Express Bus Advocacy Group

[Lil 57]

12 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

OMG... This morning's commute on Staten Island was a DISASTER!!! Not enough express buses.... They reduced the schedules so much that people were not only standing, but couldn't get on!! They now have to scramble to add service for the afternoon rush.  I also was told that the SIM3 AND SIM3C were running despite the schedule saying that only the SIM3C was running today.  Just a mess... For the afternoon rush, the  agreed to add service on the "combination" lines ONLY.  People should refer to the modified schedules for all other Staten Island express bus lines... Given what a mess this has been, I STRONGLY suggest using BusTime desktop mode to track your bus where possible. See below for the SIM lines and the X27, X28, X37, X38, X63, X64 and X68 lines.

http://web.mta.info/nyct/service/bus/spcl_goodFriday.htm?fbclid=IwAR3MlRUqa58BaNv3pa2JUZzXDRzGCcFt5q_N7gpwzzrwNf2ctvdNRyiJjtE#StatenIsland

For the BM, QM and BxM lines, regular service. My commute in was fine this morning on the BxM1 (thank God).

The SIM1C is also probably going to be a mess as well, 30 minutes service Manhattan bound after 11 AM? Worse than Sunday service. Maybe they'll add SIM3 service in the PM rush today?

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 minute ago, Lil 57 said:

The SIM1C is also probably going to be a mess as well, 30 minutes service Manhattan bound after 11 AM? Worse than Sunday service. Maybe they'll add SIM3 service in the PM rush today?

Supposedly no SIM3 service today, BUT as I said in another post, supposedly the SIM3 AND SIM3C ran this morning, so who knows... Extra service is only supposed to be added to the "combination lines" (SIM3C, SIM4C, SIM33C).

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Ok folks, the new express bus schedules are out!! Some interesting things for sure... NEW BxM11 Super Express trips, NEW, EARLIER QM5 service, NEW, EARLIER QM7 service, NEW EARLIER SIM6 service back to Staten Island are some of the highlights.

http://web.mta.info/busco/schedules/bxm11cur.pdf

http://web.mta.info/busco/schedules/qm001cur.pdf

http://web.mta.info/busco/schedules/qm007cur.pdf

http://web.mta.info/…/s…/bus/spcl_APR17_2019/sim006APR17.pdf

Reminder that the new SIM6 trips start on April 28th. BM, QM and BxM service starts this weekend. X27, X28, X37, X38, X63, X64 and X68 riders should check the schedules for any changes.

The BxM11 Super Express trips are a VERY good idea. We like this a lot. Smart thinking. They used to exist in fact...

[Lil 57]

43 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Ok folks, the new express bus schedules are out!! Some interesting things for sure... NEW BxM11 Super Express trips, NEW, EARLIER QM5 service, NEW, EARLIER QM7 service, NEW EARLIER SIM6 service back to Staten Island are some of the highlights.

http://web.mta.info/busco/schedules/bxm11cur.pdf

http://web.mta.info/busco/schedules/qm001cur.pdf

http://web.mta.info/busco/schedules/qm007cur.pdf

http://web.mta.info/…/s…/bus/spcl_APR17_2019/sim006APR17.pdf

Reminder that the new SIM6 trips start on April 28th. BM, QM and BxM service starts this weekend. X27, X28, X37, X38, X63, X64 and X68 riders should check the schedules for any changes.

The BxM11 Super Express trips are a VERY good idea. We like this a lot. Smart thinking. They used to exist in fact...

But there's a wider gap between the last SIM34 and the first SIM3C in the morning. 43 minutes to be exact. 

They cut SIM3 trips in the PM as well.

Edited April 19, 2019 by Lil 57

[Via Garibaldi 8]

20 minutes ago, Lil 57 said:

But there's a wider gap between the last SIM34 and the first SIM3C in the morning. 43 minutes to be exact. 

Nobody said the SIM schedules were great, believe me.  The SIM schedules are by far the worst... Just trying to show some positives here...

 

---

Just in: Talks of splitting up the X27 and X37 along Shore Road and having some buses start up around 86th and Shore Road to alleviate overcrowding. We've been talking with the  about the overcrowding situation for some time and have been pushing for them to address it.  This could be great if done right.

Edited April 19, 2019 by Via Garibaldi 8

[checkmatechamp13]

20 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

No need for the SIM3 because traffic should be light tomorrow.

Except some people work on the Far East Side (e.g. those hospitals along 1st Avenue). No need to have them run the combo route when the SIM34/35 are still running.

Matter of fact, ironically enough I saw a SIM3C, SIM34, and SIM35 all back-to-back behind each other as my SIM32 entered the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel.

20 hours ago, Lil 57 said:

But I don't know why they do that if they don't do it to the other routes? (They don't have the SIM4C running instead of the SIM4/8 or the SIM1C running instead of the SIM1C/10.) Why does SIM3 riders have to get screwed over while other lines only have a reduced headway? The SIM2 doesn't even change on Good Friday. Exactly the same as the weekday schedule.

....minus the 2 trips before 3pm.

17 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Just in: Talks of splitting up the X27 and X37 along Shore Road and having some buses start up around 86th and Shore Road to alleviate overcrowding.

Would the ones from 4th & Shore run super-express after 86th Street?

[Lil 57]

18 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Nobody said the SIM schedules were great, believe me.  The SIM schedules are by far the worst... Just trying to show some positives here...

 

---

Just in: Talks of splitting up the X27 and X37 along Shore Road and having some buses start up around 86th and Shore Road to alleviate overcrowding. We've been talking with the  about the overcrowding situation for some time and have been pushing for them to address it.  This could be great if done right.

There are some pros and cons. I like the added SI bound SIM4C service after 1:30 PM on weekdays. Those hourly headways were ridiculous.

[QM1to6Ave]

7 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

OMG... This morning's commute on Staten Island was a DISASTER!!! Not enough express buses.... They reduced the schedules so much that people were not only standing, but couldn't get on!! They now have to scramble to add service for the afternoon rush.  I also was told that the SIM3 AND SIM3C were running despite the schedule saying that only the SIM3C was running today.  Just a mess... For the afternoon rush, the  agreed to add service on the "combination" lines ONLY.  People should refer to the modified schedules for all other Staten Island express bus lines... Given what a mess this has been, I STRONGLY suggest using BusTime desktop mode to track your bus where possible. See below for the SIM lines and the X27, X28, X37, X38, X63, X64 and X68 lines.

http://web.mta.info/nyct/service/bus/spcl_goodFriday.htm?fbclid=IwAR3MlRUqa58BaNv3pa2JUZzXDRzGCcFt5q_N7gpwzzrwNf2ctvdNRyiJjtE#StatenIsland

For the BM, QM and BxM lines, regular service. My commute in was fine this morning on the BxM1 (thank God).

 

The QM5 and 6 were also disasters after 9 am this morning...big gaps, so I ended up having to take a QM35 instead and walk west. Tonight, I'm on the 6 pm QM1 which was not showing up on Bustime but is running on time 

[checkmatechamp13]

1 hour ago, Lil 57 said:

There are some pros and cons. I like the added SI bound SIM4C service after 1:30 PM on weekdays. Those hourly headways were ridiculous.

BTW they added a couple of 4C trips during that timeframe after April 28th. New schedules are posted on MTA website (since Monday)

[ViaWaterViaChurch]

2 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Ok folks, the new express bus schedules are out!! Some interesting things for sure... NEW BxM11 Super Express trips, NEW, EARLIER QM5 service, NEW, EARLIER QM7 service, NEW EARLIER SIM6 service back to Staten Island are some of the highlights.

http://web.mta.info/busco/schedules/bxm11cur.pdf

http://web.mta.info/busco/schedules/qm001cur.pdf

http://web.mta.info/busco/schedules/qm007cur.pdf

http://web.mta.info/…/s…/bus/spcl_APR17_2019/sim006APR17.pdf

Reminder that the new SIM6 trips start on April 28th. BM, QM and BxM service starts this weekend. X27, X28, X37, X38, X63, X64 and X68 riders should check the schedules for any changes.

The BxM11 Super Express trips are a VERY good idea. We like this a lot. Smart thinking. They used to exist in fact...

I'm surprised they didn't get an earlier bus on the QM8, I feel bad for those people, they have such a long ride downtown.  Getting up at the crack of dawn to get the first bus and by the time they hit 188th street, 3 QM7s have already come.

[Lil 57]

Here are my thoughts of the SIM service changes coming on the 28th. I will be talking mainly about off-peak service throughout the island.

SIM2, SIM3/3C, SIM32 & SIM33C: First the SIM3/3C, the gap in the morning between the last SIM34 and the first SIM3C in the morning is longer, 43 minutes to be exact. I would have converted the 9:15 AM SIM3 trip into a SIM3C to close the gap in Downtown service. The SIM32 should also have a 7:25 PM trip added since the first SIM33C doesn't get to Downtown until 7:43 PM. SIM33 AM trips from 5-5:40 AM should be converted into SIM33C trips to give Gannon Ave early morning Downtown service. I would also really like to see the SIM3C and SIM33C  buses coronated with them both not leaving at the same time. Weekday evening service towards SI is where I want to get to my proposal. Both the SIM3C and SIM33C have service every 20 minutes through most of the evening, just like the X10 did. However, the X10 was the only route to the North Shore in the evening while today, both the SIM3C and SIM33C provide North Shore service. Service can run on both lines every 30 minutes after 7 PM (So the SIM3C will depart at 6:35 PM, leaving at the :05 and :35 of every hour until 12:05 AM, with the last trip leaving at 12:50 AM, while after 6:50 PM, the SIM33C will leave at the :20 and :50 of each hour until 12:20 AM, with the last trip leaving at 1:20 AM, saving 9 trips in total, which can be used to add hourly midday service (and maybe evening service if the is willing to pay a little bit more) on the SIM2, due to the fact that Tottenville used to have midday service with the X17 off-peak. Towards Manhattan, trips can be added at 10 AM, 11 AM, 12 PM, 1 PM, 2 PM and 3 PM, while from Manhattan, SIM2 trips can be added at 11 AM, 12 PM and 1 PM. And if the  doesn't mind adding some trips to Tottenville and the deep South Shore later into the evening, 9 PM and 10 PM SIM2 departures can be added.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

15 hours ago, ViaWaterViaChurch said:

I'm surprised they didn't get an earlier bus on the QM8, I feel bad for those people, they have such a long ride downtown.  Getting up at the crack of dawn to get the first bus and by the time they hit 188th street, 3 QM7s have already come.

I am not sure what is in the works yet, but funding was allocated for more express bus service for Northeast Queens. They added quite a few new trips to alleviate crowding on the Union Turnpike corridor. Does the QM8 see overcrowding? If so then we can push for earlier service but people have to speak up ultimately. I do more bitching about the service than people in Queens do. lol

17 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

 

The QM5 and 6 were also disasters after 9 am this morning...big gaps, so I ended up having to take a QM35 instead and walk west. Tonight, I'm on the 6 pm QM1 which was not showing up on Bustime but is running on time 

Missing buses? Which ones? And yes there was a ghost bus on the QM1 last night but everything came. Still having some problems but better than before. If it continues I will speak with some folks about it again.

17 hours ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

Except some people work on the Far East Side (e.g. those hospitals along 1st Avenue). No need to have them run the combo route when the SIM34/35 are still running.

Matter of fact, ironically enough I saw a SIM3C, SIM34, and SIM35 all back-to-back behind each other as my SIM32 entered the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel.

....minus the 2 trips before 3pm.

Would the ones from 4th & Shore run super-express after 86th Street?

It wasn’t clear what they did yesterday since supposedly the SIM3 ran as well...

Regarding the X27/X37, all of this is talk. I haven’t been told of anything but I’ll definitely post if I do. What I can say with certainty is that we did discuss having some buses start further up on Shore Road to address the overcrowding. There seems to be ongoing issues with construction projects holding up the busesfrom starting promptly and so the come bunched and packed together. Given how frequent service is along Shore Road at times, bunching and overcrowding can occur very easy. Since they assured me that they have enough seats during the rush, having buses start further up seems like the only solution to address the overcrowding further up in the 80s and 70s. We didn’t discuss routing or any of that. I’ll leave that to them and if it works, great. If not, they’ll be hesring from me. They’ve had a lot heat from me via the Brooklyn Borough President in addition to Senator Gounardes so those lines now have dispatchers in Brooklyn and Manhattan to oversee service, as they should. I had a long conference call with Adam’s office and he asked for more photos of the problems, which I gladly sent over. I’m sure they want this to be put to rest so to speak, so they better fix it.

[QM1to6Ave]

On 4/20/2019 at 12:20 PM, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

I am not sure what is in the works yet, but funding was allocated for more express bus service for Northeast Queens. They added quite a few new trips to alleviate crowding on the Union Turnpike corridor. Does the QM8 see overcrowding? If so then we can push for earlier service but people have to speak up ultimately. I do more bitching about the service than people in Queens do. lol

Missing buses? Which ones? And yes there was a ghost bus on the QM1 last night but everything came. Still having some problems but better than before. If it continues I will speak with some folks about it again.

It wasn’t clear what they did yesterday since supposedly the SIM3 ran as well...

Regarding the X27/X37, all of this is talk. I haven’t been told of anything but I’ll definitely post if I do. What I can say with certainty is that we did discuss having some buses start further up on Shore Road to address the overcrowding. There seems to be ongoing issues with construction projects holding up the busesfrom starting promptly and so the come bunched and packed together. Given how frequent service is along Shore Road at times, bunching and overcrowding can occur very easy. Since they assured me that they have enough seats during the rush, having buses start further up seems like the only solution to address the overcrowding further up in the 80s and 70s. We didn’t discuss routing or any of that. I’ll leave that to them and if it works, great. If not, they’ll be hesring from me. They’ve had a lot heat from me via the Brooklyn Borough President in addition to Senator Gounardes so those lines now have dispatchers in Brooklyn and Manhattan to oversee service, as they should. I had a long conference call with Adam’s office and he asked for more photos of the problems, which I gladly sent over. I’m sure they want this to be put to rest so to speak, so they better fix it.

The missing buses were the 8:50 QM5 and the 9:00 QM6. I had to take the 8:55 QM35 instead. 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

13 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

The missing buses were the 8:50 QM5 and the 9:00 QM6. I had to take the 8:55 QM35 instead. 

When that happens, you should file a formal complaint so there's a record of it, this way the  can't say well oh nobody complained:

https://new.mta.info/customer-feedback

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Latest news:

-We were interviewed by WNYC about the no-coins policy. When the interview airs, we will post here.

-For our QM2, QM3 and QM20 riders. In our last meeting with the MTA, we pushed hard to bring relief to your commutes and mentioned the hell that you've been going through back to Queens for months since the change to having buses run via 59th Street. I am happy to announce that your complaints were heard. You will notice a slight change in your commutes. The official Queens routing will now take 57th street over to Madison and then make one stop at Madison and one stop at Lex and 59th. I've posted an example on BusTime below. We will continue to monitor this situation. Please DO provide any feedback with any issues with your commutes!! We hope this helps you.

 

[7-express]

I noticed that this afternoon on BusTime.  Finally the MTA realized that Central Park South to 59th Street was a death trap during rush hour.  It's okay during off peak but it's senseless when it can utilize bus lanes during rush hour to keep moving.  Great work getting them to hear us out.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

36 minutes ago, 7-express said:

I noticed that this afternoon on BusTime.  Finally the MTA realized that Central Park South to 59th Street was a death trap during rush hour.  It's okay during off peak but it's senseless when it can utilize bus lanes during rush hour to keep moving.  Great work getting them to hear us out.

I pretty much insisted on it and one of the head planners said he would look into it for us, so that's what they came up with.  They haven't changed the schedules yet though to show it on the maps. Guess they didn't get around to it.

[7-express]

They probably don't need to update the schedules because the buses will likely be slightly hot or on time now instead of chronically late.  Or they're probably just going to monitor how buses perform until the summer and then update the schedules then.

[7-express]

My QM20 driver today came down Central Park South/59th Street today for some reason.  I guess the message may not have gotten out to all drivers yet.  But he came on time so it didn't really have much of an impact.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

9 minutes ago, 7-express said:

My QM20 driver today came down Central Park South/59th Street today for some reason.  I guess the message may not have gotten out to all drivers yet.  But he came on time so it didn't really have much of an impact.

I’m looking into this now... The routing is not officially changed on the schedules so that means the drivers likely were not told. It is only on BusTime.

Edited April 24, 2019 by Via Garibaldi 8

[Via Garibaldi 8]

18 hours ago, 7-express said:

My QM20 driver today came down Central Park South/59th Street today for some reason.  I guess the message may not have gotten out to all drivers yet.  But he came on time so it didn't really have much of an impact.

I don't know what the story is but officially they still have the routing as 6th to 59th and across despite the update to BusTime. Drivers can take either or, so it's confusing because they changed BusTime but nothing else, so when the driver takes 59th the bus will disappear on BusTime until they change it officially.

[QM1to6Ave]

I was reading the little pieces of paper taped onto the express buses about the fare increases, and it said any old unlimited cards must be activated by Monday or they will not work after next week?! Did I read that correcly? My unlimited cycle ends on Wednesday, and I refilled my card before the hike, so will it only work for half the week? If so, I want a refund!

Edited April 26, 2019 by QM1to6Ave

[7-express]

1 hour ago, QM1to6Ave said:

I was reading the little pieces of paper taped onto the express buses about the fare increases, and it said any old unlimited cards must be activated by Monday or they will not work after next week?! Did I read that correcly? My unlimited cycle ends on Wednesday, and I refilled my card before the hike, so will it only work for half the week? If so, I want a refund!

Says here you need to activate it by the 29th...so that's Monday.

https://new.mta.info/fares-and-tolls/subway-bus-sir/new-fares-04_21_2019

[7-express]

7 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

I don't know what the story is but officially they still have the routing as 6th to 59th and across despite the update to BusTime. Drivers can take either or, so it's confusing because they changed BusTime but nothing else, so when the driver takes 59th the bus will disappear on BusTime until they change it officially.

Well that's weird and slightly disappointing.  Though the majority of the good drivers know to take 57th to Madison and then back.  Honestly I don't care too much as long as the bus shows up around the scheduled time, which they've been doing this week.  But a little more awareness would've been smart.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

2 hours ago, 7-express said:

Well that's weird and slightly disappointing.  Though the majority of the good drivers know to take 57th to Madison and then back.  Honestly I don't care too much as long as the bus shows up around the scheduled time, which they've been doing this week.  But a little more awareness would've been smart.

Well my guess is that it is changed on BusTime because they plan on making it official, but they can take FOREVER to make changes. There are a ton of Staten Island changes that they haven’t gotten to yet. BusTime is done from the outside. I don’t know who handles the updates of the maps, but I’ll keep you posted on it to see.