DeCamp stops NYC buses in my hometown

[John Smith]

Local news today is DeCamp is ending buses to and from NYC and Essex (and I think Passaic) counties.

The buses to NYC have been running for a very long time, and they contributed to these areas being good 'commute to NYC' communities, which had an impact on property values.

Reason is, according to the report, fewer riders. I guess more work from home.

Commuters will have to find alternative ways; likely the train. Maybe some bus company will set up routes with smaller buses.

Things do change over time.

[Jim Bow]

Same thing is reflected in the greater Seattle area. Nothing but bad news for Metro. Ridership is way down since covid and shows no sign of rebounding. An entire rail system, billions of $s, is under construction, it’s route and design based on historic pre-covid commuter patterns. Meanwhile, bus drivers on the current system are complaining of drug use, including the cooking and inhalation of fentanyl, going on. Add to that the rapid adoption of electric bicycles by former bus riders.

Huge bureaucracies can’t respond to changing times.

[skuthorp]

Similar for Melbourne Jim, probably without such a big drug problem. Workers have voted with their feet and most large office buildings do not have the infrastructure to be converted to residential as many here advocate.

[Too Little Time]

Mass transit changes at the whims of politics. Makes it unreliable for anyone who has a regular need.

[StevenBauer]

I don’t know how many times I took the #66 bus into the City. It’d pick us up right on Park Street three doors up from our house on Cooper Ave. It was bad news if we missed the last bus and had to call dad to say we were taking the train. The last train was about an hour later than the last bus. Do you think suburban parents let their high school age kids take the bus into NYC anymore?

[John Smith]

I don’t know how many times I took the #66 bus into the City. It’d pick us up right on Park Street three doors up from our house on Cooper Ave. It was bad news if we missed the last bus and had to call dad to say we were taking the train. The last train was about an hour later than the last bus. Do you think suburban parents let their high school age kids take the bus into NYC anymore?

My friends an I got the 66 right on my corner. Valley and Glenwood. Two immediate neighbors and a few from down Glenwood took it daily to work.

[Breakaway]

I don’t know how many times I took the #66 bus into the City. It’d pick us up right on Park Street three doors up from our house on Cooper Ave. It was bad news if we missed the last bus and had to call dad to say we were taking the train. The last train was about an hour later than the last bus. Do you think suburban parents let their high school age kids take the bus into NYC anymore?

My kids take the train into the city, Stephen.

Kevin

[Breakaway]

Mass transit changes at the whims of politics. Makes it unreliable for anyone who has a regular need.

This is an uniformed statement.

I can attest that, having grown up riding, and later riding as a commuter, a large mass transit system on a daily basis, that while schedules can change, most trains and busses run the same routes for years and decades. People can and do build their lives ( choice of residence, work and school) around steady schedules.

Kevin

[dwr9]

I remember riding the number 33 DeCamp bus into NYC from Bloomfield when I was a kid. Doug

[Dikhaut]

Huge bureaucracies can’t respond to changing times.

In the realm of transportation the US Post Office is the most glaring example of this. The idea that people depend on daily mail service to receive important communications is outdated. These days they deliver mostly junk mail and the service had deteriorated as cost overruns have exploded. It needs to be revamped top to bottom to reflect their 21st century role, if they still have one.


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[Garret]

In the realm of transportation the US Post Office is the most glaring example of this. The idea that people depend on daily mail service to receive important communications is outdated. These days they deliver mostly junk mail and the service had deteriorated as cost overruns have exploded. It needs to be revamped top to bottom to reflect their 21st century role, if they still have one.


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Horsefeathers. Lots of people I know depend on the USPS for all sorts of things: checks, bills, medicine, etc. If you don't have/can't afford internet, the mail is important. The biggest issues with the USPS are 1) congress putting insane burdens on them, and 2) a Trump/Republican Senate appointed board of governors (who can only be appointed with Senate approval) who are doing everything they can to destroy it.

Standard Republican tactic - say government is bad, get elected, & prove it.

[Too Little Time]

This is an uniformed statement.

while schedules can change, most trains and busses run the same routes for years and decades.

Since I made the claim that routes do change and you agree, it does appear my statement was informed.

It is obvious the change in the initial post caused some riders problems.

[Breakaway]

Since I made the claim that routes do change and you agree, it does appear my statement was informed.

It is obvious the change in the initial post caused some riders problems.

Hyperbolize much?

Theres a big difference between infrequent changes and changes that create a system that cannot be relied upon.

Kevin

EDIT: Additionally, the bus line in the OP is a private business not part of a transit system.


Full Disclosure: I know, or knew, Rob DeCamp, Jr. president of that bus company.

Kevin

[Joe (SoCal)]

When I lived in North Bergen with Renee before moving to SoCal I used to take the "Gypsy" bus into NYC all the time I think it was $1 maybe $2 it would ride down Bergenline Ave and go through the Lincoln Tunnel and drop you off outside of the Port Authority. It was actually a cheep fast efficient pleasurable way to get into NYC fast.

FWIW a "Gypsy" bus is basically a van or a short bus that are individually or a small fleet not really regulated or official, but the authorities look the other way because they serve a much needed purpose.

[leikec]

Horsefeathers. Lots of people I know depend on the USPS for all sorts of things: checks, bills, medicine, etc. If you don't have/can't afford internet, the mail is important. The biggest issues with the USPS are 1) congress putting insane burdens on them, and 2) a Trump/Republican Senate appointed board of governors (who can only be appointed with Senate approval) who are doing everything they can to destroy it.

Standard Republican tactic - say government is bad, get elected, & prove it.

This.

Jeff C

[Dikhaut]

Horsefeathers. Lots of people I know depend on the USPS for all sorts of things: checks, bills, medicine, etc. If you don't have/can't afford internet, the mail is important. The biggest issues with the USPS are 1) congress putting insane burdens on them, and 2) a Trump/Republican Senate appointed board of governors (who can only be appointed with Senate approval) who are doing everything they can to destroy it.

Standard Republican tactic - say government is bad, get elected, & prove it.

I am not a Republican and I am not trying to get elected. The small percentage of people who depend on USPS for anything could be far better served for far less money that it costs to operate the post office. The vast majority of people do not depend on USPS for critical communications. Shipments of goods are handled far more efficiently by any of the companies in this business. The Post Office as it exists today is a very expensive anachronism. It has been mismanaged for decades.


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[John Smith]

I am not a Republican and I am not trying to get elected. The small percentage of people who depend on USPS for anything could be far better served for far less money that it costs to operate the post office. The vast majority of people do not depend on USPS for critical communications. Shipments of goods are handled far more efficiently by any of the companies in this business. The Post Office as it exists today is a very expensive anachronism. It has been mismanaged for decades.


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In many parts of the country, those goods shipped are delivered by the postal service.

Some years back, well over a decade, congress decided to take $7 billion a year from the postal service. That was supposed to last for 10 years, but it did not end; until recently. Now that they've got that money back, the usps is improving.

[Too Little Time]

Hyperbolize much?

There is a big difference between infrequent changes and changes that create a system that cannot be relied upon.

EDIT: Additionally, the bus line in the OP is a private business not part of a transit system.

Public or private mass transit is mass transit. If I lived in an area where a route change - or even a schedule change, is frequently considered, I would have serious concerns.

You might recall the issues with mass transit - subways and Amtrak tunnels, due to hurricane Sandy. You might recall the issues with mass transit - flight cancellations, this winter. A good number of people expressed concerns about reliability.

I believe there are many people who have rational concerns about mass transit. You clearly don't.

[Dikhaut]

In many parts of the country, those goods shipped are delivered by the postal service.

Some years back, well over a decade, congress decided to take $7 billion a year from the postal service. That was supposed to last for 10 years, but it did not end; until recently. Now that they've got that money back, the usps is improving.

By what measure is the Postal Service improving? Certainly not in terms of reliable service or cost containment.

https://www.cnet.com/news/politics/p...mail-slowdown/


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[Breakaway]

Public or private mass transit is mass transit. If I lived in an area where a route change - or even a schedule change, is frequently considered, I would have serious concerns.

You might recall the issues with mass transit - subways and Amtrak tunnels, due to hurricane Sandy. You might recall the issues with mass transit - flight cancellations, this winter. A good number of people expressed concerns about reliability.

I believe there are many people who have rational concerns about mass transit. You clearly don't.

So, we moved from unreliability to concern.
Whats next?


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[Ted Hoppe]

This is an uniformed statement.

I can attest that, having grown up riding, and later riding as a commuter, a large mass transit system on a daily basis, that while schedules can change, most trains and busses run the same routes for years and decades. People can and do build their lives ( choice of residence, work and school) around steady schedules.

Kevin

Truth bomb.


Everybody here is jumping in with i used to.

This is my reality. I take public transportation all the time. I have built my life around it. It is the reason my house is more valuable. I have been effected by the decline in ridership and how much more dangerous it has become. I fought off a would be mugger last week in a bart elevator at night. Fare jumpers are not prosecuted. The general public eats and drinks on the transit soiling the ride and making it gross. The homeless use it as shelter. Those who are making choices for people who seek to use public transportation do not take it themselves. If they do it is a social media stunt.

[Joe (SoCal)]

I commuted on public transportation daily for over 40 years. Starting when I was a boy growing up in The Bronx. From the first grade about age 6 I would board a cross town bus with my student bus pass to go to St Johns Parochial school ( can you imagine sending a 6 year old on a public bus in The Bronx today ? )

21934_1286617278987_7172882_n.jpg

Then when my parents divorced and my mom and I moved to NJ I would take New Jersey Transit to Hoboken then take the path to 33rd st then take the LIRR to Hicksville to spend every other weekend and some summers with my dad.

When I went to college in NYC I moved to Hoboken and took the PATH and NY Subways and busses and my skateboard or bicycle.

Then I moved to Jersey City NJ as a young man and again took the PATH and NY Subways and busses and my skateboard or bicycle. Also the New York Water Ferry started to run from Jersey City to lower Manhattan and I took that. Funny at this point I had not driven a car in about 10 years and my drivers license actually expired.

Then I moved up to Cold Spring on Hudson and took the Metro North Hudson river line as a daily commute to my office in lower Manhattan. It wasn't until we bought the house on East Mountain Road North did I need to buy a station car to drive the 6+ miles to the train.

After 9/11 I began driving much more because I was then in Real Estate. But when I married Renee we moved down to her place in North Bergen and once again I was taking the Gypsy bus or the light rail or the ferry to get around.

Now since moving to car culture SoCal you just HAVE TO have a car, there is no way around it. Like I said I try to use the vespa whenever and the Tesla on longer trips or when it's raining. I've tried using the local bus from time to time but it's not pleasant and unfortunately most people on the bus are Kra Kra marginal / homeless or psychos. Unlike the professional and normal people with the occasional nut on the robust NY transit system.

When we were in Italy it was so nice to have a wonderful mass transit system and e-bikes. We only rented a car for a weekend trip to the beach and Siena only because there was no convenient mass transit to get to those two place.

I wish there was a better mass transit system here in SoCal. Before covid I did take the Shoreline train along the coast and it was very nice, they even have Bike Cars so you can bring your bike. Too bad the service is very limited to the coast.

[Nicholas Carey]

Mass transit changes at the whims of politics. Makes it unreliable for anyone who has a regular need.

This is an uniformed statement.

I can attest that, having grown up riding, and later riding as a commuter, a large mass transit system on a daily basis, that while schedules can change, most trains and busses run the same routes for years and decades. People can and do build their lives ( choice of residence, work and school) around steady schedules.

Same here. Bus schedules may get minor tweaks once or twice a year, but the routes stay the same.

Truth bomb.

Everybody here is jumping in with i used to.

This is my reality. I take public transportation all the time. I have built my life around it. It is the reason my house is more valuable. I have been effected by the decline in ridership and how much more dangerous it has become. I fought off a would be mugger last week in a bart elevator at night. Fare jumpers are not prosecuted. The general public eats and drinks on the transit soiling the ride and making it gross. The homeless use it as shelter. Those who are making choices for people who seek to use public transportation do not take it themselves. If they do it is a social media stunt.

I remember riding the DC Metro once, years ago. Signs made it obvious that eating/drinking is not permitted on the platforms or on the trains. On the train, somebody sitting across from me pulled out, IIRC, a candy bar and started eating it. Pretty quickly, a loud disembodied voice came over the PA system and directed him to put it away immediately or he'd be ticketed.

[They do have cameras on the trains]

[John Smith]

By what measure is the Postal Service improving? Certainly not in terms of reliable service or cost containment.

https://www.cnet.com/news/politics/p...mail-slowdown/


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You'll see it soon. USPS no longer has congress taking billions from it. See what it's like this time next year.

[John Smith]

Those who depended on these buses are going to miss them. I don't use them, but I am concerned how those who do will be impacted.

Some here seem unable to feel empathy. That puzzles me.

[Garret]

I am not a Republican and I am not trying to get elected. The small percentage of people who depend on USPS for anything could be far better served for far less money that it costs to operate the post office. The vast majority of people do not depend on USPS for critical communications. Shipments of goods are handled far more efficiently by any of the companies in this business. The Post Office as it exists today is a very expensive anachronism. It has been mismanaged for decades.


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I wasn't referring to you, but to what elected Republicans have done. They appointed Dejoy & he & the other governors are doing their best to destroy the USPS. In rural areas around here, lots of folks depend on the USPS.

If other services can do so much better, how come UPS & FedEx use the USPS for the last part of many of their deliveries. As I hear it, the contracts with them are making a big difference in keeping the USPS afloat.

[Dikhaut]

I wasn't referring to you, but to what elected Republicans have done. They appointed Dejoy & he & the other governors are doing their best to destroy the USPS. In rural areas around here, lots of folks depend on the USPS.

If other services can do so much better, how come UPS & FedEx use the USPS for the last part of many of their deliveries. As I hear it, the contracts with them are making a big difference in keeping the USPS afloat.

UPS and FedEx are taking advantage of the Postal Service. This is a no-frills lower cost service they offer with longer transit times. The Postal Service loses money while UPS and FedEx make money on the shipments. Taxpayers suck up the difference. The USPS is essentially being destroyed by not keeping up with the times. First Class mail has largely been replaced by email and electronic payments. That revenue is gone for good. They should slash the number of weekly delivery days and charge what it costs them to provide the service. Again, the taxpayers are on the hook otherwise. Nobody needs 6 day/week mail service at the price we are paying for it.

[Dikhaut]

Those who depended on these buses are going to miss them. I don't use them, but I am concerned how those who do will be impacted.

Some here seem unable to feel empathy. That puzzles me.

Apparently the reason they are discontinued is because nobody is using them. Who should pay to keep them running with no riders on them?


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[John Smith]

I wasn't referring to you, but to what elected Republicans have done. They appointed Dejoy & he & the other governors are doing their best to destroy the USPS. In rural areas around here, lots of folks depend on the USPS.

If other services can do so much better, how come UPS & FedEx use the USPS for the last part of many of their deliveries. As I hear it, the contracts with them are making a big difference in keeping the USPS afloat.

Friend sent me a TIME magazine article. Seems DeJoy has done an about face and things should start looking up in the near future.

Ed Schultz used to point out that 25% or so of the US is so sparsely populated that it's not possible to make a profit delivering in those places, so the other companies give their packages to the postal service.

[John Smith]

I had no luck with other pages, but this gives you the gist. postal2.jpg

[rbgarr]

Same thing is reflected in the greater Seattle area... bus drivers on the current system are complaining of drug use, including the cooking and inhalation of fentanyl....

I hope it's not the bus drivers doing that.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=187769139234280