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[QM1to6Ave]

On 4/30/2019 at 5:52 PM, 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".

EDIT: nvm

ONe of the B/O's on here (I forget who) pointed out that the farebox still needs to be probed each night to update the internal computer or whatever, so we are literally talking about shaving a few seconds off of the process by not needing to attach the coin hose. Given how relatively few express buses there are compared to local buses that still need the coin hose, it really doesn't seem like the cost/benefit is worth it. It's like, of all the things to try to do to save resources, why the hell would you focus on this? 

[Italianstallion]

On 4/30/2019 at 5:02 PM, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

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.

Why do you need a working machine? There are live clerks at those stations.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 minute ago, Italianstallion said:

Why do you need a working machine? There are live clerks at those stations.

They can't issue receipts at the booths, which I need for tax purposes, nor can they take credit or debit cards. If your card is lost and you use cash, you are out of luck, which is why I always pay with a debit or credit card and get the receipt from the machine.

[DetSMART45]

14 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

ONe of the B/O's on here (I forget who) pointed out that the farebox still needs to be probed each night to update the internal computer or whatever, so we are literally talking about shaving a few seconds off of the process by not needing to attach the coin hose. Given how relatively few express buses there are compared to local buses that still need the coin hose, it really doesn't seem like the cost/benefit is worth it. It's like, of all the things to try to do to save resources, why the hell would you focus on this? 

Right. And my point was that, even if you had express buses line-up in a separate lane into the garage, there's stuff that's done inside/outside the bus while they're hose-vaulting anyways, before pulling off the either fuel, go through the wash, parked for a write-up or the bus goes for a siesta in the lot. The same things would go on if the express buses were in a line-up with the locals.

The "saved seconds" (to tweak Byford's subway slogan) surely cannot amount to much when it comes to labor hours, or labor performed within those saved seconds.

Especially in regards to Yonkers -- what do the porters do now with those "saved seconds?" And did the MTA save some money by not having the Brinks truck needing to service the garage anymore?