BusTalk

[N4 Jamaica]

On July 15, 2008, I rode from Broadway to Pelham Bay and Bay Plaza on Bx 12 Select Bus, notebook in hand, hoping to observe the "high-performance service providing a significant increase in frequency and reliability for the cost of a regular bus ride," according to the boast on the Bronx Bus Map. I was particularly interested the role of traffic signals, as some sort of connection between buses and signals has been proclaimed. The Select Service is a proof-of-payment system replacing the former Limited Stop service available on Bx 12. Local Bx 12 buses, with the ordinary fare payment system, operate along the same route.
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There may be errors in my report. I used the receipt machine at the originating bus stop, Broadway and Isham Street, and boarded bus 5724. We left at 3:49 p.m., turned right on Isham Street and moved like a snake between cars double-parked on the left and on the right. Right onto Sherman Avenue. Lost 35 seconds at red signal at West 207th Street.
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We took 23 passengers at Tenth Avenue, with a NYPD traffic tow truck parked in our lane east of the bus stop. Traffic crawled over the University Heights Bridge, which was floated down from 225th Street and in 1908 opened to traffic. At 3:57 p.m., the signal at the Major Deegan flipped against us, and we lost 70 seconds. At Cedar Avenue, six boarded. Beyond Loring Avenue, a post office van blocked the bus lane. We flew past a local and crossed University Avenue to the Select bus stop. Nine boarded, and we left at 4:02 to lose 20 seconds at the signal at Grand Avenue.
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At Jerome Avenue, a crowd boarded, including a mother and three children. The operator refused the Metrocard. When they sat, the operator reminded them they needed a receipt. All left, got a receipt, returned. The operator instructed more boarding passengers about the receipts and lingered for them. I think this is smart and civilized p.r. Closing doors on people without receipts would only lead to more confusion and anger. The local buses board west of Jerome Avenue, and one could get angry running between the two stops.
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At Valentine Avenue, a crowd left by the front door. These artics need another door forward of the articulation. We passed an auto in the curb lane. Near Webster Avenue, a police officer was ticketing a driver. The officer's car is also in the curb lane.
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At Fordham Plaza, Third Avenue, many chose to leave by the front door. The operator instructed the waiting crowd to use the rear door. We left Fordham Plaza at 4:12. Between Third Avenue and Washington Avenue, two more drivers were receiving tickets.
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The Select route does not use the underpass at Southern Boulevard, perhaps to favor transfers from Bx19. At the busy intersection with Boston Road, we lost 50 seconds at the red signal. The next Select bus stop is east of White Plains Road, and a van was parked in our lane. Maybe a fellow was servicing the receipt machines. Keeping them working must be a headache.
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to be continued. Joe McMahon

[N4 Jamaica]

Continuation of previous post.
Before we could reach the Williamsbridge Road bus stop, traffic in our lane caused us to stop and await the green. With it, we moved forward to the stop, picked up passengers and lost the green. We left at 4:22, having traveled about 4.1 miles in 33 minutes, almost 8 miles per hour. At Eastchester Road we lost 70 seconds awaiting the green signal.
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At Pelham Bay terminal, because my bus was headed for Orchard Beach, I headed for the Dunkin Donuts convenient loo and the next bus to Bay Plaza. It was a local, and the driver accepted my receipt as transfer. Fortunately, both locals and Select buses head for the same door of J. C. Penney, with another clean men's room. Buschat has a photo of the Metrocard receipt dispenser hidden among the men's clothing a few steps inside the department store! The coin receipt dispenser (no paper bills, please) is at the bus stop.
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I asked a dispatcher how the priority device worked. He explained that the blue flashes keep sending codes to the signals, and that every traffic signal on route has been modified to receive the codes from the buses.
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When the next westbound Select rolled up to the starting point, the dispatcher and four MTA Security men stood outside the doors checking that everybody boarding had a receipt. For the rest of my trip west, they were helpful and informative, so that nobody could have been fined. The four of them wore navy blue, with police-like patches, a shield on the belt, a radio, cell phone, handcuffs, pad, and no gun. It is quite different from the tactic I saw in Munich, where four boarded our S-Bahn coach incognito. After the doors closed, they exposed their identification cards and demanded tickets. I have seen the same "At first, hide your identity" approach on a Paris bus. These guys weren't out to make penalty money for the MTA, at least this week.
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Our bus left J.C. Penney at 4:51 p.m. and stopped at other stores. We lost 35 seconds at the Asch Loop traffic signal, near McDonald's. Then we joined the double left-turn lanes, lost an arrow and 55 seconds more. Eight boarded at Edson Avenue. Security rejected one and sent him for a receipt. We entered the Thruway at 4:59 p.m.
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At Pelham Bay station, we had to nudge a car out of the bus stop. We left at 5:06. We saw our leader, another Select, ahead of us on Pelham Parkway and dropped speed. We kept behind him all the way to Webster. We lost 50 seconds at the signal at Williamsbridge Road. At the Bronxwood Avenue pedestrian crossing, the signal flipped green as we approached, the only time I saw that on my trip.
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At White Plains Road, a crowd got off, but nobody boarded, as our leader had picked up the boarders. We crossed Boston Road at 5:20. The Crotona Avenue signal cost us 50 seconds. Near Arthur Avenue, a Connecticut driver decided to back up in our lane to a parking meter. Arriving at Fordham Plaza, the buses ahead of us left no room and we awaited our turn for the curb, losing the Webster Avenue signal. I got off and walked ahead to Jerome Avenue.
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Clearly, the following items help the Bx12 move better:
1) The traffic department and police emphasis on keeping the bus lane clear.
2) The long-established practice of the NYC Department of Traffic, by which nearby signals on a busy street are synchronized to keep the traffic moving. Often, this allowed the Select bus to jump from one bus stop to the next with no more than one red signal. My memory could be wrong, but I think coordinated signals were only on Grand Concourse in the 1940's. Even then, I think the all-green-at-once is better than the "wave" system favoring one direction.
3) Even though I traveled on a weekday, we met no yellow school buses, no thick pedestrian traffic at intersections, and no school passes on the bus. Even the intersection of Marion Avenue and Fordham Road lacked its school-time chaos. There are three nearby schools. I was told that the NYPD has refused to station school crossing guards there because it is too dangerous for the guards!
4) On Pelham Parkway, the long distances between cross streets help the speed of buses. Credit the designers of 1935 or earlier.
5) The mixture of local and Select buses on the same route allows all stops to be served but allows (let's hope) the Select buses to cover the route more quickly. The scarcity of doors on the artics, however, with their greater capacity may make them slower at each stop.
Joe McMahon