Express Bus Advocacy Group

[Via Garibaldi 8]

3 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said:

I like the electronic signs! They make it look like the tour buses we used to take on long school trips with the TVs installed. Maybe the B/O can play a DVD of Shrek to really give me some nostalgia  

I don't care for the charging ports being on the side "walls" though. Going to reach out about that. Maybe they can fix that when they finalize the design of these buses, as this is one of the "sample" buses.

Edited August 2, 2020 by Via Garibaldi 8

[QM1to6Ave]

1 minute ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

I don't care for the charging ports being on the side "walls" though. Going to reach out about that. Maybe they can fix that when they finalize the design of these buses, as this is one of the "sample" buses.

Interesting, are there two ports per set of seats? Yeah, if I'm sharing a seat I don't want to have to reach over some other dude's lap to get to the outlet (then again, who knows when it will be safe to sit so close to other people...)

Didn't some of the other Prevosts also have actual outlets as well? 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

4 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said:

Interesting, are there two ports per set of seats? Yeah, if I'm sharing a seat I don't want to have to reach over some other dude's lap to get to the outlet (then again, who knows when it will be safe to sit so close to other people...)

Didn't some of the other Prevosts also have actual outlets as well? 

Yeah, there are two ports:

Someone in my group took those photos today. Very strange place for it. The oldest Prevosts at first didn't have charging ports, but they retrofitted all of them, so they are just like the MCI express buses that have them, with the USB ports overhead.

Edited August 2, 2020 by Via Garibaldi 8

[QM1to6Ave]

16 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Yeah, there are two ports:

Someone in my group took those photos today. Very strange place for it. The oldest Prevosts at first didn't have charging ports, but they retrofitted all of them, so they are just like the MCI express buses that have them, with the USB ports overhead.

Oh yes, that positioning is ripe for an inappropriate touching complaint LOL

[MysteriousBtrain]

43 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Someone in my group took those photos today. Very strange place for it. The oldest Prevosts at first didn't have charging ports, but they retrofitted all of them, so they are just like the MCI express buses that have them, with the USB ports overhead

This is honestly the best setup for the express buses, especially since the USBS are right next to to the stop request button.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

In addition to the 5th Avenue Busway project, we have also been asked to partake in the Hylan Blvd bus lane project on Staten Island. Not sure yet how long that project will last, but the 5th Av one is long-term. The two projects combined could help Staten Island commuters substantially, so we're looking forward to hearing the particulars.

[QM1to6Ave]

Bus 3215 has 7 rows blocked off with red tape on both sides of the aisle. Bus was pretty crowded this morning in the early peak period 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 hour ago, QM1to6Ave said:

Bus 3215 has 7 rows blocked off with red tape on both sides of the aisle. Bus was pretty crowded this morning in the early peak period 

How many people would you say? Take a picture next time.

Edited August 5, 2020 by Via Garibaldi 8

[QM1to6Ave]

 

14 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

How many people would you say? Take a picture next time.

Will do. I sat in the very, very back row because there was someone in every other set of 2 seats 

[ViaWaterViaChurch]

On ‎8‎/‎2‎/‎2020 at 3:47 PM, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

I can even live with that. Past five rows that's more than 20 seats unavailable. 

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New express bus making its rounds out of Yonkers Depot. I have not rode it yet, but have seen it. Most drivers I know ao far have told me they like them overall. Should be Yonkers for about the next three weeks.

This week the CP buses I've been taking back and forth seem to have now only the first 3 rows on each side blocked off.  Thanks if you had anything to do with that.

 

I took a ride on 2824 yesterday and was surprised we made it back to Fresh Meadows.  The engine just sounds like it's gonna cut out at any minute, the whole bus was shaking, and at one point my wife and I thought the engine was gonna stall when we got into the Midtown Tunnel. 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 hour ago, ViaWaterViaChurch said:

This week the CP buses I've been taking back and forth seem to have now only the first 3 rows on each side blocked off.  Thanks if you had anything to do with that.

Yes I did. I noted that it was a chronic problem at College Point Depot, and we've been discussing it in our group. I was told it would be addressed, as the first three rows should be blocked off. Sometimes it takes a bit of time to be addressed. 

Edited August 6, 2020 by Via Garibaldi 8

[GojiMet86]

Saw this earlier:

https://www.amny.com/news/transit-news/after-two-years-the-staten-island-express-bus-redesign-shows-improved-travel-times/

 

Quote

 

After two years, the Staten Island express bus redesign shows improved travel times

Mark Hallum     August 13, 2020

 

In the two years since the Staten Island bus network was redesigned, the MTA says that service overall improved, especially for express bus routes which are faster by 10%, according to the agency.

Since ditching the X network, MTA Bus Company President Craig Cipriano released the data the represented commute times reduced by an average of 10 minutes and a 12 minute gain in the morning hours for straphangers traveling from Eltingville Transit Center to Midtown Manhattan.

“We’re giving our customers back vital minutes every single day that equate to more time for them rather than spending more time on the bus. What’s also very rewarding for us is that almost what we saw pre-pandemic is that customers were coming back to the SIM network,” Cipriano said. “Reliability was up to 82% on the SIM network. That’s from a low of 62% from the old X network. What that means is that customers can plan their day.”

Streamlining routes and balancing out the spacing between stops is what Cipriano attributed to the success of the SIM route, adding that well-enforced bus priority can improve headways and bus speeds across the city as seen in Brooklyn and Manhattan where the MTA’s pilot program to issue camera violations to motorists blocking bus lanes has been expanded in recent weeks.

While the SIM network only applies to express bus routes, the MTA’s prior commitment to improve local routes across the city by 2021 has been shelved for the time-being due the COVID-19 pandemic. Communication with riders in order to fine-tune service is not “possible” during a pandemic, Cipriano said.

According to the MTA, the bus ridership has bounced back by about 30% since, equating to about 8,000 to 9,000 customers in Staten Island compared to the 35,000 daily average before the pandemic began in March.

“If you are a Staten Islander – and I am a native Staten Islander – it’s reflexive, it’s a birthright to criticize the MTA… My god, I’ve got some colleagues who basically they’ve made their career out of turning the MTA into a piñata,” Staten Island Borough President Jimmy Oddo said. “For a long time I’ve been talking about how the public doesn’t care about the process, they care about the finished product.”

 

 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

19 hours ago, GojiMet86 said:

Saw this earlier:

https://www.amny.com/news/transit-news/after-two-years-the-staten-island-express-bus-redesign-shows-improved-travel-times/

 

 

Yeah I know. I ignored it. We were discussing the SI express bus network on a conference call about the Hylan Blvd project the other day. Notice that they use percentages instead of the actual mph. 10% of what is what people should ask. Yes, service is a bit faster, but those stats likely don’t mention what the passengers actual travel times are.

Edited August 14, 2020 by Via Garibaldi 8

[QM1to6Ave]

5 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Yeah I know. I ignored it. We were discussing the SI express bus network on a conference call about the Hylan Blvd project the other day. Notice that they use percentages instead of the actual mph. 10% of what is what people should ask. Yes, service is a bit faster, but those stats likely don’t mention what the passengers actual travel times are.

It also does not indicate whether passengers are traveling farther to get to their bus, or if they have fewer buses on the route that they use, etc. Sure, the buses that are running are somewhat faster (some of which is due to the fact that there was zero traffic from March 16 until about June), but that doesn't really mean much by itself.

[Bay Ridge Express]

2 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

It also does not indicate whether passengers are traveling farther to get to their bus, or if they have fewer buses on the route that they use, etc. Sure, the buses that are running are somewhat faster (some of which is due to the fact that there was zero traffic from March 16 until about June), but that doesn't really mean much by itself.

The reality is, the MTA will definitely not deny that their whole "innovative redesign" was a failure or that it has flaws... they like focusing on the sole benefits as a way to attract customers. The bolded text brings up a good point that should've also been met with review.

Edited August 15, 2020 by Bay Ridge Express

[checkmatechamp13]

On 8/14/2020 at 8:13 PM, QM1to6Ave said:

It also does not indicate whether passengers are traveling farther to get to their bus, or if they have fewer buses on the route that they use, etc. Sure, the buses that are running are somewhat faster (some of which is due to the fact that there was zero traffic from March 16 until about June), but that doesn't really mean much by itself.

They were running Sunday schedules on Staten Island during the height of the pandemic (April 13th to June 8th was all a Sunday schedule with a few extra buses tossed in when necessary), and the only routes that run are the slow routes that travel through Downtown & Midtown (and also make more stops on the Staten Island end), so the pandemic had nothing to do with it. 

I would tend to believe that there was definitely some improvement in travel times and reliability, but I agree that they should've been more specific. (They do mention the travel times from the ETC, which is definitely a major hub with a lot of riders, but obviously not the only place where riders are coming from). On the South Shore, where the most drastic restructuring took place, there are areas that now have express bus service that never had it before (and Downtown service in particular was expanded). On the North Shore, we gained an extra off-peak route (and many areas throughout the island have longer spans of service than they previously had. Even if they still remained with rush hour-only service, a lot of areas have service that starts 30-60 minutes earlier and/or ends 30-60 minutes later). 

There's plenty of room for improvement (and it doesn't even have to cost additional money. We've proposed plenty of cost-neutral or even cost-saving ideas that would result in better service), but after all of this, it is somewhat better than the old X system overall.

[B35 via Church]

On 8/14/2020 at 3:03 PM, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Yeah I know. I ignored it. We were discussing the SI express bus network on a conference call about the Hylan Blvd project the other day. Notice that they use percentages instead of the actual mph. 10% of what is what people should ask. Yes, service is a bit faster, but those stats likely don’t mention what the passengers actual travel times are.

While true (about how percentages are thrown out there to mask actual values), I would dismiss that 10% or whatever for a specific reason.... The average speeds of buses in this city is nothing to write home about to begin with, so a 10% increase of a number that's already some subpar value, doesn't mean jack shit to me....

Talk to me when bus speeds increase by at least 100%, otherwise go lie down somewhere & take a nap....

On 8/14/2020 at 8:13 PM, QM1to6Ave said:

It also does not indicate whether passengers are traveling farther to get to their bus, or if they have fewer buses on the route that they use, etc. Sure, the buses that are running are somewhat faster (some of which is due to the fact that there was zero traffic from March 16 until about June), but that doesn't really mean much by itself.

No one ever puts it like this, but speed metrics are often used as cover-ups for total commuting time.... The time on a singular mode is not wholly representative of someone's commuting time either (hence the term "door to door")... So you're right - to throw out a 10% increase in bus speeds tells me much of nothing, thus means much of nothing...

The funny thing about small victories is that they can easily be nullified.

On 8/14/2020 at 10:24 PM, Bay Ridge Express said:

The reality is, the MTA will definitely not deny that their whole "innovative redesign" was a failure or that it has flaws... they like focusing on the sole benefits as a way to attract customers. The bolded text brings up a good point that should've also been met with review.

You're not wrong, but I would change one word in your statement here... Instead of attract, I'd say MAINTAIN.

The MTA likes to tout nominal positives & downplay the hell out of their shortcomings/losses.... While they admit there are ridership losses system-wide, they tend to convey it like it's something that's easily rectifiable at times (like, with these redesigns).... The thing about public transportation is that once people are done with it, they seldom ever go back to utilizing it.... So no, the likelihood of hundreds-to-thousands of riders across multiple routes patronizing these services are slim-to-none....

Keeping people deluded & passing your endeavors off as innovative or progressive is not transparency.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

8 minutes ago, B35 via Church said:

While true (about how percentages are thrown out there to mask actual values), I would dismiss that 10% or whatever for a specific reason.... The average speeds of buses in this city is nothing to write home about to begin with, so a 10% increase of a number that's already some subpar value, doesn't mean jack shit to me....

Talk to me when bus speeds increase by at least 100%, otherwise go lie down somewhere & take a nap....

I know. lol That’s exactly what I was thinking about during the conference call last week on the Hylan Blvd project. I said I need to keep my big mouth shut and not ask them about that because they’re trying. Lord knows the buses are slow. LOL DOT was talking about how the S79SBS has improved with increased speeds since they made changes to Hylan Blvd (of course they used percentages again and not actual mph), but I don’t want to be “that guy” that beats them over the head about that stuff, though I totally agree with you. I was hounding people to get in touch with the DOT for MONTHS. Don’t want to screw with any progress now, even if it is small. lol

Edited August 19, 2020 by Via Garibaldi 8

[XcelsiorBoii4888]

On 8/2/2020 at 3:47 PM, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

I can even live with that. Past five rows that's more than 20 seats unavailable. 

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New express bus making its rounds out of Yonkers Depot. I have not rode it yet, but have seen it. Most drivers I know ao far have told me they like them overall. Should be Yonkers for about the next three weeks.

I appreciate that the new express buses don't have those bright piercing lights next to the windows pointing down in your face. I was never a fan of direct light on the express bus, and I would appreciate it when drivers kept those lights off and only kept the indirect aisle lights on, good to know there's only indirect lights on this bus minus the reading lights. 

[B35 via Church]

5 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

I know. lol That’s exactly what I was thinking about during the conference call last week on the Hylan Blvd project. I said I need to keep my big mouth shut and not ask them about that because they’re trying. Lord knows the buses are slow. LOL DOT was talking about how the S79SBS has improved with increased speeds since they made changes to Hylan Blvd (of course they used percentages again and not actual mph), but I don’t want to be “that guy” that beats them over the head about that stuff, though I totally agree with you. I was hounding people to get in touch with the DOT for MONTHS. Don’t want to screw with any progress now, even if it is small. lol

There's just too much bad history with this agency & the negatives astronomically outweigh the positives.... I get that you don't want to risk losing any connect's you have & what not (and being a d*ck by being a stickler for certain shit will definitely accomplish that) - but at the same time, as an end-user of these services, I don't exactly take kind to being peed on & being told that it is "just rain" ! The MTA does way too much of that crap.... Like people are stupid.

In person (hate using the term in real life), whenever someone throws out a percentage without context, I will call you out right there & ask something to the effect of, with reference to what.... I've done it in meetings with peers & higher-ups, caught flack for it, but IDC... After someone throws out a percentage, I'll usually blurt out "context", or "....of what".... The whole thing's kind of like these embellished job titles in the job market right now.... This trend of appending "technician" to everything, IDK man....

The thing that really annoys me about the conveyed "success" of the SBS, is that it wasn't organic.... Having buses make less stops & implementing bus lanes will improve runtimes by default.... Although I like how the S79 has improved, I mean seriously - spare me the unnecessary touting of the inevitable....

 

[checkmatechamp13]

2 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

You're not wrong, but I would change one word in your statement here... Instead of attract, I'd say MAINTAIN.

The MTA likes to tout nominal positives & downplay the hell out of their shortcomings/losses.... While they admit there are ridership losses system-wide, they tend to convey it like it's something that's easily rectifiable at times (like, with these redesigns).... The thing about public transportation is that once people are done with it, they seldom ever go back to utilizing it.... So no, the likelihood of hundreds-to-thousands of riders across multiple routes patronizing these services are slim-to-none....

In this case, they actually did manage to increase ridership once the dust settled (before COVID of course), but they also had to increase their budget as well (well if they were smart they might've been able to do it with no budget increase but my point is ridership did go up)

Edited August 19, 2020 by checkmatechamp13

[B35 via Church]

17 minutes ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

In this case, they actually did manage to increase ridership once the dust settled (before COVID of course), but they also had to increase their budget as well (well if they were smart they might've been able to do it with no budget increase but my point is ridership did go up)

Out of how many cases though....

Catering to the riding public to the best of their abilities should be the norm, not the anomaly.

Edited August 19, 2020 by B35 via Church

[Via Garibaldi 8]

If you’re sick of the Rosie Perez announcements, we are too. Myself and a few other people reached out. We’re awaiting word. Hopefully they will get rid of them completely.      

[RapidoNewLook]

48 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

If you’re sick of the Rosie Perez announcements, we are too. Myself and a few other people reached out. We’re awaiting word. Hopefully they will get rid of them completely.      

What are Rosie Perez announcements? 

[checkmatechamp13]

1 minute ago, RapidoNewLook said:

What are Rosie Perez announcements? 

Rosie Perez makes announcements about wearing a mask on public transit (but they repeat constantly)