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Via Garibaldi 8

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In addition to what @SevenEleven, other express bus schedules are pending.  We were promised that the QM2 and QM20 would be looked at along 59th Street.  How long that will take is anyone's guess, but we would like to have changes either by this pick or the next one.  We requested that buses be either kept on 59th with a traffic mitigation plan in place, or moved back to 57th street, which is something that the DOT is resistant to. They seem to have made their minds up on having a limited number of express buses along 57th street.  

We also haven't heard of any major cuts.  If anything those would be proposed perhaps next year. It seems as if they are waiting to see what happens with congestion pricing, but just today there were whispers in the group about the (MTA) doing away with weekend service on the BMs when the redesign comes out. 

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1 hour ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

In addition to what @SevenEleven, other express bus schedules are pending.  We were promised that the QM2 and QM20 would be looked at along 59th Street.  How long that will take is anyone's guess, but we would like to have changes either by this pick or the next one.  We requested that buses be either kept on 59th with a traffic mitigation plan in place, or moved back to 57th street, which is something that the DOT is resistant to. They seem to have made their minds up on having a limited number of express buses along 57th street.  

We also haven't heard of any major cuts.  If anything those would be proposed perhaps next year. It seems as if they are waiting to see what happens with congestion pricing, but just today there were whispers in the group about the (MTA) doing away with weekend service on the BMs when the redesign comes out. 

I'd imagine the (MTA) would want to wait to try out changes during the summer pick when ridership and traffic are lighter. But then again, when does the (MTA) ever use logic...

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3 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said:

I'd imagine the (MTA) would want to wait to try out changes during the summer pick when ridership and traffic are lighter. But then again, when does the (MTA) ever use logic...

As I said, the 59th street fiasco was probably the most heated exchange I had with the DOT and the (MTA). The planner that oversees those routes basically had the attitude that hey we've done what we can for those lines, and the DOT's attitude is well we can't have all of these buses on 57th, so they have to stay on 59th, and my response is well then come with a traffic mitigation plan because the status is unacceptable.  I told them point blank that 59th street is a parking lot and it can't remain as is.  You know agencies don't like being pushed to actually work.  That's the real problem here.  Imagine they have to actually EARN their six figure salaries. There's a novel idea...

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

As I said, the 59th street fiasco was probably the most heated exchange I had with the DOT and the (MTA). The planner that oversees those routes basically had the attitude that hey we've done what we can for those lines, and the DOT's attitude is well we can't have all of these buses on 57th, so they have to stay on 59th, and my response is well then come with a traffic mitigation plan because the status is unacceptable.  I told them point blank that 59th street is a parking lot and it can't remain as is.  You know agencies don't like being pushed to actually work.  That's the real problem here.  Imagine they have to actually EARN their six figure salaries. There's a novel idea...

As usual, DOT makes no sense...there aren't THAT many QM2's/20's picking up passengers each day that shifting  them to 59th street magically makes 57th Street clear. Plus, the QM2's are still dropping off on 57th Street. Ugg, DOT seems even less competent than the MTA based on your interactions with them. 

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17 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

In addition to what @SevenEleven, other express bus schedules are pending.  We were promised that the QM2 and QM20 would be looked at along 59th Street.  How long that will take is anyone's guess, but we would like to have changes either by this pick or the next one.  We requested that buses be either kept on 59th with a traffic mitigation plan in place, or moved back to 57th street, which is something that the DOT is resistant to. They seem to have made their minds up on having a limited number of express buses along 57th street.  

We also haven't heard of any major cuts.  If anything those would be proposed perhaps next year. It seems as if they are waiting to see what happens with congestion pricing, but just today there were whispers in the group about the (MTA) doing away with weekend service on the BMs when the redesign comes out. 

Anything about the SIM2 off-peak? Seems like a lot of people want it back.

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19 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

 but just today there were whispers in the group about the (MTA) doing away with weekend service on the BMs when the redesign comes out. 

I know for sure this would be hell if the (MTA) did that for the patrons of the BM1 & BM3 who really need express service on Saturdays. The BM2 doesn’t see too much patronage on Saturdays but again keep us posted on the latest proposed stuff with the network. 

Great work as always @Via Garibaldi 8

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2 hours ago, Lawrence St said:

Anything about the SIM2 off-peak? Seems like a lot of people want it back.

At the moment no.  It was made clear to me by one of the big wigs (Craig Cipriano) in my last meeting, that in order to bring back the SIM33C, which is basically the old X10 (save the swapping of the Port Richmond terminal with Mariners Harbor), they had to cut the SIM2 off-peak.  I brought up a number of issues that I had with that decision and thoroughly slammed it. 

The one thing that I made clear is that they need to do some marketing for it next time, and I discussed some ideas with the planner (Sarah Wyss). That is one of those things that is probably on the back burner. They'll have to see how congestion pricing plays out. I can guarantee that it won't run with the same span and frequency that's for sure.

As a compromise to the people on Craig Avenue complaining about too many buses, I proposed considering hourly service when it is restored. That should appease the complainers, AND would provide some service until they can grow ridership down there.  Right now I don't expect more restorations until more money is available. Instead what they're going to do is shift service around. Cut something on one line to fill a gap on another, so as not to add more operational costs, but I do believe that the SIM2, X14 and X18 will eventually come back at some point.  At the moment, things for the next pick are being reviewed and tweaked.  I don't have any more info other than that.  The planners have a lot on their plate, as do I.  We have the changes with Staten Island, the pending Bronx express bus redesign, plus issues with current service.

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

At the moment no.  It was made clear to me by one of the big wigs (Craig Cipriano) in my last meeting, that in order to bring back the SIM33C, which is basically the old X10 (save the swapping of the Port Richmond terminal with Mariners Harbor), they had to cut the SIM2 off-peak.  I brought up a number of issues that I had with that decision and thoroughly slammed it. 

The one thing that I made clear is that they need to do some marketing for it next time, and I discussed some ideas with the planner (Sarah Wyss). That is one of those things that is probably on the back burner. They'll have to see how congestion pricing plays out.  Right now I don't expect more restorations until more money is available. Instead what they're going to do is shift service around. Cut something on one line to fill a gap on another, so as not to add more operational costs, but I do believe that the SIM2, X14 and X18 will eventually come back at some point.  At the moment, things for the next pick are being reviewed and tweaked.  I don't have any more info other than that.  The planners have a lot on their plate, as do I.  We have the changes with Staten Island, the pending Bronx express bus redesign, plus issues with current service.

I'm surprised by how the SIM3C was able to stay up with the SIM33C also running. I'm not sure how the SIM33C is doing because whenever I ride it, it's during low-ridership times. However, I remember taking the 12:30 PM SIM3C to the city and that bus had a good load (at least 30-35 people). But the SIM33C right behind it only had a handful of people when I saw it pass by when I got off at the WTC.

In addition, Port Richmond Ridership has skyrocketed with the SIM3 and even the SIM3C than with the X10/X14.

Edited by Lil 57
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4 minutes ago, Lil 57 said:

I'm surprised by how the SIM3C was able to stay up with the SIM33C also running. I'm not sure how the SIM33C is doing because whenever I ride it, it's during low-ridership times. However, I remember taking the 12:30 PM SIM3C to the city and that bus had a good load (at least 30-35 people). But the SIM33C right behind it only had a handful of people when I saw it pass by when I got off at the WTC.

The SIM3C is still experimental.  They're treating Victory Blvd as an expanded express bus corridor.  Victory Blvd is good. First off, there are places to park, which is what lots of people do. They drive from Forest or the surrounding areas down to Victory.  It's also good for connections to the local buses, plus you have businesses up and down Victory.  My only issue is when it runs. It starts up most trips right around the time that the SIM33C starts up, and they both serve the service road after Slosson Avenue off-peak which is retarded because you have two buses coming basically within minutes of each other, and then a gap.

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16 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

As usual, DOT makes no sense...there aren't THAT many QM2's/20's picking up passengers each day that shifting  them to 59th street magically makes 57th Street clear. Plus, the QM2's are still dropping off on 57th Street. Ugg, DOT seems even less competent than the MTA based on your interactions with them. 

The planner (Mark Holmes) basically said that they didn't want the lines meandering about to get back to Queens, so having them on 59th street avoids that.  At the same time, the DOT acts like they have too many parties to deal with on 59th to address the traffic nightmare there. It's absurd.  The planner promised to look at the QM2/QM20, but the DOT didn't make any promises to do anything. It really makes you wonder how in the hell they're going to get bus speeds up.  They can't even finish the current bus lanes.  I asked them about the bus lanes on Madison and when those would be done and if they could not do them during rush hour when people are trying to get to work. <_<  They acknowledged that they still have a few blocks to go (they've been unfinished for MONTHS now) and that they had limited resources to do them at other times, but would see what they could do to finish the project. Meanwhile the City is spending like crazy (hundreds of millions of dollars) on new ferries with the Hornblower vendor, but there's no money for bus lanes. 

Edited by Via Garibaldi 8
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1 hour ago, Future ENY OP said:

I know for sure this would be hell if the (MTA) did that for the patrons of the BM1 & BM3 who really need express service on Saturdays. The BM2 doesn’t see too much patronage on Saturdays but again keep us posted on the latest proposed stuff with the network. 

Great work as always @Via Garibaldi 8

Right now, we're just getting feedback from riders on those lines about some ideas, and then we'll share them with some of elected officials and see if anything can be changed to improve the lines in the meantime. The challenge is all of the BMs cover a lot of territory and they all make too many stops. 

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13 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Right now, we're just getting feedback from riders on those lines about some ideas, and then we'll share them with some of elected officials and see if anything can be changed to improve the lines in the meantime. The challenge is all of the BMs cover a lot of territory and they all make too many stops. 

You are right about that last sentence. Especially the 1, 2 and 3. 

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Just now, Future ENY OP said:

You are right about that last sentence. Especially the 1, 2 and 3. 

The main idea that seems to be floating around is to have some lines not pick-up so far north.  Problem with that is you lose the frequency you had and you make the service less attractive, especially off-peak.  The current off-peak service particularly on Saturdays gives you a bus roughly every 10 minutes during parts of the day along corridors like Ocean Avenue.

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50 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

At the moment no.  It was made clear to me by one of the big wigs (Craig Cipriano) in my last meeting, that in order to bring back the SIM33C, which is basically the old X10 (save the swapping of the Port Richmond terminal with Mariners Harbor), they had to cut the SIM2 off-peak.  I brought up a number of issues that I had with that decision and thoroughly slammed it. 

The one thing that I made clear is that they need to do some marketing for it next time, and I discussed some ideas with the planner (Sarah Wyss). That is one of those things that is probably on the back burner. They'll have to see how congestion pricing plays out. I can guarantee that it won't run with the same span and frequency that's for sure.

As a compromise to the people on Craig Avenue complaining about too many buses, I proposed considering hourly service when it is restored. That should appease the complainers, AND would provide some service until they can grow ridership down there.  Right now I don't expect more restorations until more money is available. Instead what they're going to do is shift service around. Cut something on one line to fill a gap on another, so as not to add more operational costs, but I do believe that the SIM2, X14 and X18 will eventually come back at some point.  At the moment, things for the next pick are being reviewed and tweaked.  I don't have any more info other than that.  The planners have a lot on their plate, as do I.  We have the changes with Staten Island, the pending Bronx express bus redesign, plus issues with current service.

They seem to be doing that a lot. With the SIM5X, SIM6X, SIM2-OP, they never really gave those lines a chance to really blossom. The SIM8X is a success and I can see why.

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2 minutes ago, Lawrence St said:

They seem to be doing that a lot. With the SIM5X, SIM6X, SIM2-OP, they never really gave those lines a chance to really blossom. The SIM8X is a success and I can see why.

At this point they wanted to be DONE with Staten Island, but there has been so much push back from riders that they're being forced to deal with us.  They don't want to deal with me either, but I've been relentless in forcing them to deal with me.  You guys sit back and make proposals... These redesigns are about SAVING money and cutting service where possible. Yes they are spending a bit more money with the new network, but by cutting back routes, they can cut back on run times, which means lower operational costs.  They don't want to take the time to for lines to blossom.  They want buses full, so the goal here is to do just that.

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1 hour ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

The main idea that seems to be floating around is to have some lines not pick-up so far north.  Problem with that is you lose the frequency you had and you make the service less attractive, especially off-peak.  The current off-peak service particularly on Saturdays gives you a bus roughly every 10 minutes during parts of the day along corridors like Ocean Avenue.

I could imagine the re-design plan for Brooklyn will more likely be the hardest behind Staten Island. However, I do see where you are coming from. With frequent service between the 1, 3, and 4 along ocean you are guarantee a bus within minutes. 

The real question is how do you spread the service out. 

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1 minute ago, Future ENY OP said:

I could imagine the re-design plan for Brooklyn will more likely be the hardest behind Staten Island. However, I do see where you are coming from. With frequent service between the 1, 3, and 4 along ocean you are guarantee a bus within minutes. 

The real question is how do you spread the service out. 

Not spread the service out.  Off-peak there's only hourly service most days, so there's really nothing to cut without there being pain.  The only other solution is to have buses make fewer stops and implement Transit Signal Priority where possible.

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4 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Not spread the service out.  Off-peak there's only hourly service most days, so there's really nothing to cut without there being pain.  The only other solution is to have buses make fewer stops and implement Transit Signal Priority where possible.

Makes sense!!! 

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