Noted

The Bus Lane/Bike Lane Cycling Crew was out this morning.... not all that noteworthy...




...except that when the cyclists got to the light at 14th Street and First Avenue.... the lead cyclist went through the red light... and waited for his/her colleagues on the other side of the street...

We'll always have the MTA

From today's Post:

An MTA bus bully slapped a $100 summons on a Manhattan woman deemed too slow to show her ticket for the new express M15 Select Bus -- a service that has increasingly become a cash cow for the money-strapped agency.

Since 2008, NYC Transit cops have handed out more than $1 million in summonses on the two Select Bus lines, the M15 and the Bx12, whose riders buy tickets from a sidewalk machine rather than pay on board.

The machines are supposed to speed the passengers' trips, but some straphangers gripe that the speediest thing about the Select Bus service is how quickly officers ticket customers.

The suspects list has been narrowed down to 8 million people

Waiting for the N/R at Union Square.

Noted

Second Avenue at St. Mark's Place. Somehow, I still find this confusing.

A reader report on the M15 Select Bus Service

EV Grieve reader Mike shared his experience from the new M15 Select Bus Service yesterday ...

Paid for my ticket at 2nd and 42nd. The crowd was minimal but grew quickly. We waited over 10 minutes for a bus. The MTA employee said they are supposed to come every five minutes.

After paying for my paper ticket with my unlimited monthly, the regular local bus came, but I couldn't use my metrocard there as I just used it to buy a select ticket.

When the bus finally arrived it was jam packed. It sat for a few minutes as people were standing in the doorways. Everyone was irritated and each stop was a nightmare due to the super crowded condition. Exiting and entering was difficult for all riders.

Attached is a picture of the crowded condition... the entire bus was this full.

"MTA can't get it right every time. I'm hoping this is an anomaly.. it can't get any worse!"

And we're off!

So! The Select Bus Service starts on the M15 today...we checked in here on First Avenue near Third Street to see what was what and what not....



MTA officials were onhand to make sure things were going smoothly... at this time, there were more MTA people than actual passengers... one rider asked if he had to give the ticket to the driver. Nope, you just get on... Things went off here without a hitch...






We'll see how things go Tuesday in the first full rush hour (since, like, a lot of people don't have to work on Columbus Day tomorrow...)

MTA preps for M15 SelectService

The M15 Select Bus Service starts tomorrow... and MTA crews are working on Second Avenue making final preparations....like changing the schedules and what not...



Still waiting for the over/under on how smoothly this will work...

Welcome to the machine(s)

In preparation for Sunday's Select Bus service debut on the M15, an MTA crew worked on Second Avenue near 14th Street on the artificially intelligent machines that will seek to exterminate what is left of the human race.




And, well, maybe this is just me... but why are the machines this far away from the actual bus stop...? I'm sure there's a good reason for this that I'm just not processing at the moment... anyone?

On Oct. 10, the machines will rise

We've been discussing the coming changes to the M15 route along First Avenue and Second Avenue... The M15 Select Bus Service starts on Sunday.... and I finally got my hands on the MTA's newsletter that explains all this...



And — oops! — I missed the open houses.....



As someone who depends on the M15 for this and that, this may or may not be helpful....



And for your cyclists!



And pedestrians!



Wow. The MTA calls these Refuge Islands?! Escape from Refuge Island!



Meanwhile...




Well, I'm all for keeping an open mind to see how all this will work....

Previously on EV Grieve:
On First Avenue, the machines are taking over!

Breaking! Select bus spotted on First Avenue

As a reader notes ... "Spotted: a select bus in motion on First Avenue. no passengers."

Soon, we will see a rise of the machines!

On First Avenue, the machines are taking over!

EV Grieve reader Creature notes this sight this morning on First Avenue between Second and Third Street...




Will one of these things microwave breakfast burritos?

Perhaps there's another app that creates Avenue C

EV Grieve reader (and blogger) Shawn Chittle notes the new MTA iPhone app for the East Village/Lower East Side ... As he points out, Avenue C is missing (sorry World Cuppers!) and Avenue D is apparently now subbing for the FDR...



In the comments, BabyDave points out the rather interesting new route for the Bowery....

Noted

At the L stop on First Avenue and 14th Street.

If you depend on the bus around here, then you're kinda screwed now

Well, we're in Day 3 of the MTA's Screw The Passenger campaign Service Changes due to the agency's $800-million deficit in their operating budget.



So! There was a little confusion on Sunday, as you might expect. Like why was this guy waiting for an M9 on Avenue B when service has been rerouted to Avenue C?



Why was the 14D running on Avenue B? And how did that guy figure that out?



Why hasn't the MTA posted the new route times? For instance, the new M9 stops on Avenue C still list the times for the M21.



Anyway, it's a little confusing. You have to read the fine print.




Here are the changes via the MTA.



Changes:

The M8 weekend and overnight service has been discontinued.

The M21 weekend service has been discontinued; the late-night service will end earlier. Ditto for the early-morning service.

The M9 service has been rerouted from Avenue B to Avenue C to replace the M21 and will terminate at the VA Hospital on East 23rd Street.

The M9 service has been discontinued along Water Street and in Battery Park City and was extended along Park Row to City Hall to replace the M15.

Which means the M15 service to City Hall via Park Row was discontinued and replaced by the M9.

M21 service was discontinued north of Houston along Avenue C and extended along Houston and the FDR to Grand Street.

Got all that?

MTA will get the L out of there

A follow-up to the post over the weekend about the MTA's new FML signs... Patrick Hedlund at DNAinfo reported yesterday that the MTA will change the sign...

"I guarantee you the people who install the signs have absolutely no idea what that [phrase] means," said NYC Transit spokesman Charles Seaton, noting that the new sign will display the letter L below the F and M.

No word yet on the JZ line.

[Top image via Gothamist; FML image via Digitalisms. Thanks to Digitalisms for getting this whole thing out there!]

Is the MTA hip to this Internet meme?

Caroline McCarthy at CNET notes the following:

This week, an alteration in New York City transit signs to address forthcoming route changes have placed an unfortunate Internet acronym on a heavily trafficked subway station: Displays that list the color-coded subway services running at the 14th Street-6th Avenue underground station now display a bold "FML."

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or MTA, may or may not have been aware that this is an acronym for "f*** my life," a profane exclamation of disgruntlement that arose in Web forums, in text messages, and on a popular blog several years ago.

[Photo credit via Digitalisms]

East Villagers face busageddon

As you know, the MTA is like $400 quintillion over budget. And to shore up those budget gaps, the MTA will threaten propose to cut pretty much everything. Tonight at 6 you'll have the chance to let the MTA hear it during a meeting at the Fashion Institute of Technology (Seventh Avenue and 27th Street).

The Lo-Down made note of how these cuts will have an impact on everyone who depends on a bus in the East Village/Lower East Side ... CB3 passed a resolution last week strongly opposing these cuts. Specifically, here's how you might be left stranded, as reported by the Lo-Down:

-- The elimination of weekend and overnight service on the M22, a critical link into Chinatown.
-- The elimination of weekend and overnight service on the M8, which travels to and from the East Village and West Village.
-- The elimination of bus service on Avenue B by rerouting the M9 along Avenue C. Service from the LES to the World Financial Center would also be eliminated by rerouting the M9 beyond Chatham Square, terminating at City Hall.
-- The elimination of weekend service and the reduction of overnight service on the M21 (crosstown bus between Bellevue Hospital & the West Village).
-- The reduction of service on the M103 (to City Hall).

So that pretty much leaves... not much in the way of buses. Meanwhile, no word on any service disruption on the Rusty Knot Party Bus.

Wetsex and the city

Sign bandits on the loose in the Delancey/Essex Street station! Many thanks to EV Grieve reader Ryan for the photo.

Practicing safe swiping

Entering the 4/5 the other day at Fulton Street downtown ...

Help save the doomed MTA lines