90 minutes is too long to wait for a bus in the afternoon

[Via Garibaldi 8]

14 minutes ago, B35 via Church said:

Finally..... Finally someone put this into words..... Those have been my very sentiments whenever someone suggests something to the effect of, oh, why can't some empty/NIS bus do a trip on *whatever* route, since it's heading in that direction anyway..... Always hated that argument....

While I agree, this is where the  has become stingy with service. The days of having standbys available aren't so common.  In those cases, you could then have buses to place where needed. They're doing that on Staten Island, but it still isn't enough.

[aemoreira81]

What is the class schedule at Kingsborough like (that is, when classes end and begin)? This is where I would actually justify taking 2 buses off of the B44 SBS fleet and have it run a short turn to and from Sheepshead Bay on the B49, and then a short turn to Ocean Parkway on the B1, and then have a full length bus load up, with the bus behind that skipping the first two stops with the first pickup being Oriental and Falmouth. Same for the B1---one to Ocean Parkway loads up at Mackenzie, another to Bay Ridge, and a third deadheads to Falmouth.

To this end, at WF, 1021-1022 would have the SBS wrap exposed to replace 5326-7 (to keep the Bx6 SBS fleet at 17, even though occasionally one will end up on the Bx36), with newer buses at GH displacing 5324, all of which would return to Flatbush for this purpose. Such needs to be coordinated with CUNY's schedules.

Most importantly though, dispatchers should be sent out into the field, communicating with East New York on conditions on the streets.

Another aside---why can't CUNY let MTA buses come directly into CUNY KCC, as is the case with QCC and CSI?

[BrooklynBus]

11 hours ago, aemoreira81 said:

What is the class schedule at Kingsborough like (that is, when classes end and begin)? This is where I would actually justify taking 2 buses off of the B44 SBS fleet and have it run a short turn to and from Sheepshead Bay on the B49, and then a short turn to Ocean Parkway on the B1, and then have a full length bus load up, with the bus behind that skipping the first two stops with the first pickup being Oriental and Falmouth. Same for the B1---one to Ocean Parkway loads up at Mackenzie, another to Bay Ridge, and a third deadheads to Falmouth.

To this end, at WF, 1021-1022 would have the SBS wrap exposed to replace 5326-7 (to keep the Bx6 SBS fleet at 17, even though occasionally one will end up on the Bx36), with newer buses at GH displacing 5324, all of which would return to Flatbush for this purpose. Such needs to be coordinated with CUNY's schedules.

Most importantly though, dispatchers should be sent out into the field, communicating with East New York on conditions on the streets.

Another aside---why can't CUNY let MTA buses come directly into CUNY KCC, as is the case with QCC and CSI?

Classes begin and end all day long. I believe the first class is at 8AM. The next rush is around 9AM. Then at every period change after that probably every 45 minutes. Starting at 12 Noon, the first rush leaving the college begins. Between 12 Noon and 1:30, about 1500 students are leaving and probably about the same amount arriving. Then it slows down until 3PM when the high school is dismissed along with a period change at the college. Twelve extra B1 buses are placed in service near 3 PM. They line up at Kensington Street beginning at 2:30. And don't forget, all day long you have the school buses operating from Brighton Beach and from Coney Island which carry about 20% of the B1 passengers leaving Coney Island Avenue. While the buses to Ocean Parkway all carry between a seated load and 70 passengers, the few B49 shuttles to Sheepshead Bay are mainly empty and are a waste., The reason for this is that while over 50 percent of B1 passengers depart at Coney Island Avenue, only 15 percent of B49 passengers get off at Sheepshead Bay so the shuttles aren't of use for most B49 passengers, many of which are using the bus over the train just to avoid a double fare, which was a reason for my B44 SBS extension to KCC proposal. 

The dispatchers at Mackenzie also do a horrible job. Sometimes they fill up the buses going to 4th Avenue, and then let the subway shuttles leave with just six passengers when holding that bus for three more minutes would fill it up. When buses leave full, they skip all stops to the subway, leaving everyone else waiting even if there are no other buses around. That means, Jaffrey and Hastings as well as Falmouth and the others, so I don't see your point about Falmouth being the first stop.

Buses do not stop on the campus primarily because the college does not care about its students. They use security as an excuse saying there is no way to check IDS if buses enter the college property, but they don't check IDS anyway for walk ins or even on the buses. The MTA offered to run its buses on the campus over ten years ago and the college refused. All they needed was a place to turn around the buses which easily could have been provided by  removing around 20 parking spaces or by creating a new area, but the college chose to build a softball field instead. The MTA has outgrown the terminal and making it larger in the same area would be a waste of money. Also, there were problems with security with drivers being threatened fd they tried to leave not quite full so as to pick up other passengers. The college refused to place its security officers at the terminal saying they are not allowed to leave the campus which is not true, because they were instances when they did provide security outside the college when there was an incident,

I also believe KCC no longer allows the school buses to enter the property so now everyone has to walk several extra blocks to get to the college. The MTA is not the only one at fault here. Some pf the students and the college are also to blame.