Tips for starting a transit company

[A Former New Yorker]

I've been thinking about setting up a transit company operating in NYC. I already have ideas for routes and know how to do scheduling such but idk the exact steps to properly pull it off like how does one find a garage location or if it's possible that the MTA would gives away retired buses or if we have to buy our own and also how does one advertise our services to the general community/areas we will serve. I'm genuinely serious about persuading this and would like help make transit in NYC the best it can be

[trainfan22]

I think there's one poster here has experience with this kinda thing, but I can't tag him because I don't know how to spell his screen name. Starts with a J..

 

 

EDIT: @JAzumah

Edited August 30, 2023 by trainfan22

[Ale188]

48 minutes ago, A Former New Yorker said:

I've been thinking about setting up a transit company operating in NYC. I already have ideas for routes and know how to do scheduling such but idk the exact steps to properly pull it off like how does one find a garage location or if it's possible that the MTA would gives away retired buses or if we have to buy our own and also how does one advertise our services to the general community/areas we will serve. I'm genuinely serious about persuading this and would like help make transit in NYC the best it can be

That would be nice. 

[RailBus63]

12 hours ago, A Former New Yorker said:

I've been thinking about setting up a transit company operating in NYC. I already have ideas for routes and know how to do scheduling such but idk the exact steps to properly pull it off like how does one find a garage location or if it's possible that the MTA would gives away retired buses or if we have to buy our own and also how does one advertise our services to the general community/areas we will serve. I'm genuinely serious about persuading this and would like help make transit in NYC the best it can be

Sorry to be blunt, but forget about it - the MTA has a monopoly on public transportation in the city. 

[BaconFoamz]

On 8/30/2023 at 4:39 PM, A Former New Yorker said:

I've been thinking about setting up a transit company operating in NYC. I already have ideas for routes and know how to do scheduling such but idk the exact steps to properly pull it off like how does one find a garage location or if it's possible that the MTA would gives away retired buses or if we have to buy our own and also how does one advertise our services to the general community/areas we will serve. I'm genuinely serious about persuading this and would like help make transit in NYC the best it can be

As nice as that would be, unfortunately the MTA has taken over in terms of public transportation as the person above me said. However, not all hope is lost. If you really want to start a transit company, you could perhaps look for some remote town maybe upstate with no form of pubic transport.

[Trainmaster5]

6 hours ago, BaconFoamz said:

As nice as that would be, unfortunately the MTA has taken over in terms of public transportation as the person above me said. However, not all hope is lost. If you really want to start a transit company, you could perhaps look for some remote town maybe upstate with no form of pubic transport.

pubic transport ??? 😂

[JAzumah]

On 8/30/2023 at 4:39 PM, A Former New Yorker said:

I already have ideas for routes and know how to do scheduling such but idk the exact steps to properly pull it off like how does one find a garage location or if it's possible that the MTA would gives away retired buses or if we have to buy our own and also how does one advertise our services to the general community/areas we will serve.

Figure out what your insurance costs are going to be before you spend any money. The bus insurance market is extremely tight.

[Mtatransit]

On 8/30/2023 at 4:39 PM, A Former New Yorker said:

I've been thinking about setting up a transit company operating in NYC. I already have ideas for routes and know how to do scheduling such but idk the exact steps to properly pull it off like how does one find a garage location or if it's possible that the MTA would gives away retired buses or if we have to buy our own and also how does one advertise our services to the general community/areas we will serve. I'm genuinely serious about persuading this and would like help make transit in NYC the best it can be

If you are trying to make a profit, transit buses are NOT the way to go. Transit buses require a lot of drivers, a lot of buses for very little yield. You can not provide an adequate headway with one or two buses. You will need like 10. You could easily lose tens of thousand in a month
 

Plus operator utilization. Will be extremely inefficient as well, if you plan to operate the traditional ramp up AM/PM and ramp down Miday/Night service pattern

Plus all private bus operators will need a curbside permit for every stop they intend to make, and getting those permit require community approval and hearing.

That is without even factoring in the MTA offering a better wage/benefit and the current driver shortage

If you were to start a company I would recommend long distance intercity operation. Requires the less buses, better driver utilizations, and slightly better yields

 

[JAzumah]

On 9/2/2023 at 10:44 PM, Mtatransit said:

If you were to start a company I would recommend long distance intercity operation. Requires the less buses, better driver utilizations, and slightly better yields

It is definitely easier to run this type of operation, especially between two big cities making several local stops along the way.