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)

Express Bus Changes Coming to Staten Island

So there's been a lot of confusion regarding what the MTA plans for their express bus changes on Staten Island. It doesn't help that they haven't posted their updates on the Civic Connect website. In any case, here's the updated list of changes as per the most recent PDF released (which for some reason, they haven't posted on the website)

NOTES: 
All Downtown buses will run to Worth Street via Church Street/Broadway
All Midtown via FDR buses will run via 23rd Street & 5th/Madison Avenue to 57th Street
All Midtown via NJ buses will run via 34th Street & 5th/Madison Avenue to 57th Street

They are unsure about what they will do off-peak or reverse-peak. These changes only refer to rush hour, peak direction service. Also, they haven't actually assigned numbers to these routes, but I'm using the current numbers to give you an idea of the changes.

X1/X3 combined: ETC - Downtown via Hylan Blvd
X2 extended to Hylan & Richmond to provide southern Eltingville with Midtown via FDR service
X4/X8 combined: ETC - Downtown via Giffords Lane and Father Capodanno Blvd (no serving Armstrong & Leverett)
X5/7 combined: ETC - Midtown via Giffords Lane, Father Capodanno Blvd, and FDR Drive (similar to the X4/8 combo, the route will run straight up Giffords Lane). For service from Hylan & Richmond or Hylan & Armstrong to to Midtown via the FDR, take the extended X2. For Richmond Avenue passengers, make your way to/from the X21.
X9: Eliminated. Use X2, or X1/X3 combo
X10B: Eliminated. Use X11, X12, or X42
X11: Remains as-is.
X12: Cut to Downtown
X14: Cut to Downtown, and also bypasses all stops on Narrows Road. For Midtown service, use the X2, X30, or X42 depending on where you are. For Downtown service along Narrows Road, use the X15.
X15: Staten Island service remains as-is. Manhattan service runs to Worth Street via Church/Broadway instead of via the Downtown Loop.
X17A: Remains as-is.
X17J: Rerouted to Annadale Road with the X17A. For Arden Heights/Huguenot service, use the X23 or X24.
X19: Rerouted to run straight down Huguenot Avenue to Hylan Blvd, then straight down Hylan to Craig Avenue in Tottenville. So basically, Tottenville gains Downtown service, but Arden Avenue riders have to either walk to Huguenot Avenue or take the X24 to Huguenot Avenue and transfer to the X19.
X21: Remains the same on the Staten Island end, but should see a boost in service. In Manhattan, rerouted via 34th & 5th/Madison to 57th Street.
X22: Combined with the X23. Buses will run via Rossville Avenue, but then down Seguine/Foster (to cover the X23), then down Hylan to terminate at Craig Avenue.
X22A: That loop around Maguire to get onto the Richmond Parkway to reach the Outerbridge Park & Ride ate into a lot of the time savings, so buses will run straight down Bloomingdale Road, and then enter the West Shore Expressway at Bloomingdale Road, and then enter the West Shore Expressway. Buses will bypass Arthur Kill Road, but I'm not sure if they will stop in Travis. There would also be a lot more than 4 trips each way.
X23: Runs straight down Huguenot Avenue to Hylan Blvd. For Seguine Avenue/Foster Road service, use the X22. For Woodrow between Arden & Foster, walk to Foster, Huguenot, or Arden for Midtown service. For Woodrow east of Arden, walk to either the X17J, X21, or X24 on Annadale Road, Arthur Kill Road, or Arden Avenue respectively.
X24: Run straight down Arden Avenue to Hylan Blvd, then terminates at Hylan & Barclay.
X30: Cut back to Forest & Victory.
X31: Runs via NJ in both directions.
X42: Runs to Port Richmond instead of Mariners Harbor with the X12. If you're in Mariners Harbor, use the X30 for Midtown service (you might have to take the S40/48/98 if you're along South Avenue, especially in Arlington north of the train tracks). For those heading around 23rd Street, stay on the S48/98 until Richmond Avenue for the X42. There should be a lot more than 6 trips each way, though.

My thoughts:
They should definitely keep some service to West Street. They said they're definitely going to revisit that. All the West Street riders would have to walk to Church/Broadway (which adds time even if it's through an underground passageway. It's a passageway, not a teleportation device!). If they're going to be piling onto the Church/Broadway buses, you might as well run those buses to West Street if that's more convenient to where those riders need to go.

Not sure if there should be some service between Worth & 23rd. I'm leaning towards keeping some sort of service, but I can see their logic. The (1), (W), and (E) train all start in Lower Manhattan, so they have plenty of seats for riders coming off the express bus. The (R) generally isn't that crowded since a lot of riders get off in Brooklyn for the (D) and (N) trains to get to Midtown. For those who want to completely avoid the subway, the M55 runs up 6th Avenue, and down 5th Avenue/Broadway (the only thing is that it doesn't serve Union Square, since it takes 5th Avenue to 8th Street). Come to think about it, no local buses run north-south to Union Square. The M6/M7 used to back in the day, but long-story short between the 2010 service cuts, and making certain parts of Broadway narrower or pedestrian-only, north-south buses have been routed away from that part of Broadway.

The only thing is that you don't have the direct connection to the 6th Avenue subway line (the B/D/F/M). I'll get into my solution later on.

Water Street is losing the X8/14/15. From what I've seen on the X8, buses are fairly empty until around Wall Street. Can't really speak for X14/15 ridership in that area. Alternatives include the Downtown Connect shuttle bus (which apparently doesn't start until 10AM. Perhaps the MTA should put a little bit of funding in to have it run earlier), which starts at the South Street Seaport, as well as the M22 bus, which loops around City Hall and then goes across Frankfort Street (personally, when I needed to use this bus, I got off at Church & Vesey and walked up to Park Row & Beekman Street to catch it. But I was going to the Lower East Side. For places on Water Street, I would honestly just walk from Battery Place to South Ferry and catch the M15 from there. And yes, I know what you're thinking....if you have to walk to South Ferry, you might as well just take the ferry! There's also the BM "Downtown Loop" buses which I'll talk more about below.

For those of you who are worried about subway issues prolonging your commute, there is a website called SubwayTime that is similar to BusTime, but works for the subways. You just go to subwaytime.mta.info. You can see how far the next train is, and also if there's any delays (Delays are also posted under the "Service Status" section of the MTA.info website). So for example, I go to school at The City College of New York. I can either take the (1) to 137th Street or the (A) to 145th Street. I've done various options (get off at Bowling Green and take the 4/5 to Fulton for the A/C, get off at Bowling Green and walk up to the 1 and hop on the express between Chambers & 96th to save time, get off at Park Place where I have the option of the A/C or 2/3 and then continue my trip accordingly). So using SubwayTime, and the MTA website, I make my decision accordingly (i.e. If I see that the C train is coming, and the next A isn't for 15 minutes, I'll hop on until at least 59th Street for the D, if not all the way up to 145th Street).

Obviously, if there's a power outage in a major area like Downtown Brooklyn or Midtown Manhattan, then you have the issue of delays affecting a whole bunch of lines, but usually, there's at least one line that is running relatively normally. (I often see delays that affect the A/B/C/D/E/F/M but not the N/Q/R/W or vice versa, or just the 1/2/3, but usually not all at the same time, though there can be some spillover, as the more saavy riders switch over to the lines that are still running, and overcrowd those lines. In any case, as I mentioned, there's buses like the M55, or worse comes to worse, you get off and take a taxi/Uber. At least if you know of the delays, you know what options are available to you).

For those of you traveling outside of rush hour, I'll let you in on a little-known secret. Outside of rush hour, the BM1/2/3/4 run down 5th/Madison and 23rd, and then run down the FDR and serve Water Street in Lower Manhattan (similar to the present-day X14, but they end in East Midtown at 1st Avenue instead of West Midtown at 11th Avenue). So there was a period of time when I needed to travel home after a tutoring assignment around 23rd & 2nd. Since I finished around 7-8pm, I would take a BM bus (I think it was usually the BM3 that came first) from 23rd & 2nd over to Battery Place, and then walk over to the X17 and take that home. The key was that I would ask if they were stopping Downtown, or just running straight to Brooklyn (some of them bypass Downtown....during rush hour they're supposed to, but outside of rush hour, they're probably breaking the rules and doing what they want. If you want to take down the bus number and file a complaint, feel free). Anyway, the BM buses run infrequently and aren't too reliable, so I would use BusTime first to see if any bus is heading your way. You want to avoid the "Super Express" buses, since those run straight to Brooklyn. If it's not a "Super Express", it's supposed to stop Downtown, but like I said, some of those drivers go rogue and bypass it anyway.

Actually, during rush hour, if you want to go to the Downtown Loop along Water Street, you can actually transfer to a BM Downtown Loop bus at Battery Place. Something to consider...

How I Would Do Things Differently

So I would definitely at least keep the X10B and at least some combination of the X7/9 to cover the WFC. My logic is that the X10B is relatively easily accessible from most of the North Shore (if it doesn't stop in your immediate area, it's a quick drive or local bus ride to reach it). The X7/9 combo could be a route that runs the same as the X1 on Staten Island (so via Hylan & Richmond to the ETC, or maybe Giffords since that's where the X7 currently runs, though the old X6 used to run down Richmond). I would extend that route up Spring/6th northbound and Broadway/Houston westbound, but terminate it at 23rd Street. North of there, people have the Midtown buses (and if they want the 6th Avenue Line, they can get off at Waverly Place and take it).

Now, an interesting idea I heard from a bus operator is to run down 5th, but then take 23rd Street to the West Side Highway (an old pattern of the X10B had it do something similar, except it took 5th-23rd-7th-Houston-West). I have a 1993 map at home that shows that pattern. I forget what they did northbound. I think they took Spring to get from West to 6th, I have to double check). The advantage of that is that since it still bypasses most of Downtown, you can use that as the Midtown-Port Richmond route, and keep the X42 serving Mariners Harbor & Arlington. The disadvantage is that there would still be no service south of 23rd, so maybe if you add a stop at say, 7th & 14th, and another one at 7th & Houston it would work. The good thing is that you're on West Street north of Canal Street and the Holland Tunnel traffic (as opposed to 6th Avenue/Broadway).

In any case, I would also add another two Downtown routes from the South Shore. One which would be the Downtown version of the X24. Perhaps it could run to the World Financial Center, to give people on the South Shore service to another part of Downtown besides the Church/Broadway corridor. Or just run it up Church/Broadway, but there definitely needs to be some more Downtown service from the South Shore. I would also run a Downtown branch of the X22 (this would definitely run via Church/Broadway).

The thing is that geographically, Staten Island is physically closer to Downtown, so it makes no sense for a South Shore rider to take the subway uptown to catch their express bus (also, shorter distance = lower costs for the MTA to operate). Also, anecdotally, now that the HOV lane runs directly to the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel I've permanently switched my morning commute to the X17A to the subway, rather than the X17J to the subway. I do not trust that Lincoln Tunnel bus lane one bit. You have buses from the entire state of New Jersey all trying to get into one little lane, and then on the Manhattan end, buses and cars all have to merge onto Dyer Avenue for the 2 blocks to 34th (Port Authority buses have their own ramps to/from the tunnel). I would honestly have buses just take Dyer Avenue to 33rd Street, and then take that to 10th Avenue to reach 34th Street (or at least give bus operators the flexibility to do so. Right now it's considered going off-route, and if they get into an accident, they're screwed). I think the X30 route across 42nd might even be a little better for those "via NJ" buses.

In any case, for that reason, I would have the X31 continue its AM route to Manhattan via Brooklyn (it can even go via the FDR Drive if that's better than going up West Street).

Now off-peak, here's what I would do: I would run the following routes off-peak (as described above): The X1, X7, X11, X12, X17 (Downtown-only), and X22 Downtown branch, since that would be the main Downtown corridor during rush hour). I would have the X11 stop along Narrows Road off-peak so people around Targee Street/Richmond Road have some off-peak service. I would have the X22 Downtown branch run down South Avenue (so buses would get off the SIE at South Avenue, take South Avenue to the West Shore Expressway, and get off to serve Travis, then get back on and get off at Arthur Kill Road to serve the "Checkpoint", then take the service road to Bloomingdale Road. Off-peak and reverse-peak, you should be able to get some riders working at the business parks and hotels along South Avenue, which combined with riders in Travis, Arthur Kill Road and the South Shore should fill up the bus nicely.

Notice the X7 is the only route running to Midtown. As I mentioned before, Staten Island is physically closer to Downtown, so the service should be structured accordingly. The X5/7 have around 3500 riders as-is, so that's a busy route and can hold its own with Midtown riders.

The only Staten Island area that would lose off-peak service would be Port Richmond. Honestly, most riders in Port Richmond use the local buses, and the main reason the area sees as much express service as it does is because it's right by the Castleton Depot. Mariners Harbor being further out and having fewer options (the S44/94 doesn't go to Mariners Harbor for instance) should generate more ridership than Port Richmond.

If you noticed, in some of my other proposals, I had an S53 limited-stop branch (running via Narrows Road instead of Clove & McClean in Grasmere/South Beach). That would be able to be used as an alternate route for X14 riders looking to go to Midtown (to get to Hylan & Narrows to transfer to the X2). Or for that matter, save themselves $3.75 and stay on until Brooklyn and catch the (R) train to Manhattan. Also, I had a proposal to restructure the S55/56 on the South Shore (which would have the S55 run via Arthur Kill-Arden-Annadale and have the S56 run straight down Woodrow from Arthur Kill), so perhaps that should be implemented to allow X23 riders easier access to the other routes. In any case, the span should definitely be extended past 7PM!

Also, in the AM rush, I would have the X17A/X17J alternate between starting at Annadale Road and bypassing Marsh Avenue, and separate buses starting at Marsh Avenue & Windham Loop and continuing from there. Also, I would have the X31 start at Marsh & Windham regardless, as the X17J & X21 provide a quicker ride to Midtown from the Eltingville Transit Center. The Marsh Avenue bypass allows people from Annadale and the ETC to reach Manhattan a few minutes quicker. In the afternoon, all buses should run the combination route via Marsh Avenue and the ETC for simplicity's sake (this is similar to the BxM7 service pattern in Co-Op City where there's buses separate buses in the AM for all the sections, but just one route in the PM running throughout the neighborhood).

I hope you guys found this very helpful. Feel free to put questions and comment below (just remember, I don't work for the MTA, so I can't do anything about it directly).

How I Plan To Use The Internet To Help Me Excel In My Occupation

I have two things that I plan on doing after I finish college. One is getting my PE license and working as a civil engineer. The other one is starting a "dollar van" business that runs vans along major corridors where the regular bus service is lacking. I plan on using the Internet to help me achieve both goals.

With regards to being a civil engineer, I plan on using the Internet to generate business for whatever firm I would be working for. Assuming the company doesn't need me to help them create a website, I would be able to generate business for them by using social media sites to advertise for the company, and look out for potential clients. The Internet would help keep me in the know of which projects are going on in the area, that my company may be interested in getting involved in.

With regards to the dollar van business, since that would end up being my own company, I would use the Internet to create a company website that informs people about the types of services we offer (what corridors our vans run along, what our fares are, which routes run at which times, etc). Google Transit is a very useful tool, that allows any company that runs a public transit service to upload their routes and schedules. This would greatly increase awareness of the routes, because now they would show up as an option when people are making trips along certain corridors.

For instance, right now, there's no direct connection between the Castle Hill and "The Hub" neighborhoods in The Bronx. Riders have to take the Bx22 bus to Westchester Avenue and then take the Bx4. However, if I were to create a dollar van route running along Castle Hill Avenue and Westchester Avenue, that would provide a direct link between the two neighborhoods. And so if somebody were to go to Google Transit, they would see that my dollar van route is a faster and more convenient option than the regular local bus routes.

In addition, the MTA recently made an app called "BusTime", where you can track the location of the buses. This would be very helpful because I would be able to get an idea of the crowds waiting at certain stops, and dispatch my vans accordingly, so they pick up the maximum amount of passengers, and therefore make the maximum amount of money.

Finally, I would also use social media sites to help get the word out about my company. Aside from sites like Facebook and Twitter, there are online discussion forums dedicated to discussing transit, and quite frankly, some of the members know more than the people who work in the MTA. I would be able to get ideas of new markets to expand into by communicating with some of those members. I would also be able to recruit quality workers, as some fellow transit enthusiasts may be interested in a career in the field.

The Internet has created a new world with many opportunities that I hope to take advantage of in my career.