danielhg121

I do wonder what the process to get a bus scrapped is. Does a senior maintenance supervisor or superintendent sign off on it or someone from DOB has to go check out the bus and fill out the paperwork for it? I imagine it's partly depot's discretion as well.

I don't think the N21 ever carried, at least I've never seen a crushloaded N21 back when it used to serve Flushing and I roamed those areas quite often. The frequency was lackluster compared to the N20 and I don't think there was significant demand for travel between Glen Cove and Flushing. It was definitely treated like the red-headed stepchild. NICE also slowly chipped away at it's frequency, made it a rush hour route and then just cut it at Great Neck as well. I've seen the morning n21 buses leave Great Neck and they carry maybe less than 10 passengers and I can't imagine it picking up any more riders after. The morning n21 to Great Neck did have a decent load though so there is a ridership base, probably riders getting to the LIRR or points north of Great Neck.

Yea, the 8:40 bus deadheads back to the depot after it's run. After that one, the 9:10 and 10PM both interline and do the n20G as well. Worst part about taking the 8:40 is that you have to wait 15 mins for the n20G and by that point, the 9:10PM n20H has shown up at Middle Neck.

I actually remember when the N20 carried past Great Neck, it was about 3/4 of the seats give or take. Nowadays, you'll get 10 passengers or less for the entire stretch to Hicksville and this was pre-pandemic. Constantly putting up with the n20H's half-assed service and everyone being forced to get off to continue their journey, it's not rocket science as to why the line underperforms significantly. During rush hours, the n20G has more service than the n20H, it wouldn't kill them to implement some straight trips especially when a good chunk get off at Middle Neck Rd just to walk across the street to catch the n20G.

It's the day before October is done and the north of Hoyt is almost devoid of OMNY.

I think the train is supposed to keep going to 96th. There was probably miscommunication and they kicked them out early. Maybe the line to the terminal is backed up because they already started cleaning the trains so they just took it out of passenger service. This whole thing is a bit half-assed, some stations have final departing times but they're definitely not in sync and the trains still in passenger service (after the "final" train leaves) stop there anyways to let people off so it doesn't make any sense.

They're installing these tablet-shaped devices on top of the operator that list all the stops and their runs. It's kinda neat, it lists all the stops and the following stops and also the next run, when to deadhead, pull-in and this is separate from the clever device monitor sitting next to the farebox. ----------------------------------------------------- I was riding the 10PM N20H/G (interlined) from Hicksville and the bus was early so the driver had to pull over at some stops and wait the time out. During the whole run, the operator kept pressing the accelerator and the brake immediately after, similar to the same feeling that you get when riding the MTA OG hybrids. The engine definitely didn't like it though and I think the bus wasn't shifting properly on the flat roads later. It was #1748 I believe, bus definitely has seen better days. Also caught #1752 out and it had a clean (maybe new) back engine panel that seemed out of place.

It certainly feels like they were rushing them to scrap towards the end. Was it really necessary to kill off the 05's in such a hasty manner? Do the batteries die out? JFK was definitely running them to the ground, 6541 had little dings and scraped paint all over the bus.

I would personally prefer the slots where the card goes through one end, unlocks the gate and spits it out the other if it's valid. It it's invalid, the machine spits it right back out. I feel like with this setup, they could even begin to accept paper bus transfers where they don't spit it out at the end but still unlock the gate. This setup is in use in China and Japan. New Yorkers are definitely gonna hate it tho. First day would be an absolute shitshow and with OMNY on the horizon, there's no need.

I believe they are temporarily storing local buses at Floyd Benett Field as temporary covid storage. Right now, I believe it's just Brooklyn Division. ENY, FP and FB have buses there. Maybe UP too? EDIT: Nvm this was old news. Disregard.

If you really want to ride them, download the LIRR Traintime app and you can locate one that way. Are there still active M3's anymore? I thought they were pretty much all out of service by now.

Let's just say you'll catch one when you least expect it. The M7 fleet is much larger than the M9 fleet by about 8:1 give or take.

They're advanced enough to detect if the storm window fell out of the train? That's a bit surprising to say the least.

Damn, the line ain't even done like they announced it would be. Why they heading to the Rockaways? LOL

Maybe the back panels are becoming loose too often. Those look like locks to keep the panel prob locked in place. Usually, it's not even on all four edges, it's one or two but maybe they've become fed up with having to take buses out of service for that reason too often.

They're not even done with the old list. They can't just create a new exam out of nowhere without exhausting the old one. Also, with the financial troubles, I'm sure they're not going to hire anyone new (more benefits, etc.). People in RTO are worried about their job security as it stands.

None of the trips actually end at 59th Street anymore.

Reported almost a week ago. LOL

The work should be up for grabs by any depot when it gets down to the wire. I'd say within 4-8 hours of the run being made, if no driver is assigned to the run, there should be an opening for any driver that wants it. But union(s) rules. Prob a difference in run pay, etc. 😐 Unless there's a driver shortage across all the boroughs but with all these cuts, where exactly are they shifting the service to?

He's referring to Astoria Blvd North or South (Grand Central Pkwy service road) and 77th Street in Queens.

Do the NIS deadhead trains from CIY need to have CBTC installed as well?

You should prob flag the T/O down, the C/R rides in the first car usually to key you open so if you give the operator enough heads up, he could prob stop the train shorter so you don't have to run down the platform for it.

Why are they referred to as that and Northeastern Bus Rebuilders (NEBR)?

Yea, I'm a bit surprised these were only built to last 20 years. Seems like a waste when we have Amfleet I's and II's that are already past retirement age.

They carry around a work phone that lets them know if cross-honors are in effect and whatnot. They can usually tell if someone is lying. From what I hear, the work phone keeps pinging them every 2 hours to let them know that the train reconstruction is in effect.