SIM Issues Summary

PEAK SERVICE

SIM1 Positives

More reliable service starting from Downtown.

SIM1 Negatives

Increased service required after 5pm heading outbound. After 7pm, it takes on a lot of former X10 & X17 riders.

Former X4 riders traveling to/from the Church/Broadway corridor have to sit through the more congested Hylan Blvd corridor as opposed to the quicker Father Capodanno corridor.

SIM1 Neutral/Controversial

Service still has to contend with bottleneck at Steuben & Narrows

Still has to deal with Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel approach traffic, especially in the PM rush

SIM2 Positives

Tottenville/Princes Bay gained off-peak service and Downtown service through the restructuring of the X19 to create the SIM2. More reliable service for weekend riders because bus only goes Downtown.

SIM2 Negatives

Severe overcrowding reported on many trips, because the service was not adequate to handle additional Tottenville/Princes Bay riders. Additional Downtown-South Shore frequency is needed (preferably through an additional route, but at the minimum through additional SIM2 service)

SIM2 has last bus from Downtown at 8:15pm 7 days a week, which is significantly earlier than the X17 which reached Downtown around 12:45am on weekdays, 9:30pm Saturdays, and 9pm Sundays. SIM8 shuttle (ETC-Woodrow/Huguenot) requires an additional transfer and doesn’t run on weekends.

SIM2 Neutral/Controversial

The SIM2/X19 is still the only Downtown route on the deep South Shore. Many riders are driving to the ETC or SI Mall for the SIM4/4X and so another South Shore-Downtown route (preferably more than one is needed). Also, the South Shore never had a route to the West Street corridor or Greenwich Village neighborhood.

Weekend service from Arden Heights does not go to Midtown. However, the SIM2 is significantly faster and more reliable than the old X17 from this area, and so it compensates for it. If Midtown service is warranted, it should be through the addition of off-peak service on another route such as the SIM8 or SIM25/26, not through an extension of the SIM2.

SIM3 Positives

Longer span of direct Midtown-North Shore service than old X14/42.

SIM3 Negatives

Overcrowding in PM rush (mostly between 5-6pm). In addition to former X42 riders, the MTA seems to have underestimated the number of X10B & X14 Midtown riders who are switching to it (either by walking, driving, or transferring to a local bus to reach it)

No connection to West Side subway lines (A/C or 1/2/3). Extension to Columbus Circle area is warranted, with better bus lanes on 57th Street to expedite flow of buses.

SIM3 Neutral/Controversial

SIM4/4X Positives:

SIM4X was additional layer of service added, which put more buses per hour on the Richmond Avenue-Downtown corridor. Faster service from SI Mall area, but could also be extended to Eltingville Transit Center, as Downtown options are limited from the South Shore in general (anybody getting on at the Eltingville Transit Center has to either transfer to the SIM4X, or continue to sit through all of the stops on Richmond Avenue). Multiple people have mentioned (both in-person and through online comments) that they drive to the X17A/SIM4/SIM4X because they want a quick ride to Downtown (so some of them are driving to the SI Mall as opposed to Lamberts Lane, which is good, but at the same time, there needs to be more direct options from the South Shore)

At height of rush hour, could potentially be restructured similar to old Hylan Blvd pattern (short-turns from SI Mall to Downtown, and super-expresses from Annadale to SI Mall, then nonstop to Manhattan)

SIM4/4X Negatives

Buses are overcrowded due to people traveling earlier or later to avoid issues with SIM4C. Also, while the scheduled frequency has remained the same, people report that buses are arriving far less frequently than they used to.

SIM4/4X Neutral/Controversial:

Eton Place & Richmond Avenue stop was eliminated. While doing so gives the buses more flexibility in avoiding the right lane of Richmond Avenue (since that eventually leads into the very congested portion of Victory Blvd between Richmond Avenue & CSI), it forces riders to walk to Victory Blvd and cross the hectic intersection. Mentioned more for the SIM4 than the SIM8.

Still has to deal with Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel approach traffic, especially in the PM rush

SIM5/5X Positives

More frequent service than old X8

SIM5/5X Negatives

Only Father Capodanno-Downtown route, which requires a transfer to reach the Church/Broadway or West Street corridor (West Street soon to be served by SIM9)

Inadequate service after 5pm as it is getting the overflow of SIM1 riders who can’t fit on their bus and have to walk to State Street & Battery Place

SIM5/5X Neutral/Controversial

Armstrong & Leverett stop needs to be added back near Armstronge Gardens apartments, which is a dense area and near the beginning/end of the route, so not many people have to sit through that stop.

Still deals with Brooklyn Battery Tunnel traffic

SIM6 Positives

More frequent service than the old X5

SIM6 Negatives

Shorter span than the old X5 (only partially addressed in PM rush)

No Hylan Blvd branch for East Midtown riders or West Midtown branch for Father Capodanno riders.

SIM6 Neutral/Controversial

SIM7 Positives

SIM7 Negatives

Severely inadequate frequencies and overcrowded buses. Issue should hopefully be addressed with proper implementation of SIM9. Span issue still needs to be looked into, especially as it relates to coordination with SIM1C off-peak service.

SIM7 Neutral/Controversial

SIM8/8X Positives:

SIM8X was additional layer of service added, which put more buses per hour on the Richmond Avenue-Midtown corridor. Faster service from SI Mall area, but could also be extended to Eltingville Transit Center (especially since the SIM22 seems to have issues with overcrowding)

At height of rush hour, could potentially be restructured similar to old Hylan Blvd pattern (short-turns from SI Mall to Midtown, and super-expresses from Arden Heights to SI Mall, then nonstop to Manhattan)

SIM8 runs until 9pm from Midtown, providing quicker service than the old X17 for those who still want a one-seat ride from Midtown.

SIM8/8X Negatives

Morning span was slightly reduced (first bus of the morning was cut and while the route is quicker, you still get off Staten Island later than you did with the old X17J). Reports of the first bus of the morning being standing room-only. Last bus of the morning was cut (though it usually missed the Lincoln Tunnel bus lane, which closes at 10am). Wouldn’t be as much of an issue if the SIM4 ran later to provide quick service to Manhattan (the SIM4C is much slower than the old X17, as it makes additional stops on Gannon Avenue, and to boot, does not properly serve the Bulls Head area (notice that the main issue is the service is slower when we were promised faster service)

The turn from 42nd Street onto Madison Avenue is problematic (moreso than the old turn from 34th Street onto Madison).

SIM8/8X Neutral/Controversial:

AM buses used to travel down 34th Street and now travel down 42nd Street (PM buses remain the same, down 42nd Street). While the approach from the Lincoln Tunnel to 42nd Street is quicker overall than the approach to 34th Street (I used to transfer from the X17J to the X30 for this reason specifically), 34th Street itself moves better than 42nd Street itself, mostly due to the fact that 34th Street has red, visible bus lanes. Due to the connections available on 42nd Street (notably to the 7 train) and the fact that it is physically closer to 57th Street, it is likely better to maintain buses running down 42nd Street, but good bus lanes are a necessity.

Additionally, consideration can be given to restoring the old X30 stop at 42nd Street at 9th Avenue (the X21 used to bypass it anyway), for those who formerly used the stop at 34th Street & 9th Avenue. However, it should be taken into consideration that when buses exit the Lincoln Tunnel onto 42nd Street, they are often able to avoid some congestion by going directly into the left lane of 42nd Street. Having buses stop at 9th Avenue would require them to be in the right lane if they were to make that stop (also, the 42nd Street & 8th Avenue stop is a nearside stop, which means it’s one less avenue to cross for those who work by 9th Avenue or further west)

NJ Turnpike can be congested at points (especially in the PM from 495 down to the Secaucus Junction area. An HOV lane of some sort (with coordination with NJDOT) would help speed both MTA and NJ Transit/Academy/Coach USA buses through this area.

With construction on the 495 viaduct, the MTA should continue to monitor traffic conditions to send buses through Brooklyn when warranted. Thankfully, they don’t appear to have significantly worsened since before construction began.

Additionally, I have heard reports of Dyer Avenue southbound being closed at the height of rush hour (it is a northbound street, but when I take the SIM8 outbound, I see a sign that says “Buses Only” for a southbound lane. If this is the case that it is being closed down after a certain time, it must be reopened, as that is a quicker approach to the Lincoln Tunnel than 9th Avenue or 11th Avenue.

SIM10 Positives

Longer span of direct Midtown service compared to former X2.

SIM10 Negatives

Uses an enhanced X2 schedule, which doesn’t take into account riders south of Tysens Lane, so overcrowding is common at the height of rush hour (though at shoulder periods, service uses old X1 schedule, so service is slightly excessive and should be shifted). Needs East Midtown variant.

SIM10 Neutral/Controversial

SIM15 Positives

SIM15 Negatives

Warren Street routing is longer than Park Place routing for no reason. Some stops were eliminated with unsafe walking conditions to surrounding stops.

SIM15 Neutral/Controversial

Downtown Loop routing was maintained.

Direct Midtown version requested.

SIM22 Positives

More frequent service and longer span for X21 riders. Slight extension to Hylan Blvd & Woods of Arden Road.

SIM22 Negatives

Span reduction for X23 riders along Arthur Kill Road

The easternmost bus available for passengers who used to take the X24 between Richmond Avenue & Tysens Lane. The S78/79 are scheduled to run frequently, but in practice, there have been issues (poster mentioned this was around 8:30am-9am) of 40 minute gaps followed by multiple local buses arriving simultaneously, making connections difficult. S54 passed by in the left lane without stopping because the driver likely assumed that the passenger was waiting for an S78 or S79 to travel beyond Hylan & Richmond.

It should be noted that the passenger had a direct option (the SIM10) but preferred the SIM22’s route through New Jersey because it was quicker for her (previously, that passenger took the X24, but understood why the SIM23 was sent in the opposite direction to provide more coverage in Annadale. So she’s open to the idea of transferring to speed her commute, but NYCT needs to ensure that the transfers are quick and convenient.

Overcrowding, possibly because of more visibility/advertising (in other words, “good overcrowding”). Service on nearby lines doesn’t seem to have been significantly reduced (though perhaps former X5 riders are using it to reach the Madison/Lexington corridor from Richmond Avenue). SIM8X extension to Eltingville Transit Center can alleviate that (even a SIM4X extension would help)

SIM22 Neutral/Controversial

Oakdale stop requested to be added back. Makes sense, since it’s towards the beginning/end of the route, so not many people would be impacted by the extra travel time resulting from the additional stop.

SIM23 Positives

More direct route to Arden Avenue corridor, and brand-new service to Southeast Annadale (Hylan & Barclay)

SIM23 Negatives

Riders reported gaps in service of 1 hour.

SIM23 Neutral/Controversial

Should have stop added at Pollion Avenue (0.4 mile route extension west) to prevent people from having to unnecessarily transfer to/from the S59/78 to get across the portion of Hylan Blvd with no sidewalk. Buses are deadheading from that direction anyway (at a minimum, from Huguenot Avenue due to other intersecting streets being residential streets). I put this under “Neutral” because the area never had an express bus route/stop but the opportunity is there to add it at minimal cost.

Academy routes don’t show up on BusTime. This impacts riders who formerly used the X17J along Arden Avenue.

Some riders have requested 34th Street service back.

SIM24 Positives

More direct route for former X17J & X23 riders along the southern end of Huguenot Avenue.

SIM24 Negatives

Stop spacing in dense community north of Woodrow Road is too far apart.

SIM24 Neutral/Controversial

Isolated Hylan & Luten stop was never moved to more convenient location at Huguenot & Hylan.

Some riders want 34th Street service back.

SIM25 Positives

More direct route for former X23 riders on Foster Road/Seguine Avenue, and new express service for Princes Bay riders.

SIM25 Negatives

Shorter span than old X22/23. Especially important for those at Arthur Kill Road stop, as the last SIM2 is 8:15pm from Downtown and riders who caught the 8:15pm X22 can’t get Downtown in time to catch it (granted, they can take the SIM8 to the S74/84, but those are less frequent than the subway)

SIM26 Positives

Quicker route than the old X22, and more frequent service than the old X22A that also benefits people in Woodrow and not just Pleasant Plains/Tottenville.

New express service in the vicinity of West Shore Expressway & Bloomingdale Road.

SIM30 Positives

Longer span in PM rush and slightly more frequent service (to accommodate some X14/42 riders).

SIM30 Negatives

AM schedule was not adjusted to accommodate displaced X14/42 riders. A few riders take the SIM8 instead of the X30 at South & Goethals, but that’s likely not enough to account for all the riders in West Brighton & Mariners Harbor.

SIM30 Neutral/Controversial

Rosebank section should be a separate express route to gain additional ridership through more direct route through Brooklyn instead of longer route via NJ.

SIM31 Positives

Direct service from Gannon Avenue corridor to East Midtown (at expense of West Midtown). Additional trip added at 7:15pm.

SIM31 Negatives

Longer end-to-end travel times, loss of West Midtown service and subway connections, overcrowding due to X10B riders having to be accommodated. Gap between SIM4C & SIM31, especially in PM rush.

SIM31 Neutral/Controversial

Direct Downtown variant requested.

SIM32 Positives

SIM32 Negatives

Overcrowded buses due to issues on SIM4, SIM31 & SIM34 as well as people adjusting their travel schedules to avoid infrequent, overcrowded SIM4C service.

SIM32 Neutral/Controversial

Schedule is essentially the same as the old X11.

SIM33 Positives

More reliable service for Downtown X10B riders

SIM33 Negatives

Mariners Harbor-Greenwich Village (former X12) riders forced to sit through congested Victory & Richmond intersection, which delays riders further down the line as well. Originally proposed Christopher Lane/Morani Street routing needs to be implemented.

SIM33 Neutral/Controversial

SIM34 Positives

With increased frequency, Downtown service would be more reliable.

SIM34 Negatives

Span reduction in both AM and PM. Infrequent and overcrowded service.

SIM34 Neutral/Controversial

SIM35 Positives

Span extension (AM one was on purpose, PM was accidental due to having to fill gap at end of rush hour). More reliable Downtown-only route

SIM35 Negatives

Loss of direct Midtown service (some riders can use the SIM3, SIM30, or SIM10).. Missing 6:35pm departure from Downtown reported (unacceptable on high headway)

SIM35 Neutral/Controversial

OFF PEAK SERVICE

SIM1C Positives

SIM1C Negatives

Due to gaps in service on the SIM3C and (especially) the SIM4C, off-peak buses are now overcrowded

SIM1C Neutral/Controversial

Schedule remained essentially the same as the off-peak X1

SIM2 Positives

See peak

SIM2 Negatives

See peak

SIM2 Neutral/Controversial

See peak

SIM3C Positives

Overall less crowded than X10 due to lower ridership

SIM3C Negatives

Gaps in peak/off-peak transition

SIM3C Neutral/Controversial

Bunching on high headways is just as common compared to the old X10

SIM4C Positives

Quicker ride to/from Slosson Avenue if you can actually fit on an overcrowded bus.

SIM4C Negatives

Infrequent, overcrowded service and span reduction for X10 Gannon riders. Gaps in peak/off-peak transition.

SIM4C Neutral/Controversial

STOPS

Church Street & Park Place inbound stop needs to be restored due to physical layout of connecting subway station.

Hylan Blvd & Lincoln Avenue outbound stop needs to be moved to Hylan Blvd & Midland Avenue for easier transfers to the S51/81 .

West Street & Spring Street inbound stop needs to be restored for SIM7 riders (and future SIM9 riders)

Hylan Blvd & Buffalo Street stop is in a desolate area

Desolate Hylan Blvd & Luten Avenue stop needs to be moved to more centralized Huguenot Avenue & Hylan Blvd for SIM2/24 riders (both stops should remain for local riders due to transfer point at Hylan & Luten)

Hylan Blvd & Pollion Avenue stop needs to be added to SIM23.

SIM15 stops (which ones) need to be restored due to lack of sidewalk connections

Richmond Avenue & Lamberts Lane SIM4 outbound stop needs to be restored due to being the first connection available to the local buses (including the S89 which doesn’t stop at Lander) and also due to signal timing, riders at subsequent stops don’t really save any time, and people just spend longer on often standing room-only buses (I say that as one of those riders at subsequent stops).

23rd & 3rd stop needs to be restored for connections to M101/102/103 local buses.

Forest & Richmond westbound S48/S98/SIM30 stop and Richmond Avenue & Monsey Place S44/S59/S89/S94/SIM3/SIM3C/SIM33/SIM34 stop need shelters. Also, Monsey Place stop does not have S59/89 schedules, but it wastes space listing the SIM3/3C, SIM33, and SIM34 on separate schedules. The S89 schedule is especially important because it has a different BusTime code.

Mill Road terminal needs to be restored for reliability purposes and convenience of those south of Hylan Blvd

TRANSFERS

Need official transfer point between “via Madison” and “via 6th” FDR buses. Likely Park Avenue because the delay of people reboarding at the transfer point will not impact people who previously got off.

SIM22 should stop at both “Checkpoint” (West Shore Expressway/Arthur Kill Road) and Arthur Kil Road & Arden Avenue stops for people coming off the SIM2 heading east. The Arden Avenue stop also allows people to take the S56 if it comes before the S74 or SIM22.

Hylan & Richmond transfer point should work in theory for former X24 riders seeking a “via NJ” route, because the S78/79 are frequent in theory. However, congestion can causing gaps, bunching, and delays.

BM1/2/3/4 and X37/38 drivers need to allow transfers to/from SIM lines (as well as SIM1C/3C/4C, BM1/2/3/4 and X27/28 drivers allowing SIM2 off-peak riders to transfer to travel to/from Midtown if they do not wish to take the subway or local bus)

Narrows & Hylan and Narrows & Fingerboard need to be designated as transfer points.

Gannon & Bradley needs to be designated as a transfer point.

GENERAL

South Shore Positives

Off-peak and Downtown service expanded in Princes Bay/Tottenville. Routes are more direct overall.

South Shore Negatives

Section of Annadale lost Downtown & off-peak service (can be rectified with SIM4/4C extension to Arden & Drumgoole)

Aspen Knolls community has infrequent, unreliable local service and lost X17 off-peak service. At the minimum, something should serve it from Woodrow Road.

Span reduction and frequency loss for former X22/23 riders on SIM25.

South Shore Neutral/Controversial

All “via NJ” routes routed via 42nd Street

North Shore Positives

Longer span of direct North Shore-Midtown service on SIM3 & SIM30. Span extended on SIM35 to start earlier (accidental)

North Shore Negatives

Infrequent and overcrowded service on the SIM30 & SIM34, as well as the SIM4C off-peak

North Shore Neutral/Controversial

East Shore Positives

Longer span of direct Midtown-Hylan Blvd on SIM10

East Shore Negatives

All Hylan routes start at ETC (except upcoming SIM9) leading to unreliable service. Severe issues on SIM7 (hopefully rectified with SIM9) and loss of service to certain Downtown & Midtown corridors.

East Shore Neutral/Controversial

SIM15 essentially unchanged.

Spans and Frequencies of SIM Routes

The main issues appear to be with off-peak service. They screwed up royally.
* They screwed Arden Heights out of their present-day weekday evening service (the SIM2 ends at 8:15pm from Worth Street, and the SIM8 ends at 9:00pm from 57th Street, compared to the X17 which ends at 12:00am from 57th Street and 12:27am from Worth Street, with an "extra" bus that comes down 20 minutes after that if it wasn't assigned to cover some other service earlier in the day, so really the last bus is 12:20am from 57th Street and 12:47am from Worth Street).
* They appear to think the SIM3C (which runs along Watchogue Road) serves the same ridership base as the present-day X10, just because both routes end in Port Richmond. You notice the spans and frequencies are very similar to the present-day X10 (As far as I'm concerned, the SIM3/3C is basically an expanded version of the X12/42)
* They're under the false impression that trading the X17's Arden Heights riders for the X10's Gannon Avenue riders is a fair trade, ridership-wise for the SIM4C (Notice that the SIM4C runs a similar span to the present-day X17. While Arden Heights definitely has respectable ridership, it is definitely not as high as ridership along Gannon Avenue. I was expecting 15-20 minute weekday off-peak headways on that route, not 30 minute headways. In the evenings, those buses will be jam-packed. Service runs every 12-15 minutes until around 9pm leaving Midtown, and then every 20 minutes until around 11pm (and again, this is considering the X17 serves Arden Heights instead of Willowbrook/Castleton Corners/Meiers Corners). With this plan, service will run every 20 minutes until 8pm, and every 30 minutes afterwards (No idea if they're going to have that extra bus at 12:20am, but they're definitely going to need it). Apparently, they think running a few extra SIM8 buses (which do nothing for Downtown riders, let alone riders along Gannon Avenue) will solve all of the problems.
* Looks like early-morning CSI students from the other boroughs are out of luck, since the first SIM4C won't leave Midtown until 7:40am (which means it won't get to CSI until just before 9:00am). Those students will have to take the SIM3C over to Jewett Avenue for the S62 or S93 (since it's not practical to walk from Watchogue Road down to CSI, due to the SIE & MLK Expressway being in the way). The SIM3C will run more frequently than the SIM4C, so even when the SIM4C is running, it may be better for some of them to take the SIM3C to the S62/93 if they just missed it (or if it's too crowded) or the SIM1C.
* They seem to have copied-and-pasted the X14's Midtown times to Downtown (so if a person currently catches the X14 in Midtown at 6pm, they're out of luck, because they have to make their way to Battery Place by 6:16pm to catch it).
* There seems to be a glitch on the SIM4 & SIM4C as far as the times at the ETC, and Annadale Road are concerned. I'm not sure if buses will start at Annadale Road and then run to the ETC (which makes sense) or vice versa (which makes no sense, but is a possibility).
* The last bus from Worth Street on the SIM34 is at 7:00pm, and the first SIM3C afterwards is at 8:32pm.
* The last bus from Worth Street on the SIM32 is at 6:45pm, and the first SIM4C afterwards is at 7:41pm.
* It seems as if they want everybody during that time frame to make their way over to Vesey Street & West Street and catch the SIM33 (the last bus from there is at 7:24pm). So even though West Street is a high-ridership corridor for express buses (especially the WFC stop). they want to punish express riders for requesting West Street service by making the Broadway riders walk over there.
* Even aside from those examples, the transition between the peak and off-peak routes seems a little sloppy in general (for example, the last SIM1 leaves Worth Street at 8:20pm, but the next SIM1C doesn't get there until 8:36pm, during a time period where 8 minute headways are typically warranted. In other words, they skipped a bus).
EDIT 7/27/18
* Oh boy, so I wasn't going crazy. Early in the morning they left a gap in Downtown service between the 3:50am SIM1C from the ETC and the 4:55am SIM5 from the ETC (and Hylan north of Midland is screwed worse, they have to wait until the 5:05am SIM1 gets up there). Looks like you early morning Downtown riders on Hylan will have to either take the SIM10 to Midtown and backtrack, or take the S79 to Bay Ridge for the (R) train. Even the mighty X1 isn't immune from their screw-ups...
EDIT 8/17/18
* The gap in Downtown service has apparently been rectified, however, it was at the expense of 23rd Street riders. They took the first four SIM10 trips and converted them to SIM1C trips. A good move overall, but at the same time, it still makes it harder for those who work near East 23rd Street (especially at those hospitals over by 1st Avenue, where I would imagine some of the shifts have early start times). Also, if you look closely, they didn't even change the runtime (so they scheduled the trip to take the same amount of time via 6th Avenue as they originally did via the FDR Drive. Granted, 6th Avenue is physically more direct, but it's still a little bit of a hustle to make it on time).
EDIT 8/8/18
* X5 riders along Father Capodanno Blvd got screwed with a shorter PM span of service. The old X5 ran from 2:15pm to 7:50pm, whereas the SIM6 uses the old X7 span of 2:35pm to 6:45pm.
* Port Richmond riders got screwed out of about 2.5 hours worth of Downtown service. The last SIM35 from Battery Place is at 6:16pm, whereas the next SIM3C from Battery Place is at 8:41pm. Granted, riders can take the SIM34 to the S44/59 (or S57/66 in some cases), but it's still stupid to have that gap, when Port Richmond is supposedly receiving full-time Downtown & Midtown service. There's a smaller gap at the beginning of the PM rush (2:36pm to 3:31pm)
* There's a 40 minute gap between the last SIM3C of the midday period and the first SIM34 of the afternoon rush hour.
* There's a gap in Greenwich Village service between the last SIM1 of the midday period at 2:10pm, and the first SIM7 at 3:30pm, and a similar gap at the end of rush hour (last SIM7 at 7:00pm, first SIM1C at 8:25pm).
* There's a gap in AM Greenwich Village service between the last SIM1C at 3:50am, and the first SIM7 at 5:00am. I don't expect too many people to be affected by that (unlike the Downtown gap), but there's another gap at the other end of rush hour, between the 8:30am SIM7 and the 9:20am SIM1C (the last SIM1 is at 9:05am and the last SIM10 is at 9:02am, so I expect that first off-peak SIM1C to be overcrowded).
* There's a gap in Church Street service from Gannon Avenue between the 5:18am SIM4C (at Victory & Richmond) and the first SIM32 at 6:29am (again, at Victory & Richmond). Likewise, afterwards, there's a gap between the 8:46am SIM32 and the 9:40am SIM4C. Heck, even the gap between the 9:15am SIM33 and the 9:40am SIM4C seems a bit too large.
* Same thing with the SIM34 & SIM3C. There's a gap between the 9:10am SIM34 from Jules Drive and the 9:46am SIM3C from Jules Drive (the X12 currently runs every 15 minutes during that timeframe).
* For peak service (I thought I mentioned it in this post, but it was in the other post), the SIM7 has similar issues to the SIM4C as far as having ridiculously inadequate service. They combined the X7/9 route and reduced the service in half compared to the present-day X7. I could see maybe every 5 minutes with alternating service terminating at the WFC (so 10 minute headways north of there), but 12-15 minute headways will probably have buses filled by the time they pick up the X1's Broadway riders, let alone by the time they get to West Street where there aren't even good local bus/subway alternatives to get back towards Broadway.

Some smaller issues (that may not drastically affect people's options but are still worth noting)
* The SIM25 runs a shorter span than the X22 for those in the eastern portions of Rossville (they have to make their way to the SIM26 which has the old X22 span). In the evening, Princes Bay riders get a quicker ride, but a shorter span (the first bus is 25 minutes later compared to the first X23, and the last bus is 30 minutes earlier). To be fair, the first bus gets back to Seguine Avenue only around 15 minutes later than the present-day X23 (because it avoids the detour east to Woodrow Road).
* The SIM22 covers the Arthur Kill Road/St. John Newman and Arthur Kill Road/Woodrow Road stops at a shorter span than the X23. Riders can still take the S74 along Arthur Kill Road (from either the West Shore Expressway service road, or the ETC, depending on which connecting bus they take). It is a pretty big span reduction for those 2 stops as far as direct Midtown service goes (and at the public hearings and meetings, residents in that area were very vocal)

So obviously, the first thing you guys should do is provide written complaints to whoever you can think of. Community boards, politicians, MTA officials, etc . Assuming that this plan actually takes effect (so if there's no hope of changing it until the next pick), my advice would be to avoid the SIM4C if possible (especially on weekdays). Try to use the SIM3C and either walk, take a local bus, or get a lift to/from your stop. If you're lucky, you might be able to use the SIM8, depending on your exact origin and destination.

That being said, here are the spans and (approximate) frequencies of the new SIM routes, obtained from RideSchedules.com (there may be some additional short-turns in the schedule that I missed). Spans are from the first stop unless otherwise noted (UPDATED 8/17/18)

SIM1:

Inbound: 5:05am - 9:05am, every 4-6 minutes at the height of rush hour, 10-20 minutes at shoulder periods

Outbound: 2:40pm - 8:20pm, every 4-6 minutes at the height of rush hour, 10-20 minutes at shoulder periods

SIM1C:

Weekday Inbound: Does not operate when SIM10 is running. Otherwise, similar to today's X1.

Weekday Outbound: Does not operate when SIM10 is running. Otherwise, similar to today's X1.

Saturday Inbound: Similar to today's X1

Saturday Outbound: Similar to today's X1

Sunday Inbound: Similar to today's X1

Sunday Outbound: Similar to today's X1

SIM2:

Weekday Inbound: 4:35am - 7:00pm, every 10-15 minutes rush hour, 30 minutes off-peak

Weekday Outbound: 8:20am - 8:15pm, every 10-15 minutes rush hour, 30 minutes off-peak

Saturday Inbound: 4:30am - 7:00pm, every 30 minutes

Saturday Outbound: 5:45am - 8:15pm, every 30 minutes

Sunday Inbound: 4:30am - 7:00pm, every 30 minutes

Sunday Outbound: 5:45am - 8:15pm, every 30 minutes

SIM3:
Inbound: 5:00am - 9:15am, every 10 minutes at the height of rush hour, 15-20 minutes at shoulder periods

Outbound: 2:00pm - 7:45pm, every 10-12 minutes at the height of rush hour, 15-20 minutes at shoulder periods

SIM3C (Off-Peak)
Weekday Inbound: 9:35am - 10:00pm, every 20-60 minutes

Weekday Outbound: 7:10am - 1:40pm, 8:00pm - 1:15pm, every 20-60 minutes

Saturday Inbound: 5:30am - 9:00pm, every 20-30 minutes

Saturday Outbound: 7:15am - 12:00pm, every 20-30 minutes

Sunday Inbound: 6:30am - 9:00pm, every 30 minutes until 4:00pm, then every hour until 9:00pm

Sunday Outbound: 7:55am - 10:20pm, every 30-60 minutes

SIM4:

Inbound: 5:15am - 9:05am, every 6 minutes at the height of rush hour, 10-15 minutes at shoulder periods

Outbound: 3:00pm - 7:20pm, every 7-10 minutes at the height of rush hour, 15-20 minutes at shoulder periods

SIM4X:

Inbound: 6:10am - 8:10am, every 20 minutes

Outbound: 4:10pm - 6:30pm, every 20 minutes

SIM4C (Off-Peak)
Weekday Inbound: 4:00am - 5:00am, and 9:20am - 7:00pm, every 20-30 minutes

Weekday Outbound: 7:40am - 2:20pm (every 60 minutes), 7:00pm - 12:00am, every 20-30 minutes

Saturday Inbound: 4:30am - 7:00pm, every 20-30 minutes

Saturday Outbound: 6:30am - 8:50pm, every 20-30 minutes

Sunday Inbound: 5:00am - 6:50pm, every 30-60 minutes

Sunday Outbound: 6:30am - 8:30pm, every 30-60 minutes

SIM5:

Inbound: 4:55am - 9:00am, every 5-8 minutes at the height of rush hour, 10-15 minutes at shoulder periods

Outbound: 3:00pm - 7:00pm, every 5-10 minutes at the height of rush hour, 15-20 minutes at shoulder periods

SIM5X:

Inbound: 6:10am - 8:30am, every 20 minutes

SIM6:

Inbound: 5:00am - 8:50am, every 3-5 minutes at the height of rush hour, 10-15 minutes at shoulder periods

Outbound: 2:35pm - 6:45pm, every 4-6 minutes at the height of rush hour, 10-15 minutes at shoulder periods

SIM6X:

Inbound: 6:00am - 8:00am, every 20 minutes

SIM7:

Inbound: 5:00am - 8:30am, every 10 minutes at the height of rush hour, 15-20 minutes at shoulder periods

Outbound: 3:30pm - 7:00pm, every 12 minutes at the height of rush hour, 15 minutes at shoulder periods

SIM8:

Inbound: 4:30am - 9:00am, every 4-7 minutes at the height of rush hour, 10-15 minutes at shoulder periods

Outbound: 1:55pm - 9:00pm, every 5-10 minutes at the height of rush hour, 15-30 minutes at shoulder periods

SIM8X:

Inbound: 6:00am - 8:00am, every 20 minutes

Outbound: 4:00pm - 7:00pm, every 20 minutes

SIM10:

Inbound: 4:10am - 9:02am, every 5-8 minutes at the height of rush hour, 12-15 minutes at shoulder periods

Outbound: 2:00pm - 7:56pm, every 4-6 minutes at the height of rush hour, 8-10 minutes at shoulder periods

SIM15:

Inbound: 4:59am - 9:20am, every 8-12 minutes at the height of rush hour, 20-30 minutes at shoulder periods

Outbound: 3:00pm - 7:20pm, every 10-15 minutes at the height of rush hour, 20-30 minutes at shoulder periods

SIM22:

Inbound: 5:00am - 9:00am, every 15 minutes at the height of rush hour, 20 minutes at shoulder periods

Outbound: 3:00pm - 7:00pm, every 20 minutes at the height of rush hour, 30 minutes at shoulder periods

EDIT: 7/24/18

SIM23 & SIM24 schedules (operated by Academy Bus) are now uploaded to the RideSchedules.com website. Spans & frequencies are as follows (from the terminals):

SIM23 Inbound: 5:10am - 8:35am, every 10 minutes at the height of rush hour, 15 minutes during shoulder periods.

SIM23 Outbound: 2:30pm - 7:30pm, every 10 minutes at the height of rush hour, 15-30 minutes during shoulder periods.

SIM24 Inbound: 5:00am - 8:30am, every 7-10 minutes at the height of rush hour, 15-20 minutes during shoulder periods.

SIM24 Outbound: 2:45pm - 7:30pm, every 10-15 minutes at the height of rush hour, 20-30 minutes during shoulder periods 

SIM25:

Inbound: 5:00am - 8:40am, every 10 minutes at the height of rush hour, 15-20 minutes at shoulder periods

Outbound: 3:10pm - 7:00pm, every 10 minutes at the height of rush hour, 15-20 minutes at shoulder periods

SIM26:

Inbound: 4:35am - 9:05am, every 8-10 minutes at the height of rush hour, 15-20 minutes at shoulder periods

Outbound: 2:10pm - 8:15pm, every 10 minutes at the height of rush hour, 15-30 minutes at shoulder periods

SIM30:

Inbound: 5:23am - 8:05am, every 7-10 minutes at the height of rush hour, 15-20 minutes at shoulder periods (at height of rush hour, buses alternate between Sunnyside & Rosebank, resulting in 20-30 minute headways for each branch. During shoulder periods, all service runs to Sunnyside)

Outbound: 3:50pm - 7:00pm, every 10 minutes at the height of rush hour, 15 minutes at shoulder periods (at height of rush hour, buses alternate between Sunnyside & Rosebank, resulting in 20 minute headways for each branch. During shoulder periods, all service runs to Sunnyside)

SIM31:

Inbound: 5:15am - 8:30am, every 10-12 minutes at the height of rush hour, 15-20 minutes at shoulder periods

Outbound: 4:00pm - 7:15pm, every 10-15 minutes at the height of rush hour, 20-30 minutes at shoulder periods

SIM32:

Inbound: 6:15am - 8:30am, every 15 minutes at the height of rush hour, 20 minutes at shoulder periods

Outbound: 3:55pm - 6:45pm, every 10 minutes at the height of rush hour, 15-20 minutes at shoulder periods

SIM33:

Inbound: 5:00am - 9:00am, every 10-15 minutes at the height of rush hour, 15-20 minutes at shoulder periods

Outbound: 3:00pm - 7:00pm, every 15 minutes at the height of rush hour, 20 minutes at shoulder periods

SIM34:

Inbound: 4:40am - 9:00am, every 12 minutes at the height of rush hour, 15-20 minutes at shoulder periods

Outbound: 3:00pm - 7:00pm, every 12 minutes at the height of rush hour, 15 minutes at shoulder periods

SIM35:

Inbound: 5:15am - 9:00am, every 10-12 minutes at the height of rush hour, 15-20 minutes at shoulder periods

Outbound: 3:20pm - 6:05pm, every 10 minutes at the height of rush hour, 15-20 minutes at shoulder periods

Arguments for a Better Restructuring of Hylan Blvd Express Service

One of my main strategies when arguing a point is to stick strictly to the facts. You can make certain assumptions, but you must state those assumptions and back them up with solid logic. (And the logic doesn't have to be complicated. I've been submitting proposals since I was in high school).

My general argument centers on the fact that the current system that they have set up along Hylan is actually based on sound logic: Each main market in Manhattan has a route from the Hylan corridor that operates to Eltingville via Father Capodanno Blvd, and a route that operates to New Dorp via Hylan Blvd. So we have as follows:

* East Midtown (X2/X5)

* West Midtown (X7/X9)

* Downtown (X3/X4)

With this service pattern, the longer-distance route from Eltingville fills up with passengers, and then at Midland Avenue, turns off to travel the faster route via Father Capodanno Blvd, and then has a counterpart that starts in New Dorp and covers the northern portion of Hylan Blvd. In theory, this should result in relatively balanced loads and a more efficient use of the MTA's resources.

Notice I didn't include the X1 & X8 in that service pattern. The X1 is sort of the "parent route" of the whole Hylan Blvd express series. The X8 is there because the entire corridor has a sufficient volume of service and ridership that the MTA can provide direct service to the Water Street corridor without too much of a negative impact on Church Street/Broadway service. (So in other words, the X8 is an Eltingville-Downtown route that covers a slightly different market compared to the X4)

So the most straightforward plan would be to simply eliminate the X1 and use the resources to provide more service on the other Hylan routes. Now, you may be thinking "Eliminate the X1, that's the busiest express route on Staten Island". But notice that at the end of the day, the X1/2/3/4/5/7/8/9 are all on one schedule, so really, all the other Hylan routes are just variants of the X1.

Also, as part of this plan, the X3/4 would be rerouted to Worth Street as opposed to the World Financial Center (which is already covered by the X7/9 through a significantly faster route). The X1 takes the most inefficient route within Staten Island (Instead of running from Eltingville via Father Capodanno, it runs from Eltingville via Hylan Blvd). The only people it benefits are those from the Richmond Avenue corridor who want a direct ride to the West Street corridor or the Greenwich Village area (the alternative for those people is to take the S79 over to the X7, which I would consider reasonable). However, it's at the expense of service on the other routes (notice how infrequent the X3/4 are in the PM rush hour), and that volume of service does you no good if it's bunched up. 

Little personal note: I used to tutor a client in the Midland Beach area, and to get there from school, I would take the subway to Lower Manhattan and then take the X1/3/4. The problem was, there were several times where I would wait 15-20 minutes in the middle of rush hour, and then all of a sudden, 3 X1s, an X3, and an X4 would all show up at once. The X3 & X4 would usually be on-time for their half-hourly departure, but the X1s were late (eventually, I tried getting off at Broadway/Lafayette and catching the X7/9, which was a little better).

So in any case, frequencies at the height of rush hour are as follows (little note: Headway refers to the time span between buses, while frequency refers to the buses within a given timespan. So headway and frequency are inversely related. A good route should have a high frequency/low headway).

BPH = Buses Per Hour (These frequencies are approximate, and taken at the height of rush hour from a quick glance at the schedule. Feel free to choose your precise time period of interest at a particular stop and count it yourself if you want to make a more detailed table out of it)

Route	AM Frequency (BPH)	PM Frequency (BPH)	SI Route	Manhattan Route
X1	7	12	Hylan-Eltingville	Downtown-Greenwich Village
X2	7	10	Hylan	East Midtown
X3	7	2	Hylan	Downtown
X4	6	2	Capodanno	Downtown
X5	12	8	Capodanno	East Midtown
X7	12	7	Capodanno	West Midtown
X8	6	4	Capodanno	Downtown-Water
X9	7	6	Hylan	West Midtown

	Frequency By SI Corridor (Excluding X1)
AM BPH (Hylan)	PM BPH (Hylan)	AM BPH (Capodanno)	PM BPH (Capodanno)
21	18	36	21

	Frequency By Manhattan Corridor (Excluding X1)
AM BPH (Downtown)	PM BPH (Downtown)	AM BPH (E.Midtown)	PM BPH (E. Midtown)	AM BPH (W.Midtown)	PM BPH (W. Midtown)
13	4	19	18	19	13

So the simple way would be to take the X1's current frequencies and divide them up among the X3, X4, X7, and X9. When starting the X7/9 at 23rd, both those trips, and definitely the X3/4 trips are shorter compared to the current X1 from Broadway & 23rd to Eltingville Therefore, the MTA will either save money, or be able to run more trips. (And notice, especially in the PM rush, the X1 has plenty of trips to go around).

I didn't do the exact calculations (Obviously, I'm writing this blog in my spare time), but I believe that with the resources saved from cutting back the X7/9 to 14th Street, combined with the savings resulting from dividing up those X1 short-turns more efficiently, there should be enough to provide a decent level of frequency along 5th/6th Avenue from both Father Capodanno & Hylan, while maintaining the X2/5 levels of service along Lexington/Madison Avenue. If not, at the very least, if they do insist on consolidating the service down 5th Avenue, then they should definitely keep service via both Father Capodanno and Hylan from the Greenwich Village corridor.

Long story short, it boils down to the fact that when dealing with busy routes such as those on Hylan, since the peak load point is always between Manhattan and Staten Island, it is best to divide up the riders in an efficient manner. Obviously starting from New Dorp is going to be cheaper/shorter than starting from Eltingville (even if the bus made a trip out of Manhattan and deadheaded back in for another trip, or vice versa in the morning, it's shorter/cheaper to deadhead from Tysens Lane up Hylan to the SIE as opposed to from the ETC up Richmond to the SIE). The savings from running via Father Capodanno vs. Hylan Blvd for the trips to Eltingville might not be as much, but when added up over routes as frequent as the Hylan ones, it adds up (especially if we're talking about premium time after 11+ hour spreads or after 8 hours of actual work).

As far as the MTA's argument that service levels on Hylan & Father Capodanno will remain similar to today's levels, that doesn't seem to make much sense (especially if the plan is going to be cost-neutral). It seems as if they're taking the savings from not running the X1 to 23rd Street, and using it to put more service on the most inefficient of the Hylan Blvd service patterns (Eltingville via Hylan). If Downtown service remains similar on Father Capodanno Blvd, that means that they are going to combine the X4 & X8 service levels into the SIM5. Granted, it's only about a half mile walk to reach Park Place from Battery Place (or a short subway ride), but at the same time, it doesn't seem reasonable to expect all X4 riders to switch to the SIM5 to warrant that service. The same with X7 riders: The SIM6 route via 5th/Madison does nothing for X7/9 riders seeking service to West Street & Greenwich Village. Maybe they're including the park-and-ride buses in those calculations, but those make a single stop in the middle of nowhere (as far as residences/businesses) on Father Capodanno, and don't serve the residential portions of Midland Beach & South Beach. So if that's the case, that likely means that the Hylan buses will likely be overcrowded, while the Father Capodanno buses have spare capacity.

Additionally, the obvious thing to consider is: Why is Hylan Blvd south of New Dorp getting double the frequency of the areas north of Midland? As you go further south, you start to have people driving down to the Eltingville Transit Center for routes like the X17, and the catchment area decreases (basically, Hylan Blvd is very close to the water at that point, so you're mostly getting people from the northern/western side of Hylan, whereas north of Midland Avenue, you have a dense neighborhood on both sides)

Another thing to consider is that as the routes get more and more frequent, the marginal advantage in frequency of an additional bus per hour decreases. For example, if you take 2 hourly routes and combine them to create a a route with 2 buses per hour (30 minute headways), you decrease the maximum wait by 30 minutes and the average wait by 15 minutes (assuming a uniform distribution of passenger arrivals). If you take 2 routes running every 30 minutes (2 buses per hour) and combine them to create a route running every 15 minutes (4 buses per hour), the maximum wait decreases by 15 minutes, and the average wait decreases by 7.5 minutes. You see the pattern? So if the MTA takes two routes that run every 8 minutes and combines them to create a route that runs every 4 minutes, the maximum wait decreases by 4 minutes, and the average wait decreases by 2 minutes. But if a passenger has to walk an extra 10 minutes to get that 2 minute average savings, there go those savings for that particular passenger. Of course, it's wonderful if you live directly on the corridor (which there definitely are people who will benefit), but not so great if you're on the corridor that lost service (I'm thinking of the X7 riders heading from Father Capodanno to West Street/Greenwich Village specifically).

Of course, at the end of the day, if the MTA released an idea of the schedules (it didn't have to release the exact times, but at least the start/end times and basic frequencies), we would have more to offer in terms of suggestions, and that's really the main thing that people need to get on them about. 

Staten Island Express Bus Restructuring - April 2018 Update

So there have been some major changes to the express plan (though unfortunately, the finer details like the spans and frequencies haven't been worked out yet). Keep in mind that this is for informational purposes only (It's not my opinion on the changes, but rather a guide on how to make the best use of the new system)

They have come up with the designations of the routes, and the ridership bases they are intended to cover

SIM1: Pretty much the current X1 truncated to Worth Street. Covers X3 riders and X4 riders south of Midland Avenue heading to destinations on Church Street/Broadway.

Off-peak, SIM1C buses are extended up 6th Avenue to end at 57th Street (pretty much the current X1, except it doesn't head west to 7th Avenue before heading east to 5th Avenue).

SIM2: A restructured X19, which covers Arden Heights/Huguenot, and is extended to Tottenville via Hylan Blvd (providing more Downtown coverage on the South Shore). Off-peak service added to maintain off-peak express service in Arden Heights (since the SIM4C would be truncated to Annadale Road), and expand coverage to the southern part of the Hylan Blvd corridor (Technically, it also covers part of the X17 midday route in Tottenville, though very few riders actually use it due to how circuitous it is)

SIM3: A restructured X42, which operates to Port Richmond instead of Mariners Harbor. Covers Midtown-bound X14 riders in Port Richmond, and Midtown-bound X10B riders in Graniteville, as well as X42 riders in Westerleigh & Castleton Corners. For those who live in Mariners Harbor or Arlington, they can either make their way down to the SIM30 on Forest Avenue (whether on foot or via local bus) or take the S48/98 or SIM34 to Forest & Richmond for the SIM3.

Off-peak, the SIM3C will operate via Lower Manhattan (pretty much like the present-day X12 except it operates to Port Richmond instead of Mariners Harbor, and will also operate via Narrows Road instead of staying on the Staten Island Expressway). It will cover present-day X10 riders in Port Richmond, Graniteville, Concord, and Arrochar, as well as provide new coverage in Westerleigh & Castleton Corners.

SIM4: The X17A. Off-peak, SIM4C buses will be extended up 6th Avenue & Madison Avenue to end at 57th Street, and will operate via Gannon Avenue west of Slosson Avenue, covering present-day X10 riders on that corridor. (Riders along Narrows Road in Concord will be accommodated by the SIM3C)

At the height of rush hour, SIM4X buses will operate nonstop between Marsh Avenue & Westport Street and Battery Place in Lower Manhattan.

SIM5: The X8. Accommodates some present-day X4 riders traveling from the central part of Hylan Blvd to Lower Manhattan, who don't want to deal with the slower ride on the SIM1 (as well as present-day X4 riders on Father Capodanno Blvd)

At the height of rush hour, SIM5X buses will operate nonstop between the South Beach Park-and-Ride and Battery Place in Lower Manhattan.

SIM6: A combination of the X5 and X7. Buses will operate via the X7 route on Staten Island, and the X5 route in Manhattan (Staten Island-bound buses will use 5th Avenue instead of Lexington Avenue). Midtown-bound X7 riders can use this route. Present-day X5 riders along Richmond Avenue can take the S79 (or the SIM1/7/10) to Giffords Lane to catch it (or they can take the SIM10 or SIM22 directly to their destination)

At the height of rush hour, SIM6X buses will operate nonstop between the South Beach Park-and-Ride and 23rd Street & 1st Avenue.

SIM7: Operates via the present-day X1 route on Staten Island, and the X7/9 route in Manhattan, except it is truncated to 14th Street. (Riders to/from 23rd Street and points north should use the SIM6 or SIM10).

SIM8: The X17J restructured to operate via Woodrow Road instead of Arden Avenue & Drumgoole Road. Riders along Huguenot Avenue should use the SIM24, and riders along Arden Avenue should use the SIM23. The route was originally supposed to end at Annadale Road & Drumgoole Road West, but it was extended to Huguenot to provide coverage along the eastern part of Woodrow Road. I would assume that in the interest of cost-neutrality, they would probably start half of the trips at the Eltingville Transit Center at the height of rush hour.

SIM10: Operates via the present-day X1 route on Staten Island, and takes the FDR Drive to 23rd Street to reach 6th Avenue (the SIM6 covers Madison Avenue). Covers Midtown-bound riders on the present-day X2, X7, and X9, as well as some riders on the Richmond Avenue portion of the present-day X5.

SIM15: The present-day X15, except it will operate strictly via Water Street instead of via the Downtown Loop.

SIM22: The present-day X21, restructured to operate via 5th/Madison Avenue to 57th Street instead of directly across 42nd Street. It offers an alternative for present-day X17J & X23 riders along Arthur Kill Road, as well as some present-day X5 riders traveling between the Richmond Avenue corridor and Madison Avenue corridor.

SIM23: The present-day X24, restructured to operate directly down Arden Avenue (instead of taking Huguenot Avenue & Woodrow Road to reach it). Covers present-day X17J riders in Arden Heights, and operates to Hylan & Barclay in Southeast Annadale instead of traveling to Tysens Lane in New Dorp with the buses from the Verrazanno-Narrows Bridge.

SIM24: Runs the length of Huguenot Avenue, covering some X17J, X23, and X24 riders.

SIM25: Combines the Rossville Avenue & Hylan Blvd portions of the X22 with the Seguine Avenue/Foster Road portions of the X23.

SIM26: Takes over the Bloomingdale Road/Amboy Road portion of the X22, and is a compromise for eliminating the X22A. It also bypasses Arthur Kill Road and remains on the West Shore Expressway (but still stops in Travis).

SIM30: The X30, but it takes some Midtown riders from the present-day X14 (Port Richmond/West Brighton/Westerleigh area) & X42 (Mariners Harbor). It also runs straight across Forest Avenue in the morning instead of detouring down to South Avenue & Goethals Road North.

June 2018 Update - X31/SIM30 Rosebank Branch

Additionally, a new branch will operate from Rosebank to Midtown (so basically, it will start at Tompkins & Hylan, take the S52 route up to Victory, and then take Victory Blvd down to Forest Avenue). If anybody from Rosebank wants an alternative to taking a local bus down to Narrows Road for an express bus, or a local bus down to the ferry, it's now available. Riders who formerly took the old X18 have slightly more alternatives (since the SIM1/15/35 run Downtown whereas only the SIM10 runs to Midtown, and of course for those who choose to use the ferry, parts of Downtown are within walking distance), so there is no corresponding Downtown bus.

SIM31: The X31 rerouted via the FDR Drive, 23rd Street, and 5th/Madison Avenue (instead of Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street). Covers some Midtown-bound riders on the X10B. Provides direct service to Kips Bay/East Midtown from the New Springville area, which is presently not covered by the X17J.

SIM32: The X11.

SIM33: Basically the X10B rerouted to Mariners Harbor, and truncated to 14th Street. Also bypasses the Victory Blvd & Richmond Avenue intersection to avoid the associated traffic. Serves as an alternative for X12 riders in Mariners Harbor headed to/from the Greenwich Village area.

SIM34: The X12 truncated to Worth Street.

SIM35: The X14 truncated to the present-day X8 terminal at Frankfort Street (In other words, they're swapping out the X14 for the old X13). Midtown-bound riders should take the SIM3 along Watchogue Road, or the SIM30 along Forest Avenue.

Now, here's a few basic tips I'll give to some commonly-asked questions about travel patterns. It should be noted the the MTA plans on implementing a 3-legged transfer on express buses (so if the second leg of your trip is on the express bus, you get an additional free transfer. Keep in mind that express bus-express bus transfers are currently permitted).

For those of you who plan on using the SIM5/15/35 but work along Church Street/Broadway and don't want to walk from Water Street, you can get off at Battery Place and take the 4/5 train at Bowling Green, or the M55 bus.

For those of you who work in the vicinity of the World Financial Center, but don't live near the SIM7 or SIM33, you can take a bus down to Battery Place and then take the M20 bus. In the afternoon, you have the option of the M20 or the free Downtown Connect shuttle to get down to Battery Place. Alternatively, you can take the M22 across Chambers Street (or the Downtown Connect shuttle in the other direction, towards City Hall) to get to/from the Church/Broadway corridor (It's slower, and I wouldn't recommend it, but it's worth putting it out there as an option).

For SIM35 riders seeking service to Midtown who don't want to transfer to the subway in Lower Manhattan, you can take the SIM35 to Narrows Road & Hylan Blvd, and transfer to the SIM10, which travels via the FDR Drive. (The same applies to SIM15 riders. And if you live in Sunnyside or Concord, the S93 is also an option to reach Hylan & Narrows as well).

For SIM31 riders seeking service to West Midtown, I would recommend either taking the SIM31 (or S61/91) to Bradley Avenue & Gannon Avenue, and then transferring to the SIM32/33, and then transferring to the subway from there, or taking the S61/91 to Victory Blvd and then taking the SIM3. The S57 to either of those routes also works for those who live on Bradley. Of course, those living near the SI Mall or within walking distance of Richmond Avenue (e.g. Merrymount Street) can take the SIM8 directly to West Midtown.

For any X10B riders in Port Richmond seeking service to the World Financial Center or Greenwich Village, you can take the S44 or S59 to Forest & Richmond to catch the SIM33 (alternatively, you can take the S57 to Bradley & Gannon, depending on where you are). For those along Watchogue Road who want access to Greenwich Village, but don't want to take the subway or M55 from the SIM34, you can take the S57 to Gannon Avenue for the SIM33.

It doesn't really negatively affect too many existing riders, but I'll put it out there anyway (because I think there is a large market for South Shore-Downtown service that the MTA did not adequately address in its new plan): For those on the South Shore who don't live along the SIM2, you can take the SIM23/24/25 to Arthur Kill Road, or take the SIM26 to Travis (the SIM26 will bypass Arthur Kill Road). You can use your 3-legged transfer to take the subway after the SIM2 if necessary.

The E, 7, and N/R/W have crosstown segments in Midtown Manhattan, so for those who don't work in the immediate vicinity of 5th Avenue, an alternative to taking the crosstown bus or taking the subway all the way Downtown is to take the E train (along 53rd Street) or the 7 train (along 42nd Street) to 5th Avenue. The N/R/W run crosstown along 59th Street (so they stop at 57th & 7th, 59th & 5th, and 59th & Lexington), and then also run diagonally across Broadway (so you can make a transfer to an express bus at Broadway & 23rd Street). Additionally, you can take the subway to 42nd Street in West Midtown for a "via NJ" route or take the 6 train down to 23rd Street & Park Avenue and catch a "via FDR" express bus there.

For those who need an ADA-accessible subway station, here are some key stations in Midtown & Downtown:
Lexington Avenue Line: 51st Street, 42nd Street, 23rd Street, Bleecker Street, City Hall, Fulton Street, and Bowling Green
Broadway Line: Cortlandt Street, Union Square, Herald Square, and Times Square
Seventh Avenue Line: South Ferry, Fulton Street, Chambers Street, Penn Station, Times Square, and Columbus Circle
Eighth Avenue Line: Fulton Street, World Trade Center (E train only), West 4th Street, 14th Street, Penn Station, Port Authority Bus Terminal, 50th Street, Columbus Circle
Sixth Avenue Line: Broadway/Lafayette, West 4th Street, Herald Square, Rockerfeller Center, Lexington Avenue/53rd Street
Flushing Line: Grand Central, Times Square, Hudson Yards

Those in East Midtown can take the 6 to 23rd & Park for the SIM3/6/10/31, or to Union Square, Astor Place, or Bleecker Street for the SIM7/33 (for those worried about getting a seat). Of course, if you want to take the express, you can take the 4/5 to Fulton Street or Bowling Green and catch a bus Downtown. There's also the option of the E or M (the M is usually a little less crowded) to either the World Trade Center or Broadway/Lafayette for an express bus (Heading towards Manhattan, you can catch either train at West 4th Street)

Additionally, there's also the M15 down to Water Street & Frankfort Street for the SIM5/15/35 (it's a slow option, especially if you take the local instead of the SBS, but it's an option nonetheless)

The 1, W, and E trains all start in Lower Manhattan, so you should be able to find a seat fairly easily (the R train usually isn't too bad either) on the inbound trip. Heading back to Staten Island, the E can get pretty crowded, but you should still be able to find a seat on the 1, R, and W. The M train usually isn't too bad either, to give you an idea of lines you should stick to if crowding is a concern.

People who live along Father Capodanno Blvd (or who parked at the park-and-ride) and want to take an express bus to West Street/Greenwich Village can take the S52 to Fingerboard & Narrows for the SIM7 (or if they really want to get a seat, they can take the S51 back to Hylan & Midland for the SIM7). This also helps those who miss the last SIM5 or SIM6, but don't want to deal with taking the S51 from the ferry. Another alternative (for those who live closer to McClean Avenue is to take the S53 to/from Hylan & Clove and catch the SIM7 there) Of course, as mentioned, you can also transfer to the M20/22 or Downtown Connection on the Manhattan side.

EDIT: 7/24/18

It has come to my attention that the evening schedules are completely messed up. Assuming the MTA doesn't put any backup buses in to fill the gap, there will be a large gap between SIM4/32 & SIM4C service, and SIM34 & SIM3C service in Lower Manhattan. Aside from the obvious ferry-local bus/SIR or (R) train to S53/79/93 alternatives, here are a few alternatives that are available for use.

SIM1C to Narrows Road & Fingerboard Road or Narrows Road & Hylan Blvd for the S93
SIM1C to Hylan Blvd & Clove Road for the S53
The last SIM33 is at 7pm from Union Square and 7:24pm from Vesey & West, which provides an alternative for some SIM4C/32 and SIM3C/34 riders.
Regular SIM1 service is available south of Worth Street, and SIM10 service is available north of 23rd Street, so when in doubt, use the subway or local bus to travel to one of those stops (There's also a gap between SIM1 & SIM7 service during the transition periods between peak and off-peak service).
SIM8 service from Midtown is available until 9pm as an alternative to the SIM4C (and also serves some Arden Heights riders on the X17)
If the SIM4C is too crowded in Lower Manhattan, some riders can take the SIM2 to the West Shore Expressway & Victory Blvd and take the S62 back east towards Bulls Head & Willowbrook

EDIT: 8/17/18
It just occurred to me that the NYC ferry service operates along the East Side of Manhattan. So if you work in the vicinity of 34th Street & 1st Avenue, you can take the ferry to Wall Street for $2.75 (there's the Astoria line and East River line) and then take the SIM5/15/35 (or for that matter, walk over to the regular Staten Island Ferry). Seastreak is $5 for the same trip. Those ferries don't offer free transfers to/from the express buses, subway, or local buses, so I personally wouldn't take them, but at the same time, they're an option nonetheless. Maybe if you want the experience of riding a fast ferry (unlike the big, slow, Staten Island Ferry) you can try it. The service generally runs every 20-30 minutes during rush hour.

Update on Staten Island Express Bus Restructuring Plan

So here are the revised changes to the express system. They distinguished between peak and off-peak service, and also assigned some (rather clunky) route numbers: http://nymta.civicconnect.com/content/together-let’s-make-commuting-faster-staten-island-express-bus-riders

The main distinction is that they added some "trunk lines" in Manhattan. In addition to  "Downtown", "Midtown via NJ", and "Midtown via FDR", there's also "Midtown/6th Avenue via FDR", "Downtown/Water Street", and "Union Square via West Street". This is how they assigned the routes:

A few general notes:
* On the Downtown via Church/Worth routes, the buses are shown to end at the northern edge of City Hall, which is presumed to be Worth Street (you can sort of make out the red 2/3 subway lines at Park Place a few blocks south).
* All "via NJ buses" travel via 42nd Street and Madison Avenue inbound, and 5th Avenue & 34th Street outbound (to SI)
* No SI express buses run crosstown on 57th Street to East/West Midtown, so keep that in mind when I refer to routes as "resembling (**insert current route**)

SIM1: A short-turned X1 that operates between the Eltingville Transit Center (ETC) and City Hall during rush hour, and is extended to 57th Street & 6th Avenue off-peak.

SIM2: A restructured X19 that operates between City Hall and Tottenville (Hylan & Craig) via Arden Heights (it attempts to cover both the Arden Avenue and Huguenot Avenue corridors in one shot). This route will receive off-peak service to compensate for the X17 being cut back to Annadale,

SIM3: A restructured X42 that operates to Port Richmond instead of Mariners Harbor. During off-peak hours, it travels via Church Street/6th Avenue/Broadway as opposed to the FDR Drive.

SIM4: The X17A. Some buses will be labeled SIM4X and will operate nonstop between the SI Mall and Downtown Manhattan. Off-peak, buses will operate via Gannon Avenue to compensate for the SIM31/32/33 not operating off-peak. Unfortunately this means that riders along Richmond Avenue will have to deal with a longer ride. (Buses will not operate via Narrows Road, so riders from Concord will have to make their way to Hylan & Narrows for the SIM1)

SIM5: The X8 (but PM trips start at Frankfort Street instead of Trinity & Rector). Some buses will operate as SIM5X buses nonstop between Manhattan and the South Beach Park-and-Ride.

SIM6: A combination of the X5 and X7, which operates via the X7 route on Staten Island, and the X5 route in Manhattan (except it returns to Staten Island via 5th Avenue instead of Lexington Avenue). Unfortunately, there will be no off-peak service on this line, even though the X5 and X7 are quite busy on their own, let alone combined. Similar to the SIM5, some buses will operate as SIM6X buses nonstop between Manhattan and the South Beach Park-and-Ride.

SIM7: A restructured X7 that operates the old X6 route on Staten Island (via Richmond Avenue instead of via Great Kills), and terminates at Union Square (or 14th Street & 6th Avenue, they didn't specify which one on the map)

SIM8: Operates the current X17A route on Staten Island, and the X17J route in Manhattan (with the eastbound and westbound directions reversed). Similar to the SIM4, some buses will be labeled SIM8X and will operate nonstop between the SI Mall and Midtown Manhattan

SIM10: A combination of the current X5 and X9. It starts from the ETC, runs down Richmond Avenue and Hylan Blvd, and then takes the FDR Drive to 6th Avenue instead of Madison Avenue. Like the SIM6, it returns to Staten Island via 5th Avenue.

SIM15: The X15, but restructured to operate down Water Street in both directions.

SIM22: A restructured X21 that operates to 57th & Madison as opposed to the United Nations (42nd & 1st), that is extended to Hylan Blvd & Woods of Arden Road in Southeast Annadale.

SIM23: A restructured X24 that operates straight down Arden Avenue and terminates at Hylan & Barclay.

SIM24: A combination of the Huguenot portions of the X17J, X23, and X24.

SIM25: A combination of the Rossville Avenue and Hylan Blvd portions of the X22, and the Seguine Avenue/Foster Road portion of the X23. Provides brand-new express service to Hylan Blvd in Richmond Valley.

SIM26: A restructured X22A that operates straight down Bloomingdale Road, bypasses Arthur Kill Road, and stops in Travis.

SIM30: The X30, but restructured on the Manhattan end to travel via 34th Street westbound.

SIM31: The X31, but restructured to make additional stops along Gannon Avenue/Schmidts Lane to provide Midtown service to that section of Castleton Corners, likely because the entrance/exit to the HOV Lane is at Slosson, not Bradley. On the Manhattan end, operates to Midtown via the FDR Drive, 23rd Street, and 5th/Madison Avenue.

SIM32: The X11.

SIM33: The X10B, but restructured to operate to Mariners Harbor instead of Port Richmond. On the Manhattan end, it is truncated at 14th Street with the SIM7. Also takes a shortcut to bypass Richmond & Victory (and the associated traffic) down Christopher Lane inbound and Morani Street outbound.

SIM34: The X12, truncated to City Hall.

SIM35: The X14, truncated to Water Street & Frankfort Street. For Midtown service, use the SIM30 or make your way to the SIM3.

I would've personally preferred the SIM15/35 (X14/15) run via Church/Broadway instead of Water Street, since they offer more subway connections. Battery Place does offer both East and West Side subway access (the 4/5 at Bowling Green, and the 1/R/W at either Rector Street or South Ferry, depending on which direction you walk), but it misses the A/C and 2/3, which are express. Personally, for my commute to CCNY I usually prefer to ride it out to Park Place to catch those lines, though of course, if traffic is bad I'll get off at Battery Place and either take the 4/5 to the A/C or just take the 1 train and switch back and forth to/from the 2/3 at Chambers Street & 96th Street).

Also, the SIM6 and SIM10 both running down 5th Avenue is pointless. You might as well just have the SIM10 run down Lexington, so that it can be the "East Side" FDR route (Madison/Lexington), and the SIM6 can be the "West Side" FDR route (5th/6th).

Off-peak, I would've preferred they sacrifice some Manhattan coverage in exchange for more Staten Island coverage (since there's fewer alternatives on Staten Island than Manhattan). I would personally run the SIM1, SIM2, SIM4, SIM10, SIM32, and SIM34 off-peak. On the weekends (Sundays especially), buses can be delayed, and end up bunching on 20-30 minute headways, resulting of waits of 1 hour or more. By keeping the buses isolated to Downtown, it avoids the issue of Midtown parades causing delays for Downtown riders.

Also, the span and frequency of the routes aren't given (aside from the SIM1 which will continue to operate 24/7). Hopefully they are more frequent and the span is longer than the routes on the current system.

Anchorage Bus Restructuring (And Why Staten Islanders Should Care)

So a restructuring of the Anchorage bus system went into effect on October 23rd, 2017.

Why Should Staten Islanders Care?

Basically, they consolidated the routes with the idea of providing 15 minute headways on their busiest routes (similar to other cities such as Houston that had a major restructuring of their bus system). In my opinion, they went too far in cutting service to the lower-ridership areas.

In a report they released, they seemed to be torn between 2 options, an 80% plan and a 100% plan (referring to the percentage of resources put into higher ridership routes). The majority of people seemed to be in favor of the 80% plan, but it looks like they bumped the percentage up to 90% despite public opinion (I saw a map that said something like "90%" in he URL). The options start on page 65.

The general trend nationwide lately has been for agencies to redesign their networks to offer more frequent service on the busiest routes. They've done it in Cincinnati, Houston, and Omaha just to name a few cities. In some cases, they've gotten additional funding (I have to double-check, but I believe Cincinnati & Omaha gave their agencies more money to run an expanded system. I know Houston didn't, and Anchorage didn't). I haven't analyzed Houston's system (it's a lot larger than Anchorage's system), but from what I understand, they redirected a lot of their bus routes to feed into their light rail system, so they were able to put more resources into the frequent routes without reducing coverage). For those of you who don't know, the MTA tries to be cost-neutral in its service proposals, and from what the project manager said, this is no exception.

The express system restructuring proposed on Staten Island does follow the general trend of consolidating the routes into a frequent network. They didn't really reduce the coverage of the system, because on the Staten Island end, pretty much all the areas that had express service before still have it, and on the Manhattan end, there are technically still local buses and subway routes that cover the areas that had express bus service taken away from them, even in cases like the West Street corridor where the routes are significantly longer, which will hopefully be remedied thanks to public outcry). However, this does get me thinking about what this means for the local network. After all this fighting I have done to make sure isolated areas like Grymes Hill & Cottage Hill get their weekend service back, I don't want to see it brushed away under the guise of consolidation into a frequent network.

The thing is that Staten Island routes are still busier than routes in most of these cities. The busiest route in Anchorage (the old #45) carried around 2,600 riders a day. All of the full-time routes out of St. George carry more than that. So all of the areas that would be considered "coverage" areas on Staten Island would be considered high-ridership areas in other cities. Additionally, Staten Island isn't a city of its own, but rather a borough of another city, and on top of that, we still have the crutch of infrequent (and slow, but that's another topic) ferry service. So the most frequent network in the world won't help riders using the ferry to get to and from Manhattan. Additionally, a lot of service is consolidated onto major streets already, due to the topography and development patterns on the island.

Long story short, one of the major issues on Staten Island is the lack of coverage in areas throughout the island, and I hope they aren't blindly following the lead of other, smaller cities throughout the country. Hopefully this is just a rant about nothing and the local study gives us a comprehensive and usable system that we deserve.

Now, for those of you who are interested, here's my analysis of the Anchorage plan.....

What Specifically Is Wrong With the Anchorage Plan?

I'm going to start by saying that one of the things I don't like about the plan is that the people who designed it violated some of their own principles in the design of this network. The general idea of the plan was to consolidate the resources towards the busiest routes, to provide "Less Waiting" and "More Hours". Alright, that's a logical principle to follow. So then how come on Saturdays, they essentially cut the last round-trip of the #10 (old #3), #20 (old #45), #40 (old #7), and last outbound trip of the #30 (old #15)? I understand that they added some service in the morning, but I would've much rather they add less morning service in exchange for keeping the system end time the same. (They could've had the buses run every 60 minutes from 8-9AM or 8-10AM like they had before, and used the extra hours to keep the last trips the same, or even add a trip an hour beyond the original span)

In terms of the corridors/neighborhoods that should've had some type of service retained, these are the major ones
* Old Seward Highway
* 36th Avenue
* Turnagain
* South Anchorage (more than just rush hour service)
* Eagle River

In terms of routes, I'm going to start by saying that the worst decision was to eliminate the #60 bus north of Old Seward Highway. That route is a mile away from the #35 on Artic and a mile from the #55 on Lake Otis Parkway....assuming there's a direct road between them and you don't have to first detour to that road (e.g. Dowling Road). According to page 38 of the report, ridership the #9 & #60 between the Dimond Center & Downtown was very similar (as a matter of fact, the #9 had 30 minute service added in July 2008 (page 25), so had it been the #60 that saw the increased service, it would likely seen the increased ridership, and it might be the #9 that was cut.

Since the whole selling point of the new system is better frequency, the new system really limits your options between Downtown & Dimond Center (two major hubs), by leaving only one direct route (the #9). Granted, the #2 & #7 (especially the 7A through the airport) had much longer travel times, but they were options nonetheless. The #60 was only a couple of minutes slower than the #9 (which means that with a slightly slower driver, or some slight delay such as a wheelchair passenger, it's pretty much a wash between the two routes).

On the #92, the reason why they run 2 minibuses per trip as opposed to one is because people were worried about being left behind. Instead of spreading them out every half hour (which would boost ridership), they did the bare minimum and essentially cut one trip in each direction from the old schedule (the 4:40PM and 6:22AM trips).  Also, they sneakily cut the Eagle River Connect service, which means midday passengers to/from Eagle River are essentially stranded.

There's one final issue with this plan is that, according to pages 3-4 of the Ride Guide (7-8 of the PDF), there's no free transfers between routes. You can purchase a day pass for round-trip travel, but that discourages single trips (e.g. If somebody got a lift from somebody to work, but needs to use the bus system to get back home, that $4 fare will be a turn-off for that one-time trip, and will be encouragement for them to use some alternative route). Though I will say, I do like the fact that they offer an annual pass on the routes.

The Good Aspects of the Plan

The system is aimed towards concentrating service in the denser portions of the municipality. The busiest route in the old system (the #45) had issues with overcrowding and leaving people behind... which is especially unacceptable on one hour headways . With four full-sized buses an hour for most of the day on the #20, and two minibuses per hour on the #21 supplementing it, there's definitely more capacity available for bus riders. (On top of that, the #21 & #31 provide a quick link from the Northway Mall & Penland Park towards Downtown, as opposed to the old system where the #8, #15, and #45 all meandered their way towards Downtown). It looks like they made some type of attempt to coordinate the two routes to provide approximate 15 minute headways to/from Downtown (though it gets a little messed up due to the #21 having uneven headways, likely due to interlining it with another route). Between UAA/Providence Hospital and Downtown, riders have frequent, direct service on both the #10 & #20, as opposed to having some of that frequency going towards meandering routes like the #13 & #36 under the old system.

The areas with the highest percentage of autoless households (the "bread and butter" riders of the transit system), include Downtown, Mountain View, Fairview, Penland Park, Government Hill, Muldoon, and to a lesser extent, Midtown and Spenard. There's development plans for the Northern Lights & Spenard Road corridors, which would be supported by frequent transit. Those areas generally see better service under the new plan compared to the old system (with the major exception being in the Taku-Campbell neighborhood, which lost the #60). You could argue that consolidating the service from 36th Avenue in Midtown onto Tudor Road & Northern Lights also represented a service cut for a decent amount of riders.

Additionally, routes are generally straighter compared to the way they used to run, as they don't meander down neighborhood streets as much (this can especially be seen on the old #45 vs. the #20 in the Russian Jack Park area, and the overall routing of the old #8 vs. the #31).

How I Would Improve The Plan

So at the very least, north of the Dimond Center, I would keep the hourly service on the #60 (or some equivalent route covering the northern part of Old Seward, since they renumbered the #9 to #35 to fit the scheme of having the standard routes end with "5"). Perhaps some savings can be realized through interlining it with the #35 at both terminals).

I would also keep at least hourly service on 36th Avenue, by way of extending the #55 to Downtown Anchorage via the following routing: Turn east on Tudor Road, serve the Alaska Native Medical Center & Providence Hospital/UAA, then continue on 36th Avenue to Spenard Road, and follow the #40 route to Downtown.

For service to Turnagain Heights, I would extend the #65 straight up Wisconsin Street to Northern Lights Blvd, and then take the #40 route to Downtown. Also, I would have the #65 take the old 7J detour up Raspberry Road, as it serves more people than staying on Sand Lake Road, without adding much travel time (it also helps some of the people who live closer to Northwood Street).

On the #92, I don't mind truncating the route to Downtown (as the #10 & #20 provide frequent service to the UAA/Providence Hospital, and the #20 & #25 provide frequent service to the ANMC). I do like the fact that there's one reverse-peak trip out to Eagle River in the morning, and returning from Eagle River in the evening (though to be fair, I remember seeing an old schedule of the #102 that said that passengers were permitted to stay on after the last stop to return to the Muldoon Transit Center). At the very least, I would at least keep that feature, and allow passengers to stay on until the Muldoon Transit Center as the bus deadheads back to the garage.

For South Anchorage, I would at the very least have the #91 run more than just 2 trips each way (though I will be fair, and say that those trips do seem perfectly placed. You have one that can get you into Downtown around 8am, and one around 9am, with return trips leaving around 5pm and 6pm. Not sure why the bus only run every 60 minutes, as opposed to every 30 minutes, as there is a 33 minute layover at the Dimond Center, while a round-trip only takes 27 minutes. Or they could have it run up to Tudor Road to at least cover the isolated part of Old Seward and give passengers a connection to the #25 and the destinations on that route in both directions). Come to think about it, while it would be a bit awkward, a shuttle from Old Seward & Tudor to Old Seward & Oceanview would be a bit awkward-looking (with Dimond Center in the middle of the route), but it would still provide the necessary coverage, and be enough to replace the coverage lost by the old #60. Such a route should run 7 days a week, similar to the other shuttle routes (#11, #21, and #31)

I understand People Mover has a budget to balance, and if the plan must be cost-neutral, then there should be service reduced somewhere else. The Debarr Road & Spenard Road corridors weren't in the original frequent network plan. Spenard Road has a transit-oriented development plan that's being pushed, so I think that (along with the fact that the route serves the airport) is a main reason why it's on the frequent network. In order to obtain the funds necessary to keep Old Seward Highway, 36th Avenue, and Turnagain Heights covered, I would look into reducing the frequencies on the #10, #30 & #40 routes (the old #45, which became the #20 had twice the ridership of the old #3, so I would leave it as-is). With the #55 & #65 routed onto Spenard Road, crowding heading into Downtown shouldn't be an issue if the #40 were reduced to every 30 minutes (especially since the #65 serves Spenard proper as well), especially if the trips are coordinated with the #40 so that the northern portion of Spenard Road sees 15 minute headways. The #10 and #30 I would reduce to every 20 minutes (the #10 is busier, but the #30 is a quick route from end to end). Keep in mind that under the old system, all of those routes ran every 30 minutes. The #55 extension would require 1 extra bus for hourly service (and that may be cutting it a bit close during rush hour) and the #65 extension would require 1 extra bus (but there would be plenty of slack in the schedule in terms of layover). In other words, if you interline the #55 & #65, you would be able to cover both the 36th Avenue corridor and Turnagain Heights with 2 extra buses. It looks like the #40 requires 4 buses for 15 minute headways (though it looks like they interlined it with another route to give themselves some more cushioning on the layover times), so between that, and possibly a slight reduction at certain times to either the #10 or #30, that should be enough to cover those 2 areas. Keep in mind, I wouldn't touch the late-evening service to the airport on the #40. 

....And With More Money....

I remember reading an old study that suggested extending some #45G short-turns to Tikahtnu Commons (or at least the VA Hospital). Since the #21 is basically the same thing as the old 45G (except it runs minibuses), perhaps it can run via Bragaw-Parsons-Lane-Mountain View Drive, then get on Glenn Highway at Boniface Parkway, and get off at Muldoon Road. This would provide a quick way to get there from Downtown (right now, the #25 takes the long way around. You can transfer to the #30 or #31, but the transfer takes time to make. Also, it's very circuitous to reach Mountain View itself (you have to either take the #20 down to the #25, or do a lot of walking to/from the #31). The only issue is, budget-wise, you might need more than just minibuses to handle the passenger loads. The runtime would be about 25 minutes, which would allow for a 5 minute layover and 30 minute headways if 2 buses were used.

One idea I had was to run this route out to Eagle River (with a full-sized bus) to replace the #92 (ideally, with 7 day service). Service within the Anchorage Bowl (meaning, west of the VA Hospital) would run every 30 minutes all day, every day, and service to Eagle River would be every 30 minutes during rush hour, and every 60 minutes other times. That way, it provides Eagle River riders with a full-time connection to the #25 to get to East Anchorage, as well as a one-seat ride to Downtown Anchorage. (Keep in mind that "all-day, every day" refers to the general span of the system. The Anchorage system starts shutting down around 11pm on weekdays, and 6-7pm on the weekends. I would run it longer on the weekends, but not 24/7 yet.

Another idea I had was to split up the #10 route. I would have alternate buses run straight down Northern Lights Blvd without serving Providence Hospital/UAA, and alternate buses terminating there, from both directions. In addition, I would have the #55 run every 30 minutes via the route I described above, and coordinate it with the #10 to provide 15 minute crosstown headways towards Midtown & Downtown. (On top of that, there's still the #20 if your destination is Downtown, and the #20 is actually a bit quicker than the #10). For those in a hurry heading towards the Muldoon Transit Center, they can take the #20 to Northern Lights & Bragaw and catch any eastbound bus (one originating from Downtown, or one originating from Providence Hospital), and the same thing heading westbound in reverse. Granted, the #30 already provides the most direct route from Downtown to Northeast Anchorage and the Muldoon Transit Center, but this would provide a quicker option for those further south (also, the #30 doesn't serve Midtown like the #10 does). Not sure how the routes should be numbered, since they would be a combination of 30 minute headway routes (that should end with "5") that combine to offer 15 minute headways along their common trunk (which means the number should end in "0".

Additionally, I would also coordinate the #35 and #60 (or whatever that route is renamed to) to provide approximate 15 minute headways between the Dimond Center and Downtown. From the Dimond Center, I would have a circulator that covers both the old #60 route along John Road, and the old #2 route along Independence Drive). Service could depart the Dimond Center every 45 minutes, perhaps alternating between running clockwise & counterclockwise)

Additionally, since the #11 serves the dense Government Hill & Fairview areas, I would bump up the frequency to every 30 minutes. Fairview has the frequent #30 bus within walking distance of most able-bodied riders (either that, or at least the #31 for those in the northern portion of the neighborhood), but the #11 provides the only form of transit for Government Hill residents. Also, if the #11 were rerouted to run straight across 9th Avenue, it would result in a 15 minute combined headway for those living in the northern portion of the neighborhood looking to head Downtown (whether as a destination in and of itself, or to connect to another route). 9th Avenue is a 0.4 mile walk from 15th Avenue, and so somebody halfway down the middle would only have a 0.2 mile walk to get to a frequent route (and since the #15 runs down Cordova, people in the western section would have the option of catching the bus there). And frequency is especially good at attracting ridership if the trip is short (if somebody has to wait 30 minutes for a bus, to make a 1 mile trip that can be made in 20 minutes by walking, they'll likely just walk. If the bus runs every 15 minutes, they'll at least think twice). 

One final thing for People Mover to consider is that, since their depot is located around Tudor & Elmore (a few blocks south of the #20 terminal at the ANMC), I think there should be a few more trips that do a short-turn trip to/from their first/last stop (so some #10 buses that only run between Providence & Elmore and either the Muldoon Transit Center or Downtown, some #25 buses that run between the ANMC and either the Muldoon Transit Center or Downtown, and try to have more of the #20 trips run on and run off from the ANMC end). Additionally, some #15 buses can start/end at Alaska Regional Hospital, and deadhead via Lake Otis Parkway. The old schedule actually had a few #75 trips that did that (one of them only went to the Muldoon Transit Center, I guess to do a trip on another route). I'm for minimizing deadhead mileage wherever possible (whether it's in Anchorage, Staten Island or somewhere else in the world)