Questions for Mariners Harbor Civic Association Meeting

·         What is the status on getting us the universal 3-legged transfers that were originally promised at the June 2018 Community Board 2 meeting? (And also getting that information published somewhere. Three months after the changes, and we’re still passing around screenshots of somebody’s email because the transfer information isn’t posted on the MTA website). Also, can we get a full list of the official transfer points between express buses (on both the Staten Island and Manhattan side. Also, have BM1/2/3/4 operators been informed that they need to accept transferring riders? Apparently, the BM1/2/3/4 are considered Queens Division even though the routes serve Brooklyn out of a depot physically located in Brooklyn and some operators have not been informed)?

·         We never received a full report of all of the statistics that were used to justify any of the decisions made throughout the planning process (both before the August 2018 implementation and afterwards). When will such a report be available? Northeast Queens and Co-Op City received reports of over 100 pages for relatively minor changes that affected only portions of boroughs, and in the meantime, we only received a little 25 page PowerPoint. I understand that the planners wanted to keep the report simple to get the basic concepts across, but the more detailed data should be available for those who are interested. We can’t have a full discussion without statistics.

·         The entire structure of the off-peak service needs to be reevaluated. I actually like the concept of limiting the length of the express bus routes on Manhattan surface streets even during off-peak hours, and I believe that the discussion of Staten Island coverage vs. Manhattan coverage needs to be had. There are more alternatives on the Manhattan side than the Staten Island side, and so I think it makes more sense to provide express bus service to the entire swaths of neighborhoods where the only off-peak alternative is a Staten Island local bus that runs every 20-30 minutes, as opposed to duplicating Manhattan subway and local bus lines that run every 5-10 minutes. Some of the planners expressed concerns that this may be hard politically, but you know what, this is politics right here, and you can’t assume everybody has the same concerns. Back in the June 2017 Community Board 1 meeting when this plan was first presented, the primary concern wasn’t that the X12/SIM34 was cut back to Downtown, it was that we weren’t getting enough in exchange for it. We wanted later service, more frequent service, and an overnight express bus route for the North Shore, and we were told “If you didn’t have it before, you probably won’t get it now”, so on the surface, it looks like an excuse to cut service. Andy Byford said that you guys learned a lot of lessons from this restructuring, and using those lessons, we need to have that discussion about the off-peak service structure, if not now then at least when the local bus study gets completed.

·         One of the issues that has always been the case (especially on Downtown buses for some reason in my experience) is that when two buses pull into the stop at the same time, the driver in the back is afraid to open the doors because the passengers will yell at them for messing up the line. That causes delays for all of the passengers. Has there been any progress on getting platform conductors/dispatchers at busy stops to direct people to board the back bus properly and leave the driver alone?

·         What is being done about excess runtime on schedules systemwide? BusTime doesn’t tell you if a bus is on-time because the schedule is actually accurate for the conditions at the time, or if the driver had to “drag the line” and operate slowly and wait at stops in order to avoid running early. With all of this emphasis on speed, it makes sense to avoid excess runtime. I had mentioned this issue on the evening SIM8, and the October schedules were the same as the August schedule in that regard.

·         Can we get real-time information on how well the HOV lane is moving? Right now, Google Maps shows the general traffic, but not the HOV lane traffic? (So the regular lanes might be congested, but the HOV lane may or may not be congested, and people need this information in order to make their travel decisions).

·         On days when the travel via Brooklyn is congested, can the SIM2 & SIM4 be rerouted via the Bayonne Bridge & Holland Tunnel (along with other routes if warranted)? Right now, there’s plenty of days when traffic is backed up so badly that you can see it from the Richmond Avenue overpass, and you’ll see a whole crowd of people let SIM4 buses go by even if they work Downtown because they know on those days, the HOV lane gets backed up and it is quicker to take the SIM8 to Midtown and backtrack (which causes overcrowding on that route). If people knew the bus would take an alternate route to avoid the traffic, they would be more likely to stay on the SIM4 (which was one of the issues the planners brought up with the redesign, people switching off between routes and making it difficult to schedule proper service levels).

·         Has any progress been made with NYCDOT restriping Deppe Place approaching Richmond Avenue to create an additional lane and ease the congestion that affects SIM3/34 riders? (Especially those who need to make local bus connections at the stop around the corner at Richmond & Armand?)

·         Can the SIM4X/8X be extended to the South Shore (and the SIM4/8 cut back to the SI Mall when the SIM4X/8X operate)? This would allow for more balanced loading between the routes (of course, assuming adequate service levels were provided on all variants). Right now, one of the major complaints is that service on the regular SIM4/8 was reduced, and those buses are overcrowded while the SIM4X/8X have spare capacity. This would especially be useful on the SIM8X where the SIM23/24 have been shifted to 34th Street, this would allow Arden Heights to maintain a relatively quick connection to the 42nd Street corridor (which has the less congested approach out of the Lincoln Tunnel).

·         Can the SIM4/4X be extended to Arden Avenue & Drumgoole Road to provide Downtown coverage for riders who used to take the X19 from that area? (Ideally even further into the South Shore, such as the SIM23 terminal or the Huguenot SIR station). This can be considered in conjunction with the restructuring mentioned above (which is why I said “South Shore”)

·         Can the outbound SIM22/23 be routed to bypass “Checkpoint” in the afternoon and use the Arden Avenue exit of the West Shore Expressway? (With proper schedule adjustments to the SIM24/25 of course) This idea seems to have worked fairly well on the SIM26 (except for the first few and last few trips in both directions, which will hopefully be remedied when the SIM25 receives a span extension)

·         The inbound SIM8 stop at Woodrow & Shotwell does not have a corresponding outbound stop. Can this be addressed?

·         Can a stop be added at Woodrow & Arthur Kill for the SIM8, since it has a longer span than the SIM22? (It also covers more of the Aspen Knolls development)

·         Can the SIM2/24 stop at Hylan & Luten be moved from its current desolate location to the centralized location originally proposed at Hylan & Huguenot.

·         Can the Hylan & Lincoln drop-off stop on the SIM1/7/10 be moved to Hylan & Midland, for easier transfers to the S51 towards Midland Beach (the SIM5/6/9 can remain at Hylan & Lincoln since those routes already serve Midland Beach).

·         Can the SIM23 be extended slightly to Pollion Avenue (or even Arburtus Avenue or Huguenot Avenue) to provide better service in Southeast Annadale (at little to no cost)

·         Can the Church Street & Park Place stop be restored for easy subway connections? I've mentioned numerous times that if somebody is on the fence about taking the subway, having them run up and down through numerous passageways instead of entering through a simple entrance isn't going to make them a huge fan of making that transfer.

·         Has there been any progress made on better communications between the Port Authority and MTA regarding the closure of the Dyer Avenue bus lane?

·         Is it possible to at least run some reverse-peak trips on the SIM2 since they're deadheading from the Charleston Depot to Manhattan anyway? Reverse-peak service in general (on the old X1/10/17 and the new SIM1C/3C/4C) is inadequate, especially considering how poor the other alternatives are. Even if those trips were short-turns to Downtown, it would help greatly.

·         Off-peak buses use Battery Place even when the Rector Street exit is open (which wasn’t the case under the old system). The timepoint should be moved back to Rector Street so they can save time and bypass Battery Place. Additionally, what is being done about the closing of that exit during rush hour? It was my understanding that the only issue was that buses couldn’t safely make it over to the right lane in time to use the exit, but apparently, that’s not the issue and the NYPD is closing the lanes of their own accord (even though that Rector Street exit is MTA/TBTA property)

·         Will the SIM25 be coordinated with the SIM26 when the span is extended? Right now, many trips depart 57th & Lexington at the same time, even though both routes serve the same general areas. In the evening, the SIM26 runs every 25-30 minutes, so the SIM25 buses should be coordinated to fill those gaps (e.g. SIM26 at 7:20pm, 7:45pm, and 8:15pm, and a SIM25 at 7:30pm, 8:00pm, and 8:30pm). 

·         The same question applies to the SIM3C & SIM33C. Will there be any attempt at coordination between these off-peak routes so they don't arrive together?

·         Will the SIM33C take West Street or Church Street/Broadway in Lower Manhattan (Church Street/Broadway would be better, more centrally located, more convenient for subway transfers and more similar to the old off-peak X10)?

·         What will be the turnaround route for the off-peak SIM33? Will it take Holland Avenue like the S48/98, but continue to end at South Avenue & Richmond Terrace? If it's going down Holland Avenue anyway, can a stop be considered near the Arlington Terrace Apartments? (Late at night, apparently the Request-A-Stop policy doesn't officially apply to express buses. Can we at least get that policy to apply on the drop-off portions of express buses systemwide?)

·         The extension of the SIM1 & SIM34 to Houston Street has brought concerns about reliability (especially from SIM34 riders), since you have the crosstown traffic (between the Manhattan/Williamsburg Bridges and the Holland Tunnel). How will this be addressed?

·         With the creation of the SIM11 covering the (northern) Hylan Blvd-East 23^rd Street market, can the SIM10 and SIM31 be routed up West Street & 10^th/11^th Avenue to either 23^rd Street or 34^th Street (if it’s 34^th Street, the SIM7/9/33 would have to be extended to 23^rd Street). The SIM31 lost its West Midtown subway connections and also the flexibility to route buses through New Jersey when there’s issues in Brooklyn (which is often).

·         What is the status of splitting the SIM1/10 to operate “New Dorp via Hylan” and “Eltingville via Father Capodanno Blvd”?