N6 Limited

Would(n't) it make sense to build a park & ride garage at/on the Grand Central Parkway/Clearview Expressway interchange and extend the Hillside Ave Line to 212th St/Clearview Expressway?

It's a great location & easily accessible, Hillside Ave/Grand Central Parkway/Clearview Expressway. If traffic is bad it will prompt people to get right off and take the subway.

In addition to what I just said, how come NY doesn't do like other locations and build "Park and Ride" centers where highways cross mass transit lines, especially in outer areas?

Potential Examples:

Kew Gardens Enterchange - Union Turnpike Station

Grand Central Parkway/LIE/Van Wyck Expwy  - Willets Point City Field

LIE/Queens Blvd - Woodhaven Blvd

GCP/31st St-  Astoria Blvd

Bronx River Parkway and any station (Gunhill with Metro North and extended or E180th perhaps)

Aqueduct/Belt Parkway - Aqueduct

Pelham Bay Park

There's a spot where I-95, The Hutchinson River Parkway, and Pelham Parkway form a triangle, and right in the triangle there are Metro North Tracks. They could build a park and ride in that location and extend the 6 one more stop and have a nice Intermodal Situation there.

Whats at the Marine Terminal anyway?

Why does NICE need popular requests to keep making these little stop changes constantly? Just use your mind and create a good LIMITED route. They could clearly just use the n6 LIMITED as an example, but no, they have to keep screwing with us...

 

NICE announced it on their Facebook page.

Exactly, why do they try to keep western Nassau out of the express routes? N6 Limited had its stops for a reason. LOL I still cant believe they thought bypassing Elmont (and Springfield Blvd) was a good idea. Springfield regularly has about 10 people waiting!

I mean, do they REALLY study ridership patterns or what?

I don't see that on their site.

Where do they store the buses anyway?

I've noticed that N31's don't short turn in Lynbrook anymore, when did this change? Last April? 

Thanks

I'm always pushing for more n22 local service because I know those buses are needed. Pinepower's area does need bus service, just not as much as other areas do (especially when you look at total ridership numbers). But I also think the expresses and limiteds should be as full or semi-full like how successful the n6 LIMITED (something else I think they should bring back) was under the .

The N6 Expresses are getting fuller with the stop changes, etc. I'm not sure how full the N22X gets.

On the way to Jamaica I took the to Sutphin because I didn't know how delayed Northbound trains were. The was being held at Sutphin so i just escaped from there, and took the Q9 to the Terminal. Thanks Transit App! (Such a useful app).

I just saw the 1988 service improvements PDF, and I see that there was a Q86 bus in south east Queens. What was the routing of this bus?

 Is the 6th Ave Fast Track just between W4th and 36th St? Or is it Between Jay St and 36th st?

Ugh the QB line is local after 9:30pm this week. 

Well, starting Sunday, the will be all R32s again and the will be all R160s again.

Eww R32, lol. Why were they swapped?

The stark contrast between being in a car and a bus on the Island is staggering.  It's like the bus system is its own little world sometimes, one that no one really wants to be in.

That's why when people on these transit forums say "You shouldn't drive , you should ride public transit" or other similar statements, I just laugh.  I ride the bus & subway to commute.  If I take my car in for maintenance, I'll use the bus and go to the mall, the gym, home, etc instead of waiting, but I like having the CHOICE.

Driving eastbound on the LIE in Queens around Utopia Pkwy, you could see a sign say something like: 

______________

|106/107 15 Mins |

|135        20 Mins |

|110        30 mins |

|______________|

By bus from Utopia Parkway and Horace Harding Expwy it would probably take 90 mins or so to get to 106/107 & LIE, by LIRR? who knows.

The RX, connecting all of the subway lines would be really useful crosstown  An eastern Bronx/Queens line would be useful as well, Connecting Nice with Beeline.

What would you think of a Extension through Long Island City, Randalls Island, then as a 125th St Crosstown to Broadway?

Catch 22. That might lead to overcapacity moments at stations and crushloaded cars with the reduction of TPH on the IRT lines.

 

There is only really 3 solutions to this problem: implementation of SBS service, full completion of the Second Ave Subway all phases, or serious reconstruction at certain terminals such as with the case with Flatbush Avenue which was not designed as a terminal (The Flatbush IRT was supposed to be extended to Voorhies  Avenue as per IND Second System plans, to merge into the never built Utica Avenue line) , or installation of CBTC on the Brooklyn IRT. Either way none of this even being possible today because of lack of funding and lack of political will to implement at least the engineering studies towards reconsidering such past proposals let alone the complete construction of the SAS or supplemental SBS service running parallel to these routes.

 

 

Right, I've been on the line where a couple of trains had to pass in order to get on. I was thinking of the QB line sometime it  crawls because of train congestion.

As for the Nonstrand Ave Line, what was the IRT's planned last stop, and why did Flatbush become the terminal?

NICE does a lot of interlining, using coaches on the express will screw up their logistics

Many times during Rush hour there is train congestion and slow movement, especially express trains.

Would it help to slightly reduce the amount of trains so that trains move faster through the system? 

What does RTO stand for, again?

Rapid Transit Operations

I thought it was Revenue Train Operation?

I wonder who originally came up with the Idea for fast track was it Walder? I wonder if they'll ever do the QB line "north" of Roosevelt Ave

I think nicebus.com is down at the moment.

why would they put up with that doesn't that mean demand exists for a N24 version that skips Roosevelt field?

 

I'm not so sure, the N24 buses I see between Roosevelt Field and Hicksville are usually light. Has anyone seen otherwise?

 

why would people put up with that? when there is the LIRR unless they are reverse riders.

You coould use the to the and use jamacia buses to reach NICE.

They're probably reverse riders, also the LIRR is not cheap. 

I mean, I've seen about a handful of 22x's going back to Queens since I started working out here when I get out, but I've never been tempted to take em, because for starters, I don't know the difference b/w the 22x & the 22 (I figure it's an express of some sort, but how much faster is it really)..... In the past, fanning some Queens routes, I've also seen 22L's (don't know what those do either).... The 22a I know about - all that is is a 22 that never serves mineola, that ends at RFM.... A poor man's version of a short turn 22.....

 

Maybe you, or someone else here can briefly explain the difference b/w the 22L & the 22x...

 

As far as loads on the 22/24... Whenever I see them in the morning or when I leave in the evening, either route leaves mineola SRO... only bus I see that leaves like halfway empty, is the 23 manorhaven (which I seldom see anyway... how (in)frequent is that route anyway)?

N22/A/L/X Schedule: http://www.nicebus.com/_meta/routes_pdf/NICE-n22_MapSchedule.pdf

N22L (N22 Limited),

bypasses Mineola,Roosevelt Field and Old Country Road.

N22X (N22 Express, is like a NYCT Limited).

It has limited stops and runs in the the reverse peak direction during rush hour. 4 trips to Hicksville AM, 4 trips to Jamaica PM

It runs on 30 min headways

The stops are:

-Jamaica bus Terminal

-169th Subway

-179th Subway

-New Hyde Park Road

-Mineola Intermodal Center

-Roosevelt Field

-Post Rd & Maple Ave

-Hicksville LIRR Station

It takes a shortcut between New Hyde Park Road and Mineola Intermodal Center, so it saves even more time. According to the schedule it saves 15 mins over the local between 179th Street and Mineola Station.

The N23 only goes to Mineola during rush hours, all other times it goes to Hempstead via a different routing south of Hillside Ave.

It runs roughly every 30 mins

N23 Schedule: http://www.nicebus.com/_meta/routes_pdf/NICE-n23_MapSchedule.pdf

I can't fathom taking the N22/24 from the mineola station, to 179th , to church av, to the B35.... The from 179th to (any part of Brooklyn) is a painstakingly slow ride... I remember from when I fanned the F train from end to end when I was younger, and the damned thing took a little over 2 hours.... If there are ppl. at this place that are doing that (N22/24 to the F to Brooklyn), I feel sorry for them... This one guy keeps suggesting that I do that to get back to brooklyn (because I tell him I'm sick of the LIRR now).... I'm going to start driving & that'll be the end of it.....

 

Have you tried the N22x in the morning?

 

But keeping this NICE related.... The one thing I've noticed since I've been working out there the past couple weeks now, is that 22's & 24's seem to arrive at mineola within minutes of each other (regardless of direction; towards jamaica or towards RFM/Hicksville)... Another thing I notice is the interlining of N40's & N41's.....

 

I kept saying to myself, that's probably the smartest thing Veolia did with the bus network in nassau county (from how things were with LIB)..... There is no doubt that there are more folks traveling on 22's/24's b/w Queens & Hicksville, compared to folks that used to take the 78/79 b/w Mineola & Hicksville.... In other words, it was a good way to maximize the amt. of riders/bus..... In essence, it made the 24 more useful... Too many 24 trips back then ended at mitchel field depot....

Yup, the n24 extension to Hicksville was a great idea because, in theory, it brought more of that large chunk of Jamaica ridership to Old Country Rd and Hicksville.

I wonder how that affects ridership during the holiday's. Before you had to transfer to the N78/N79 but now you can stay on the N24. 

Also all buses went to/from the mall via East Gate Blvd, so you could take the N15, N22, N24 to East Gate and Old Country Road, and walk down to the shopping/source mall if necessary. But now only the N22 and N24 to Hicksville goes that way, It concentrates ridership onto fewer buses.

Since NICE did eliminate the route redundancy on Old Country Rd, not to mention that the N15 only goes to Old country Road during Court/Rush Hours. How is service on Old Country Road, and how are loading conditions on the N22 and N24?

I did that a few times over the summer (N22/24 from Hicksville to 179th for the to Jay St). The long ride felt worse than the bus ride, and that's without peak-of-the-peak crowding.

Yes even though the F is express it is still a long ride.

What if the MTA and NICE had a service that somehow linked up Hillside Ave Express service with NICE routes and Queens Limited routes (Q1, Q36, Q43 Limited). You think that would boost ridership?

Well the n6 gets so crowded anyone riding it for the first time today to "leave the car at home" will not be anxious to try again. On the way home yesterday the bus I was on must have had 60 or so people on it. I prefer to get to Jamaica while the n1 is still running but it doesn't always work out that way.

So then I'm confronted with, waiting until later in the evening to get on the train when the bus is less frequent, but not as crowded, or dealing with the tapering headway from 15 mins, to 20 mins and dealing with a clowncar-bus ride home.

I caught the last n1 from Jamaica on Wed. I was able to get a seat, but the bus was SRO from the subway and continued to pick up until Springfield Blvd, SRO to the front door by the time we reached the county line. Imagine all those people along with the others that were still waiting at the train station trying to pack on the n6 on 15 min headways.

To be fair, the ridership can be "volitile", all it takes is two or three (F)'s to come in a row and the bus can be Slammed

So  what made them eliminate the N43 extension?