More major express bus changes coming: New routes and stops, extended service

[B35 via Church]

1 hour ago, Lawrence St said:

There's a SIM2????

Lol....

I haven't been up on all the SI express bus changes lately either, but there was always a SIM2 since the inception of the redesign.... It's the route IMO that should have never been created (or at least, having it running along that much of Hylan down there; Craig to Huguenot).... 

Straight up wasteful AFAIC....

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 minute ago, B35 via Church said:

Lol....

I haven't been up on all the SI express bus changes lately either, but there was always a SIM2 since the inception of the redesign.... It's the route IMO that should have never been created IMO (or at least, having it running along that much of Hylan down there; Craig to Huguenot)....  Straight up wasteful AFAIC....

It actually did fine during peak periods.  Off-peak and weekends was the problem, partially because of the times that it ran, but also the lack of advertising.

[Lawrence St]

2 minutes ago, B35 via Church said:

Lol....

I haven't been up on all the SI express bus changes lately either, but there was always a SIM2 since the inception of the redesign.... It's the route IMO that should have never been created (or at least, having it running along that much of Hylan down there; Craig to Huguenot).... 

Straight up wasteful AFAIC....

No wonder, I've never seen it nor heard of it. And I'm in Staten Island almost every day..

[BreeddekalbL]

My major complaint about the express bus reorganization

is should have had all the old X numbers change over with the new SIM reorganization

[B35 via Church]

4 hours ago, BreeddekalbL said:

My major complaint about the express bus reorganization

is should have had all the old X numbers change over with the new SIM reorganization

...and mine is that it should have never happened to begin with.

[NoHacksJustKhaks]

^^^ This!!!

[Via Garibaldi 8]

18 minutes ago, B35 via Church said:

...and mine is that it should have never happened to begin with.

They no longer want to focus on coverage because coverage means that they actually provide the service that people NEED. Imagine that....

[checkmatechamp13]

On 11/3/2018 at 7:24 PM, SIMplicity said:

How do you report things like that? Whenever I try to report something or give feedback, I wait two weeks then receive an automated reply... IDK how all these changes are supposedly from "rider feedback"...

They do read the emails, they just don't always respond. I go to some of these Open Houses and ask them about issues and they'll say "Yeah, we saw your email and we addressed it in such and such a manner". And I'm sure they're getting flooded with emails now....

On 11/5/2018 at 6:47 AM, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

You either refuse to accept or acknowledge that express buses were created to eliminate a bus to subway or multiple buses to the subway set up, hence the idea of a one seat ride, otherwise there’s no point in paying a higher fare to deal with various transfers, since more transfers usually means a longer commute. Of course some people do transfer, but the point is the express bus is supposed to make the commute faster and EASIER, not more tedious. You are a subway person, so it isn’t shocking that you have such a hard time accepting this concept, and a main reason most express bus riders disagree with you on this point that you keep bringing up. Pay more for more direct service... That’s the idea, not pay more to make more transfers.

Sure, I acknowledge it, but that was back when they were first created, and Staten Island in particular has both grown and changed since then.  The ferry sucks, and for most people, it involves a three-seat ride (local bus-ferry-subway). So right away, switching to the express bus will save you at least one transfer (so for all of this about "more transfers", it's still fewer transfers than the alternate routes). 

That being said, for the rush hour routes, I definitely support having as many people get one-seat rides as possible. I've pushed for the Hylan Blvd routes to be broken up the way the previously were (so both Hylan & Father Capodanno have their service to East Midtown, West Midtown, West Street/Greenwich Village, and Church/Broadway). I support the SIM15 having its own Midtown variant, and the SIM30 being broken up in a manner that gives more X14/SIM35 riders direct Midtown service, and the South Shore getting another Downtown route. I also support the X18 being brought back (either as a Downtown-only or Midtown-only route, or preferably both if there's the ridership for it).

It's off-peak where I don't support having all the Staten Island express routes going to Midtown. You try to make it about "frequency vs. coverage". It's anything but that. To me, it's about Staten Island coverage vs. Manhattan coverage, and to me it makes sense to expand the coverage on the side that lacks it, which is Staten Island. I'd rather see an off-peak system where you go Downtown and can easily get to most parts of Staten Island, compared to an off-peak system where you either have a Downtown/Midtown route, or nothing. Those off-peak SIM2 riders are now going back to "What they had before", which was to take the S78 to the SIM1C, as opposed to having the option of the SIM2 to the subway. Either way, it's one transfer, but one involves a transfer to a train that runs every 5 minutes, and the other involves a transfer to a local bus every 30 minutes (plus you actually have to sit through the whole ride from Midtown to Downtown). Plus anybody who's already Downtown gets a direct ride anyway.

As I've mentioned before, the three main areas where I'd have liked to see off-peak express service in this plan were Rossville, Mariners Harbor, and South Beach/Midland Beach (and now that Tottenville will its off-peak service eliminated, I can put that back on the list). Mariners Harbor will get off-peak express service with the SIM33C, but I would've liked to have seen it done without taking off-peak service away from Tottenville/Princes Bay. Rossville & South Beach have yet to be addressed (and they can be Midtown-only routes like the SIM6 & SIM26, and that way people have the option of driving to one of those routes if they want Midtown service)

To me, the whole idea of "Everything on Hylan, Gannon, or Richmond (that SIM3C service on Watchogue is hanging on by a thread, especially once they introduce the SIM33C)" is even more stupid than the idea of "Everything on 5th or Church/Broadway". In Manhattan, you have more alternatives than on Staten Island, and that's what it boils down to. It's not right that if you're lucky enough to live in certain neighborhoods that have off-peak service (or lucky enough to have a car to reach one of those neighborhoods) that you get off-peak service to both Downtown & Midtown, and other neighborhoods get nothing. (And I say that as somebody who is fortunate enough to have off-peak express service. I definitely wouldn't mind having the SIM4 run in place of the SIM4C if it meant that the SIM2 could continue to operate off-peak, and I'm sure @SIMplicity would agree with me, seeing as he's about to lose his route)

21 hours ago, dkupf said:

But, how many riders are using the SIM2 WHEN IT OPERATES?

IMO, you both make salient points.

But, if the SIM2 has less than 10 riders/hour when it runs non-stop between SI and Manhattan during midday weekdays, it's logical to conclude that the route has far less riders during other off-hours.

In other words, the riders have spoken.

Since you're arbitrarily setting a threshold of 10 riders per revenue hour, let's have a look at some express routes that are below that threshold (taken from the Comptroller's Route Profiles)

QM4/34, BxM3, BxM11, BxM2, BxM4 on weekdays (and remember, this includes rush hours as well)

X27, BxM11, BxM2, QM15, QM5, QM2, QM6, BxM3, BM2, BM1, BM5, BM3, QM4, BxM4, X28, BM4 on weekends

Last I checked, all of the listed routes go to Midtown. I guess we should eliminate their off-peak service as well? For that matter, I'll be curious to see how the SIM3C is doing once they introduce the SIM33C....I'd think a Downtown-only route is better than no route.....

[SIMplicity]

12 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

Lol....

I haven't been up on all the SI express bus changes lately either, but there was always a SIM2 since the inception of the redesign.... It's the route IMO that should have never been created (or at least, having it running along that much of Hylan down there; Craig to Huguenot).... 

Straight up wasteful AFAIC....

Actually a decent portion of peak SIM2 ridership comes from Hylan (like 8-10 people per bus) and since Hylan has a 40mph speed limit, few lights and relatively low traffic it only takes 10 minutes for the buses to get from Craig to Huguenot. Plus people in Tottenville who took the X22(A) but work downtown now take the SIM2. Off peak, though, I’m pretty sure very few people in Tottenville have been using the SIM2 (or are aware that it runs off peak and weekends). Buses are almost empty going into Manhattan in the afternoons.

12 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

It actually did fine during peak periods.  Off-peak and weekends was the problem, partially because of the times that it ran, but also the lack of advertising.

The problem is, on the South Shore (and SI) everyone knows the X1. This includes the people who drive everywhere (but I’m sure if you said “SIM1c” they would scratch their heads) and most have used it occasionally, or dropped family members to it. Here’s my impression: when you want to take the express bus into the city off hours (especially Friday or Saturday nights), someone drops you to the X1. That’s just part of the “culture” of the South Shore I guess. You can’t change that overnight. Few people (non express bus commuters) know about the SIM2, and frankly they don’t care, unless they’re going into the city which is not very often. I think if people knew about it (and it ran later) they would use it, but getting them to know about it is the challenge.

Nevertheless, not many people are going into the city on a weekday afternoon. And the SIM2 doesn’t cover as dense areas or as many neighborhoods as the SIM1c or SIM4c. Even if people knew about it there would be periods of very low ridership.

Also, when almost everybody owns a car, and an express bus that’s twice as frequent and goes to Midtown and runs 24/7 is only a ten minute drive away, well...

IMO these reasons, along with the short evening span (forcing people on the South Shore who come home late to drive to the SIM1c), are why the SIM2 is failing off peak.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

13 hours ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

Sure, I acknowledge it, but that was back when they were first created, and Staten Island in particular has both grown and changed since then.  The ferry sucks, and for most people, it involves a three-seat ride (local bus-ferry-subway). So right away, switching to the express bus will save you at least one transfer (so for all of this about "more transfers", it's still fewer transfers than the alternate routes). 

That being said, for the rush hour routes, I definitely support having as many people get one-seat rides as possible. I've pushed for the Hylan Blvd routes to be broken up the way the previously were (so both Hylan & Father Capodanno have their service to East Midtown, West Midtown, West Street/Greenwich Village, and Church/Broadway). I support the SIM15 having its own Midtown variant, and the SIM30 being broken up in a manner that gives more X14/SIM35 riders direct Midtown service, and the South Shore getting another Downtown route. I also support the X18 being brought back (either as a Downtown-only or Midtown-only route, or preferably both if there's the ridership for it).

It's off-peak where I don't support having all the Staten Island express routes going to Midtown. You try to make it about "frequency vs. coverage". It's anything but that. To me, it's about Staten Island coverage vs. Manhattan coverage, and to me it makes sense to expand the coverage on the side that lacks it, which is Staten Island. I'd rather see an off-peak system where you go Downtown and can easily get to most parts of Staten Island, compared to an off-peak system where you either have a Downtown/Midtown route, or nothing. Those off-peak SIM2 riders are now going back to "What they had before", which was to take the S78 to the SIM1C, as opposed to having the option of the SIM2 to the subway. Either way, it's one transfer, but one involves a transfer to a train that runs every 5 minutes, and the other involves a transfer to a local bus every 30 minutes (plus you actually have to sit through the whole ride from Midtown to Downtown). Plus anybody who's already Downtown gets a direct ride anyway.

As I've mentioned before, the three main areas where I'd have liked to see off-peak express service in this plan were Rossville, Mariners Harbor, and South Beach/Midland Beach (and now that Tottenville will its off-peak service eliminated, I can put that back on the list). Mariners Harbor will get off-peak express service with the SIM33C, but I would've liked to have seen it done without taking off-peak service away from Tottenville/Princes Bay. Rossville & South Beach have yet to be addressed (and they can be Midtown-only routes like the SIM6 & SIM26, and that way people have the option of driving to one of those routes if they want Midtown service)

To me, the whole idea of "Everything on Hylan, Gannon, or Richmond (that SIM3C service on Watchogue is hanging on by a thread, especially once they introduce the SIM33C)" is even more stupid than the idea of "Everything on 5th or Church/Broadway". In Manhattan, you have more alternatives than on Staten Island, and that's what it boils down to. It's not right that if you're lucky enough to live in certain neighborhoods that have off-peak service (or lucky enough to have a car to reach one of those neighborhoods) that you get off-peak service to both Downtown & Midtown, and other neighborhoods get nothing. (And I say that as somebody who is fortunate enough to have off-peak express service. I definitely wouldn't mind having the SIM4 run in place of the SIM4C if it meant that the SIM2 could continue to operate off-peak, and I'm sure @SIMplicity would agree with me, seeing as he's about to lose his route)

You're assuming it's fewer transfers, but for some it isn't, and if it isn't, then paying $6.50 for longer commutes makes no sense, which is why so many people are fuming right now. We have to work to get as many stops back that made sense as possible.  I think we all agree that we should not have express buses all over the place, but we've had far too many stops eliminated that have forced people to have to drive to the express bus, creating more congestion, or they have to take at least one bus to the express bus.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

10 hours ago, SIMplicity said:

Actually a decent portion of peak SIM2 ridership comes from Hylan (like 8-10 people per bus) and since Hylan has a 40mph speed limit, few lights and relatively low traffic it only takes 10 minutes for the buses to get from Craig to Huguenot. Plus people in Tottenville who took the X22(A) but work downtown now take the SIM2. Off peak, though, I’m pretty sure very few people in Tottenville have been using the SIM2 (or are aware that it runs off peak and weekends). Buses are almost empty going into Manhattan in the afternoons.

The problem is, on the South Shore (and SI) everyone knows the X1. This includes the people who drive everywhere (but I’m sure if you said “SIM1c” they would scratch their heads) and most have used it occasionally, or dropped family members to it. Here’s my impression: when you want to take the express bus into the city off hours (especially Friday or Saturday nights), someone drops you to the X1. That’s just part of the “culture” of the South Shore I guess. You can’t change that overnight. Few people (non express bus commuters) know about the SIM2, and frankly they don’t care, unless they’re going into the city which is not very often. I think if people knew about it (and it ran later) they would use it, but getting them to know about it is the challenge.

Nevertheless, not many people are going into the city on a weekday afternoon. And the SIM2 doesn’t cover as dense areas or as many neighborhoods as the SIM1c or SIM4c. Even if people knew about it there would be periods of very low ridership.

Also, when almost everybody owns a car, and an express bus that’s twice as frequent and goes to Midtown and runs 24/7 is only a ten minute drive away, well...

IMO these reasons, along with the short evening span (forcing people on the South Shore who come home late to drive to the SIM1c), are why the SIM2 is failing off peak.

Well that also. The X1 is THE express bus on Staten Island, and the  knows that.  They have tried to deter ridership by slashing the trips before the redesign and focusing more on the branches. Now with the re-design they have changed the SIM1 yet again, and it should be the way that it is in terms of having a Midtown branch, a Downtown branch and so on, but we still need more branches to make up for the routes that have been cut and essentially consolidated.  As for the SIM2, it definitely should've been better marked off=peak and weekends.

[JAzumah]

Here is the reality of the situation:

1) Pipelining everyone onto 5 Avenue/Madison Avenue was stupid. Restoring East Side options is a natural fix for people that work there.

2) Off-peak services must be "corridorized" as much as possible. That means that South Shore bus service needs to run via Richmond Avenue OR Hylan Boulevard. The SIM4c can run with a split branch on the south end. You can also treat Gannon Avenue as a corridor, splitting one branch via Watchogue Road and one via Victory Boulevard.

3) The Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel's single lane inbound in the afternoon kills the MTA's ability to reliably double up trips on afternoon buses. They will have to take the Manhattan Bridge lower level or reduce service by 30%.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

17 minutes ago, JAzumah said:

Here is the reality of the situation:

1) Pipelining everyone onto 5 Avenue/Madison Avenue was stupid. Restoring East Side options is a natural fix for people that work there.

2) Off-peak services must be "corridorized" as much as possible. That means that South Shore bus service needs to run via Richmond Avenue OR Hylan Boulevard. The SIM4c can run with a split branch on the south end. You can also treat Gannon Avenue as a corridor, splitting one branch via Watchogue Road and one via Victory Boulevard.

3) The Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel's single lane inbound in the afternoon kills the MTA's ability to reliably double up trips on afternoon buses. They will have to take the Manhattan Bridge lower level or reduce service by 30%.

The Battery Tunnel situation is being looked at. It's a constant problem, and the  is trying to address it.  It's affecting too many express bus riders, not on Staten Island, but all of the Brooklyn X and BM express buses too (save the BM5).

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

2 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

The Battery Tunnel situation is being looked at. It's a constant problem, and the  is trying to address it.  It's affecting too many express bus riders, not on Staten Island, but all of the Brooklyn X and BM express buses too (save the BM5).

It also. Given how many BM underlines there are, if a bus does the BM1/2/3 inbound, and then the BM5 outbound, if the bus is late inbound due to the tunnel, it'll be even more late on the outbound trip, once you consider the other potential delays. A lot of the BM5 buses during the PM peak leave late. Maybe 1 or two may be coming off one of those late inbound trips.

 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 minute ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

Nah, it probably is too. Given how many BM underlines there are, if a bus does the BM1/2/3 inbound, and then the BM5 outbound, if the bus is late inbound due to the tunnel, it'll be even more late on the outbound trip, once you consider the other potential delays. A lot of the BM5 buses during the PM peak leave late. 

 

That's a typo. It should read not only on Staten Island.... Damn iPad constantly auto corrects....

[checkmatechamp13]

On 11/7/2018 at 11:16 AM, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

You're assuming it's fewer transfers, but for some it isn't, and if it isn't, then paying $6.50 for longer commutes makes no sense, which is why so many people are fuming right now. We have to work to get as many stops back that made sense as possible.  I think we all agree that we should not have express buses all over the place, but we've had far too many stops eliminated that have forced people to have to drive to the express bus, creating more congestion, or they have to take at least one bus to the express bus.

And you're assuming fewer transfers automatically equals a shorter commute. If that's the case, how come I saved 20 minutes making an extra transfer to the  to reach the SIM4 tonight as opposed to staying on the  train and taking the SIM8? How come a few days ago when the traffic on the eastbound SIE was backed up so badly that you could visually see it at the overpass at Richmond Avenue, you saw a whole crowd of people let a SIM4 go by (not a single person boarded) to wait for the SIM8 to the subway to go Downtown? (And I know for a fact that some of those people work Downtown because as you know, express buses have a lot of "regulars" who travel around the same time each day). How come another time when there was a fire by 42nd & 8th, my dad saw the street was closed down and went right back into the subway to head Downtown for the SIM4 instead of running around looking for a bus that's only going to sit in traffic anyway?

The thing that people want to ignore is that for all of it's faults, the subway is a hell of a lot more reliable than traffic on Manhattan streets, and is generally faster. Sure....if it's late at night when traffic is light and the service is less frequent....and there's a GO slowing down the trains....and you're on 5th Avenue and have to walk a few extra blocks to the subway....then sure taking the express bus all the way is going to be quicker, but in most cases, transferring to the subway is quicker or about the same amount of time.

Like I said, when buses get stuck in Midtown because of parades and traffic and other nonsense, it delays everyone who depends on that line. Both the people already on the bus in Midtown, and the people waiting Downtown. And if you try splitting the Midtown service & Downtown service off-peak, you just halved the frequency on each portion and made it harder for everybody. (And we're not talking about going from 5 minute headways to 10 minute headways like what the MTA mentioned in The Bronx. We're talking about going from 30 minute headways to 60 minute headways, and still factoring in that there's traffic to deal with). 

And one of the reasons people drive to the express bus is because the route near them doesn't run as late. That's why we can pretty much all agree that one of the factors in the low SIM2 off-peak ridership is that it ended so early. Spreading out the off-peak coverage on the Staten Island end fixes that exact problem by providing more people with an option closer to their home so they don't have to drive (and many people don't drive or can't drive, so that means even more to them). That's why I said, if it's a choice between Manhattan coverage or Staten Island coverage, it has to be Staten Island coverage, because that's where the options are lacking.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 minute ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

And you're assuming fewer transfers automatically equals a shorter commute. If that's the case, how come I saved 20 minutes making an extra transfer to the  to reach the SIM4 tonight as opposed to staying on the  train and taking the SIM8? How come a few days ago when the traffic on the eastbound SIE was backed up so badly that you could visually see it at the overpass at Richmond Avenue, you saw a whole crowd of people let a SIM4 go by (not a single person boarded) to wait for the SIM8 to the subway to go Downtown? (And I know for a fact that some of those people work Downtown because as you know, express buses have a lot of "regulars" who travel around the same time each day). How come another time when there was a fire by 42nd & 8th, my dad saw the street was closed down and went right back into the subway to head Downtown for the SIM4 instead of running around looking for a bus that's only going to sit in traffic anyway?

The thing that people want to ignore is that for all of it's faults, the subway is a hell of a lot more reliable than traffic on Manhattan streets, and is generally faster. Sure....if it's late at night when traffic is light and the service is less frequent....and there's a GO slowing down the trains....and you're on 5th Avenue and have to walk a few extra blocks to the subway....then sure taking the express bus all the way is going to be quicker, but in most cases, transferring to the subway is quicker or about the same amount of time.

Like I said, when buses get stuck in Midtown because of parades and traffic and other nonsense, it delays everyone who depends on that line. Both the people already on the bus in Midtown, and the people waiting Downtown. And if you try splitting the Midtown service & Downtown service off-peak, you just halved the frequency on each portion and made it harder for everybody. (And we're not talking about going from 5 minute headways to 10 minute headways like what the MTA mentioned in The Bronx. We're talking about going from 30 minute headways to 60 minute headways, and still factoring in that there's traffic to deal with). 

And one of the reasons people drive to the express bus is because the route near them doesn't run as late. That's why we can pretty much all agree that one of the factors in the low SIM2 off-peak ridership is that it ended so early. Spreading out the off-peak coverage on the Staten Island end fixes that exact problem by providing more people with an option closer to their home so they don't have to drive (and many people don't drive or can't drive, so that means even more to them). That's why I said, if it's a choice between Manhattan coverage or Staten Island coverage, it has to be Staten Island coverage, because that's where the options are lacking.

I don’t have a problem having Super Express trips. That’s the way it should be during rush hour, but forcing riders onto the subway is just dumb. Furthermore, you’ve benefitted greatly by not having to travel during the heart of rush hour, so you can talk in such high spirits regarding your overall commute. Consider yourself lucky in that regard.

[checkmatechamp13]

34 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

I don’t have a problem having Super Express trips. That’s the way it should be during rush hour, but forcing riders onto the subway is just dumb. Furthermore, you’ve benefitted greatly by not having to travel during the heart of rush hour, so you can talk in such high spirits regarding your overall commute. Consider yourself lucky in that regard.

Who said anything about super-express trips? You could skip all the stops you want and the primary factor in determining the trip length will be the amount of traffic you have to deal with.

High spirits? If I traveled at the height of rush hour, sure, the subway might be a little more crowded, but you know what else would be more crowded? The roads that the buses travel on, and I'd still do anything I can (which may or may not include making extra transfers) to avoid the magic word......traffic!

And again, during what time period are you referring to me forcing riders onto the subway? This is half the reason we're in this mess to begin with....everybody starts twisting  words around and missing whatever valid point might've been made....I'm talking about off-peak service patterns, and you're talking about my travel patterns and super-express buses which both apply to rush hour service.....

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Just now, checkmatechamp13 said:

Who said anything about super-express trips? You could skip all the stops you want and the primary factor in determining the trip length will be the amount of traffic you have to deal with.

High spirits? If I traveled at the height of rush hour, sure, the subway might be a little more crowded, but you know what else would be more crowded? The roads that the buses travel on, and I'd still do anything I can (which may or may not include making extra transfers) to avoid the magic word......traffic!

And again, during what time period are you referring to me forcing riders onto the subway? This is half the reason we're in this mess to begin with....everybody starts twisting  words around and missing whatever valid point might've been made....

What do you mean who said anything about Super Express trips? That’s what a lot of these new routes are technically. They lines that skip Downtown and go to Midtown via the FDR via 23rd street are Super Express trips and always have been, even under the old Staten Island system. Listen man, you don’t travel during the peak of rush hour to endure a lot of the crap that other riders are dealing with, so you can talk about how the subway works so well for you. It should. I took the subway today too and it was fine because it wasn’t during the heart of rush hour. My point is you have a different perspective and you should because your commute should be better than other folks given the time of day that you travel. You miss most of the BS that other riders have to endure. It’s very easy to support something when it works for you, and given the time that you use the subway it works for your commute, and there’s no disputing that. If you had to ditch the subway entirely because you couldn’t get on a train or better yet because there were no trains coming, you would be singing a different tune. I have had times when I have literally had to walk OUT of the subway station and take an Uber because of the cascade of delays. Forget about squeezing on a train.  That is extremely frustrating when you’ve paid for a service and can’t use it. This is why you hear of express bus riders getting Ubers to the express bus. As I’ve said before, if the  wants to push exprsss bus riders to the subway, they should fix the damn service, clean up the stations, and get these mentally disturbed off of it. I get sick of dealing with the nonsense just going to and from. 

I will say that both of the trains I used today had a cop on it, which I was happy to see and it kept the homeless and beggars off. The ride itself was okay. One trip was delayed slightly, and the other was decent. First time in a LONG time that I’ve had such a decent subway ride with no beggars at all.

[checkmatechamp13]

14 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

What do you mean who said anything about Super Express trips? That’s what a lot of these new routes are technically. They lines that skip Downtown and go to Midtown via the FDR via 23rd street are Super Express trips and always have been, even under the old Staten Island system. Listen man, you don’t travel during the peak of rush hour to endure a lot of the crap that other riders are dealing with, so you can talk about how the subway works so well for you. It should. I took the subway today too and it was fine because it wasn’t during the heart of rush hour. My point is you have a different perspective and you should because your commute should be better than other folks given the time of day that you travel. You miss most of the BS that other riders have to endure. It’s very easy to support something when it works for you, and given the time that you use the subway it works for your commute, and there’s no disputing that. If you had to ditch the subway entirely because you couldn’t get on a train or better yet because there were no trains coming, you would be singing a different tune. I have had times when I have literally had to walk OUT of the subway station and take an Uber because of the cascade of delays. Forget about squeezing on a train.  That is extremely frustrating when you’ve paid for a service and can’t use it. This is why you hear of express bus riders getting Ubers to the express bus. As I’ve said before, if the  wants to push exprsss bus riders to the subway, they should fix the damn service, clean up the stations, and get these mentally disturbed off of it. I get sick of dealing with the nonsense just going to and from. 

I will say that both of the trains I used today had a cop on it, which I was happy to see and it kept the homeless and beggars off. The ride itself was okay. One trip was delayed slightly, and the other was decent. First time in a LONG time that I’ve had such a decent subway ride with no beggars at all.

Since you love misquoting me, I will repeat myself.....

24 minutes ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

I'm talking about off-peak service patterns, and you're talking about my travel patterns and super-express buses which both apply to rush hour service.....

....and if that's not enough.....

On 11/6/2018 at 9:30 PM, checkmatechamp13 said:

That being said, for the rush hour routes, I definitely support having as many people get one-seat rides as possible....

...and if that's still not enough....

On 11/6/2018 at 9:30 PM, checkmatechamp13 said:

I've pushed for the Hylan Blvd routes to be broken up the way the previously were (so both Hylan & Father Capodanno have their service to East Midtown, West Midtown, West Street/Greenwich Village, and Church/Broadway). I support the SIM15 having its own Midtown variant, and the SIM30 being broken up in a manner that gives more X14/SIM35 riders direct Midtown service, and the South Shore getting another Downtown route. I also support the X18 being brought back (either as a Downtown-only or Midtown-only route, or preferably both if there's the ridership for it).

 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

36 minutes ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

Since you love misquoting me, I will repeat myself.....

....and if that's not enough.....

...and if that's still not enough....

 

Well then why the talk about the subways? The issue is you flip-flop. On the one hand you talk about how you benefit from taking the subway during rush hour, but then you claim you support one-seat direct trips, then don’t seem to understand people who don’t like using the subway during the rush versus the express bus. Maybe that’s why I’m lost, and even the main person in the group you work with says you prefer subways. I Just don’t get any of it. You live in a borough with no subways yet talk about how the subways are faster and your preference for it. In other words pro subway people usually move to areas with plenty of them. It’s a bit of an oxymoron. 

I don’t like using the subway. I tolerate them at this point, thus it makes sense for me to live where I have... Far away from subways. A bus of any kind will rarely be faster than a train, so clearly express bus riders don’t use express buses solely because of that. It’s the comfort, peace of mind, lack of panhandlers, one seat ride... There isn’t just one reason, and furthermore it makes no sense to even compare it to trains. No comparison.

[checkmatechamp13]

37 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Well then why the talk about the subways? The issue is you flip-flop. On the one hand you talk about how you benefit from taking the subway during rush hour, but then you claim you support one-seat direct trips, then don’t seem to understand people who don’t like using the subway during the rush versus the express bus. Maybe that’s why I’m lost, and even the main person in the group you work with says you prefer subways. I Just don’t get any of it. You live in a borough with no subways yet talk about how the subways are faster and your preference for it. In other words pro subway people usually move to areas with plenty of them. It’s a bit of an oxymoron. 

 I don’t like using the subway. I tolerate them at this point, thus it makes sense for me to live where I have... Far away from subways. A bus of any kind will rarely be faster than a train, so clearly express bus riders don’t use express buses solely because of that. It’s the comfort, peace of mind, lack of panhandlers, one seat ride... There isn’t just one reason, and furthermore it makes no sense to even compare it to trains. No comparison.

I take whatever is faster in the given circumstances. Point blank, period. Like I said....

1 hour ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

If I traveled at the height of rush hour, sure, the subway might be a little more crowded, but you know what else would be more crowded? The roads that the buses travel on, and I'd still do anything I can (which may or may not include making extra transfers) to avoid the magic word......traffic!

I switch off depending on how the traffic situation is. Sometimes it's quicker to take the SIM8 through Midtown, and sometimes it's quicker to take the SIM4 through Downtown. I just check the traffic and make my decision accordingly (and of course, if there's an issue with my regular bus once I reach the transfer point, I'll take another express bus and then a local bus on the Staten Island end). To me, the sole reason I use the express bus is for speed and travel time. You of all people should know how much the ferry sucks and the lengths many people (myself included) will go to avoid it. But again, travel time is the key here....on heavy traffic days (e.g. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving) I'll either take the ferry home or find something to do so I can leave later and avoid the traffic.

Sure, I'd love to take a train, but one isn't available near me (and definitely no train to Manhattan anywhere near me. No point in driving to Elizabeth to pay more money and take even longer on the NJT Northeast Corridor Line) so the express bus is the next best thing.  Like it or not, there's a lot of "fake express bus riders" and "phonies" (as you like to call us) or "subway people" (as she likes to say) living out here. We have no problem taking the subway, but we need frequent, reliable bus service to and from it. For our personal reasons we chose to live here and use the express bus as our extension of the subway system and like it or not, we're not going anywhere anytime soon. Like I said, all of the people who switch off between the SIM4/8 should tell you that I'm not the only one who feels that way.

It's off-peak where I suggested running most of the service Downtown, a couple of routes to Midtown, and calling it a day. As I said, there is a very real tradeoff between Staten Island coverage and Manhattan coverage during off-peak hours where there's limited demand. I've said it before and I'll say it again, why give Midtown service to people who are just going to run into the subway anyway? There are certain neighborhoods where the majority of express bus riders think the same way I do, so give them what they need, and then with the savings, give service to another area of Staten Island that needs it, instead of this all-or-nothing approach. I've said this from the beginning....the off-peak plan was rushed and continues to be rushed because we never had that conversation about whether off-peak coverage is more important on the Staten Island side or the Manhattan side.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

6 hours ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

I take whatever is faster in the given circumstances. Point blank, period. Like I said....

I switch off depending on how the traffic situation is. Sometimes it's quicker to take the SIM8 through Midtown, and sometimes it's quicker to take the SIM4 through Downtown. I just check the traffic and make my decision accordingly (and of course, if there's an issue with my regular bus once I reach the transfer point, I'll take another express bus and then a local bus on the Staten Island end). To me, the sole reason I use the express bus is for speed and travel time. You of all people should know how much the ferry sucks and the lengths many people (myself included) will go to avoid it. But again, travel time is the key here....on heavy traffic days (e.g. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving) I'll either take the ferry home or find something to do so I can leave later and avoid the traffic.

Sure, I'd love to take a train, but one isn't available near me (and definitely no train to Manhattan anywhere near me. No point in driving to Elizabeth to pay more money and take even longer on the NJT Northeast Corridor Line) so the express bus is the next best thing.  Like it or not, there's a lot of "fake express bus riders" and "phonies" (as you like to call us) or "subway people" (as she likes to say) living out here. We have no problem taking the subway, but we need frequent, reliable bus service to and from it. For our personal reasons we chose to live here and use the express bus as our extension of the subway system and like it or not, we're not going anywhere anytime soon. Like I said, all of the people who switch off between the SIM4/8 should tell you that I'm not the only one who feels that way.

It's off-peak where I suggested running most of the service Downtown, a couple of routes to Midtown, and calling it a day. As I said, there is a very real tradeoff between Staten Island coverage and Manhattan coverage during off-peak hours where there's limited demand. I've said it before and I'll say it again, why give Midtown service to people who are just going to run into the subway anyway? There are certain neighborhoods where the majority of express bus riders think the same way I do, so give them what they need, and then with the savings, give service to another area of Staten Island that needs it, instead of this all-or-nothing approach. I've said this from the beginning....the off-peak plan was rushed and continues to be rushed because we never had that conversation about whether off-peak coverage is more important on the Staten Island side or the Manhattan side.

You don’t need to go anywhere, but at the same time, express buses are NOT subways. That’s the issue. Yes I agree they should be direct where possible, but we also need to ensure that we have coverage. I’m concerned about this whole just let them go to Downtown BS and then they can take the subway. No ADDRESS the congestion and get our express buses moving again. Tell me this (and this was my point to the MTA) what happens when congestion is so bad that “getting them to Downtown” is just as bad? It’s already an issue with that damn tunnel. As I told the people in the meeting.... We have an elephant in the room called congestion, and we have to deal with it.

[B35 via Church]

People are (increasingly) doing as much driving as they are for a reason.... It shouldn't have to come to truncating the off-peak expresses to Lower Manhattan.

 

[checkmatechamp13]

2 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

You don’t need to go anywhere, but at the same time, express buses are NOT subways. That’s the issue. Yes I agree they should be direct where possible, but we also need to ensure that we have coverage. I’m concerned about this whole just let them go to Downtown BS and then they can take the subway. No ADDRESS the congestion and get our express buses moving again. Tell me this (and this was my point to the MTA) what happens when congestion is so bad that “getting them to Downtown” is just as bad? It’s already an issue with that damn tunnel. As I told the people in the meeting.... We have an elephant in the room called congestion, and we have to deal with it.

Like I said, inherently, extending the route from Downtown to Midtown (especially up local streets) adds to the inefficiency of the express system because it's drop off-only in one direction and pickup only in the other direction. With the limited money we have, we need to question whether coverage on the Manhattan side or Staten Island side is more important during off-peak hours. Objectively, the January 2019 will lose coverage on the Staten Island end and cost an extra $1 million per year because they traded a Downtown-only off-peak route (SIM2) for a Downtown/Midtown off-peak route (SIM33C). In the meantime that Midtown coverage is wasted on many people because their first instinct is to get off Downtown and take the subway anyway. To me, I have a problem with encouraging people to drive to the express bus but sadly the Borough President being so pro-car doesn't help matters. At least covering more areas on Staten Island would ensure a reasonable option exists for more people and more areas (and if they want to drive to one of the remaining Midtown routes so be it, but at least people who don't have cars have a better shot at having an express bus near them)