Queens Bus Redesign Discussion Thread

[QM1to6Ave]

I wrote to all my representatives in Queems. I'm not holding my breath to hear back.

[MysteriousBtrain]

1 hour ago, BrooklynBus said:

And what makes you think the MTA will be objective and listen to them? The only purpose of these sessions is to select comments they can use to support the changes they want to make like: we need faster buses, or buses make too many stops, buses aren’t reliable, we need better routes  or I like proposal such and such, and things like that. Negative comments like a route proposal doesn’t help them will be ignored. You are far too trusting of the MTA. 

Remember when co-op city had only one local bus serving major sections of the neighborhood? Then soon after the MTA winded up adding an additional local route instead of taking anything away.

 

Although I think they still gonna go through with the Q50 cut full time to Pelham Bay.

Edited January 8, 2020 by MysteriousBtrain

[Around the Horn]

5 hours ago, BrooklynBus said:

But I think many are just scheduled that way. I saw a B82 on Avenue P and E 15 Street running Not in Service westbound. Looked like it was deadheading from East NY Depot to Coney Island or 25 Avenue.

What the heck? That's a ludicrous deadhead.

[Gotham Bus Co.]

8 hours ago, 7-express said:

I saw the bus redesign folks out at Main Street doing outreach in the station.  They had a table, a map on poster board, and just handing out brochures asking for people to read the plan and comment.  Hopefully people will actually comment on how this is plan is a bit too crazy.

I saw them, too. 

 

It would be nice if those brochures were also distributed on the buses.

[N6 Limited]

How would speed cameras on Kings highway be effective if you encounter about 2 consecutive green signals at best along the corridor?

[7-express]

13 hours ago, Gotham Bus Co. said:

I saw them, too. 

 

It would be nice if those brochures were also distributed on the buses.

Honestly, major train station and all buses should at the very least have posters explaining what the heck is going on.  They're trying some outreach but it is woefully insufficient.  Many riders will likely be taken by surprise once the changes take effect in early 2021.  It almost makes you wonder if the MTA is intentionally keeping people from finding out early how miserable their new propose commutes will be.

[7-express]

22 hours ago, BrooklynBus said:

And what makes you think the MTA will be objective and listen to them? The only purpose of these sessions is to select comments they can use to support the changes they want to make like: we need faster buses, or buses make too many stops, buses aren’t reliable, we need better routes  or I like proposal such and such, and things like that. Negative comments like a route proposal doesn’t help them will be ignored. You are far too trusting of the MTA. 

They probably won't but putting no comments in is not the answer either.  Everyone should be aware of the plan and they should submit as many comments as possible to the website and with their representatives.

[BrooklynBus]

2 hours ago, 7-express said:

Honestly, major train station and all buses should at the very least have posters explaining what the heck is going on.  They're trying some outreach but it is woefully insufficient.  Many riders will likely be taken by surprise once the changes take effect in early 2021.  It almost makes you wonder if the MTA is intentionally keeping people from finding out early how miserable their new propose commutes will be.

Of course it's intentional. How difficult is it to mention it on their webpage and provide a link for information. The only way to get to the link is by typing it in or doing a search for "redesign". To do that you must already know  there are studies going on. Anyone using the site to plan a trip, look at a schedule, or get a map, etc who doesn't know about the studies still won't find out about them. They will only make presentations to the community boards for informational purposes after the final plan is developed. Requests for presentations of the draft will only be made to the transportation committee which consists of about 10 people without the public in attendance. 

[B35 via Church]

4 hours ago, 7-express said:

Honestly, major train station and all buses should at the very least have posters explaining what the heck is going on.....

Fat chance..... Bear in mind that this is the same agency that's resorted to taking down schedules at bus stops.

The riding public is deemed & seen as expendable... The attitude is that we'll still use their services regardless.... They'll continue to use that to their advantage; the less they provide, the better off they are.... They're not trying to make life any easier for us.....

[bobtehpanda]

6 hours ago, N6 Limited said:

How would speed cameras on Kings highway be effective if you encounter about 2 consecutive green signals at best along the corridor?

If you're not breaking the law, why are you worried about it?

[N6 Limited]

12 minutes ago, bobtehpanda said:

If you're not breaking the law, why are you worried about it?

Because the actual purpose of the cameras is revenue, not safety. So, if you can't even get through two-three signals, then how are they going to get projected revenue? It will be interesting to see what they do. Generally, they shorten the yellow time to squeeze some wallets, they may actually put the signals in sync to maximize violations... in the name of safety of course.

[N6 Limited]

Interactive maps are back  https://new.mta.info/system_modernization/bus_network/queensbusredesign/draftplan/maps

They've added slightly more detailed service span and headway information.

They have the QT43(Q85) and QT45 (Q111) going north on 160th street after Linden Blvd, its gonna zoom to the subway!

Edited January 9, 2020 by N6 Limited
link

[Union Tpke]

49 minutes ago, N6 Limited said:

Interactive maps are back  https://new.mta.info/system_modernization/bus_network/queensbusredesign/draftplan/maps

They've added slightly more detailed service span and headway information.

They have the QT43(Q85) and QT45 (Q111) going north on 160th street after Linden Blvd, its gonna zoom to the subway!

There goes my day!

[jaf0519]

50 minutes ago, N6 Limited said:

Interactive maps are back  https://new.mta.info/system_modernization/bus_network/queensbusredesign/draftplan/maps

They've added slightly more detailed service span and headway information.

They have the QT43(Q85) and QT45 (Q111) going north on 160th street after Linden Blvd, its gonna zoom to the subway!

On the Express bus interactive map, it looks like service was added.

Now there is weekend service on the:

QMT162 (former QM4) Electchester-6 Ave (Weekday rush hours only, plus Saturday and Sunday hourly service)

QMT164 (former QM2) Bay Terrace-6 Ave (Weekday rush hours only, plus Saturday hourly service)

QMT166 (former QM1) Fresh Meadows-6 Ave (Weekday rush hours only, plus Saturday hourly service)

QMT168 (former QM15) Howard Beach-6 Ave (Weekday rush hours only, plus Saturday hourly service)

[checkmatechamp13]

49 minutes ago, jaf0519 said:

On the Express bus interactive map, it looks like service was added.

Now there is weekend service on the:

QMT162 (former QM4) Electchester-6 Ave (Weekday rush hours only, plus Saturday and Sunday hourly service)

QMT164 (former QM2) Bay Terrace-6 Ave (Weekday rush hours only, plus Saturday hourly service)

QMT166 (former QM1) Fresh Meadows-6 Ave (Weekday rush hours only, plus Saturday hourly service)

QMT168 (former QM15) Howard Beach-6 Ave (Weekday rush hours only, plus Saturday hourly service)

That makes no sense that they would keep Sunday service on the QM4 while cutting it on the other 3 off-peak lines. That has to be an error

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

1 hour ago, jaf0519 said:

On the Express bus interactive map, it looks like service was added.

Now there is weekend service on the:

QMT162 (former QM4) Electchester-6 Ave (Weekday rush hours only, plus Saturday and Sunday hourly service)

QMT164 (former QM2) Bay Terrace-6 Ave (Weekday rush hours only, plus Saturday hourly service)

QMT166 (former QM1) Fresh Meadows-6 Ave (Weekday rush hours only, plus Saturday hourly service)

QMT168 (former QM15) Howard Beach-6 Ave (Weekday rush hours only, plus Saturday hourly service)

 All routes have midday service on weekdays and evening outbound service (except the QM162). 

 

1 hour ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

That makes no sense that they would keep Sunday service on the QM4 while cutting it on the other 3 off-peak lines. That has to be an error

The QM15 never had Sunday service, so there's no change there. For Saturday service though, the last inbound and outbound trip will be cut (which I do not agree with). I also find it odd though that out of all the routes, the QM4 would retain Sunday service.

[limitednyc]

are the gt17 and qt 44sbs  bus requirements as artic operation or not?

[Missabassie]

It is my opinion that organisations such as the  do stuff like this just to see how much people want/value their services & are willing to fight to keep them. Kind of a sucky way to go about business, but it does get results.

[Mysterious2train]

Mixed feelings about Roosevelt Island. MTA is trying to pull a fast one by not serving the entire northern half of the island with the QT78. I kind of understand as it's not as dense as the southern half and the Q102's round robin pattern is awfully awkward. If it happens, those people would be stuck with the Roosevelt Island bus service. However, the Q102 serves Coler Hospital on the northern tip of the island while the red bus doesn't; the red bus terminates at the Octagon building, which is a few minutes away from the hospital by walking. I would hope the Roosevelt Island Operating Company would extend the red bus to the hospital.

I don't like the QT78 much; it's awfully barebones for Roosevelt Island. If we're stuck with a single new route I would much rather have the Q104/QT63 to reach places like Costco or the whole strip of businesses along Broadway. Right now to get around those areas we have to either take a circuitous trip on the Q102 and walk 8+ mins or transfer to the Q103 and Q104 on their high headways. The Q102 has an incredibly awkward existence as a circuitous Roosevelt Island-Queens Plaza/Queens Plaza-Astoria/RI-Astoria coverage route, but its connection to the Queens Plaza area is important. The Q102 saw a pretty nice 50% increase in weekday ridership between 2013 and 2018! Of course we don't know where that new ridership is distributed along the route but it's not hard to imagine some of it is from the new facilities on Roosevelt Island and its surprising population growth.

The Western Queens Transportation Study IMO had the best of both worlds for RI by proposing sending both the Q104 and Q39 to Roosevelt Island - Q104 to serve the shops, Q39 to serve Queens Plaza/Court Square. MTA would definitely never go for that - seems like the QT78 is the 'middle of the road' option by serving some of Astoria/LIC/Sunnyside and for taking the straightest route to get to the subway and bus lines, while not really excelling at either. 

Edited January 9, 2020 by Mysterious2train

[Cait Sith]

11 minutes ago, Mysterious2train said:

Mixed feelings about Roosevelt Island. MTA is trying to pull a fast one by not serving the entire northern half of the island with the QT78. I kind of understand as it's not as dense as the southern half and the Q102's round robin pattern is awfully awkward. If it happens, those people would be stuck with the Roosevelt Island bus service. However, the Q102 serves Coler Hospital on the northern tip of the island while the red bus doesn't; the red bus terminates at the Octagon building, which is a few minutes away from the hospital by walking. I would hope the Roosevelt Island Operating Company would extend the red bus to the hospital.

I don't like the QT78 much; it's awfully barebones for Roosevelt Island. If we're stuck with a single new route I would much rather have the Q104/QT63 to reach places like Costco or the whole strip of businesses along Broadway. Right now to get around those areas we have to either take a circuitous trip on the Q102 and walk 8+ mins or transfer to the Q103 and Q104 on their high headways. The Q102 has an incredibly awkward existence as a circuitous Roosevelt Island-Queens Plaza/Queens Plaza-Astoria/RI-Astoria coverage route, but its connection to the Queens Plaza area is important. The Q102 saw a pretty nice 50% increase in weekday ridership between 2013 and 2018! Of course we don't know where that new ridership is distributed along the route but it's not hard to imagine some of it is from the new facilities on Roosevelt Island and its surprising population growth.

The Western Queens Transportation Study IMO had the best of both worlds for RI by proposing sending both the Q104 and Q39 to Roosevelt Island - Q104 to serve the shops, Q39 to serve Queens Plaza/Court Square. MTA would definitely never go for that - seems like the QT78 is the 'middle of the road' option by serving some of Astoria/LIC/Sunnyside and for taking the straightest route to get to the subway and bus lines, while not really excelling at either. 

Is there any ridership data on how much people actually use the Q102 to/from Roosevelt Island? I'd imagine that the numbers would be really, really low. Putting two bus routes on the island would be overkill for what may be the lowest used part of the route(s).

[paulrivera]

On 1/7/2020 at 11:20 PM, MysteriousBtrain said:

Although I think they still gonna go through with the Q50 cut full time to Pelham Bay.

In a nutshell:

Bronx redesign: Q50 to Co-op City will be rush hour only.

Queens redesign: Q50 to Co-op City will be discontinued.

A two pronged approach to get to where they ultimately wanted to be from the beginning.

[Lex]

14 minutes ago, paulrivera said:

In a nutshell:

Bronx redesign: Q50 to Co-op City will be rush hour only.

Queens redesign: Q50 to Co-op City will be discontinued.

A two pronged approach to get to where they ultimately wanted to be from the beginning.

In all honesty, if they want the Q50 to stay on its current route up there, then I won't miss it. That part of the route is ridiculously ass-backward.

I'd rather they take some inspiration from the BxM7, but if not, then just chuck it in the bin.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Just now, Lex said:

In all honesty, if they want the Q50 to stay on its current route up there, then I won't miss it. That part of the route is ridiculously ass-backward.

I'd rather they take some inspiration from the BxM7, but if not, then just chuck it in the bin.

What do you mean by inspiration from the BxM7? BxM7 routing is staying as is.

[Lex]

Just now, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

What do you mean by inspiration from the BxM7? BxM7 routing is staying as is.

I mean by following a similar route up there...

[Mysterious2train]

50 minutes ago, Cait Sith said:

Is there any ridership data on how much people actually use the Q102 to/from Roosevelt Island? I'd imagine that the numbers would be really, really low. Putting two bus routes on the island would be overkill for what may be the lowest used part of the route(s).

Not to my knowledge and anecdotally, ridership is fairly low on the Roosevelt Island portion at times with only a couple of people on some buses. Which is why I'm mixed on cutting service to the northern part of the island and undoing the round-robin pattern. But, I will argue the Q102 has garbo headways offpeak and has a ridiculous routing from trying to juggle several roles at once which hurts its potential. I understand two routes is never going to happen and I'd just be happy with the Q104/QT63.

More anecdotes, but when the missus and I go from the island to Western Queens it's either to the shops along the Q104 route/Broadway (like Costco) or to Queens Plaza/Court Square. Now we just take Uber to the former and take the Q102 to Queens Plaza, or take Uber if the next Q102 is far away or it's somewhere a little farther from the Q102, like Court Square. If RI got the Q104 and Q39 we'd be set. If RI got the QT63 we would at least be set for Broadway (and even for trips Jackson Hts/Elmhurst if she could stand a bus ride of that length vs taking the ) and she'd probably Uber to Queens Plaza/Court Square. If RI gets the QT78 she'll probably just want to take Uber everywhere to avoid walking/transferring from the QT78 (unless we need the  specifically and service is not stopping at Roosevelt Island for whatever reason).

Edited January 9, 2020 by Mysterious2train