BUS - Random Thoughts Thread

[youngblaze]

Would anyone happen to have the original depot assignments for the D60's #1000-5769?

[S78 via Hylan]

Today, I caught my Yukon B/O friend and rode his X9 trip out of Central Park South this afternoon. We had a full seated load, but thankfully no standees. It took a bit over two hours to complete the trip due to the BBT still closed, but it was still an awesome ride.

 

Our bus was Prevost 2412. The seats on those buses aren't as comfortable as MCI's though.

Edited November 10, 2012 by S78 via Hylan

[CDTA]

I'm really upset right now that I missed the shuttle....

[Santa Fe via Willow]

I went busfanning today. I took the S53-B8-B15-AirTrain-Q10 LTD-Q44-Bx40-Bx41 LTD- - -ferry-S92. I started out at about 9:30, and finished at 7:30PM (I wasn't expecting it to take that long)

 

I liked the B8 ride, especially as we went further east because it went on residential streets with very few traffic lights. The B15 ride was better than I expected. I thought the bus would crawl down New Lots Avenue, but we moved pretty well over there. And then once we got on Linden Blvd and the expressway, the B/O floored it.

 

The thing is that when we got off the expressway, I saw a building that looked like some kind of airline terminal, and a bunch of people got off, so I thought it was Terminal 5. Then I saw that there were people still on the bus, and I said "Shit, this is Lefferts Blvd, not Terminal 5". So I figured I might as well ride the AirTrain (the ride was slow. I bet that B15 would've went much faster). I rode it to Terminal 5 (I know the Q10 LTD stops at Lefferts, but there was another reason I went to Terminal 5. Plus I figured I might as well make the best of it and ride the AirTrain). So a bus was loading, but I didn't see a limited sign flashing on the back, so I thought it was a local and didn't bother running for it. Somebody else told me it was a limited, and I had another "Oh shit" moment.

 

But fortunately, another Q10 came and left within a few minutes. I rode it to Union Turnpike (that ride was pretty fast), and then walked over to Main Street for the Q44. I saw a sign that said Q44, but I didn't realize it said "Late Night Only" (they should've put it in black paint instead of blue), so I was wondering why the hell the Q44 just passed me. So then I found my way to the Union Turnpike stop (I didnt realize I was walking down 80th Avenue, not Union Turnpike). So the Q44 went pretty fast until we hit The Bronx. Then we basically crawled the rest of the route except between the Bruckner & Parkchester.

 

At Parkchester, the bus in front of us put all of its passengers on our bus (I don't know what the story was with that. I saw a dispatcher, and then another driver was talking about how he missed the bus he was supposed to relieve or something like that). I think the bus that was stopped was the bus I had missed back on Main Street.

 

I got off at Tremont Avenue, and there was a ton of traffic on there (I didn't realize the BxM10 spent a couple of blocks on Tremont). There was a Bx42 right behind the Bx40 I was on. Then for the rest of the route, we slowly made our way down Tremont (but at least traffic wasn't at a standstill like it was by Devoe). I got off at Webster and saw a Bx41 waiting at the light, but it was a local so I figured I'd be better off taking the limited (especially since this bus was full). Another local passed by (with maybe 3/4 of a seated load), and then finally a limited came.

 

It was weird that when I looked further south, it looked like there was a lot of traffic by the CBX, but when the bus passed by, there wasn't a whole lot. I'm going to be honest, when we got down to 168th Street, I'm pretty sure I heard shouting and gunshots. (This was between 167th & 168th, and I think it was around 4:30).

 

At 149th & 3rd, I just missed a , but the next one was in 4 minutes, so I figured no big deal. 2 trains actually passed before the next came. But the train just terminated at 149th & GC. I waited a couple of minutes, but then figured I'd be better off with the , so I went upstairs and caught it. There was a bunch of train traffic (which might've been the reason the terminated there), so the train ended up like 20 minutes late (The schedule says it's supposed to take 28 minutes. I was expecting it to take about 40, but it took about 50). I originally intended to take the 5:45 ferry, but when the train came in at 5:50, I didn't bother (but I heard the horn sound as I was walking to the terminal, so if I caught the train in front and then ran, I could've made it)

 

And then the thing that really pissed me off: The 6:00 boat was cancelled because of mechanical problems. And then the 6:15 boat left late, so we ended up getting to St. George at 6:50. Well, at least the S92 ride somewhat made up for it, though I was still pissed at getting back over a half hour later then I should've.

 

So basically, the first half of the trip went very well. The second half, not so much.

 

 

Cool. Very interesting experience you had. I used to explore mass transit like that YEARS ago now, though NOT to that degree, & not in one day. One of the coolest trips I did WAY BACK was taking the PATH from the WTC to Hoboken, when the fare was a dollar. I hung out there for a while, then came back & headed back home to SI. With Sandy, was mass transit free in areas outside NYCT and/or other MTA territories? I forget now if NJT and/or other non-NY mass transit was free & if it was, for how long?

 

The storms has me thinking about Charleston Depot. It's a stone's throw or two from the Kill van Kull & probably just BARELY above Zone A. Plus it is high up/elevated somewhat. Even so, does anyone know if CD suffered any damages from wind? Arthur Kill Rd a short walk away from CD floods regularly in regular heavy rainstorms, so it must have been horrendously flooded by Sandy. I wonder how long CD was without power, as well as the other SI bus depots. I hope bus depots have reliable back-up power generation in/for these events, though even in something like Sandy even the back-ups may go out or not work.

[GojiMet86]

Shhhhhhhhh. Don't let VG8 hear that.

 

 

 

Wow. That's just cold.

 

But how was your bus the crowded one if there was another one in front of you? Or was that a short-turn starting at the subway station?

 

 

The few times I've been there, I've noticed that the Q23 has a load of people there. I was there around 7, so people getting off the subway were taking the bus in both directions. Those Q23s also come two at a time.

 

The line was long enough to fill both buses, and that's with both coming from Ditmars.

[Acela Express]

Speaking of missed buses, yesterday I just miss a B46, but I get the 2nd bus that pulls in. We end up skipping the B46 I just missed because it was picking up riders and it looked more crowded.

Sounds like you may've been on my bus. lol

[Grand Concourse]

I think both buses were ngs. Lol, it'd be cool to meet you in person.

[XcelsiorBoii4883]

Hmm...a random thought. How come bus time doesnt show the time schedule for when the bus is going to arrive...for xample...S53...SAND LA HYLAN BLVD....8:03am 8:13am etc...maybe too much? since it shows time on the BusStopPole

[CDTA]

This is the second night in a row iv'e had dreams about the O6's coming back. Is that bad?

[checkmatechamp13]

Hmm...a random thought. How come bus time doesnt show the time schedule for when the bus is going to arrive...for xample...S53...SAND LA HYLAN BLVD....8:03am 8:13am etc...maybe too much? since it shows time on the BusStopPole

 

 

Nice to have you back, man.

 

Anyway, it's because the software doesn't know when the bus will arrive, just how far away the bus is. There are a lot of variables like traffic, passenger loads, and the driver themselves (some drive fast, others drive more cautiously), so there's no way of knowing the exact time. It can estimate it, maybe using the leader's time between points, but what happens if suddenly things change (the B/O hits traffic or something)?

[XcelsiorBoii4883]

 

 

Nice to have you back, man.

 

Anyway, it's because the software doesn't know when the bus will arrive, just how far away the bus is. There are a lot of variables like traffic, passenger loads, and the driver themselves (some drive fast, others drive more cautiously), so there's no way of knowing the exact time. It can estimate it, maybe using the leader's time between points, but what happens if suddenly things change (the B/O hits traffic or something)?

 

 

Ooohh thanks man! also i see what you mean....and as long as we can track it we shouldnt need time...

[CDTA]

If it as up to me, GA would get Jamaica's NG's in exchange for GA's RTS's.

[Chargerdodge9]

That would bring up the fleet average if they were to do that. They would only have 1996-1998 Novabus RTS's.

[MHV9218]

GA ops definitely know how to haul, specially on the B62. Was watching the speedo on Park Av, had an op yesterday who got to 40-45 going down there in an RTS, official for a non-highway plain city street. [This guy was pretty smart actually, he was in front of his leader so he pulled over and waiting for five minutes, the ran hard all the way to Fulton St., be good more ops could do that instead of dragging the line] And on the actually highway-like roads, some ops will do 55 on the Pulaski. Those buses are in good shape and the ops know how to move them.

[Threxx]

GA ops definitely know how to haul, specially on the B62. Was watching the speedo on Park Av, had an op yesterday who got to 40-45 going down there in an RTS, official for a non-highway plain city street. [This guy was pretty smart actually, he was in front of his leader so he pulled over and waiting for five minutes, the ran hard all the way to Fulton St., be good more ops could do that instead of dragging the line] And on the actually highway-like roads, some ops will do 55 on the Pulaski. Those buses are in good shape and the ops know how to move them.

 

 

Well, we're getting VERY different ops, because my frequent GA experiences on the B38 LCL and the B62 are the opposite. Normally they're OK on the B38, but all B62 ops I get drag the route. The B62 schedule needs to be tightened...

[NewFlyer 230]

If it as up to me, GA would get Jamaica's NG's in exchange for GA's RTS's.

 

That is silly, just keep those buses where they are. GA is good with the buses they have.

[Threxx]

If it as up to me, GA would get Jamaica's NG's in exchange for GA's RTS's.

 

 

No. 9444 will remain on the B38... FOREVER!

[CDTA]

This is the second night in a row iv'e had dreams about the O6's coming back. Is that bad?

 

Guess what I had tonight.

[Q43LTD]

I really think the PBL RTS' retired too soon

[NewFlyer 230]

 

Guess what I had tonight.

 

I was going to say the magical "S" word but I'm guessing you rode on a bus new to you.

[Grand Concourse]

I really think the PBL RTS' retired too soon

 

Yeah the 5900s were pretty good. 5926? was one of my favs. NYCT's 8600s were all pretty good as well and could've lasted maybe another year or 2. imo.

[Orion VII 4 Life]

Pissed I found NO Orion V CNGs on the Q66 Saturday, bus after bus after bus, all damn C40s.

 

Where the hell are those things?

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Drama on my way home tonight.... Got the same B/O with his Dominican entourage and the guy I got into a heated exchange with two weeks ago was on tonight with his mini posse. No words were exchanged.. Just looks and boy if looks could kill... God do I have a temper. I mean I got so heated just thinking about the idea of going at it with this guy. I really didn't give a **** about whoever was with him because I would've invited him off of the bus just as I did last time. The down side as I'm stuck with this ******* guy until they change up because I sure as hell ain't changing my routine.

 

On a funny note, an old lady got into it last night on the M104 I was on with the B/O. The guy overshot the Columbus Circle stop and went all the way over to where the other buses usually stop which meant that the old lady had to rush over with her cart or whatever she had and boy was she pissed when she got on. All the B/O kept saying was "You're on the bus now right?" and talking about how the entire area was the bus stop, which is confusing to me because the M104 drivers that I usually see stop right where the M104 bus stop is. I kind of have to agree with the old lady because the M104 stop there is so far from the others that if you're standing there and the bus goes by you may very well be bypassed. It seemed like he was going to pull off had I not been closer to where the other buses stopped because I really didn't plan on taking the M104 first but since I was going down 7th Avenue it didn't matter anyway so I just got on.

 

I couldn't hear everything that was exchanged, but boy she was giving him a toungue lashing but I didn't hear any profanity. More like she was getting on him for doing a terrible job and he was replying sarcastically saying yeah, I know, I'm such a terrible driver. Smh lol

Edited November 12, 2012 by Via Garibaldi 8

[Turbo19]

Call me crazy, but all my life I've noticed something about New Flyer's in particular. When they are delivered, they have this distinct smell to them, and after riding, I usually feel like I was huffing paint the whole ride.

 

Now, what's my cell number at Ward's?

[NewFlyer 230]

Pissed I found NO Orion V CNGs on the Q66 Saturday, bus after bus after bus, all damn C40s.

 

Where the hell are those things?

 

They were on the Q65 and maybe the Q38. I know on Saturdays and night times the Q25 is all C40LF.