the clear because one of the main aspects of the redesign on the North Shore was to beef up the X42 corridor and part of that includes diverting X14 riders to that area)

That was pretty much what I was thinking, which was to have it start where the X16 did since that is a good middle ground, but have it follow the SIM35. I used the stops along Martling, particularly the Martling and Clove Rd stop by the SI Zoo, or Manor and Forest which was another one that saw good usage. The big stop along Martling is Martling and Manor Rd. I think in terms of getting the riders, the bus must follow Clove Rd. That is the part of West Brighton that had good ridership and there, you have people that can afford the express bus given the income range and types of professionals.

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5 hours ago, Italianstallion said:

Did you know that about 15  or 20 years ago there was a time when most express buses over the Queensboro Bridge went east on 57th all the way to Second Ave., and then turned left - north - on Second Ave. for the 2 blocks to get to the bridge? How was this possible? They instituted a contraflow lane on the east side of Second Ave. between 57th and 59th Streets, going north, for buses only. I suppose they got rid of the lane because it slowed down southbound traffic. But perhaps your group could look into this again as a possible solution.

 

EDIT -it was actually in 1979. Here's an article. Don't know when it was discontinued.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/1979/01/30/archives/reversetraffic-lane-speeding-buses-to-queens-reverse-lane-is.html

 

 

Yeah, we’re going to look at it closer and see.

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Quote

Planned Work 
SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE
Until March 4
Weekends, 1 AM Sat to 4 AM Mon
SIR Service between Huguenot and Jefferson Av is replaced by free shuttle buses


SIR trains run in two sections:
1. Between Jefferson Av and St. George Stations.
2. Between Tottenville and Huguenot Stations.

• Transfer between trains and buses at Jefferson Av and/or Huguenot.

 

And this is why the SIM2 shouldn't have been cut off-peak. South Shore riders now have a 4 seat ride, SIR - Shuttle Bus - SIR - Ferry to get to lower Manhattan. Of course, there is also the S78 but the S78 can take up to 2-hours to reach the ferry from Tottenville and is also very unreliable. Yes, I know that there is the S78 to SIM1C option but who wants to wait 30+ minutes to transfer to a bus.

Edited by Lil 57
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2 hours ago, Lil 57 said:

And this is why the SIM2 shouldn't have been cut off-peak. South Shore riders now have a 4 seat ride, SIR - Shuttle Bus - SIR - Ferry to get to lower Manhattan. Of course, there is also the S78 but the S78 can take up to 2-hours to reach the ferry from Tottenville and is also very unreliable. Yes, I know that there is the S78 to SIM1C option but who wants to wait 30+ minutes to transfer to a bus.

We had a long discussion about the SIM2 in Wednesday’s meeting. I squared off with Craig Cipriano about cutting the service too early with a lack of advertising and noted that the South Shore had been asking for such a service for years. I noted that I also didn’t understand who was supposed to be using the trips back to Tottenville so early in the morning. I suggested a more scaled back alternative. Hourly service with a shorter span WITH advertising so that people know about the service and it has time to grow. This could appease the people along Craig Avenue that have been yelling that too many buses are running down there while still maintaining some service for riders that need it. Sarah Wyss asked me for advertising examples, so I used the example of what Metro-North did to expand service in Riverdale and attract ridership several years ago with semi-express trains and more off-peak service, as well as ads being placed at the bus stop shelters.

Edited by Via Garibaldi 8
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13 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Apparently not. They can see how many people swipped but not where exactly. That’s my understanding, hence the need for checkers to see where people get on and off at.

That job must have its days limited...the tech is gonna make it outdated very soon 

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1 hour ago, QM1to6Ave said:

That job must have its days limited...the tech is gonna make it outdated very soon 

They do have other duties as well, random checks of HVAC temps, bells and lighting, even reading lights on express buses sometimes, As well as other tasks.

Not sure if there civil service though as they are on the OA side.

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1 minute ago, trife86 said:

They do have other duties as well, random checks of HVAC temps, bells and lighting, even reading lights on express buses sometimes, As well as other tasks.

Not sure if there civil service though as they are on the OA side.

Who is responsible for getting the dead moths out of the reading lamps? I'm shocked at the number of lamps that have them! How do they even get in there??

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4 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

Who is responsible for getting the dead moths out of the reading lamps? I'm shocked at the number of lamps that have them! How do they even get in there??

Well if your bus is anything like our QM2 bus was coming from Bay Terrace (along the Cross Island Parkway)... 

52764721_10215978686232449_1394870335379

 

Then of course there are these problems with the DOT:

52720952_10215978686472455_2166997969348

52883800_10215978686112446_2660519553091

 

 

Edited by Via Garibaldi 8
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46 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Well if your bus is anything like our QM2 bus was coming from Bay Terrace (along the Cross Island Parkway)... 

52764721_10215978686232449_1394870335379

 

Then of course there are these problems with the DOT:

52720952_10215978686472455_2166997969348

52883800_10215978686112446_2660519553091

 

 

I don't understand how in any way possible there is a bike left like that at the bus stop. Not to mention the lights on the QM2 which definitely don't look that good either.

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10 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

We had a long discussion about the SIM2 in Wednesday’s meeting. I squared off with Craig Cipriano about cutting the service too early with a lack of advertising and noted that the South Shore had been asking for such a service for years. I noted that I also didn’t understand who was supposed to be using the trips back to Tottenville so early in the morning. I suggested a more scaled back alternative. Hourly service with a shorter span WITH advertising so that people know about the service and it has time to grow. This could appease the people along Craig Avenue that have been yelling that too many buses are running down there while still maintaining some service for riders that need it. Sarah Wyss asked me for advertising examples, so I used the example of what Metro-North did to expand service in Riverdale and attract ridership several years ago with semi-express trains and more off-peak service, as well as ads being placed at the bus stop shelters.

The early-morning reverse-peak service was simply because those buses would've had to deadhead back to Staten Island anyway to do another inbound trip. Even if the bus is empty anyway at least it's available in the event someone does need it as opposed to being out of service.

21 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

That was pretty much what I was thinking, which was to have it start where the X16 did since that is a good middle ground, but have it follow the SIM35. I used the stops along Martling, particularly the Martling and Clove Rd stop by the SI Zoo, or Manor and Forest which was another one that saw good usage. The big stop along Martling is Martling and Manor Rd. I think in terms of getting the riders, the bus must follow Clove Rd. That is the part of West Brighton that had good ridership and there, you have people that can afford the express bus given the income range and types of professionals.

Right but part of the idea is to replace the eastern part of the SIM30/X30. The part of West Brighton/Randall Manor by Silver Lake Park is similar to the area by Martling demographically but ridership is much lower because people don't want to backtrack across the whole island to reach the Goethals. If the SIM30/X30 is cut back to Jewett and more trips are received in exchange (trips that are physically run of course and not missing) I think that's a benefit overall.

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3 hours ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

The early-morning reverse-peak service was simply because those buses would've had to deadhead back to Staten Island anyway to do another inbound trip. Even if the bus is empty anyway at least it's available in the event someone does need it as opposed to being out of service.

Right but part of the idea is to replace the eastern part of the SIM30/X30. The part of West Brighton/Randall Manor by Silver Lake Park is similar to the area by Martling demographically but ridership is much lower because people don't want to backtrack across the whole island to reach the Goethals. If the SIM30/X30 is cut back to Jewett and more trips are received in exchange (trips that are physically run of course and not missing) I think that's a benefit overall.

Understood,  but since there wasn’t enough ridership overall per the (MTA) , provide some service in the meantime to serve folks so that they have something.

Regarding the eastern portion, the X16 never had a huge amount of usage in the area you’re referring to. The usage if anything was moreso near Bement and Forest and Bard and Forest. It just makes more sense to have the X14 run the way that it did given the areas that it served that were successful. Folks can then make their way over to the X14 along Clove and go to Clove and Victory. Can’t please everybody, and the routing of the old X14 was successful. Not disagreeing, just saying that this makes the most sense. What you’re trying to do is catch some of fhe old X16. That ship sailed. Those people already go up to Victory for the old X12. If anything, bring back the X16.

Edited by Via Garibaldi 8
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1 hour ago, Lawrence St said:

Uh...why does the QM20 not have that countdown clock?

Because the DOT is KNOWINGLY installing countdown clocks that only have three slots. I asked one of the DOT reps if they were aware of the fact that this impacts the visibility of the service in terms of people waiting at the stop versus them giving up and hopping in an Uber or a cab, and they said yes, we know, but that some riders could track their bus with their smartphones. Meanwhile they were adamant about keeping those SBS style countdown clocks for the SBS brand only, at least for now.  I made a mental note in my meeting to investigate this further because I have a problem with it. This is taxpayer money being wasted on these countdown clocks that are broken or don't have all of the buses listed with countdown information. I'd like to understand why they are installing these when they know they can only list three lines at once even when there are more than three bus lines down one corridor. If they are concerned about using SBS style clocks outside of the SBS brand fine, I get it because it may impact the federal funding they get for them, but why not investigate other countdown clocks where ALL of the bus lines can be tracked at the stop?  These lollipop countdown clocks are not cheap either.

Edited by Via Garibaldi 8
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3 hours ago, MysteriousBtrain said:

Both are a problem to me. I think a stop should be clear of trash and not have anything attached to it. But hey, I might belong to a minority that thinks this.

The bus poles are often used for people to secure their bikes.  Nothing wrong with that either. The bus can still safely park and pick up. In this case, my QM2 discharged further up anyway. I just noticed the QM2 timetable when I was checking to see when the QM4, QM5, QM6 and QM15 buses would arrive and comparing their arrivals to the schedules to see what time they were making.  The issue is that the QM2 timetable should not be there. The QM2 only drops off on 57th. Pick-ups are on 59th, hence the photo.  I was on the DOT and the (MTA) in my meeting about the decision to have the QM2, 3 and 20 on 59th.  59th is a parking lot.  (MTA) contends that too much meandering would occur having them back on the 57th as they have to make their way to the bridge. DOT contends that they can only have but so many buses on 57th so we told them either put the buses back on 57th with the bus lane OR come up with a traffic mitigation plan for 59th, but something has to give.  Mark Holmes told me they would look at it again so we'll see.  They tried some things before that didn't work well, but we have some suggestions if they are stuck that we'll make when I send my follow-up comments.

Edited by Via Garibaldi 8
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Having only 3 slots or keeping the SBS-style clocks to the SBS stops is reeks of stubborness and ineptitude. Anyone with common sense would have realized how dumb it is to put just 3 clock slots when there is obviously a 4th/5th/etc bus line at the stop. The world isn't going to coming crashing down if the SBS-style stops are used outside of SBS, either.

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10 minutes ago, GojiMet86 said:

Having only 3 slots or keeping the SBS-style clocks to the SBS stops is reeks of stubborness and ineptitude. Anyone with common sense would have realized how dumb it is to put just 3 clock slots when there is obviously a 4th/5th/etc bus line at the stop. The world isn't going to coming crashing down if the SBS-style stops are used outside of SBS, either.

I thought about it.  I think the issue may be that the SBS style clocks are federally funded and they are afraid of losing funding for those or it taking away from the "brand". That's the only thing that I can think of. I asked them if it was a funding issue (as in elected officials not having enough funding in their budgets to fund such clocks) and they said no, that it wasn't a funding issue,  but as I said I think they want those just for the SBS brand only for now.  Doesn't mean I'm not going to push the issue though. We are due two of these clocks in my neighborhood, and we as a community voted for them in key locations. The problem is they will only be able to show three slots when we have five buses plus the Hudson Raillink buses stopping there, so I am going to inquire with my Councilman about them and why they are using them.

Edited by Via Garibaldi 8
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14 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

The bike isn’t the issue. The schedule is the problem...

There's alot of stops with inaccurate schedules. Saturday at Narrows Road S/Targee I've noticed the the SIM3C showed no Sunday service. 

Edited by Lil 57
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11 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

I thought about it.  I think the issue may be that the SBS style clocks are federally funded and they are afraid of losing funding for those or it taking away from the "brand". That's the only thing that I can think of. I asked them if it was a funding issue (as in elected officials not having enough funding in their budgets to fund such clocks) and they said no, that it wasn't a funding issue,  but as I said I think they want those just for the SBS brand only for now.  Doesn't mean I'm not going to push the issue though. We are due two of these clocks in my neighborhood, and we as a community voted for them in key locations. The problem is they will only be able to show three slots when we have five buses plus the Hudson Raillink buses stopping there, so I am going to inquire with my Councilman about them and why they are using them.

The DOT is talking out of their a**es as usual lol! The SBS style arrival kiosks on 34th Street list all buses, including exp buses. And in Queens, the Q44 kiosks also list the Q20A/B arrivals. And they rightfully should include ALL buses arriving at the stop!

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26 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said:

The DOT is talking out of their a**es as usual lol! The SBS style arrival kiosks on 34th Street list all buses, including exp buses. And in Queens, the Q44 kiosks also list the Q20A/B arrivals. And they rightfully should include ALL buses arriving at the stop!

Yup. All of them do!!

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Effective March 11th, Academy routes will see major changes. The SIM23 will run up Arden-Woodrow-Huguenot (like the old X24) and the SIM24 will run up Huguenot-Woodrow-Arthur Kill (similar to the old X23). Absolutely horrible decision that undoes a lot of progress made on the South Shore: https://www.silive.com/news/2019/02/staten-island-express-bus-routes-major-changes-coming-to-sim23-sim24.html?fbclid=IwAR3qr4O0Fh-WW-wzIaFEz9UiQw_BdQi9U95MiZPAbbTkQYnjynTP2DQvDNY

@Lil 57 @SIMplicity

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6 hours ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

Effective March 11th, Academy routes will see major changes. The SIM23 will run up Arden-Woodrow-Huguenot (like the old X24) and the SIM24 will run up Huguenot-Woodrow-Arthur Kill (similar to the old X23). Absolutely horrible decision that undoes a lot of progress made on the South Shore: https://www.silive.com/news/2019/02/staten-island-express-bus-routes-major-changes-coming-to-sim23-sim24.html?fbclid=IwAR3qr4O0Fh-WW-wzIaFEz9UiQw_BdQi9U95MiZPAbbTkQYnjynTP2DQvDNY

@Lil 57 @SIMplicity

What reason did Academy have for this? People are going to start driving to the SIM25/26 for a better ride.

Does Academy need to get (MTA) approval inorder to do changes to the SIM23/34 routes.

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3 hours ago, Lil 57 said:

What reason did Academy have for this? People are going to start driving to the SIM25/26 for a better ride.

Does Academy need to get (MTA) approval inorder to do changes to the SIM23/34 routes.

MTA has nothing to do with it. But in sure they have to work with DOT.

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