BUS - Random Thoughts Thread

[Grand Concourse]

I still wish that move of NGs to ENY comes through . . .

 

Lol, if you don't mind having 2nd hand buses, then i don't mind. New buses for everyone else.

[alejr88]

If you want a LFSA on the Bx1/2 You'll need to be pretty patient bro... About 97% of those routes are D60's but the LFSA has been popping up more lately...

 

 

Thanks but I caught one today on the Bx1, really sardine packed ugh.

 

In other random thoughts, why aren't there fare inspectors on the Bx12 SBS?? I've seen a lot of them on the M15 SBS but not on the Bx12 SBS. Why?? I've seen a bunch of people farebeat the bus whether it's at White Plains Road, Third/Webster Avenue, Grand Concourse, & Jerome Avenue.

[Fresh Pond]

Random thought...

 

I wonder what the order is for the Orion VIIs to get rehabbed at Gleason. Its like they just pick buses at random to get done.

 

But for some reason, they keep skipping over 7612. That one looks the worse out of them all. The pain on the left side roofline is peeling badly which leaves huge bare metal spots.

[MHV9218]

^ That bus looks awful, I keep seeing it and wondering why they haven't gotten to it. I don't get the order at all, not to mention they've completely sidelined the hybrid overhauls.

 

The combo of the usual SAS mess with the UN summit is hilariously bad on the M15. I had to get from 86th to 14th and there was a stalled train so that was all a mess, so I went to the bus. Traffic was awful, so I started walking, figuring I'd get on a bus once I got out of the traffic. I walked to 34th before it cleared up, whole 50 blocks of bumper to bumper. Passed some 5-6 SBS buses while walking, along with countless locals. Pretty impressive that it's not just faster to walk but actually a good 30-35 minutes faster, gotta love UN week.

[Cait Sith]

Saw an MCI with no numbers and rear engine compartment open on the bruckner being towed...saw it from the Q50 bus stop at Gun Hill Depot.

[XcelsiorBoii4888]

I just realized....that the pull cords on the buses....are different..there not all the same...the orions and novas are different from the new flyers

[NewFlyer 230]

Random thought...

 

I wonder what the order is for the Orion VIIs to get rehabbed at Gleason. Its like they just pick buses at random to get done.

 

But for some reason, they keep skipping over 7612. That one looks the worse out of them all. The pain on the left side roofline is peeling badly which leaves huge bare metal spots.

 

That's similar to the 1995-96 RTS's just random numbers just moved to JFK and LGA. They don't care to try to put the bus numbers in order. And for the Orion V CNG's there were good buses retiring and there are still some bad buses on the road.

I guess the MTA's method is to pick and choose whatever they see first or available.

Edited September 28, 2012 by College Pt Man

[Blitz]

5614 and 5717 getting the black and blue paint treatment right now. Possibly 5613 as well, but when I last saw it it was all white.

[MHV9218]

So what reason would a depot have to remove all the ads from a bus? I would think a wrap, but it doesn't make sense to me. 3941 is running around with the ads all removed but the same coat of paint, so that's why I ask.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

So what reason would a depot have to remove all the ads from a bus? I would think a wrap, but it doesn't make sense to me. 3941 is running around with the ads all removed but the same coat of paint, so that's why I ask.

 

 

Or to use your phrase... Running around naked...

[checkmatechamp13]

I did a lot of busfanning this past week.

 

On Tuesday, I wanted to visit Nicole Malliotakis' office to drop off something about my S67 plan, and going back, I missed the S79, so I figured I might as well take the S78 while I'm down there. Two S78s to Bricktown showed up a few minutes later, but the one I was on eventually got ahead. When we pulled into Bricktown, 6 people (including myself) were on board. 4 of them got off, and me and another guy transferred to the S74 (which had apparently just came from the depot). There were 2 people already waiting there for the S74.

 

I was surprised at how many people got on at those stops in the middle of nowhere. There were 4 schoolkids at one stop (I don't know what school is in the middle of the woods. ), 2 women at another stop, and we made a couple of other stops, so like 8-10 people got on in the middle of nowhere. When we were going up Rossville Avenue, a woman standing at a stop flagged down the driver and asked a couple of questions about where the bus goes, and then didn't get on.

 

I was surprised at how long it took. We left a little before 2:40PM, and we didn't get into the transit center until 3:25PM. The schedule says we should've gotten there at 2:59PM, so somehow, we managed to lose over 25 minutes. There was some sewer work being done outside Bricktown, so that cost us a few minutes, and then the fact that we left almost 5 minutes late, but that shouldn't have added more than 10-15 minutes. The B/O wasn't dragging the line, so I don't know what's up. The bus left the ETC with a few standees.

 

I planned to take the S59, but the S55 came instead, so I figured I'd see if I could catch an S44 at Yukon Avenue. For some reason, the transfer didn't work on the S44 (if an S5x bus is in the middle, you should get a third transfer). And on a side note, there was an S56 in front of us at the ETC, so he must've been 15 minutes late or 15 minutes early.

 

In any case, today I went out to do some busfanning in Brooklyn. I caught the S40 (which came a couple of minutes early), got the 1:00PM ferry (which left a couple of minutes late). Then I caught the to Franklin Avenue, transferred to the to Utica Avenue, and then took the B46 limited (a local came first, but a limited showed up a minute later). At Avenue H, I saw both a B6 limited & B103 pass by, but there wasn't much I could do. The next bus that came was a B6 local, and then the B103 came before the next B6 limited came (we passed the local somewhere in Midwood). I couldn't figure out where the B1 stop was at Bay Parkway (I thought there would be a pole, but I forgot the stop is in the street), so I walked to along 86th Street until I saw the next stop.

 

Then I took the B1 to 86th Street & Fort Hamilton Parkway, walked down FHP (I figured it might allow me to catch an earlier S53). I saw the S53, but I also saw an S79 +SBS+ at 92nd & FHP, so I decided to give the S79 another try. It was farly empty until we hit New Dorp Lane, and then at the next stop, we picked up some SI Tech kids, so it was fairly full (and then a lot of then got off at Nelson Avenue). We passed an S78 that was fairly empty a little before New Dorp Lane. (There was also a Not in Service bus in front of it, and an ambulance, so I'm not sure what that was about).

 

In any case, I have a petition for the S67 plan I wanted to pass, and it's right here if anybody wants to sign it: http://www.change.org/petitions/metropolitan-transportation-authority-restore-s67-under-a-modified-route

[Mysterious2train]

I noticed some M4 short-turns to Bway-168 St. Didn't hit me at the time, but the M4 doesn't stop at the intersection! That's interesting.

 

A lot of long Manhattan routes have unscheduled short-turns. I know they're necessary to keep things rolling, but some of them puzzle me. For example, the M101 to 23 St or the M5 to 168 St. What's the point when those are pretty close to their terminals?

 

Can anyone else think of any short-turns that end pretty close to the route's terminals?

 

The combo of the usual SAS mess with the UN summit is hilariously bad on the M15. I had to get from 86th to 14th and there was a stalled train so that was all a mess, so I went to the bus. Traffic was awful, so I started walking, figuring I'd get on a bus once I got out of the traffic. I walked to 34th before it cleared up, whole 50 blocks of bumper to bumper. Passed some 5-6 SBS buses while walking, along with countless locals. Pretty impressive that it's not just faster to walk but actually a good 30-35 minutes faster, gotta love UN week.

 

 

Sounds like you had a nice time. I was at 86th St one time, had to go to South Ferry. This was around 9:45. The and were being erratic, and sardine cans like normal, so I decided to just walk to the M15. I knew I'd regret it, but I just didn't want to squeeze myself onto a or . The M15 was really slow, even below the construction zone. Sometimes you just can't win.

 

I did a lot of busfanning this past week.

 

 

I used to do the activity known as busfanning once. Not anymore...

Edited September 28, 2012 by Mysterious2train

[checkmatechamp13]

I used to do the activity known as busfanning once. Not anymore...

 

 

The funny thing is that I've just started with it. Before, I didn't really take routes unless they went to my destination (I mean, I might take a slightly longer route, but I wouldn't go out of the way like that). Part of it is that I wanted to see the areas along the route, so I could check out a different part of the city. The other part was that I wanted to ride the famous B46. LOL.

 

Oh, and the B6 I was on was a 3G with a Queens bus map (I didn't get the number, but it was a westbound limited that left Utica around 2:40 or so). The bus was less crowded than I thought, probably because of the local/limited terminal swap.

[ciboii22]

2128 being taken apart at Ulmer park for scrap. 2127 is next, 2185 being polished up for this coming Sundays bus fest. See some of you there!

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

I noticed some M4 short-turns to Bway-168 St. Didn't hit me at the time, but the M4 doesn't stop at the intersection! That's interesting.

 

A lot of long Manhattan routes have unscheduled short-turns. I know they're necessary to keep things rolling, but some of them puzzle me. For example, the M101 to 23 St or the M5 to 168 St. What's the point when those are pretty close to their terminals?

 

Can anyone else think of any short-turns that end pretty close to the route's terminals?

 

Q11 short-turns to piktin, M2/M3/M4 to 26 street, M1 to 14 street IIRC?, and Q33 Buses orginating from 94 street to LGA (Yeah you heard me, a 5 minute Q33 ride from 94 street to LGA). Since those short-turns are where the core of the ridership is, no need for service past it.

Edited September 29, 2012 by Q23 Central Terminal

[SevenEleven]

Q11 short-turns to piktin, M2/M3/M4 to 26 street, M1 to 14 street IIRC?, and Q33 Buses orginating from 94 street to LGA (Yeah you heard me, a 5 minute Q33 ride from 94 street to LGA). Since those short-turns are where the core of the ridership is, no need for service past it.

 

 

Those 94th St trips on the Q33 originate from Roosevelt...

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

Those 94th St trips on the Q33 originate from Roosevelt...

 

There's a scheduled run to LGA ORGINATING 94 street at 5:35 AM

http://www.mta.info/busco/schedules/q033cur.pdf

Edited September 29, 2012 by Q23 Central Terminal

[MHV9218]

Q11 short-turns to piktin, M2/M3/M4 to 26 street, M1 to 14 street IIRC?, and Q33 Buses orginating from 94 street to LGA (Yeah you heard me, a 5 minute Q33 ride from 94 street to LGA). Since those short-turns are where the core of the ridership is, no need for service past it.

 

 

M2 to 26th is the one that drives me absolutely nuts... See some odd ones though, the M5 short turn to 9th St is a stop that never existed for any bus, not to mention the massive majority of buses that flash M5 to 9th St end up hooking a left on 8th. [On top of that, the code for that sign is broken for all non-flipdot buses, if anybody feels like doing some odd codebreaking.]

[Grand Concourse]

The funny thing is that I've just started with it. Before, I didn't really take routes unless they went to my destination (I mean, I might take a slightly longer route, but I wouldn't go out of the way like that). Part of it is that I wanted to see the areas along the route, so I could check out a different part of the city. The other part was that I wanted to ride the famous B46. LOL.

 

Oh, and the B6 I was on was a 3G with a Queens bus map (I didn't get the number, but it was a westbound limited that left Utica around 2:40 or so). The bus was less crowded than I thought, probably because of the local/limited terminal swap.

 

I ride the B46 south of Av H semi frequently, but you are not missing anything if you get on it, lol. Maybe you should try the B41 at the Nostrand-FB junction?

 

3G with a Queens map? That is strange.

Edited September 29, 2012 by Grand Concourse

[checkmatechamp13]

I ride the B46 south of Av H semi frequently, but you are not missing anything if you get on it, lol. Maybe you should try the B41 at the Nostrand-FB junction?

 

3G with a Queens map? That is strange.

 

 

Yeah, I'll probably do that the next time I go out there. (Hopefully I have the energy to do it). Maybe if the Bergen Beach one comes, I'll take that and check out that area. (It would probably be a little more interesting looking at houses while waiting for the B3 instead of looking at Kings Plaza)

 

Thanks for the suggestion.

[Grand Concourse]

np, B41 limited or Q35 from the Junction to KP should be fairly good. It's just the mass crowding during the rush hours at the junction that makes it so hectic. And there's always the B100, B82 etc. if you want other options to ride.

[Fresh Pond]

Another random thought (or rather observation)...

 

While standing near Gleason, I was observing the buses pull-in, many of the new C40s hazard lights flash at the exact same time. At first I thought it was just a coincidence seeing 2 buses with the hazards flash at the same time, but there was one time I seen 5 buses do it at once.

 

shit looks creepy lol

[Q19Astoria21St]

Some M60 buses short-turn at Astoria Blvd & Steinway Street ; also 125th Street and 2nd Avenue. Tht line need to get it together, but its a good thing 126th street took Tht line

[East New York]

On 9381, B41 and this automated voice comes on and says "Please stay out of the rear doorway." Never heard that on an RTS before.....

[Future ENY OP]

On 9381, B41 and this automated voice comes on and says "Please stay out of the rear doorway." Never heard that on an RTS before.....

 

 

Did that bus come from Queens Village?