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Staten Island Express Buses, then and now
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 10, 2018 12:39 am    Post subject: Staten Island Express Buses, then and now Reply with quote

All:

I know that express bus service between Staten Island and Manhattan began after the VZ bridge was completed in 1964.

I have several questions about this route:

#1: When did service begin?

#2: Were only New Looks assigned to these express runs, or did Old Looks ever make an appearance? (I'm wagering they did not, but cannot be sure)

#3: What buses were assigned to this line initially (and through to the present, and were new buses ordered for starting this line?)

#4: Are the SI and Manhattan terminals the same as they were back when service started, or are terminal locations different today?

I also think I recall reading about the New Looks having a certain type of seating for SI express service (were different transmissions required for "high speed" express runs?)

In advance, I thank you for any information you can share......... Wink

"NYO"
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traildriver




Joined: 26 Mar 2011
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Location: South Florida

PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 11:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

On a related note...what about express bus service from Staten Island to Manhattan via New Jersey?
I recall it was at first only provided by private operator's, such as Domenico,
which at one time even ran old ex-GL Scenicruiser's (!) with 47 seats....

When did that service start? And when did the MTA take over some of those routes, or start new ones?

IIRC, at one time MTA (NYCTA) buses didn't even have state license plates, so could not leave the city, let alone, the state.....
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 1:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

traildriver wrote:
On a related note...what about express bus service from Staten Island to Manhattan via New Jersey?
I recall it was at first only provided by private operator's, such as Domenico,
which at one time even ran old ex-GL Scenicruiser's (!) with 47 seats....

When did that service start? And when did the MTA take over some of those routes, or start new ones?

IIRC, at one time MTA (NYCTA) buses didn't even have state license plates, so could not leave the city, let alone, the state.....


traildriver:

I well recall the "sedan door" Fishbowls that DOMENICO operated to Staten Island; I also recall the "99 S" (This was a RED & TAN line)

Did not know about the ex-GL Scenicruisers!! Shocked

What a GREAT way to commute....(!!) Wink

"NYO"


Last edited by NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 on Sun Mar 11, 2018 1:47 pm; edited 1 time in total
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 1:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

traildriver/All:

Just dug out a "99 S" schedule from 1964 (a nice Fishbowl on the front!)

This was a RED & TAN line, that operated from Platform No. 64 at PABT.

This line served (via the Lincoln Tunnel)

WEEHAWKEN

UNION CITY

JERSEY CITY

BAYONNE

STATEN ISLAND

PERTH AMBOY

KEYPORT (then also served by the CNJ's Atlantic Highlands branch out of Matawan)

KEANSBURG (also served by the same CNJ rail line)

Timetable also informs riders that ".....buses will pick up and discharge interstate passengers at any point along route....."

Quite a few stops for passenger convenience! Wink

"NYO"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 1:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

DOMENICO nostalgia..........

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?2291

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?2292

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?2298


(courtesy: bus.nycsubway.org)
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W.B. Fishbowl



Age: 57
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 4:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

To the question at hand: I do know that the R8X (later X8 ) Staten Island-Brooklyn express route - the first such route of its kind - was begun in 1965. (The R9X, later X9, SI-Manhattan express followed in 1968.)
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 4:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

W.B. Fishbowl wrote:
To the question at hand: I do know that the R8X (later X8 ) Staten Island-Brooklyn express route - the first such route of its kind - was begun in 1965. (The R9X, later X9, SI-Manhattan express followed in 1968.)


W.B:

Thanks for this information.

So now I know that the first express bus service via the VZ Bridge started operating in 1965, the year after the span opened for traffic.

I also thank you on filling me in on the R8X; I had previously thought that the only NYCTA bus route operating over the bridge was the one running into Manhattan.

Thanks again.......

"NYO"
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traildriver




Joined: 26 Mar 2011
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 8:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 wrote:
traildriver/All:

Just dug out a "99 S" schedule from 1964 (a nice Fishbowl on the front!)

This was a RED & TAN line, that operated from Platform No. 64 at PABT.

This line served (via the Lincoln Tunnel)

WEEHAWKEN

UNION CITY

JERSEY CITY

BAYONNE

STATEN ISLAND

PERTH AMBOY

KEYPORT (then also served by the CNJ's Atlantic Highlands branch out of Matawan)

KEANSBURG (also served by the same CNJ rail line)

Timetable also informs riders that ".....buses will pick up and discharge interstate passengers at any point along route....."

Quite a few stops for passenger convenience! Wink

"NYO"


You mean to say, they ran a thru bus from New York all the way to Keansburg, by way of the Lincoln Tunnel, the Bayonne and Outerbridge Crossing?

That would be amazing! Surprised
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 9:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

traildriver:

Yup! Very Happy

Indeed Red & Tan did, once upon a long-ago yesterday! Wink

Outbound buses, after leaving the PABT, would pass through Weehawken and Union City.

At Journal Square (as per TT notes accompanying the line map) connections were available to Harrison, Newark, the Oranges, Kearny, and Montclair.

Thence to:

BAYONNE (Naval Base)

Then over the Bayonne Bridge to......

BARON HIRSCH CEMETERY

HALLORAN HOSPITAL

SEA VIEW HOSPITAL

STATEN ISLAND AIRPORT (and auction)/connections for all towns and points in Staten Island.

ELTINGVILLE STATION (SIRT)

Then over the Outerbridge to.......

PERTH AMBOY (connections for Camp Kilmer, Fords, Metuchen, New Brunswick, Carteret, Rahway, and Iselin)

KEYPORT (Connections to Matawan)

KEANSBURG (connections for Leonardo Naval Depot, Fort Hancock, Red Bank, Atlantic Highlands, and Long Branch)

"NYO"
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traildriver




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PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2018 12:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That is amazing!
The Port Authority must have loved the toll revenue that route produced... Very Happy

I wonder how long the entire trip took? I imagine a lot longer than a Turnpike/Parkway express operated by New York-Keansburg-Long Branch....

And it went into the MOT? That would be nice nowadays to access cruises from "Cape Liberty"....I just returned from a cruise there, Friday, and had to take a cab from the terminal to the HBLR 34th Street Station....
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2018 1:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

traildriver wrote:
That is amazing!
The Port Authority must have loved the toll revenue that route produced... Very Happy

I wonder how long the entire trip took? I imagine a lot longer than a Turnpike/Parkway express operated by New York-Keansburg-Long Branch....

And it went into the MOT? That would be nice nowadays to access cruises from "Cape Liberty"....I just returned from a cruise there, Friday, and had to take a cab from the terminal to the HBLR 34th Street Station....


traildriver:

I'd LOVE to go back in time and ride this line end-to-end (with my trusty KODAK Instamatic on hand!)

Just think of how much has vanished since those days!

A bus that departed the PABT at 9:00 AM, as an example, would have arrived at Keansburg at 10:50.

Another TT notation which I find interesting:

".....EXPRESS SERVICE VIA NEW JERSEY TURNPIKE WILL BE OPERATED BETWEEN JERSEY CITY AND KEANSBURG AS REQUIRED......"

Truly nostalgic indeed, almost reminiscent of Mayberry (!!) are the locations of the ticket agents in Staten Island and in Perth Amboy.

In Staten Island, tickets could be purchased at "FINK'S PRINCESS BAY GARAGE", on Amboy Road.

In Perth Amboy, NJ, the "99 S" ticket agent was conveniently located at the "PURITY ICE CREAM SHOP" at Smith & Oak.

Even into the 60's, there was still so much of "small town America", right here in the Greater NY/NJ metro area............

"NYO"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 13, 2018 9:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The "99 S" was obviously a long-established line.

I recall seeing a photo years ago (circa 1950) in an old book about New York; this showed traffic (obviously temporarily halted for the camera) in the Lincoln Tunnel.

In this photo, I remember a R&T WHITE 798, with "99 S" on the roller curtains, patiently waiting to get moving again.

Back in the 60's, I well remember both Old Looks and Fishbowls operating on R&T's routes; JSQ was a great place to catch classic R&T action, especially during the rush hours.......... Wink

"NYO"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 13, 2018 10:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

RED & TAN Old Looks, back in the day...............

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?1510

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?1511

(courtesy: bus.nycsubway.org)
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Hart Bus



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PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 10:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Loved the Chock Full coffee. The cream cheese on date nut bread - Yum.
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 11:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hart Bus wrote:
Loved the Chock Full coffee. The cream cheese on date nut bread - Yum.


Hart Bus:

Yup!

Chock Full O' Nuts never disappointed! (I can still smell their establishments today!)

The last one I remember was on Broadway, just above the Twin Towers (RIP)

This was in 1979, when I started commuting to Wall St., via the PATH tubes.

At the time, it was the last establishment on the block (which was then being re-developed into a small plaza)

It was ALWAYS packed; it always amazed me how many folks they could jam into that small joint!Shocked

Getting back to the buses, the "Chock" on JSQ had the added advantage (until mid-1974) to be able to look outside to watch all the buses coming and going, especially during the rush hours.

RED & TAN was always in on the action; back then, I only recall Old Looks being used on the routes beginning and terminating at the Square.

Ahhh, memories.........

"NYO"
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