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Long Island Bus still a mess

 
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Pineywoodsbus




Joined: 26 May 2007
Posts: 68

PostPosted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 9:32 pm    Post subject: Long Island Bus still a mess Reply with quote

I got on an N20 in Greenvale going to Hicksville around 4:50pm. Little did I know I wouldn't be getting off that bus until 6:20pm! A 90 minute ride. It took one hour to go the mile or so between SUNY Old Westbury and the 106/107 LIE interchange, because of an oil spill. NCPD cars were blocking the two right lanes between Jericho turnpike and the LIE. They were not directing traffic though. Needless delays because the traffic lights are long enough in that spot, and should have been disabled to accomadate the two lanes instead of four in that area.
The real "fun" began in Hicksville. The 6:04pm bus comes off the N20 (bus behind mine) and was gonna be real late. The 6:29pm N22 bus is always late. Today it didn't show until slightly after 6:40pm. Of course it left the 1st stop SRO. I'm glad I let it pass, because a few minutes later the 6:04pm N22 (Mineola only) pulls up and we caught up and passed the packed N22 on W.John street.
Got off the bus at 7pm in Westbury, that's 2 hours and 10 minutes to get from Greenvale to Westbury. Walking it takes 90 minutes. Yeah I could've taken the N27 instead, but that bus is a sardine can by the time it gets into Greenvale. If it wasn't hot I would've been better off walking. And you know what's more pathetic? Seeing all these buses coming into Hicksville, dropping off passengers, then going out of service to deadhead back to the yard! It's the PM Rush hour and LIB has shifts ending now?
The buses are running terrible too, they sound like garbage. Look like garbage too. I see "POS" written on the bus number on the front interior of the buses.
I thought things would be getting better with MTA management. They are actually getting worse. I know traffic cant be avoided, but they should be having buses fill in for very late buses instead of sending buses to the yard in the middle of rush hour.
Also my complaints about N22 service between Roosevelt Field and Hicksville have fallen on deaf ears.
In rush hour going west out of Hicksville in the PM it's 5:04p, 5:22p, 5:38p, 6:04p(Mineola only), 6:29pm, 6:55pm (mineola only). Going east out of Roosevelt Field aint much better, after the 5:16p and 5:28pm the next bus isn't until 5:51p, then 6:12p, 6:34p, 6:52p. Often you'll see 3 or 4 N24's coming into Roosevelt Field before an N22 to Hicksville and going OOS or onto Mitchell Field, coming in empty, while the N22 is packed.
If it was up to me some N24s would run to Hicksville in rush hour.
The system is a mess. The Jones Beach routes are a mess too. I heard the 5:25pm N87 to Hicksville carried 80+ people today out of the beach! Things are bad when the last bus is packed to the gills. Crying or Very sad
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RailBus63
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Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Posts: 1063

PostPosted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 7:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It will take time and money for MTA management to correct all of these issues. When MTA Bus took over the Queens private lines, service only gradually improved and many of the old buses were still running every day with nothing more done than adding the MTA logo.
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Hart Bus



Age: 73
Joined: 24 Apr 2007
Posts: 1150

PostPosted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 1:31 pm    Post subject: Re: Long Island Bus still a mess Reply with quote

Pineywoodsbus wrote:
I got on an N20 in Greenvale going to Hicksville around 4:50pm. Little did I know I wouldn't be getting off that bus until 6:20pm! A 90 minute ride. It took one hour to go the mile or so between SUNY Old Westbury and the 106/107 LIE interchange, because of an oil spill. NCPD cars were blocking the two right lanes between Jericho turnpike and the LIE. They were not directing traffic though. Needless delays because the traffic lights are long enough in that spot, and should have been disabled to accomadate the two lanes instead of four in that area.


John: I think that this part of your rant should be directed at the NCPD for what you think is a failure to properly direct traffic, not LI Bus or the N20. Since you seem now to be a traffic expert as well as a bus expert, what would your solution have been? Perhaps the patrolmen were ordered by superiors not to direct traffic for fear of them being hit by a wayward driver as happened to Ptl Baribault on the LIE several weeks ago?

Your simply solution to any transit problem is just to throw more money at it. Not easy to do in these tough economic times. Also by assigning more officers to help you on your travels, does that not take away from other duties, like crime fighting, investigatiing and clearing up other accidents? How dare you insinuate that my brother-in-law (who lives in teh 2nd Pct Nassau) should have his house and well being endangered so that you can have a smooth trip. Think of other people once in a while.

You could have a beef with LI Bus if your bus wasn't the first one through this spot. If a preceeding bus (from any route) was also delayed through this stretch, he should have notified Dispatch by radio and advise them about rerouting all following buses.

In your case, if you were first bus through, did your driver radio the problem?

I wonder if your driver could have gott permission to go West on Whaatly Blvd and continue south on Post Road and make a left on to the E/B LIE service road to 106/07 and get around the problem?

Food for thought, Eh !
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S-60 To Smith Haven Mall




Joined: 29 Nov 2007
Posts: 1757
Location: Suffolk County, NY

PostPosted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 7:31 pm    Post subject: Re: Long Island Bus still a mess Reply with quote

Hart Bus wrote:
Pineywoodsbus wrote:
I got on an N20 in Greenvale going to Hicksville around 4:50pm. Little did I know I wouldn't be getting off that bus until 6:20pm! A 90 minute ride. It took one hour to go the mile or so between SUNY Old Westbury and the 106/107 LIE interchange, because of an oil spill. NCPD cars were blocking the two right lanes between Jericho turnpike and the LIE. They were not directing traffic though. Needless delays because the traffic lights are long enough in that spot, and should have been disabled to accomadate the two lanes instead of four in that area.


John: I think that this part of your rant should be directed at the NCPD for what you think is a failure to properly direct traffic, not LI Bus or the N20. Since you seem now to be a traffic expert as well as a bus expert, what would your solution have been? Perhaps the patrolmen were ordered by superiors not to direct traffic for fear of them being hit by a wayward driver as happened to Ptl Baribault on the LIE several weeks ago?

Your simply solution to any transit problem is just to throw more money at it. Not easy to do in these tough economic times. Also by assigning more officers to help you on your travels, does that not take away from other duties, like crime fighting, investigatiing and clearing up other accidents? How dare you insinuate that my brother-in-law (who lives in teh 2nd Pct Nassau) should have his house and well being endangered so that you can have a smooth trip. Think of other people once in a while.

You could have a beef with LI Bus if your bus wasn't the first one through this spot. If a preceeding bus (from any route) was also delayed through this stretch, he should have notified Dispatch by radio and advise them about rerouting all following buses.

In your case, if you were first bus through, did your driver radio the problem?

I wonder if your driver could have gott permission to go West on Whaatly Blvd and continue south on Post Road and make a left on to the E/B LIE service road to 106/07 and get around the problem?

Food for thought, Eh !



with all my dealings with the SCPD i found out one thing. the SCPD does not like doing what they should be doing. there were a few times when there was a light out on William Floyd Parkway, south of Montauk HWY,. and the police never showed up to direct traffic, same goes for a time when the light was out on Montauk HWY and Herkimer or the intercetion where the S66 makes its turn to either head toward Riverhead or go to Mastic Beach. not one cop was there to direct traffic. or the time where wmy famliy had the guys next doors car in our yard without its plates (don't ask, long story) cops parked outside of our house in full view of the car, to respond to a call at the people across the street, but never said or did a thing about the car.

i do agree with Hart Bus, Piney u should be mad at NCPD not LI Bus.

i doubt that they were ordered by superiors not to direct traffic because that would endanger the lives of other motorists, who are trying to get around the accident to either go home or to the store, and that could cause another accident.
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Pineywoodsbus




Joined: 26 May 2007
Posts: 68

PostPosted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 12:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Actually for the N20 delay nothing I would've suggested would've cost anymore money. Allowing the bus to ride in the shoulder, taking a detour, or having NCPD out directing traffic (instead of sitting in their cars).
As far as the N22, having a bus run carrying passengers instead of deadheading back shouldn't cost much more money or fuel. Most passengers getting on the N22 at Hicksville are getting off before Roosevelt Field. Running the bus down to Roosevelt Field and then having the driver go to the yard makes alot more sense, especially when the bus often uses the SAME N22 routing as its deadheading back to the yard.
I agree with HART bus about NCPD, they could've done a much better job directing traffic. You had 2 lanes instead of 4, yet the traffic lights were still functioning, snarling traffic by stopping it every 60 seconds so 5 cars could come off a side street. Pointless.
Suffolk's signals actually seem to have better cycles, long enough to allow traffic to pass. On a major route like 106/107, the signal should be green for traffic for at least 2 minutes. But in Nassau the signals are always short-cycled, changing too often. In Suffolk the signals on major roads like Rt.347 stay green for longer (though recently this is changing, as I see more short-cycling).
Buses will move faster if traffic moves faster, and the steady movement of traffic is important. Short-cycled and out of sync lights delay buses and cars alike and add to congestion and pollution.
Anyway, I blame both NCPD and LI Bus. NCPD for not properly directing traffic and LIB for not dispatching detour directions and not using deadheading buses to fill in for missing buses.
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Pineywoodsbus




Joined: 26 May 2007
Posts: 68

PostPosted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 12:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

And there were accidents caused by the delays as well, fender benders mostly.
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S-60 To Smith Haven Mall




Joined: 29 Nov 2007
Posts: 1757
Location: Suffolk County, NY

PostPosted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 7:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pineywoodsbus wrote:
Actually for the N20 delay nothing I would've suggested would've cost anymore money. Allowing the bus to ride in the shoulder, taking a detour, or having NCPD out directing traffic (instead of sitting in their cars).
As far as the N22, having a bus run carrying passengers instead of deadheading back shouldn't cost much more money or fuel. Most passengers getting on the N22 at Hicksville are getting off before Roosevelt Field. Running the bus down to Roosevelt Field and then having the driver go to the yard makes alot more sense, especially when the bus often uses the SAME N22 routing as its deadheading back to the yard.
I agree with HART bus about NCPD, they could've done a much better job directing traffic. You had 2 lanes instead of 4, yet the traffic lights were still functioning, snarling traffic by stopping it every 60 seconds so 5 cars could come off a side street. Pointless.
Suffolk's signals actually seem to have better cycles, long enough to allow traffic to pass. On a major route like 106/107, the signal should be green for traffic for at least 2 minutes. But in Nassau the signals are always short-cycled, changing too often. In Suffolk the signals on major roads like Rt.347 stay green for longer (though recently this is changing, as I see more short-cycling).
Buses will move faster if traffic moves faster, and the steady movement of traffic is important. Short-cycled and out of sync lights delay buses and cars alike and add to congestion and pollution.
Anyway, I blame both NCPD and LI Bus. NCPD for not properly directing traffic and LIB for not dispatching detour directions and not using deadheading buses to fill in for missing buses.


Route 347 always has Short-cycled, thats why there are almost always accidents there. In Port Jeff Station during Rush Hour its bad.

but do u know what caused the accident that u saw?
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d.marra



Age: 90
Joined: 23 Jun 2008
Posts: 16

PostPosted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 9:07 pm    Post subject: MTA LI Bus & NCPD traffic mess Reply with quote

HI Pineywoodsbus;

This reply comes a bit late, as I have not been in the forum over a week.
While I simpathize with your plight, the heavy delays and missing your connecting bus, placing the blame on MSBA and calling them is wrong and a waste of time.
The command center is not prepared to handle traffic emergency's and most times run into difficulty rerouting buses due to a road closure. The reasons for that are, lack of parallel streets/roads safe enough for a 40ft x 12ft high bus to negotiate. Also most times it is impossible to get a road dispatcher to the scene due to the same traffic jam the buses are caught in.
As for the "run off" buses returning to the depot, the command center cannot order a driver to work past his time if he chooses not to. With todays rules and the constant risk of accidents, drivers do not want to drive one more minute than they have to.
If a driver works past his time, and has an accident even a minor one, the bus authority will suspend or terminate his or her employment. While that sounds unfair, the supervisors are looking to save their own jobs, so guess who is the scape goat.
Now for the NCPD and SCPD. The reason they rarely if ever direct traffic, is Simple. They are not and have never been trained to direct traffic, as they do not have a traffic school. All Police Officers would have to attend NYPD traffic school at NC & SC expenses, which would cost thousands of $$$$$ taxpayer dollars. I found this out during 26 years of driving in late 1950's to 1980's.
Hope this answers your questions. Will service get better with MTA? Yes, but it will take some time, months to a year or more.

Daniel, aka Mr.Schenck

[/b]
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S-60 To Smith Haven Mall




Joined: 29 Nov 2007
Posts: 1757
Location: Suffolk County, NY

PostPosted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 10:34 pm    Post subject: Re: MTA LI Bus & NCPD traffic mess Reply with quote

d.marra wrote:
HI Pineywoodsbus;

This reply comes a bit late, as I have not been in the forum over a week.
While I simpathize with your plight, the heavy delays and missing your connecting bus, placing the blame on MSBA and calling them is wrong and a waste of time.
The command center is not prepared to handle traffic emergency's and most times run into difficulty rerouting buses due to a road closure. The reasons for that are, lack of parallel streets/roads safe enough for a 40ft x 12ft high bus to negotiate. Also most times it is impossible to get a road dispatcher to the scene due to the same traffic jam the buses are caught in.
As for the "run off" buses returning to the depot, the command center cannot order a driver to work past his time if he chooses not to. With todays rules and the constant risk of accidents, drivers do not want to drive one more minute than they have to.
If a driver works past his time, and has an accident even a minor one, the bus authority will suspend or terminate his or her employment. While that sounds unfair, the supervisors are looking to save their own jobs, so guess who is the scape goat.
Now for the NCPD and SCPD. The reason they rarely if ever direct traffic, is Simple. They are not and have never been trained to direct traffic, as they do not have a traffic school. All Police Officers would have to attend NYPD traffic school at NC & SC expenses, which would cost thousands of $$$$$ taxpayer dollars. I found this out during 26 years of driving in late 1950's to 1980's.
Hope this answers your questions. Will service get better with MTA? Yes, but it will take some time, months to a year or more.

Daniel, aka Mr.Schenck

[/b]



idk about NCPD, but SCPD officers do know how to direct traffic, i've been to many fire scenes and seen them. the fact that you say late 50's to 80's, means that ur info is out dated.
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d.marra



Age: 90
Joined: 23 Jun 2008
Posts: 16

PostPosted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 11:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

[size=12]Hi again;
It was late last night when I wrote about the NCPD and SCPD police not having police officers specifically trained for traffic control. I wish to say that both the Nassau and Suffolk police do a great job patrolling our streets and highways and trying to keep our communities safe.
There are villages in both counties that have village police officers directing traffic at intersections, Hempstead, Lynbrook, Garden City, to name a few, and some villages in Suffolk County.
S-60; I am not implying that NC or SC never direct traffic in a emergency, fire or accident, just that it is a rare occurance. In a traffic jam at a controlled intersection, caused by heavy volume, I have noticed police officers in their cars observing traffic and are there in case of an accident or emergency.
I may be "outdated" but I have relatives and friends in NC, SC, NYPD, & NJ Police Dept's. That plus my own travels is how I get my information.
Thanks for the reply.

Daniel
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Pineywoodsbus




Joined: 26 May 2007
Posts: 68

PostPosted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 12:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I know the fault lies mostly with the traffic circumstances and lack of NCPD training in traffic control. In this day and age though NCPD should be trained in such issues, because its getting alot more congested here (like NYC) and when these things happen it causes a mess.
Also it causes a potentially dangerous situation, as often roads jammed with traffic block intersections and traffic from the other road cant move (gridlock).
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