Earlier this month, the Taxi and Limousine Commission approved the Group Ride Vehicle Pilot Program that will allow livery vans to make pickups along defunct bus routes. The vans will carry up to 20 people at a time and charge $2.00. Pickups will only be allowed at designated points, and the pilot program is rolling out on just three routes – the B23 (Kensington to Borough Park), the B71 (Park Slope, Carroll Gardens and Prospect Heights), and the B39, (Williamsburg into Manhattan).
If the program is successful, the TLC said, it could be expanded to other lines, including the Sheepshead Bay stretch of the B4 route that’s been all but eliminated.
Dear readers of Sheepshead Bites, I don’t think I need to expound upon the daily lunacies experienced by Q and B train riders. We’ve all had our share of sociopaths and weirdos, and, yes, we all love to share them like war stories, chests swelled with the glory of surviving the encounter.
If you haven’t heard of People Of Public Transit, make sure you have a lot of time to waste and then go check it out. The site chronicles much of this scintillating subculture, as well as general subway behavior faux pas.
Well, yesterday they published the above video caught on the Q train. I’ve seen this guy. Janelle F., who pointed it out to us via Facebook has definitely seen him. You’ve probably seen this guy, too.
So, you know, I’m republishing it. For the historical record and all. People in the future need to know these things happened.
Got a subway or bus story you’d like to tell the world about? Send it to us here.
The following op-ed is by Allan Rosen, a Manhattan Beach resident and former Director of MTA/NYC Transit Bus Planning (1981).
I got my first glimpse on Thursday of what Department of Transportation intends to do about bus stops no longer needed as a result of the MTA bus service cuts. There has been much speculation about this. Will they increase the number of free parking spaces? Will they install meters? Will they leave the potential parking spaces as “No Standing” zones? Some yuppies have even suggested that former bus stops be used solely for bicycle parking, which, of course, is ridiculous.
After watching DOT in action regarding this and other issues, I have come to the conclusion – and how do I say this politely – DOT is run by a bunch of idiots. I’ve said this before – they make the MTA appear competent by comparison. Let me explain.
Stern predicts that service cuts are here to stay as the MTA embarks on the long road to financial recovery, leaving many Brooklynites smothered by inefficient service, made worse by spiteful regulations that bar a private-sector alternative.
Blame for the agency’s malfeasance is targeted at its insulation from elected officials, and its financial situation has given way to a change in priorities, Stern argues. Where mass transit was once considered a vital public service, it’s too frequently seen now as a money-making enterprise. And like any business, deficits mean cuts and not the double down in commitment from the city and state that is required.
Where will the restructured B4 operate starting this Sunday? No one seems to know.
The B4 will no longer operate on Neptune Avenue, but instead will use Avenue Z. It will also now terminate at Coney Island Avenue at all times when it operates, except on Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. and from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. during rush hours, when it will continue to serve Plum Beach. (UPDATE 6/25/2010: We’re having trouble confirming the exact time the B4 will be running the Emmons Avenue/Shore Parkway route. The MTA’s webpage just says “rush hours.” Elsewhere on the site we read that means 6:15 a.m. to 9 a.m. / 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., but we’ve heard from others that the B4 will run between 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. / 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.)
But even those in charge of placing signs around Coney Island Avenue appear to be confused where the bus is headed.
The new MTA map shows it operating eastbound along Avenue Z between Ocean Parkway and Coney Island Avenue, and westbound along the Shore Parkway north service road between these points at all times. However, DOT posted B4 bus stop signs in both directions all along Avenue Z.
As part of the deal to reinstate student metrocards, Albany is giving a thumbs up to camera enforcement of 50 miles of bus lanes along Select Bus Service / Bus Rapid Transit routes, for which Nostrand Avenue is slated for conversion.
Dedicated bus lanes are a key component of the MTA’s SBS service, which aims to make commuting by bus speedier and efficientto increase ridership. But even advocates note that without proper enforcement to keep them clear of idling cars, bus lanes will amount to little time saved. In the MTA’s Select Bus Service FAQ, the agency says cameras monitoring the bus lanes “would automate the enforcement process by issuing violation notices to vehicles that illegally drive or park in the bus lane.” Camera enforcement requires approval from State legislators.
According to Streetsblog, “If the MTA would eat the cost of student fares, Albany would allow it to keep its bus lanes free of traffic.” With the MTA’s part of the bargain fulfilled, the State has worked the following language into a budget bill:
WITHIN THE CITY OF NEW YORK, SUCH BUS LANE PHOTO DEVICES SHALL ONLY BE OPERATED ON DESIGNATED BUS LANES THAT ARE SELECT BUS SERVICE LANES WITHIN THE BUS RAPID TRANSIT DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM AND ONLY DURING WEEKDAYS FROM 7:00 A.M. TO 7:00 P.M.
Down in our neck of the woods, this may affect the stretch of Nostrand Avenue from Emmons Avenue to Avenue X, where dedicated bus lanes are planned for a Select Bus Service route replacing the B44, according to the MTA’s website. From Avenue X to Flatbush Avenue, buses will travel in mixed traffic, before returning to dedicated lanes for the remainder of the trip.
The MTA/DOT proposal to replace the B44 has already received a thumbs down from Community Board 15, which says the elimination of parking is not worth the six minutes saved. They also found the agency to be unresponsive to their questions, despite six years of study.
This came in from Borough President Marty Markowitz’ office. We’re not sure if “other routes” includes the B4, which serves many elderly residents and will see weekend service eliminated, but we thought we’d pass it along for those who may be interested:
BP MARKOWITZ, ELECTED OFFICIALS, DISABILITY ADVOCATES TO PROTEST MTA CUTS TO B51, B39 AND OTHER BUS ROUTES
Student MetroCards saved, but not service for seniors and riders with disabilities
4:00 P.M.
TUESDAY, JUNE 22
BROOKLYN BOROUGH HALL
209 JORALEMON STREET
BETWEEN COURT AND ADAMS STREETS
DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN
On Tuesday, June 22, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz will join elected officials, seniors, riders with disabilities and disability advocates at a press conference to denounce MTA service cuts, including the elimination of the B51 and B39 bus lines and cuts to other routes that service passengers who are elderly or have disabilities.
Some Manhattan Beach residents are saying the MTA dropped the ball in their preparations for Memorial Day, leaving hundreds of people stranded and in the rain along Oriental Boulevard.
The critics say the problem is that thousands flooded to the beach, but, when weather soured, there was only one bus to serve the crowd. According to the Manhattan Beach Community Group:
Late afternoon there was a thunderstorm and the beach emptied. Manhattan Beach is capable of holding 10,000 people and in the lot approximately 900 cars. The problem now became that there was only one bus available to thousands of people trying to get home.
For the past two summers, the Manhattan Beach Community Group (MBCG) has been requesting additional buses on hot summer weekends and holidays such as Memorial Day. The situation of weekend schedules for these busy days is unacceptable and does NOT WORK.
The MTA needs to devise plans to provide buses to ensure no one gets hurt and people can go home in a safe way. Hundreds of people waiting at a bus stop is dangerous.
Following a stabbing and other criminal incidents at Coney Island, police began directing beachgoers to neighboring beaches. Manhattan Beach quickly became overburdened, according to the MBCG. Police responded quickly, said MBCG President Ira Zalcman, and the day was without incident. But the MTA let down riders.
There’s no shortage of anger against the MTA’s proposed bus cuts, and now one local bread-biz is slamming the agency’s half-baked idea.
Bread Plus is outraged about the MTA’s failure to provide adequate time to comment on the proposed cut to the B64 line, which runs in front of their business. So to let residents cut through their frustration, they’re baking a giant MTA bread loaf and inviting neighbors to slice away. The protest is not only against the cut, which they say will hurt their business, but also in support of a proposed bill by Assemblyman William Colton (Bensonhurst, Gravesend, Bath Beach, Dyker Heights and Midwood).
Colton’s eminently sensible bill requires the MTA to notify local community boards of changes that will affect their residents. The idea – so obvious that it’s hard to believe they weren’t already required to do so – will hopefully put useful information in the hands of community leaders, who will be more effective at disseminating to constituents.
“Unfortunately, the MTA was not mandated to do so before, and you see the horrendous results that happened,” Colton said. “The MTA must be receptive and responsible to the riders. Let them stop taking their many chauffeured limousines and see how they like walking the extra blocks they force their riders to do.”
The protest takes place today at 11 a.m. at the bus stop in front of the Bread Plus bakery at 2851 Harway Avenue (off of Bay 50th Street). The MTA is cutting B64 bus service along Harway Avenue south of 25th Avenue to Stillwell Avenue terminal. The cut will affect residents of several senior homes, as well as students and employees of John Dewey High School.
On Monday, May 17, New York City Department of Transportation and New York City Transit presented plans for the Nostrand Avenue Bus Rapid Transit / Select Bus Service route that will replace the B44 Limited in 2012.
Ted Orosz (Director, Long Range Planning, NYC Transit) and Robert Thompson (Senior Project Manager, Transit Development, NYC DOT) gave their 25-minute presentation in front of a crowd of around 20 people, mostly Community Board 15 members.
The Bus Rapid Transit / Select Bus Service is an initiative that aims to increase bus ridership by maximizing efficiency and shortening commutes. The staples of the plan include dedicated bus lanes, pre-boarding fare payment, low-floor buses and traffic signal priority. The majority of these changes will effect the northern part of the B44 Limited’s current 9-mile route from the Williamsburg Bridge to Emmons Avenue.
In Community Board 15 (Kings Highway to Emmons Avenue), NYC Transit plans to institute traffic signal priority so that stop lights will know when a bus is near and increase the duration of the green light. They say this, in addition to the low-floor buses and off-board fare payment, should effectively speed up the segment of our route without needing dedicated bus lanes (though portions of the route will have dedicated lanes during rush hour only).
