Express Bus Advocacy Group

[Via Garibaldi 8]

12 hours ago, 7-express said:

Are reports still being taken for buses not showing up on BusTime?  3386 operating as the 1600 QM20 to Bay Terrace didn't show up on the tracker.

Yes, I'll take care of it.

11 hours ago, RSMG106 said:

I'm not sure if this is mentioned, but if the MTA wants better express service, my proposal will be to run buses anytime of the day (at least 30 minutes). This especially includes the QM21 from Baisley Park, the QM3 from College Point, and the QM24/34 and QM25 from LaGuardia. 

Also regarding about the Queens bus redesign, I am concerned on how express service will remove many stops, in order for the MTA to have flexible service. An example would be that I rode on the QM6 back to Manhattan from LIJ Hospital. During my ride back home, there was no one on each stop after LIJ, making it feel like a Super Express. The routes should also not cut back times, and rather do 24/7 bus service, just like with other local/limited routes around the city. I don't know if the idea would be perfect, but this is just my proposal.

There's no reason to add more stops to the QM6 to the part of the route you're mentioning, as the bus stop spacing for that part of the route is adequate. 
As for your other proposals, there are only a handful of express bus lines that should have 24/7 service that currently don't, such as lines like the BxM7. Such a service addition would not break the bank, since it would be something like hourly service.

What my group will be focusing on is keeping the current service on the Queens express lines at a minimum, so for example, things like 60 minute headways on weekday, versus the proposed 90 minutes... Things of that nature.

---------

UPDATES:

-BM2 update. We requested that the  post the new schedule with the earlier bus service we recently secured from Canarsie to Midtown (click on link below). That schedule is now available. 

-Fare capping... So far, the new fare capping program for the local bus and subway has been very successful, and barring any tech issues with OMNY, we expect the program to be expanded to express buses down the lines, something we have also advocated for. I discussed this in my interview with Erik Bascome from the SI Advance back in March.

https://www.silive.com/news/2022/03/why-doesnt-mtas-omny-fare-capping-program-include-higher-priced-express-bus-trips.html

Edited April 6, 2022 by Via Garibaldi 8

[Via Garibaldi 8]

4 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Yes, I'll take care of it.

There's no reason to add more stops to the QM6 to the part of the route you're mentioning, as the bus stop spacing for that part of the route is adequate. 
As for your other proposals, there are only a handful of express bus lines that should have 24/7 service that currently don't, such as lines like the BxM7. Such a service addition would not break the bank, since it would be something like hourly service.

What my group will be focusing on is keeping the current service on the Queens express lines at a minimum, so for example, things like 60 minute headways on weekday, versus the proposed 90 minutes... Things of that nature.

---------

UPDATES:

-BM2 update. We requested that the  post the new schedule with the earlier bus service we recently secured from Canarsie to Midtown (click on link below). That schedule is now available. 

-Fare capping... So far, the new fare capping program for the local bus and subway has been very successful, and barring any tech issues with OMNY, we expect the program to be expanded to express buses down the lines, something we have also advocated for. I discussed this in my interview with Erik Bascome from the SI Advance back in March.

https://www.silive.com/news/2022/03/why-doesnt-mtas-omny-fare-capping-program-include-higher-priced-express-bus-trips.html

Damnit... Auto correct... Meant to write 60 minute headways on WEEKENDS.

[dkupf]

The operation of off-peak express bus service at 90-minute frequencies are a violation of the MTA Service Guidelines Manual.  Either operate off-peak express bus service at 60-minute-or-better frequencies, or not at all.

Because of this, I think that the QM2 should use the weekend routing in Queens during the off-peak and weekends.

The QM15 should be retained Saturdays every 60 minutes or better.

[dkupf]

I would add at least one express bus stop in Beechhurst, as that I heard that the stops at 160 St & Cross Island Pkwy are safety hazards.

[dkupf]

Ridership data also shows that Downtown Manhattan express bus service in Bay Terrace and Beechhurst, during the weekday peak, would be viable.  I would call it the QM9.

[dkupf]

Electchester off-peak express bus service may have low ridership, but I think that it would remain viable if the QM5 would be combined with the QM4 off-peak hours with frequencies every 60 minutes or better.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

With the tragic events from earlier today, my group has been providing updates to new express bus commuters that normally take the subway and we are pushing to get additional express bus service up and running ASAP to avoid severely overcrowded X27, X28, X37 & X38 buses.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

TRAVEL ALERT: ADDITIONAL BROOKLYN EXPRESS BUS SERVICE

-The MTA has confirmed that additional express bus service has been added where possible to mitigate the overcrowding issues. 

-However, there is NOT enough extra service to accommodate all subway riders. SOME D & N subway service has been restored to Brooklyn. Shuttle buses running as well. B service is still cancelled. Hopefully that will come back at some point. We will continue to monitor.

[Lil 57]

Given the overcrowding I wouldn’t be surprised if some bay ridge residents decided to take the Sim1/7/10/11 buses to the first stop in Staten Island and backtrack to bay ridge with the S79. Especially since you can’t get on the x27/37, x28/38 if you’re trying to get on at some of the last stops in Manhattan.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

12 minutes ago, Lil 57 said:

Given the overcrowding I wouldn’t be surprised if some bay ridge residents decided to take the Sim1/7/10/11 buses to the first stop in Staten Island and backtrack to bay ridge with the S79. Especially since you can’t get on the x27/37, x28/38 if you’re trying to get on at some of the last stops in Manhattan.

BM lines are also packed because the  is suspended in addition to people not wanting to take the subway.

[IAlam]

23 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

TRAVEL ALERT: ADDITIONAL BROOKLYN EXPRESS BUS SERVICE

-The MTA has confirmed that additional express bus service has been added where possible to mitigate the overcrowding issues. 

-However, there is NOT enough extra service to accommodate all subway riders. SOME D & N subway service has been restored to Brooklyn. Shuttle buses running as well. B service is still cancelled. Hopefully that will come back at some point. We will continue to monitor.

Also if it helps people in your group the South Brooklyn ferry is free tonight 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

19 minutes ago, IAlam said:

Also if it helps people in your group the South Brooklyn ferry is free tonight 

Not really. They added extra service, but the ferries are still overcrowded. All of this shows that we can't put all of our eggs in one basket. Having the ferries and express buses has made the situation far more tolerable. 

[Sb01]

Have you seen the new queens bus map redesign 

the new express bus map scheduling according to the redesign is cuting alot of satuerday and sunday service and midday service during the weekday

and even adding more wait times on alot of express routes

 

https://platform.remix.com/map/ab99fefd?latlng=40.6803,-73.88947,11&layer=hifi

https://new.mta.info/project/queens-bus-network-redesign

 

 

 

[7-express]

Is CP depot having coverage issues?  I've seen numerous afternoon runs be cancelled this week along the QM2/20 lines and it's leading to some crappy wait times with sometimes little lead time before they announce the cancellation.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

51 minutes ago, 7-express said:

Is CP depot having coverage issues?  I've seen numerous afternoon runs be cancelled this week along the QM2/20 lines and it's leading to some crappy wait times with sometimes little lead time before they announce the cancellation.

Drivers are calling out across the board... Comes and goes... Supposedly COVID related. 

[Lil 57]

1 hour ago, 7-express said:

Is CP depot having coverage issues?  I've seen numerous afternoon runs be cancelled this week along the QM2/20 lines and it's leading to some crappy wait times with sometimes little lead time before they announce the cancellation.

 

28 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Drivers are calling out across the board... Comes and goes... Supposedly COVID related. 

Feels like every transit agency is having shortages due to the new COVID strain. My college town's transit agency (TCAT) just cut all service past 8:30 PM (Service normally ends between 1-2 AM every day except for Sunday) and reduced service on a lot of others due to the bus driver shortage. Guessing the  is experiencing something similar.

Edited April 28, 2022 by Lil 57

[Via Garibaldi 8]

5 minutes ago, Lil 57 said:

 

Feels like every transit agency is having shortages due to the new COVID strain. My college town's transit agency (TCAT) just cut all service past 8:30 PM (Service normally ends between 1-2 AM every day except for Sunday) and reduced service on a lot of others due to the bus driver shortage. Guessing the  is experiencing something similar.

I'm not going to get into the particulars here, but I will state that officially, that is what is being said and I'll leave it at that. lol

[7-express]

6 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Drivers are calling out across the board... Comes and goes... Supposedly COVID related. 

Yeah some weeks are better than others.  Monday was bad because they axed a few super express runs.  Last few days have been a scattering of runs.  They also seem to try and adjust runs on the go.  They announced the 3:30 PM QM20 wouldn't operate and low and behold...it did.

[QM1to6Ave]

8 minutes ago, 7-express said:

Yeah some weeks are better than others.  Monday was bad because they axed a few super express runs.  Last few days have been a scattering of runs.  They also seem to try and adjust runs on the go.  They announced the 3:30 PM QM20 wouldn't operate and low and behold...it did.

I don't listen to those announcement at all...the "cancelled" runs often end up running, and the actual cancelled runs don't get announced.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

8 hours ago, 7-express said:

Yeah some weeks are better than others.  Monday was bad because they axed a few super express runs.  Last few days have been a scattering of runs.  They also seem to try and adjust runs on the go.  They announced the 3:30 PM QM20 wouldn't operate and low and behold...it did.

Yes, what happens is Customer Service posts what they are told from Supervision, and they cannot just update on their end unless they hear back form Supervision that a trip has been filled, so if Supervision doesn't circle back and update Customer Service, you may see the trip run but still be listed as cancelled. 

8 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

I don't listen to those announcement at all...the "cancelled" runs often end up running, and the actual cancelled runs don't get announced.

Yes, I always tell people to check BusTime before they head out because sometimes a trip is re-instated at the very last minute. They may put out a request to see if any drivers want overtime and may not hear back right away until a driver responds that he or she is available and then boom, the trip is now covered. The whole process is archaic though. The way that detours and cancellations work is each division provides that info to Customer Service. If the person providing the info screws up or Customer Service screws up the info they receive, then you get errors and such. They are supposedly working on a way to better streamline this, but when that'll happen... Who knows. lol

[7-express]

It feels like the spotty coverage of the 3:30 PM QM20 this week is adversely affecting ridership.  The past few weeks, the run has been announced cancelled on random days but sometimes filled at the last minute.  Today, the 3:30 PM QM20 ran but BusTime only showed 1 rider (I'm guessing the driver) going back into Queens.  Meanwhile, the 4 PM QM20 got slammed with at least 30 people today, an abnormally high amount.  It's like the people who normally take the 3:30 PM gave up and are just going to take the 4 PM now.

It almost seems like the MTA is intentionally tanking their shoulder period stats to show that the QM20 should only start afternoon trips at 4 PM like the draft resign plan showed.  Or maybe I'm just being paranoid about their motives here...

[Via Garibaldi 8]

8 hours ago, 7-express said:

It feels like the spotty coverage of the 3:30 PM QM20 this week is adversely affecting ridership.  The past few weeks, the run has been announced cancelled on random days but sometimes filled at the last minute.  Today, the 3:30 PM QM20 ran but BusTime only showed 1 rider (I'm guessing the driver) going back into Queens.  Meanwhile, the 4 PM QM20 got slammed with at least 30 people today, an abnormally high amount.  It's like the people who normally take the 3:30 PM gave up and are just going to take the 4 PM now.

It almost seems like the MTA is intentionally tanking their shoulder period stats to show that the QM20 should only start afternoon trips at 4 PM like the draft resign plan showed.  Or maybe I'm just being paranoid about their motives here...

I wouldn't say intentionally. There are some trips that don't have a regular driver, and so it's a struggle to fill them regularly, as there are not enough fill-in drivers to cover all of the trips, and thus overtime has to be used to fill whatever trips can be filled. If drivers are available and want the overtime, they can usually fill them, albeit at the last minute, but if not, the trip stays open. The problem is Supervision is not contacting Customer Service when they do fill those trips. I've spoken with a dispatcher about this before that was in my group. Said it was because of how things were set up and they were trying to work out a new arrangement. They need to because right now it's a mess.

What I am concerned about is the fact that I continue to see "Training Buses" (both local and express) and I don't see a reduction in the amount of cancelled trips. I was walking to the express bus the other morning to head to the office and saw one in my area, but when I'm in the City, I see many more, so I'm wondering if the new drivers are working out or if they just have so many positions still open from drivers retiring, etc. Either way, it's a mess.

Some days are definitely worse than others. I only go in about twice a week, and generally on days when the cancellations aren't too bad, but Mondays and Fridays have generally been when I have seen most of the cancellations across the system.

Edited May 5, 2022 by Via Garibaldi 8

[7-express]

54 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

What I am concerned about is the fact that I continue to see "Training Buses" (both local and express) and I don't see a reduction in the amount of cancelled trips. I was walking to the express bus the other morning to head to the office and saw one in my area, but when I'm in the City, I see many more, so I'm wondering if the new drivers are working out or if they just have so many positions still open from drivers retiring, etc. Either way, it's a mess.

Yeah we've been hearing about this operator shortage for over a year now but not much to show for it, even after they resumed hiring.  I assume bus operators should be easier to train and fill than subway crews.

Also, what's with the overcrowding conditions on the BxM10?  I'm looking at some of the morning runs on BusTime and they're getting slammed with 50+ people on the early morning buses.  A friend of mine takes an early BxM10 into the city and told me there's routinely standees into Manhattan.  Seems to be insane to have standees on early express buses, even with supposed 15 minute intervals.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

49 minutes ago, 7-express said:

Yeah we've been hearing about this operator shortage for over a year now but not much to show for it, even after they resumed hiring.  I assume bus operators should be easier to train and fill than subway crews.

Also, what's with the overcrowding conditions on the BxM10?  I'm looking at some of the morning runs on BusTime and they're getting slammed with 50+ people on the early morning buses.  A friend of mine takes an early BxM10 into the city and told me there's routinely standees into Manhattan.  Seems to be insane to have standees on early express buses, even with supposed 15 minute intervals.

As far as the BxM10 goes, there have been clear changes in travel patterns. I've noticed it on quite a few trips, so trips that were previously not that packed are becoming crowded or SRO. It's a combination of people starting or finishing earlier and people switching from the subway that are concerned about crime. There was a lady the other day on the express bus that said she used to take the subway sometimes who said now she would only be taking the express bus because of crime issues. 

What time is your friend experiencing the overcrowding? The BxM10 has not had the same level of cancellations as other lines, so for the most part, I don't think that's the issue. The other thing with that line is there are many riders that commute to and from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine campus at all hours in both directions, so that line is usually regularly busy in general, but some of those people could also have switched from the subway.

Edited May 5, 2022 by Via Garibaldi 8

[7-express]

4 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

As far as the BxM10 goes, there have been clear changes in travel patterns. I've noticed it on quite a few trips, so trips that were previously not that packed are becoming crowded or SRO. It's a combination of people starting or finishing earlier and people switching from the subway that are concerned about crime. There was a lady the other day on the express bus that said she used to take the subway sometimes who said now she would only be taking the express bus because of crime issues. 

What time is your friend experiencing the overcrowding? The BxM10 has not had the same level of cancellations as other lines, so for the most part, I don't think that's the issue. The other thing with that line is there are many riders that commute to and from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine campus at all hours in both directions, so that line is usually regularly busy in general, but some of those people could also have switched from the subway.

My friend is usually on the 530 or 545 bus since we're both early starters.  SRO going into the city for at least a few days in April.

Pretty sure subway safety and early starts are driving most of the growth.  It's definitely my motivator instead of saving money on the subway.  The MTA has a prime opportunity to attract and retain express bus riders after seeing a somewhat steady decline over the last decade.  But all I see is them shooting themselves in the foot time and time again with reliability and crowding issues...nevermind them trying to slash service frequency with the redesign plans.