Jump to content

Look who’s in Gothamist...


Deucey

Recommended Posts


5 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

For fans of live radio, this story will re-air at 5:44pm on WNYC. That's 93.9FM/AM820.

Congratulations, hopefully (even though it may not happen for the first alternative) the MTA either deploys OMNY on all Express Buses or reverse the decision on the cashless fare, its just criminal to think about doing such things, especially with the BxM3 which literally starts up in Yonkers, research should've been done before they made this decision and they also failed to consult with community boards over this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, WestFarms36 said:

Congratulations, hopefully (even though it may not happen for the first alternative) the MTA either deploys OMNY on all Express Buses or reverse the decision on the cashless fare, its just criminal to think about doing such things, especially with the BxM3 which literally starts up in Yonkers, research should've been done before they made this decision and they also failed to consult with community boards over this.

They just looked at stats only. i asked them if they knew who comprised of the small percentage of riders that pay using coins and they said they couldn't get that information.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

They just looked at stats only. i asked them if they knew who comprised of the small percentage of riders that pay using coins and they said they couldn't get that information.

That is just idiotic if you ask me, like who even approved of this? I would literally be going insane if I lived in an area that had no nearby subway station. Did they even think about people in Yonkers with the BxM3, or people in Riverdale who literally have a painfully nightmarish walk to a subway station, or how about people in the middle of Queens which live in the biggest transit desert in the city? ...and I feel sorry for Staten Island, because knowing the Geography there, and lack of MVM's its just a sad thing to see. Sarcastically speaking, seems like the deans of Cornell and Columbia found it "innovating" to get rid of cash fare on Express Buses.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, WestFarms36 said:

That is just idiotic if you ask me, like who even approved of this? I would literally be going insane if I lived in an area that had no nearby subway station. Did they even think about people in Yonkers with the BxM3, or people in Riverdale who literally have a painfully nightmarish walk to a subway station, or how about people in the middle of Queens which live in the biggest transit desert in the city? ...and I feel sorry for Staten Island, because knowing the Geography there, and lack of MVM's its just a sad thing to see. Sarcastically speaking, seems like the deans of Cornell and Columbia found it "innovating" to get rid of cash fare on Express Buses.

Well since only 1% of riders use coins, they voted to get rid of them. Only problem is they don't have a plan if people are in a bind. People on Staten Island have been dealing with broken Metrocard machines at the Eltingville Center Center off and on now. Just last Sunday they sent people there to fix them because they were all broken, so when you're in a bind you're basically screwed.  I have the same problem in my area with broken machines. If the stores are all out, I have to make my way to a subway station (either 231st, 238th or 242nd) and hope that the machines work there. 242nd is infamous for having just one machine work out of the three and 238th only has room for one machine so if it is broken, you are walking to another subway station.  I have learned that the hard way and it sucks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

Some of the comments on the article are really interesting/ignorant. Given their typical audience, I'm not surprised. They're probably the same people who thought up to now that express buses were the SBS routes.

They think everyone lives near a subway, including the people using the ferries... <_<

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

They just looked at stats only. i asked them if they knew who comprised of the small percentage of riders that pay using coins and they said they couldn't get that information.

If they had cameras on the buses, maybe they'd SEE who's stopping to drop coins versus just swiping. (Plus cut their insurance premiums in those "Oh I've fallen on the bus" lawsuits with video evidence, the traffic conditions and when customers complain they got bypassed by a certain operator [from the outside/front-facing cameras], and safeguard the operators from the sort that throw urine, as an example, or otherwise cause problems.)

Outside of that, correct me if I'm wrong (and if I'm off by one or two depots, let's just leave it alone), but don't all the Express buses have to go through the regular rigamarole that locals do at all of the depots anyway? Pull in, vacuum out for vaulting, everything else prior to going through the wash/fueling? So, those Express buses somehow "hold up the line" because they have to be vaulted -- with basically what the MTA is saying is a "trickle" of coins sucked out versus off the locals? If that was a problem before -- and it was fine with all the powers-that-be -- what's the big deal now? Somehow "EFFICIENCY" has entered the equation suddenly? [So what do the porter(s) do up in Yonkers now with the "time savings" of not having to hook-up-the-hose, since that's all they do is Express buses up there? Extra time to scrape the gum off the floor and shine-up the windows?]

They're already having a problem getting people to USE the buses, so it's a totally GENIUS idea to piss off the one segment of riders that's, to a great extent, "loyal" -- over pennies, essentially, in the budget.

AND to do it, as so many have said, to customers in their own "transit deserts".

EDIT: nvm

Edited by DetSMART45
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, DetSMART45 said:

If they had cameras on the buses, maybe they'd SEE who's stopping to drop coins versus just swiping. (Plus cut their insurance premiums in those "Oh I've fallen on the bus" lawsuits with video evidence, the traffic conditions and when customers complain they got bypassed by a certain operator [from the outside/front-facing cameras], and safeguard the operators from the sort that throw urine, as an example, or otherwise cause problems.)

Outside of that, correct me if I'm wrong (and if I'm off by one or two depots, let's just leave it alone), but don't all the Express buses have to go through the regular rigamarole that locals do at all of the depots anyway? Pull in, vacuum out for vaulting, everything else prior to going through the wash/fueling? So, those Express buses somehow "hold up the line" because they have to be vaulted -- with basically what the MTA is saying is a "trickle" of coins sucked out versus off the locals? If that was a problem before -- and it was fine with all the powers-that-be -- what's the big deal now? Somehow "EFFICIENCY" has entered the equation suddenly? [So what do the porter(s) do up in Yonkers now with the "time savings" of not having to hook-up-the-hose, since that's all they do is Express buses up there? Extra time to scrape the gum off the floor and shine-up the windows?]

They're already having a problem getting people to USE the buses, so it's a totally GENIUS idea to piss off the one segment of riders that's, to a great extent, "loyal" -- over pennies, essentially, in the budget.

AND to do it, as so many have said, to customers in their own "transit deserts".

They raised the fare by a quarter, and suddenly now they vote to eliminate coins with little notice to riders. I'm going to watch CBS 2 at 6pm when it comes up.  A reporter found me on social media and told me they were doing a story on it and I gave them some ideas in terms of where to interview folks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

They raised the fare by a quarter, and suddenly now they vote to eliminate coins with little notice to riders. I'm going to watch CBS 2 at 6pm when it comes up.  A reporter found me on social media and told me they were doing a story on it and I gave them some ideas in terms of where to interview folks.

Props to you, I will be tuning into CBS just right now to check how the story turns out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, WestFarms36 said:

Props to you, I will be tuning into CBS just right now to check how the story turns out.

Yes just aired... The stops that they went to I suggested...  Kappock and Knolls Crescent in Riverdale, Union Turnpike and 188th Street in Queens, 72nd and Shore Road in Bay Ridge. They made it to Staten Island as well...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

43 minutes ago, Around the Horn said:

I love how she mentions the MetroCard merchants can help people who are far from the subway... while literally standing next to an (R) train entrance

Yes, not intentionally, but the Bay Ridge interviews were done at Shore Road and 72nd. CBS basically contacted me this morning as I was heading to my office on the express bus and asked to interview me before 1pm. Given my workload, I told the reporter I wasn’t sure that would be possible, so she asked if I could provide express bus stop locations Citywide where they could go and speak with people, hence the stops they used. I was shocked at how fast they got that story done. They had to finish the interviews by 1pm in order to get the story ready for the 6pm run. They did a job good, all things considered.  All of the news stories have been shared with the (MTA) so they know about how we feel, and can see what the feeling is both inside and outside of the social media groups. For the Gothamist and NPR though, I had a 45 minute interview over the phone and our conversation was recorded, as you can hear snippets of the audio from it with me and others being interviewed.

Edited by Via Garibaldi 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

They should allow the use of coins when you're short on metrocard fare in the card. There was always one lady I would always see on the then-x19 that would pay only in coins. She was so slow with it that the op would just pull the parking brake and just sit. He would miss at least 3 light cycles at Broadway & Barclay. 

They honestly need to expand on selling metrocards at stores and such. My local gas station used to sell monthlys, weekly cards and cards with $20 or so of fare, they no longer sell them.

Other than regular convenience stores, they should pull a card out of other agencies books and sell them at places like CVS or Duane Reade. Agencies in Washington D.C such as WMATA sells their cards at supermarkets, CVS stores and other various retail locations.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Cait Sith said:

They should allow the use of coins when you're short on metrocard fare in the card. There was always one lady I would always see on the then-x19 that would pay only in coins. She was so slow with it that the op would just pull the parking brake and just sit. He would miss at least 3 light cycles at Broadway & Barclay. 

They honestly need to expand on selling metrocards at stores and such. My local gas station used to sell monthlys, weekly cards and cards with $20 or so of fare, they no longer sell them.

Other than regular convenience stores, they should pull a card out of other agencies books and sell them at places like CVS or Duane Reade. Agencies in Washington D.C such as WMATA sells their cards at supermarkets, CVS stores and other various retail locations.

Totally agree. Even though the MTA paints a rosy picture in their Metrocard sales book, I think some of the retailers must have fulfillment issues (both getting cards, as well as their actual commissions, which basically pay for part of the next card order plus extra money out of their till). Those retailers probably just decide any hassles are not worth it, and get out of the program.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Cait Sith said:

They should allow the use of coins when you're short on metrocard fare in the card. There was always one lady I would always see on the then-x19 that would pay only in coins. She was so slow with it that the op would just pull the parking brake and just sit. He would miss at least 3 light cycles at Broadway & Barclay. 

They honestly need to expand on selling metrocards at stores and such. My local gas station used to sell monthlys, weekly cards and cards with $20 or so of fare, they no longer sell them.

Other than regular convenience stores, they should pull a card out of other agencies books and sell them at places like CVS or Duane Reade. Agencies in Washington D.C such as WMATA sells their cards at supermarkets, CVS stores and other various retail locations.

Run express bus services to outlying areas in this city, but yet 1] made/make it infeasible for these people to obtain metrocards (obviously, since there aren't any subways around) & 2] now take away their backup/convenient option of otherwise paying the fare....

The MTA.... going your way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Cait Sith said:

They honestly need to expand on selling metrocards at stores and such. My local gas station used to sell monthlys, weekly cards and cards with $20 or so of fare, they no longer sell them.

It's not that they're not available at stores because they don't want to make them available, IIRC the problem is that stores don't want to stock them. They used to be everywhere until stores figured out that they're low-margin and low-volume, and in a cutthroat sector like retail having them around is basically taking up space for more profitable products.

In my area they have them at the local supermarket chain (next to things like the lotto machines and Redbox and Coinstar). But they're full-fledged machines that the supermarket doesn't pay to keep in stock. IIRC MVMs and their parts are hard to come by these days so IDK how feasible that is.

Edited by bobtehpanda
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Cait Sith said:

They should allow the use of coins when you're short on metrocard fare in the card. There was always one lady I would always see on the then-x19 that would pay only in coins. She was so slow with it that the op would just pull the parking brake and just sit. He would miss at least 3 light cycles at Broadway & Barclay. 

They honestly need to expand on selling metrocards at stores and such. My local gas station used to sell monthlys, weekly cards and cards with $20 or so of fare, they no longer sell them.

Other than regular convenience stores, they should pull a card out of other agencies books and sell them at places like CVS or Duane Reade. Agencies in Washington D.C such as WMATA sells their cards at supermarkets, CVS stores and other various retail locations.

They'd rather overcharge customers and have them dip multiple Metrocards.  How can you program the farebox to pay the difference in coins and then not take coins but not program it so that a second Metrocard is only charged the difference?  Retarded... 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.