N6 Limited

Right...

 

X68s are very well utilized, and you can see crowds of ten people or more waiting at X68 stops in the morning (which, considering how dense Eastern Queens is, is very impressive.)

 

I've always thought that there should be a few X68s running down Braddock or to Springfield/Jamaica. There are people who apparently transfer from X68s to Q1s in the PM (which is very strange, but hey, it's their commute...)

You're in a comfy chair, nice quiet bus, no subway delays, no waiting in the cold on a long line to board a bus in Jamaica. Also, Above ground with cellphone reception. I've thought about taking the X68 to Francis Lewis for the N6 if the QB line was screwed up. Other than that it wouldn't necessarily save me any time.

307 pages and 1.5 years later and QJ is still getting people angry on this thread? :|

 

Hmmm random thoughts/proposals I have:

 

- I think something should be done about the Hillside Avenue corridor during the AM rush. I constantly see people getting flagged nearly every stop after F Lewis. (Which makes me glad that I take the 6X and don't have to deal with that mess.). I would make a solution but cannot put my mind on it, maybe someone could help...

 

I'll list more later when I get my mind to it

I'm assuming you're talking about Jamaica bound service?  After Francis Lewis don't they have the Q1, Q76, Q77, and further down Q17, Q2 and Q3? I do see several people at many stops when I'm on the N6 though.

Personally, I think there needs to be some stop reorganization on Hillside (namely, the Q1 does not need its own bus stand for a route that comes every half hour; move the Q2 and Q3 to the Q1 bus stand on 179th/Hillside, which is right outside the subway exit and much more convenient.

 

Long term, I would have the Q36 make the same exact limited stops that the Q43 does, while boosting Q1/2/3 service so that it more effectively serves as a local version of the 43. The Q1 is basically already this; there aren't that many people at the stand until one shows up, in which case people will rush the stand because they refuse to wait for another minute for a 43 with the line stretching around the block.

 

While in the long run this screws me over (because then the MTA has an excuse to reduce the frequency of 43 service), the 43 basically cannabalizes all Hillside ridership due to how frequently the buses show up over the "local" buses (and honestly, even though the Q36 comes often enough the buses are usually packed and the bus stand is too far from the other "local" bus stands to make a difference.

Going East I'm not sure that the Q2 and Q3 would help too much they turn off Hillside early. The Q1 and 43 should share the same stand. Many wait for the 43 because it's more frequent.

This is why I planned for a Q43 all day limited. Weekdays only. It would make local stops after Springfield. The Q1 would be extended west to Jamaica station for local service. Does it really need 2 lanes at 165?

Is the Q43 busy all day? 

 

That's what I think. They must have had a reason to program the n6L into the newer buses when the route was long gone before they arrived.

I think all buses use the same program for uniformity. They probably won't remove the N6L it because there is technically no need to, they may reinstate the route.

Today decided to change buses at HTC instead of RF like I usually do because RF has no heated area and it's cold tonight. I hadn't been to HTC since, well, I think the days. It was around 7pm and the place seemed to be full of bums and thug-type people up to no good & drinking. Couldn't even use the restroom, the stench of cigarette smoke was nauseating. I saw no security around at all. And there weren't any new schedules to take either, the place where they used to be on the wall didn't exist, and another rack just had written "new schedules available Jan.13.2014" in messy magic marker. This place seemed much busier years ago with commuters, but for whatever reasons, either lost ridership or whatnot, I didn't see many. This place seemed more ghetto than 165th st and that's saying alot. Don't plan on returning to change buses here for a long while, if ever. Some have said still owns the property, but it definitely seems like security has been cut back a great deal. Not surprising about all the robberies and crime I read in the police blotter at Hempstead Term. Not a way to make riders feel comfortable & safe that's for sure. Certainly not a "nice" place that's for sure.

Last week I posted that the HTC is disgusting, I was not joking. The whole place smells like the restrooms, and the restrooms smell even worse.  As for the patronage, you're omitting that it's the middle of January and Colleges aren't in session and its COLD. So there may be less people taking discretionary trips, and you're not going to see people going home from school or going to/from evening classes. 

Have you even to be HTC at night when bus terminal is closed for all bus traffic? It was so confusing. I wish NICE Bus will post info where bus stops when HTC is closed.

They stop by the LIRR station, its been like that for years, whats confusing about it?

Sadly it seems HTC is a product of a County that could care less about funding transit. I bet most of the legislators wouldn't ever set foot in there let alone actually know where it's located.

Used to see alot of ppl waiting for the n6 and always lines, but no lines there tonight, wonder how much n6 ridership has dropped?  

It's cold, January and so no evening classes/etc. You may see more in Nov/Dec even when cold because of evening classes, and seasonal jobs in retail, etc. MTA's ridership data showed that LIB ridership peaked in March, for whatever reason.

I can't believe has cut back on security. I thought was kicking ass???

 

 

Did post that in the LIB days? Just wondering.

There are still security guards in there sometimes. Maybe they stay in the booth now when its cold?

HTC doesn't look so bad to me on video. But thay may be different in real life. It also differs per person. I mean, what's looking "shady" for one person may look "okay" to another. Based on video footage, I can think of a couple of transit centers that are worse at night then HTC. But again: it differs per person.

It looks ok, smells bad, as for "shady" characters, that's subjective like you said. But when I was there last week, there was some guy that was just a little bit mental, you just have to keep your distance.

I got one of the new schedules this morning, they're using cheaper paper.

Why are so many underground trains going local because of "weather related conditions" are the switches getting stuck?

If the N22L bypassed most of the ridership than cutting them wouldn't necessarily have an effect, no?

Since the n6X has had some debates over time: I see on NICE's website that there's a stop change: California St will be dropped and Oak St is its replacement. Is that gonna be okay?

 

The n24 extended to Hicksville on weekends is a nice addition.

They already made the n6x change a couple of months ago, now they're noting it on the schedule.

The N24 additional service to Hicksville is nice during the Sat "rush hours" for those that work along Old Country Road.

No me gusta el espanol en los horarios de autobus. 

Unless they're making some last minute changes, though thats doubtful. Maybe they know the n22 changes are gonna piss alot of ppl off and they are. I was really starting to like NICE more and then they blow it again by making some boneheaded move like putting only 2 buses an hour on the n22 from Hicksville in the AM RUSH.

Maybe they're trying to distribute people boarding in Hicksville to the N24?

Oh yeah, it was a real express back then. We made some great time:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN4BbRiOtBI

Great timing and nice runs between red signals. Is it that much slower now? Does the shortcut down Herricks Road help?

I wonder if NICE is waiting till Friday to announce the new schedules.

Even though LIRR has a high fare, LIRR still has a high subsidy amount, they need to control costs and improve efficiency.

The N22x used to skip Mineola and NHP Rd. It made no stops between 179th st and Roosevvelt Field and made all stops to Hicksville

@n6 Limited: I thought I remember that Yuki once said some time last year that n43 can be pretty crowded in rush hour. It also serves NCC so that might be true...

Honestly the n43 needs 15 minute intervals, not 20 or 30 minute intervals.

 

The n54/55 intervals also need to be 30 minutes each (15 minutes combined).

The n43 just goes to show you that routing makes all the difference. The N45 uses Uniondale Ave and gets crap ridership, The N43 gets created and ridership continues to grow.

I just saw the schedule for the year, They've added the Fulton St line into the rotation.

The Fastrack is going to be this week, I wonder why they don't put the shuttle bus to Bergen Street instead of Jay St

Probably because Jay street has more service and is easier to turn buses there. 

The n6 will amaze you, the bus can be crush loaded at 11pm coming from Jamaica. The bus is SRO at 4:30 in the morning! If the bus was crush loaded at 1:30am going to Jamaica, maybe the previous bus was missing or something.

I'm not sure what their definition of "crush loaded" is though. Certain users have shown us videos of "crush loaded" buses with 3 standees.  The N6 can get literally crush loaded, 15+ standees. 

Wow, NICE might as well add 24 hour service with buses running every 5 minutes by now. I mean, first it was 1:30 AM n6 that was crush loaded, then the 9:05 PM and 9:20 PM were said to be crush loaded and now even the 11:00 PM n6? Do people even sleep? I'm sorry, I know buses can get crowded in the evening (that's also the case in my city) but I'll bet $50 dollars that some people are exaggerating just a bit because I won't believe *every* evening bus up till 1:30 AM (!) is CRUSH loaded.

I am most certainly  not exaggerating, sometimes I avoid getting to Jamaica around 9pm because I know how crowded the bus is.  Even last week while school is out and a lot of people was on vacation, the 9:05 bus left the terminal SRO, but it was less people than usual, so we only got crush loaded by 187th place as opposed to the subway LOL! Flagged everyone else till the first stop. 

Also, it's not EVERY bus until 1:30am, I think you're misinterpreting the message. We are giving accounts of buses and times where a trip is usually packed. It doesn't mean it's every bus. Usually by 10:30PM the Eastbound buses are a bit better, they're still SRO but not as many people get flagged.

I task anyone of you to stake out Springfield Blvd in the evening from 7/8PM to 10:45PM  and watch how many buses flag the stop and the number of people waiting, it's really a shame. So when I see 15 min headway after 8PM and then 20min headway from 9 till 11pm I just shake my head because whenever I'm on one of those trips, flagging is virtually guaranteed. GUARANTEED.

I'd suggest maybe 12 min headway until 9PM and 15 min headway until 10/10:30. That would definitely increase customer satisfaction. Perhaps they feel that increasing the number of trips in the evening is a waste if half the bus empties out by Meacham Ave. But they need to do something or have people enter through the back door, its too cold to be getting flagged.

Nobody's exaggerating. The n6 is usually crowded between 7:30 and 11:30 p.m because it's the only bus route that runs at the time. Both n6 Express and n1 rush hour service ends right before they're really needed, and as a result, you have twenty people waiting at the corner of Hillside and 168th Street for the one n6 Local. The buses are usually SRO from the 169th Street Subway to Locust wood Blvd. About half of the people on the SRO n6 usually get off at Elmont (Between Locustwood and Meacham) and the other half takes the n6 all the way to the terminal. 

Exactly!  The last N1 leaves Jamaica at 7:30pm, then the N6 drops down to 15 min headways till 9pm where it drops to 20 min headways. Sometimes the makes it worse. Train delays will cause bunching and will cause an influx of n6 riders waiting to pack onto the bus on its crap headways. If you don't get on at 168th street then you're SOoL. 

I used to take the bus from Hempstead late at night 10:30pm-11. The bus leaves the terminal SRO, and continues to pick up people along the way, drop off's usually don't start until Elmont, either Grand Street or Meacham Ave.

I heard one driver say that the busiest part is between Locustwood Blvd and Elmont Road. He said he could have 20 people on the bus From Hempstead until Elmont Rd, but by the time they reach the county line it's full.

I wonder what would happen if they started putting in short turns at Franklin Ave.

When I take the N6 at a crazy hour like 1:30am, it's standing-room only to Jamaica and crush-loaded.  They really should add more N22x service since otherwise you get a large passenger load that gets on a local N22 in Jamaica and won't get off until Roosevelt Field, so there is no more room for local passengers to board and they get flagged. 

 

Also, you would think NICE would want to maximize its profits by adding service on busy routes like the N22 and N6, and cutting service on so many of the underutilized north-south routes (especially in eastern Nassau) and underutilized eastern Nassau routes that don't go into Queens.

Crush loaded at 1:30am? Crush loaded is the 9:05pm & 9:20pm etc buses that typically have people crushed up front by the driver and riders flagged if they dare wait for the bus east of the subway. There are times where the line is so long, people will walk to 165th st or the bus terminal to guarantee boarding. Before the bus pulls up to 168th place all the seats are taken and the bus is SRO. That's before the line of 20+ people start boarding! Sometimes while boarding another will unload more people and they rise from the steps and run to the bus.

So , yes, after the last service increase they reduced midday headway from 12 mins to 10 mins. but the evening trips from Jamaica still are still crush loaded flagmania BS.

 

The n6/n6X (all AM n6X to NCC after 6:15am, first 2 AM and all PM to Hempstead):

 

0 10 45

1 10 40

2 10 40

3 10 40

4 10 40

5 00 15 25 35 43 40 55

6 00 08 10 20 23 30 37 40 48 50 58

7 00 08 10 18 20 28 30 38 40 48 50 58

8 00 10 18 20 28 30 38 40 50 52

9 03 04 14 16 26 28 38 40 50

10 00 10 20 30 40 50

11 00 10 20 30 40 50

12 00 10 20 30 40 50

13 00 10 20 30 40 50

14 02 12 22 32 42 52

15 02 12 22 30 40 50

16 00 08 10 18 20 28 30 38 40 48 50

17 00 08 10 18 20 28 30 38 40 48 50

18 00 08 10 18 20 28 30 38 40 48 50

19 00 08 15 23 30 40 50

20 00 15 30 45

21 00 20 40

22 00 20 40

23 00 20 40

The flagging continues.

edit (of course those are not the only time blocks that will happen)

I can't wait for the APC system to be up and running on every bus so NICE can really see what's going on. The N6 to Hempstead is on 20 min headway after 9pm and it's always packed enough to flag people waiting past Hillside Ave, if not past 169th st or 179th st.  They can try 15 min headways for one more hour.

A google overlay would be nice, like the Mercer County map. They can have you select each route individually , let you select all, or let you select all-a county at a time. 

Are there any diagrams showing how the Path and IND share 6th Ave?

I took the bus today while getting my vehicle maintained, my feet are STILL cold. Anyone suggesting people take public transportation instead of their own vehicles, is crazy.

The Hempstead transit center is disgusting. It stinks and the restrooms are cesspools

NJT Sucks. Why is it so difficult to get bus information, something like a MAP perhaps!? Why do I need to know the exact bus for any information, why is it difficult to find out nearby routes for alternative planning?