Express Bus Advocacy Group

[Via Garibaldi 8]

7 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

Well, here we go again...covid rates are rising, and 3/4 CP express buses I've been on in the past two days have 3-4 extra rows roped off with plastic tablecloths, twine, or plastic bags, presumably by the Bus Operator. Sigh...I thought we were past this nonsense. @Via Garibaldi 8

Oh great. I'll reach out to someone on this and see if they can get this back under control. We don't have the greatest relationship since they have been rude to riders in the group, but we speak on the side and have no issues. I'll DM you now.

[B38articbusfna]

i dont care if im necroposting have you if there are any represenatives for mta a brooklyn route like the old s8x from brooklyn to si or even consider returning the s8x under a new name or something or even bring some routes back and remodeling them so they actually have a puporse cough cough b23 cough cough like you guys could have done so muuch and i believe it

[Bill from Maspeth]

3 hours ago, B38articbusfna said:

i dont care if im necroposting have you if there are any represenatives for mta a brooklyn route like the old s8x from brooklyn to si or even consider returning the s8x under a new name or something or even bring some routes back and remodeling them so they actually have a puporse cough cough b23 cough cough like you guys could have done so muuch and i believe it

They have no money.  They could be cutting back bus routes by 40% and you want an express bus route from SI to Brooklyn which wouldn't have sufficient ridership (just like back in the day)?  Plus they eliminated the B23 for poor ridership.

For somebody who just did is first post (according to the counter), you sure came in with guns blazing!  Are you somebody who used to be here but under a different handle?

Moderators: BEWARE!

[B38articbusfna]

the only reason i came in like that is because no matter what page i go to someone always comments dude stop neucroposting stop this stop that i dont do nun i only say either some suggestions or commenting

[QM1to6Ave]

Since the recent Bustime "upgrade", I've noticed that the estimated arrival times for express buses on Bustime within Manhattan are totally crazy. For example, it will say that a QM5 that is 1.2 miles away is 21 minutes away, even though it only takes about 8 minutes (and there is no traffic, and the bus actually does arrive 8 minutes later), and there will also be a bus listed at, say 3.5 miles away with an estimate of only 19 minutes, which clearly makes no sense since they travel the exact same route and don't have flux capacitors from Back to the Future installed. It seems like someone messed around with the algorithm or the data that gets fed into the algorithm.  

Edited January 2, 2021 by QM1to6Ave

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 hour ago, QM1to6Ave said:

Since the recent Bustime "upgrade", I've noticed that the estimated arrival times for express buses on Bustime within Manhattan are totally crazy. For example, it will say that a QM5 that is 1.2 miles away is 21 minutes away, even though it only takes about 8 minutes (and there is no traffic, and the bus actually does arrive 8 minutes later), and there will also be a bus listed at, say 3.5 miles away with an estimate of only 19 minutes, which clearly makes no sense since they travel the exact same route and don't have flux capacitors from Back to the Future installed. It seems like someone messed around with the algorithm or the data that gets fed into the algorithm.  

I spoke directly to Mr. Cipriano about it at the last fare hike hearing. He was taking notes as I was complaining. Of course I have no idea what he wrote down, since I had a number of complaints, but between that and the missing bus issues for the BM lines in Brooklyn, I made a stink via Twitter and started writing some elected officials calling for another audit. If David Weprin becomes the City Comptroller, I'm sure he'll follow through with another express bus audit. I had been speaking to some people at the City Comptroller's Office and really pushing for one, but with Stringer having other aspirations, the chance for another audit right now is slim, but regardless, we do have a number of elected officials following us on Twitter and they are seeing the problems, so slowly by surely there have been some improvements. Some of these buses are also quite old, so it seems like they swapped some perhaps to address the tracking issues. I'll keep an eye out for it. BusTime is handled by an outside vendor though, so when a change needs to be made, they have to put in a request to have it fixed. I agree it has been a bit buggy since that upgrade.

How has OMNY been for you? One customer in Brooklyn used it and the driver snapped his fingers at him. Some drivers are not aware of the new payment system, so I am going to reach out about that to see if they can ensure at least a little training or something. Most of the QM1s have been tracking fine compared to a while back.

Edited January 2, 2021 by Via Garibaldi 8

[QM1to6Ave]

On 1/1/2021 at 8:51 PM, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

I spoke directly to Mr. Cipriano about it at the last fare hike hearing. He was taking notes as I was complaining. Of course I have no idea what he wrote down, since I had a number of complaints, but between that and the missing bus issues for the BM lines in Brooklyn, I made a stink via Twitter and started writing some elected officials calling for another audit. If David Weprin becomes the City Comptroller, I'm sure he'll follow through with another express bus audit. I had been speaking to some people at the City Comptroller's Office and really pushing for one, but with Stringer having other aspirations, the chance for another audit right now is slim, but regardless, we do have a number of elected officials following us on Twitter and they are seeing the problems, so slowly by surely there have been some improvements. Some of these buses are also quite old, so it seems like they swapped some perhaps to address the tracking issues. I'll keep an eye out for it. BusTime is handled by an outside vendor though, so when a change needs to be made, they have to put in a request to have it fixed. I agree it has been a bit buggy since that upgrade.

How has OMNY been for you? One customer in Brooklyn used it and the driver snapped his fingers at him. Some drivers are not aware of the new payment system, so I am going to reach out about that to see if they can ensure at least a little training or something. Most of the QM1s have been tracking fine compared to a while back.

I haven't personally used OMNY because I still use an unlimited express bus pass because I work in-person all week. I have seen a good number of people use it on the Express bus without any issue and without any BO pushback

[Via Garibaldi 8]

13 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

I haven't personally used OMNY because I still use an unlimited express bus pass because I work in-person all week. I have seen a good number of people use it on the Express bus without any issue and without any BO pushback

That's excellent. The only time I don't use it is when I have an express bus pass, otherwise I prefer OMNY. Contactless paying system, so no touching anything in this COVID environment. Next week, I will be using it.

[QM1to6Ave]

6 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

That's excellent. The only time I don't use it is when I have an express bus pass, otherwise I prefer OMNY. Contactless paying system, so no touching anything in this COVID environment. Next week, I will be using it.

Interestingly, some of the banks that issue my credit/debit cards have given me pushback when I request contactless cards when it is time to replace my cards. I thought it was standard by now??

[Via Garibaldi 8]

On 1/3/2021 at 6:05 PM, QM1to6Ave said:

Interestingly, some of the banks that issue my credit/debit cards have given me pushback when I request contactless cards when it is time to replace my cards. I thought it was standard by now??

Not necessarily. Some issuers are sending them out automatically, and some are not. Don't know if you remember, but tap-and-go was a thing years ago. I used to use it at stores that had it, but it wasn't widely available. I LOVED it when it worked, but then there were security concerns that people could scan your wallet or pocketbook for females and steal the info that the wireless cards had on them, so issuers stopped sending out wireless cards and came out with cards with chips in them, which were deemed more secure. Slowly, issuers have been providing the wireless option in addition to the chip, but not all of them are. I called one issuer, asked for a wireless card, and they said SURE, no problem. They sent me out a new card that was EXACTLY the same as the old one! I had to ask for a manager who then said that the particular card I had did not have that feature, but they did allow me to add the card to my mobile wallet, so I use that one on my phone to tap-and-go, and have one card that automatically came with the wireless option. Issuers like AMEX and some banks automatically will send out wireless cards.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

If there are any SIM22 riders in the group, we have been fielding complaints about SIM22 service, particularly in the afternoon. We will be monitoring the service closely going forward, particularly complaints about buses skipping segments of the pick-up and ensuring that buses are consistently tracking, morning and evening. If there other lines having issues, please let us know.

[aemoreira81]

The new X3-45s have seatbelts at every passenger seat for passengers to use. I have to wonder how much it would cost to retrofit the entire Prevost fleet (and 2251-2304 among the MCI D4500CT fleet) with seatbelt-equipped seats. (I don't see a point in retrofitting the other MCIs with such seats as they are 13 years old or older, with the oldest bus being 20 if either 2204 or 2209 is still around).

[QM1to6Ave]

5 hours ago, aemoreira81 said:

The new X3-45s have seatbelts at every passenger seat for passengers to use. I have to wonder how much it would cost to retrofit the entire Prevost fleet (and 2251-2304 among the MCI D4500CT fleet) with seatbelt-equipped seats. (I don't see a point in retrofitting the other MCIs with such seats as they are 13 years old or older, with the oldest bus being 20 if either 2204 or 2209 is still around).

I rode the brand, spankin' new Prevost on the QM6 this morning (i think it was 1800 or 1900). What a smooth, quiet ride, better placement of USB ports. The wifi and omny readers weren't functional yet, but I didn't mind. The tv screens showed a live map but not the bus stops. 

And i do like the seat belts, after seeing the craziness with 1200 going onto the CBE lol. 

It seems like, unlike the MCIs, there's no "outer" set of bulbs (ie, between the seats and the windows), just the "inner" set over the aisle. 

Also, i didn't hear a ding when i rang the bell, not sure if that is normal or not on Prevosts. 

Would have been a wonderful ride if the old couple near me would have stopped yakking loudly in Spanish for the whole damn ride...

The BO told me he's been driving the prevosts for months so it didn't seem that new or cool to him lol, though he smiled when i said "nice bus, man!"

[Future ENY OP]

1 hour ago, QM1to6Ave said:

I rode the brand, spankin' new Prevost on the QM6 this morning (i think it was 1800 or 1900). What a smooth, quiet ride, better placement of USB ports. The wifi and omny readers weren't functional yet, but I didn't mind. The tv screens showed a live map but not the bus stops. 

And i do like the seat belts, after seeing the craziness with 1200 going onto the CBE lol. 

It seems like, unlike the MCIs, there's no "outer" set of bulbs (ie, between the seats and the windows), just the "inner" set over the aisle. 

Also, i didn't hear a ding when i rang the bell, not sure if that is normal or not on Prevosts. 

Would have been a wonderful ride if the old couple near me would have stopped yakking loudly in Spanish for the whole damn ride...

The BO told me he's been driving the prevosts for months so it didn't seem that new or cool to him lol, though he smiled when i said "nice bus, man!"

First off. New prevosts are in the 1300 series. You could of been either on 1302, 1303 or 1304. All buses do have WiFi and OMNY. However, like you indicated they are not functioning as of yet, but soon.  College Point is expected to get up to 85 of those spankin new prevosts.  

[Via Garibaldi 8]

2 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

I rode the brand, spankin' new Prevost on the QM6 this morning (i think it was 1800 or 1900). What a smooth, quiet ride, better placement of USB ports. The wifi and omny readers weren't functional yet, but I didn't mind. The tv screens showed a live map but not the bus stops. 

And i do like the seat belts, after seeing the craziness with 1200 going onto the CBE lol. 

It seems like, unlike the MCIs, there's no "outer" set of bulbs (ie, between the seats and the windows), just the "inner" set over the aisle. 

Also, i didn't hear a ding when i rang the bell, not sure if that is normal or not on Prevosts. 

Would have been a wonderful ride if the old couple near me would have stopped yakking loudly in Spanish for the whole damn ride...

The BO told me he's been driving the prevosts for months so it didn't seem that new or cool to him lol, though he smiled when i said "nice bus, man!"

Where are the USB chargers located? I gave them feedback on those and asked that they be placed overhead and not on the side where they had them for the first Prevost bus they sent out. As for the driver, there has been a swap... Some Yonkers Depot drivers going to Queens and some Queens drivers coming over to the Bronx express lines.

Also been asking for fewer announcements and a quieter bell (been getting TONS of complaints about this from Staten Island riders, so we got the Rosie Perez announcements stopped lol) so that is good. Are the screens working? They should show the next stops coming up, etc.

Edited January 20, 2021 by Via Garibaldi 8

[MysteriousBtrain]

44 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Where are the USB chargers located? I gave them feedback on those and asked that they be placed overhead and not on the side where they had them for the first Prevost bus they sent out.

That's exactly where they are. At least in the front.

 

I also noticed beginning in the middle the placement is the right seat in front of you like the local buses

[Via Garibaldi 8]

4 minutes ago, MysteriousBtrain said:

That's exactly where they are. At least in the front.

 

I also noticed beginning in the middle the placement is the right seat in front of you like the local buses

Very good. I had asked that they put them there after passenger feedback. They asked why, and I said to avoid having people reach over each other.

[QM1to6Ave]

4 hours ago, Future ENY OP said:

First off. New prevosts are in the 1300 series. You could of been either on 1302, 1303 or 1304. All buses do have WiFi and OMNY. However, like you indicated they are not functioning as of yet, but soon.  College Point is expected to get up to 85 of those spankin new prevosts.  

No, it definitely ended in XX00, and according to TTMG, 1300 is in service so it must have been that one

[QM1to6Ave]

4 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Where are the USB chargers located? I gave them feedback on those and asked that they be placed overhead and not on the side where they had them for the first Prevost bus they sent out. As for the driver, there has been a swap... Some Yonkers Depot drivers going to Queens and some Queens drivers coming over to the Bronx express lines.

Also been asking for fewer announcements and a quieter bell (been getting TONS of complaints about this from Staten Island riders, so we got the Rosie Perez announcements stopped lol) so that is good. Are the screens working? They should show the next stops coming up, etc.

To add to @MysteriousBtrain, I was in the wheelchair area seat, and for that one the USB port is on the side, but I imagine those seats may not be able to be wired with USB since they move around. 

 

No automated annoucements at all on my trip today, and I didn't hear a bell at all. The screens as of now only showed the GPS map , no upcoming stops or route number.

[QM1to6Ave]

I also like that the Prevosts have 4 smaller steps than the 3 bigger steps on the MCI, which should be easier for elderly folks, etc (especially when rude BOs don't kneel the bus when stopping away from the curb)

[Via Garibaldi 8]

16 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

To add to @MysteriousBtrain, I was in the wheelchair area seat, and for that one the USB port is on the side, but I imagine those seats may not be able to be wired with USB since they move around. 

 

No automated annoucements at all on my trip today, and I didn't hear a bell at all. The screens as of now only showed the GPS map , no upcoming stops or route number.

Probably haven't programmed them just yet. I'm telling you, the  is constantly creating problems.  We get ongoing complaints about these damn automated announcements.  They are LOUD and annoying.  I heard a few of them Monday when I was in Brooklyn, but they weren't so obnoxious like the other ones have been.

[QM1to6Ave]

2 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Probably haven't programmed them just yet. I'm telling you, the  is constantly creating problems.  We get ongoing complaints about these damn automated announcements.  They are LOUD and annoying.  I heard a few of them Monday when I was in Brooklyn, but they weren't so obnoxious like the other ones have been.

I've heard them on the QV exp routes which I take every so often. I was like "how do you people deal with this??" first time i rode it lol

Also, today i got on of the 28XX CP buses and the light cover literally cracked off in my hand! I think those buses know their time has come...

Edited January 21, 2021 by QM1to6Ave

[Via Garibaldi 8]

We are having some serious problems with Staten Island express bus drivers becoming confrontational with riders who want to board the express bus and the drivers denying them entry, claiming that the express buses are full enough. They are trying to enact ridership caps set by the union, but the  never set ridership caps, so this is borderline discrimination. In most cases, we are talking about 25 riders, so there are still seats available. This is being handled aggressively by Road Ops to stop this practice, but if you experience it on Staten Island or any other express bus line, please do let us know. 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

@QM1to6Ave Ulmer Park Depot BO messaged me earlier today about the X27/X37 detour, as have a few passengers since the information at the depot apparently conflicts with what the  has on their website. In case your colleague asks or has had problems, it should be corrected now and drivers will be reminded of the correct detour. There is also new detour signage up in the affected areas, which was approved yesterday.

[QM1to6Ave]

13 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

@QM1to6Ave Ulmer Park Depot BO messaged me earlier today about the X27/X37 detour, as have a few passengers since the information at the depot apparently conflicts with what the  has on their website. In case your colleague asks or has had problems, it should be corrected now and drivers will be reminded of the correct detour. There is also new detour signage up in the affected areas, which was approved yesterday.

Thanks! I just told my colleague, and he asked me to pass on the “thank you”