Queens Bus Redesign Discussion Thread

[Robert Spire]

2 hours ago, Gotham Bus Co. said:

The PBLs were allowed to do almost anything they wanted because NYCDOT would just pay the bills and add a 6% markup. The more they spent, the more they profited.

But maybe that is the key to an anti-car agenda. You cannot make it harder to drive, make it harder to use private cars and try to force people to use alternative transportation, and then not be overly sensitive to public concerns about transit services. The big problem is that the same people pushing the anti-car stuff want it both ways, they want an agency that thinks they know what is best for others and to make decisions that the private companies would not have made, all while forcing people to use transit that they are not enthusiastic about using. 

[Gotham Bus Co]

On 8/27/2024 at 1:40 PM, Robert Spire said:

But maybe that is the key to an anti-car agenda. You cannot make it harder to drive, make it harder to use private cars and try to force people to use alternative transportation, and then not be overly sensitive to public concerns about transit services. The big problem is that the same people pushing the anti-car stuff want it both ways, they want an agency that thinks they know what is best for others and to make decisions that the private companies would not have made, all while forcing people to use transit that they are not enthusiastic about using. 

 

But the PBL system failed because true oversight wasn't allowed. In fact, there was only one audit ever done of the PBL system, and that was the City Comptroller's office reviewing NYCDOT's oversight of the seven companies. Meanwhile, nobody was ever allowed to audit the companies themselves to ensure that costs weren't being artificially inflated to boost their guaranteed profits.

[Robert Spire]

5 hours ago, Gotham Bus Co said:

 

But the PBL system failed because true oversight wasn't allowed. In fact, there was only one audit ever done of the PBL system, and that was the City Comptroller's office reviewing NYCDOT's oversight of the seven companies. Meanwhile, nobody was ever allowed to audit the companies themselves to ensure that costs weren't being artificially inflated to boost their guaranteed profits.

So, MTA Bus Company costs way more than the private companies ever did. Not only that, the city abdicating responsibility for day to day public transit operations in favor of the MTA has allowed the city to avoid any accountability for subpar bus service. This is all while the city is more than happy to get in the fast ferry business and pretty soon even subsidize Lyft to run Citibike. I do not think for even one second that when NYCDOT starts to give subsidies to Lyft for Citibike, that Lyft will be getting the same or worse treatment than what the private bus lines got. I think that Lyft will be able to get away with things that the Cooper's and others who managed the GTJ companies could only ever dream of. 

[N6 Limited]

On 8/26/2024 at 5:32 AM, B35 via Church said:

What are you disagreeing with exactly?

 

That they were trying too hard. I agree with the poster.

[B35 via Church]

On 8/25/2024 at 11:25 PM, N6 Limited said:

On 8/18/2024 at 10:26 PM, B35 via Church said:

On 8/18/2024 at 9:43 PM, Gotham Bus Co said:

On 8/17/2024 at 1:03 PM, B35 via Church said:

That whole "people don't like change" rhetoric is often blurted out with the intent to convey that any/all change is good.... It is most certainly not & for damn sure, the MTA doesn't get anything remotely close to a benefit of a doubt....

Some folks genuinely believe that any/all change is bad — even if they would benefit (or at least not lose) from the change, they'll still oppose it if others would also benefit.

You're trying too hard.

I don’t agree with that. The 2nd plan has been severely downgraded. Useful routes/changes chiseled away because of complaints. 

Your disagreement with my quip isn't in opposition to what I was disagreeing with.... I wasn't remotely implicating that complaints don't lead to unfavorable occurrences.

I don't concur with the notion that there are people so averse to change that, even if they were to benefit from that change, would complain to not have that change happen, to spite others from benefiting from that change... NIMBY's don't even resort to that - and they're some of the worst/most hated out here when it comes to being an antithesis to some project/plan or whatever...

On 8/27/2024 at 1:40 PM, Robert Spire said:

The big problem is that the same people pushing the anti-car stuff want it both ways, they want an agency that thinks they know what is best for others and to make decisions that the private companies would not have made, all while forcing people to use transit that they are not enthusiastic about using. 

Those are actually pro-car people masquerading as pro-transit people.... Which, quite a bit of these transit advocacy groups fit into that category quite nicely.

Notice that those groups never talk about the quality of individual routes/lines, regardless of mode..... They always speak in monotonous generalities... Because they're full of shit.

Edited September 7 by B35 via Church

[Q43LTD]

So the Merrick redesign wasn't really addressed in my opinion. Since their obsession to have 2 routes going to Green Acres, combining the Rosedale branches of the Q5 and 85 and giving their respective short turns their own route numbers. 

Q5 Green Acres. 24/7

Q85 Green Acres no night service

Q86 Rosedale 24/7 with slight modification in Rosedale 

Q87 Laurelton no weekends 

Q89 Rochdale Village rush hour only

[NewFlyer 230]

16 hours ago, Q43LTD said:

So the Merrick redesign wasn't really addressed in my opinion. Since their obsession to have 2 routes going to Green Acres, combining the Rosedale branches of the Q5 and 85 and giving their respective short turns their own route numbers. 

Q5 Green Acres. 24/7

Q85 Green Acres no night service

Q86 Rosedale 24/7 with slight modification in Rosedale 

Q87 Laurelton no weekends 

Q89 Rochdale Village rush hour only

Would you have only one route going to Green Acres?

Something interesting that I’ve noticed about ridership coming out of Green Acres on the Q5/Q85 is that a lot of the ridership almost seems interchangeable between the two routes. If there is a big crowd and the Q5 comes first most people will get on that bus, if the Q85 came first most would get on that instead.

What would the slight modifications to the Q86 be?

[Q43LTD]

1 hour ago, NewFlyer 230 said:

Would you have only one route going to Green Acres?

Something interesting that I’ve noticed about ridership coming out of Green Acres on the Q5/Q85 is that a lot of the ridership almost seems interchangeable between the two routes. If there is a big crowd and the Q5 comes first most people will get on that bus, if the Q85 came first most would get on that instead.

What would the slight modifications to the Q86 be?

I considered having only route to Green Acres, but since the ridership is interchangeable, I left it at 2. And the 5 and 85 are the heavy hitters from Jamaica Center. 

For the 86, I have it doing Francis Lewis all the way to the current Q111 terminal but it might get NIMBY'd. So I have it doing Brookville, Francis Lewis to either the current 111 terminal or the X63 terminal.