Comprehensive Plan to Reimagine Bus System & Deliver World-Class Bus Service to New Yorkers

[daveklepper]

I don't think increasing use of Uber or the number of taxis on the streets are good ways of improving and increasing the use of public transit.

Buses have a place in a good and flexible urban transit system, and I am happy the New York finds ways to improve their service.

I do think that light rail also has a place, even with comprehensive bus, subway, and commuter rail systems.  In addition to the Mayor's Brooklyn-Queens waterfront proposal, Broadway north of Columbus Circle in Manhattan and Surf Avenue. Coney Island, Brooklyn, are logical locations.

[divebardave]

I have almost never used the buses on Manhatte Island and there are subway stations within 2-3 blocks of most places. I would sugest Uber Shuttle buses that cover districts that take people from door to door. Also cost of Taxis is too much in city.  Lower the cost of Taxi medalians

[daveklepper]

NEW YORK (AP) — The nation’s largest public bus system rolled out its first all-electric articulated bus Sunday under a plan to convert New York City’s transit agency to a zero-emissions fleet by 2040.

The new vehicle was deployed on one of Manhattan’s busiest crosstown routes, the 14th Street busway. By March, the route will have 15 electric-articulated buses, which are 60-foot-long vehicles connected in the middle with a joint. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans to spend $1.1 billion to modify depots for electric operations and purchase about 500 electric buses for all five boroughs under its 2020-2024 Capital Plan.

The transit agency currently operates 10 electric standard buses that are leased under a three-year pilot program launched in 2018 to test the technology. The vehicles are quieter than conventional buses in addition to having no tailpipe emissions.

The buses’ batteries are estimated to operate for 50 to 90 miles, or half a day, on a three-hour charge.

[daveklepper]

  DECEMBER 17, 2019

32°

 

Toggle navigation

LOG IN

 

 

 

 

 

 

TRANSIT

MTA Deploys First All-Electric Bus Fleet to 14th Street Busway

BY LYDIA HU MANHATTAN
PUBLISHED 2:38 PM ET DEC. 15, 2019

 

A brand new electric bus made its first trip through 14th Street on Sunday morning. It’s one of 15 all-electric articulated buses added to the M14 route.

“Today is a milestone in our Fast Forward Plan,” said Andy Byford, the NYC Transit president and CEO.

It’s part of the agency’s move to modernize the bus fleet and its commitment to an all-electric fleet by 2040.

The agency says each bus costs $1.4 million and will save an estimated 8,000 gallons of fuel per year.

“It’s the right thing to do, and it’s our demonstration, our commitment to the environment and to New Yorkers across all five boroughs with state-of-the-art vehicles to cut our carbon footprint still further,” Byford said.

The all-electric articulated buses, which are buses connected in the middle with a joint, are added to 10 standard all-electric buses the MTA leases as part of a three-year pilot program launched in 2018 to test the all-electric technology.

Next, the agency plans to spend $1.4 billion from the 2020-2024 capital plan to purchase 500 electric buses. The goal is to purchase

 

Only electric buses by 2029.

“This shows that we are deadly serious about moving to an all-electric fleet,” said Byford.

“We are working closer to Con Ed, NY Power Authority, and others to learn about charging

strategies and providing charging infrastructure throughout the city,” said Craig Cirpriano, the

acting president of MTA Bus Company.

The 15 new buses travel up to 90 miles on a single charge and can plug in at Michael J. Quill Bus

Depot or at any of the previously installed charging stations in Maspeth, Queens, Williamsburg

Bridge Plaza in Brooklyn, or in Manhattan on East 41st or West 43rd Streets.

Since implementation of the 14th Street Truck and Transit Priority lanes limiting access to cars,

the MTA says bus travel is faster and being selected by more riders even during peak periods.

Frank Plumari, a frequent passenger on the M14 route, says he’s noticed the improved bus service

and will now look forward to improved air quality, too.

“It’s better for a lot of people’s health, too,” Plumari. “Because you’re smelling the smoke from

the gas, and it’s much better for people’s quality of living in the environment especially in New

York City.”

[daveklepper]

Posting deleted

[CandOforprogress2]

Meanwhile a trip from Hamburg NY to the Hospital took 3 hours with 2 of those hours spent in breakdown waiting for repair on a 2005 bus.

 

[daveklepper]

In the previous but still not posted posting, my connection was grabbed and Gov. Cuomo's message was substituted for the NYCTA's message.  Here is my original posting (except photos and captions) with an attempt to fit it into the frame of the Forum.   I hope it works.

TA NYC Transit Unveils Comprehensive Plan to Reimagine Bus System & Deliver World-Class Bus Service to New Yorkers

NYC Transit Bus Plan Includes Complete Review & Overhaul of Bus Route Network,  All-Door Boarding, Double-Decker and Electric Bus Trials, Real-Time Seat Availability Info, Technology to Reduce Bus Bunching, and Simpler, Interactive Route Maps  Plan Reflects Input from Customers, Transit Advocates, and Industry Experts  Bus Plan to be Discussed at Next #AskNYCT Twitter Chat, Thursday April 26 @NYCTBus  See Images of Buses on Flickr Here  MTA New York City Transit unveiled a comprehensive plan today to reimagine New York’s entire public bus system and deliver world-class service with immediate and long-term improvements. The NYC Transit Bus Plan is the result of an expansive review of the system commissioned by NYC Transit President Andy Byford, who declared improving bus service as one of his top four priorities on his first day in office in January. The Bus Plan precedes Byford’s broader, upcoming NYC Transit Corporate Plan, a thorough top-to-bottom review and modernization agenda to improve service across all NYC Transit disciplines, including subway, bus and paratransit service.   “We’ve listened to our riders’ concerns and are working tirelessly to create a world-class bus system that New Yorkers deserve,” said NYCT President Andy Byford.“We’re targeting challenges like traffic congestion and enforcement, undertaking bold initiatives like redesigning the entire route network, and pursuing advancements such as the latest computer-aided management, double-decker and electric buses, all-door boarding, and improved customer service with more real-time data.  Our customers will start to see changes this year and we will never stop improving this critical component of New York City’s transportation landscape.”   The MTA runs the largest public bus system in North America, about 40 percent larger than the next-largest, Los Angeles.  Each weekday, the MTA provides more than 2 million rides, across 54,000 trips on 326 routes, with a fleet of more than 5,700 buses.   While the NYC Transit Bus Plan is a comprehensive, clean-slate approach to reimagining the entire bus system, it builds upon numerous existing and ongoing initiatives, such as the growing Select Bus Service (SBS) network, “traffic signal priority” technology that allows traffic lights to prioritize oncoming buses, and the  complete redesign of the Staten Island express bus network, which was announced last month and developed with unprecedented levels of customer, community and stakeholder outreach.  Accordingly the NYC Transit Bus Plan incorporates customer feedback and recommendations from transit advocates and technical experts.    Specific elements of the NYC Transit Bus Plan include:    A completely redesigned bus route network.  NYC Transit is performing a top-to-bottom, holistic review and redesign of the entire city’s bus route network – the first in decades – based on public input, demographic changes and travel demand analysis.  Route changes will provide better connectivity and more direct service in every neighborhood, with updated stop spacing and the expansion of off-peak service on strategic routes.   Collaboration with NYCDOT, NYPD, & local communities.  NYC Transit will collaborate with NYCDOT to expand the implementation of bus lanes, exclusive busways, queue jumps, bus stop arrival time displays and bus priority technology on traffic signals and buses known as “traffic signal priority.”  Many of these changes will also require robust community outreach.  NYC Transit will also advocate for strengthened NYPD enforcement of bus lanes, dedicated transit-priority traffic teams, and legislative approval to expand bus-mounted cameras beyond sixteen existing routes to help enforce bus lane rules in more locations.   Speeding up boarding by using all doors.  NYC Transit is pursuing new approaches to speed up bus boarding, particularly using upcoming electronic tap-to-pay readers to facilitate all-door boarding.  While purchasing fare media with cash will always be an option with  the new fare payment system being developed by the MTA, NYC Transit will also explore cashless options to speed up boarding time in select circumstances.   Improving customer service and the customer experience.  NYC Transit is in the midst of implementing a renewed and intensified dedication to customer service across all of its services.  Additionally, bus customers will benefit from technological advancements like digital information screens providing helpful bus route, next stop and  real-time service advisories.  Seat availability information on express buses will become available via a mobile application, and the Bus Performance Dashboard unveiled earlier this year will see continual enhancement.  NYC Transit will also develop simpler and more helpful bus route maps – including dynamic, customizable and location-specific maps – and work with NYCDOT to have more bus shelters equipped with real-time bus arrival info displays.   Proactive management to improve service delivery.  NYC Transit is opening a brand new Bus Command Center and upgrading to the latest computer-aided dispatch and operations support technology, including using GPS-based displays of bus locations to help bus operators and dispatchers work together to reduce “bunching,” the uneven spacing of buses that can often lead to multiple buses arriving at a stop at once.  Reorganization and updated training will also streamline operations and the strategic sharing and deployment of resources.  NYC Transit will work with supervision and the workforce to explore how to better use buses that sometimes travel empty as they return to depots.   Enhancing NYC Transit’s world-class fleet of buses.  The NYC Transit Bus Plan will also focus on enhancing the bus fleet using zero-emission, all-electric buses as well as New York City’s first double-decker public buses.  A  pilot test of 10 electric buses began earlier this year, while a double-decker express bus will be tested on a Staten Island route starting this spring.  The rest of the fleet is being upgraded with digital displays to show real-time route, stop and service update information, as well as traffic signal priority and new fare payment technology.  The bus fleet is also being outfitted with new safety technologies such as turn warnings for pedestrians, and security cameras.   “As the largest bus system in North America, we recognize our critical role in New York’s transportation infrastructure,” said MTA Bus Company President and NYCT Department of Buses Senior Vice President Darryl C. Irick. “This plan ensures that all our bus operations now and far into the future are customer-centric and nimble enough to adapt to the changing city.”   Details about the plan were presented to MTA Board members at the NYC Transit Committee meeting today (video to be available at https://www.youtube.com/user/mtainfo), while pilot double-decker and electric buses were parked outside for public viewing.  Byford and Irick will also discuss the Bus Plan at NYC Transit’s next #AskNYCT Twitter chat, Thursday April 26 from noon to 1 p.m. on the @NYCTBus handle.  It will be NYC Transit’s second-ever Twitter chat and focused on the bus system.

 

 

[daveklepper]

If I were not "moderated" I would see the entire posting immediately and know there are problems.   I will now try to find the original message, edit it to a noarrower format, and try posting again.

The photos were posted as part of the original posting, but were stripped in transmission.   I downloaded them to a USB, but posting each one individually is very time-consouming.  I need the edit button to do this efficiently in one posting.

[BaltACD]

Don't know how you are posting - but the right side of the printed matter is truncated at 'bus sys' in the top line and all following data on each line.  The pictures are not viewable.

[daveklepper]

April 23, 2018

 

Proterra Model

 

 

 

 

New Flyer Model

 

 

Caught the press conference.

In front of the bus are MTA Bus President & SVP MTA NYCT Bus Darryl Irick, MTA NYCT Presi