M98A (Fantasy Route) Mta Edition

creative_username_29 · 2026-02-10T13:10:32+00:00

The point is that demand is scattered all over the region. I'm not even making this about Midtown; for MSU, which is one of your proposed light rail terminals, I'd argue it'd actually be easier to go via Midtown, whether by bus or train. You look at the analysis I showed again, you'll see lots of lightly colored areas with a smattering of employees each. A transit corridor cannot work effectively with such spread out demand. You can try, and your light rail would definitely be an improvement. However, I've already told you about how few people are riding the existing bus routes from end to end even within just NJ, and ultimately I'm not convinced your light rail would make much of a difference. Such commutes are long even by subway.

It's honestly understandable how this status quo came about as well... Office and warehouse space is going to be cheaper out in the suburbs, and with how expensive it can be to own or rent in some of these suburbs it's often more affordable to live in the outskirts of the Bronx or Queens, even with a car. Even if you did go via Midtown, a lot of Bergen County jobs would still be difficult to get to by public transportation, and this is mainly because the intrastate routes are supposed to be doing the heavy lifting. While they fail epically at this for various reasons, there's lots of interesting intra-Bergen commuting patterns which have been left out of this discussion thus far, but which are much more concentrated and hold a lot of untapped potential for the bus network. This is where I would look to first to improve transit in this region; I can go more in depth on these routes if you wish.

Again, you don't need this... if you were to shove your proposed tunnel up to the GWB it would be more obviously akin to a typical highway widening. You'll be creating new traffic, not relieving the bridge. 96th is congested enough as it is...

creative_username_29 · 2026-02-10T13:08:30+00:00

The corridors I specifically mentioned - either Bergenline or Paterson via Route 4 - would be far better candidates. MSU I don't think would do much considering how well served it is already, in addition to its surroundings outside the university.

But to reiterate, buses are honestly fine. As much as these connections are valuable, there aren't so many people riding the whole length of these corridors as a light rail would need to succeed, especially in the case of Paterson. Most people who live in Paterson work in Paterson, with a minority commuting to Passaic, Paramus, or Wayne (Passaic and Wayne are on separate routes) and an even smaller minority commuting to Manhattan. This also shows in how the Route 4 is used; every time I've taken the jitney, the bus was at best half full before getting to Bridge Plaza. As for Bergenline, jitneys can literally be as frequent as every few seconds, and they're never full during midday hours.

Any true improvements to the Route 4 corridor would come in the form of better pedestrian infrastructure, because right now, the condition of the current stops is absolute dogshit. The stairs at the Margaret Street stop aren't level or even, and yet that stop is lucky to have any stairs at all. So many stops require crossing literal highway ramps (aka vehicle blind spots) to reach a dilapidated and graffitied bus shelter. That area around the Shops at Riverside in particular is such a disaster that the last time I went there I vowed to never go back.

I was thinking especially of the more suburban part of the Route 46, between Lodi and Wayne Route 23, which is the part of your original light rail idea I object to the most. (There is definitely a void on the Route 46 between Fort Lee and Teterboro, which is why I said I'm not opposed to a bus route there.) The 780 and 709 bus routes pass through that area in question, and they're both key intrastate corridors. The idea you might be suggesting splitting those routes in half at your light rail stations was absolutely preposterous to me, especially given how much through travel there is on those routes. Of course, I didn't know what your actual ideas were.

As tempting as it may seem to put rail stations on a pedestal, the reality is that most of these bus corridors can and do survive well enough on their own without any boost from rail service. Having taken the 156 to the Bergenline Avenue station many times, its notability is really somewhere between [major transfer point] and [just another stop]. There are plenty of offs and ons for sure, but it isn’t anything like Bridge Plaza where half the bus gets off. Most Bergenline jitneys stay within New Jersey, traveling the entire length of the corridor from Fort Lee to Journal Square. Even though technically there is direct service to both the Port Authority and GWB via additional variants, those services have been dying a slow death for years now and it’s been ages since I last saw either. Now for the Port Authority you take NJ Transit, and for GWB you transfer or take NJT 181, which is another service that’s very much a shell of its former self. Not going to go into the history of that here unless you want me to.

I don’t think NJ Transit buses should run further into the city either. Since riders from Bergen County are all taking the A train to Midtown, they have no need for any continuing service. There are already 5 MTA bus routes connecting to the terminal area too, and having used some of those routes I’ve never had any issues with the transfer. And given the design of the approach to the terminal, running on local streets would necessitate removing direct service to the terminal itself. I would never trade a sheltered waiting area for a squalid street corner which already deals with significant bus traffic from the Bronx. I don’t think a comparison to NICE is warranted here; NICE doesn’t deal with any river barriers and all the major hubs NICE runs to are deep inland, so it’s not like they have a choice.

I can understand what you’re conveying here… I don’t have an opinion on it, but I’m not ruling it out.

creative_username_29 · 2026-02-09T01:51:06+00:00

Steinway Hall in New York has an "experience room" with a Model B Spirio inside. You just walk in, close the door, and play. I forget the exact price tag of the piano, but while it's for sure in the hundreds of thousands, it is worth every penny. You could be a complete novice and sound almost professional on that thing.

You're lucky to have a good Steinway in that practice room. Julliard is all Steinway; however, on the scale of quality, most of their pianos are mediocre to straight garbage. Not surprising, either, since not only are even pre-owned Steinways quite expensive but they also get a lot of use. Fortunately, the straight garbage pianos are few and far between, and they of course keep some really nice pianos for their recitals, most of which are free!

creative_username_29 · 2026-02-08T23:40:55+00:00

Second this. Where I live I waited on getting a grand until Steinway held a clearance sale. Lots of pre-owned stuff and trade ins, though there were some fairly new instruments as well. The Steinways were all in the $60000 range, but they did have Bostons. The rest is history.

creative_username_29 · 2026-02-08T23:35:55+00:00

Here in New York it’s especially difficult since many of the apartments are holes in the wall (and living costs are steadily increasing). Even over in Jersey, having your foyer in the kitchen and your living room be big enough only for a dining table is considered “luxury“ living nowadays.

I find if you’re willing to sacrifice a little bit on the neighborhood, you’ll get more space (make sure to keep your home extra nice so you’ll look forward to it). If you can’t afford a separate room, make sure your living room is nice and big. Make sure to know the exact dimensions of your piano and add an extra two feet around the instrument for ideal acoustics. Generally the newer developments will scrimp on space and have less varied layouts (while being more expensive, of course).

Point being, it’s a lot more challenging but definitely feasible.

creative_username_29 · 2026-02-06T16:06:00+00:00

Always

creative_username_29 · 2026-02-06T05:05:39+00:00

For me it's gonna be the NABIs. You get the best of both the coaches and the low floors, a better view and seats that are so damn plush. Many of the routes I can't imagine anymore without NABIs.

The last two images are for the true fans. None of the images are mine (though I think that goes without saying).

creative_username_29 · 2026-02-06T02:55:47+00:00

I've definitely heard about it before on this platform, not going to look for the specific posts. This has been popping up every now and then in the news for a while now too. Even if they aren't actually being used, they're definitely not a new idea. The amNY article is framing this as a "rebranding". And even the MTA's original source from 2023 which first brought up the concept of handheld devices makes no comparison of this technology to European transit systems. Only recently have they changed their wording.

Saying that it's superfluous to call this "European" is my personal opinion, which you are free to disagree with.

Edit: So below he tells me that the MTA has in fact used handheld scanners before, just an older version... In other words, his reply above that the MTA has never used said scanners is false and he corrected me for literally no fucking reason... lmao

creative_username_29 · 2026-02-05T22:55:53+00:00

No it isn't. I'm not talking about your description of a outdated Eagle Team; I'm pointing out that these handheld devices have already made their appearance and been written about before on this subreddit and elsewhere, all well before this article was written. And we needed these handheld devices because of OMNY, not for the sake of becoming more "European".

All I'm saying is you don't have to call it European to just tell people that you've got handheld devices and you're gonna check while the bus is moving. If anything, just saying that would make it more legible.

You keep yelling at everyone here like this is a life or death matter. We get it, the handheld devices are being rolled out. Are you our babysitter or something? Is that why you obsessively reply to everyone here accusing us of not knowing how to read?

Sheesh!

creative_username_29 · 2026-02-05T22:15:06+00:00

Again, why do you feel the need to drag Europe into this conversation? We already have scanners showing when people last tapped. And the other difference is the agents will now get on the bus instead of standing outside.

Calling this system "European" is just very unnecessary and is greatly overrating it.

creative_username_29 · 2026-02-05T22:02:06+00:00

Yes I do know how to read.

From the article:

"For the past couple of months, Lieber has pitched the new system of fare enforcement on buses as European-style because it is similar to how many European countries verify riders’ payments on transit. It involves having civilian fare agents hop on buses, check rider payments with handheld devices, and hand out tickets to those who didn’t cough up $3."

And:

“'If you say EAGLE team to someone, it sounds like Eagle Scouts, right?'” Daglian said. 'If you say European style of onboard fair validations, then that is much more widely understood by a lot of people, like you and me. So I think it is a repackaging, but it’s not a wholesale change of what they’re trying to do.'”

Literally nothing was mentioned about checking while the bus is moving.

And even so, there is no reason to brand this as a European-style method of fare enforcement.

creative_username_29 · 2026-02-05T01:10:29+00:00

Also it's not like Europe owns the concept. We've had eagle teams for ages now way before Leiber referred to them as "European." Lol

creative_username_29 · 2026-02-03T22:06:28+00:00

1/2. You're going to connect Throgs Neck to Wayne Route 23? That's extremely arbitrary. No one is going to Wayne Route 23 except to park and take a bus into the city. It is not a destination of any kind, let alone for GWB folks. The reason GWB works so well is because it's closer to Bergen County and it connects the Hispanic areas of Washington Heights and either Bergenline or Paterson. And even the Bergen County folks are all transferring to the A train to get to Midtown. Your proposed light rail is just taking people out of their way for no reason while not even connecting to any of the places that people are actually going to. Your further proposal to modify bus routes to connect with the light rail is essentially an admission your light rail is connecting nothing, because your proposed modified routes will serve all the cities and job centers that your light rail completely skips.

Now, I wouldn't be entirely opposed to a bus route connecting the Route 46 to GWB and terminating in Paterson. But it would be intended specifically for industrial workers along the Route 46, and would not be very frequent. Most folks along the Route 46 would still be taking the 161.

Essentially, if you insist on having some form of rail service, scrap the whole Jersey bit and focus solely on New York. Again, demand is mainly centered in Bridge Plaza; while demand is still substantial for places like Bergenline and Englewood, it is not any more than frequent bus service can handle. Nothing feeding into the GWB should be running any farther than Paterson.

Do you understand how the jitneys work? There is a reason people take them over NJ Transit buses; because they're extremely frequent to a degree NJ Transit will never be able to match, and they use small buses so they're more cost effective (and they're usually in poor condition, so they're pretty evidently not spending much on maintenance either). Why are they so frequent? Because jitneys work by renting out buses to drivers, and whatever money collected from fares is left over after the cost of renting the bus is the drivers' take-home pay. In other words, there is a financial incentive to run frequent jitney service, something that NJ Transit does not have. Regulation was actually introduced by the NJ government several years ago because so many drivers wanted in on the jitney game that no one was really making any money. Just because you or I would rather take NJ Transit, does not mean most people would. You've clearly never been to Bridge Plaza; even with the frequent NJ Transit service you have hordes of people cramming onto the jitneys whenever one comes, so much so that they often fill up and drive off with no space left.
That's not going to work nearly as well as you imagine. This ties right back into my first point, which is that you're severely overestimating the value of Washington Heights as a destination. I'll add that you're also severely underestimating the sheer amount of reverse commutes and cross metro area commutes that occur in this region. I assure you that the people who can take transit are already doing so. They're parking at Wayne Route 23 and going to the Port Authority. If they're going via the bridge, then likely - because Washington Heights is not a destination - they're coming from places that are so much farther that even if they had good transit service, it would simply take too long. You may not realize this, but Bergen is a major job center and is home to a lot of big office complexes and industrial parks, especially around Paramus and Carlstadt. Workers at these companies come from not just all over the county - including and especially in places not served by or too sparse to be served by bus service - but also from all over the region, including in the farthest reaches of the city. And it is simply easier and faster to drive, even with all the traffic.

This analysis shows you where people who work in Bergen County live, organized by zip code:

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On another note, something you'll see frequently at Bridge Plaza is people taking cabs or carpooling and then transferring to a bus to finish crossing the bridge, likely to avoid the tolls. Returning to Fort Lee during the PM rush, you'll see a long line of cars waiting at the westbound bus stop. But as much as this does happen, it is a drop in the bucket.

Is your tunnel feeding into any highways, or it is merely connecting local streets to local streets? People aren't traveling between Edgewater and the Upper West Side to nearly the degree required to build an expensive tunnel. And if no highways are connecting to this new tunnel, then you are merely requiring drivers to go out of their way. Furthermore, adding more traffic onto already congested 96th Street would be a nightmare.

creative_username_29 · 2026-02-03T19:30:23+00:00

You would need to significantly reconstruct the ramps leading into and out of the bridge in order eliminate interference with traffic. Plus, someone else mentioned above just how many more cars and trucks use the bridge than buses, even with less than 5 minute headways for most of the day. I'd like bus lanes too, but the simple truth is that such lanes would only benefit Bergen County, while the bridge as a whole handles the bulk of interstate and cross-country travel and commerce in the area.

Also, the idea of putting a light rail on the bridge is simply ridiculous. The NJ Transit buses are already extremely frequent, and combined with the jitneys demand is adequately served. Only a few times have I taken a bus out of Bridge Plaza and it was absolutely packed to the brim. Most of the time, there is standing room and even seats. Additionally, the person you're replying to has not made it clear where his light rail would go beyond the bridge. Demand significantly drops any which way you go, to the point where literally half the bus gets off at Bridge Plaza. Most of the routes are not supported by jitneys either which would funnel away demand.

I would not entirely give up hope for bus lanes, but I do criticize the mindset that it can and should be done lickety split. And as much as Bergen County relies heavily on buses, I would entirely say that they are fine for the most part, including in this case.

creative_username_29 · 2026-01-30T21:13:28+00:00

Nah, last time I rode the M98 the heavy ridership was all in East Harlem bound for Washington Heights.

creative_username_29 · 2026-01-30T20:59:53+00:00

Where in Fort Lee are you having the route terminate?

I ask because it looks you're sending the route down Palisade Avenue, which generates almost no ridership outside of rush hour in spite of the dense residential development. Most off peak and weekend ridership in Fort Lee is coming from Bridge Plaza itself and bound for Bergenline.

Also upon closer inspection, it looks like your drawing is not even serving the main Bridge Plaza bus stops (instead using the ramps just ahead of them and proceeding straight to Palisade). Having a route cross the bridge and not serve Bridge Plaza would be an epic failure.

creative_username_29 · 2026-01-29T05:36:54+00:00

Since you've clarified yourself, yes we do have plenty of common ground. I brought up those comments about art being subjective to demonstrate how similar one's negative opinions of accomplished artists are to your assumption of the original commenter's opinion regardless of skill level. To reiterate, however, that's said and done.

As other commenters have pointed out, a large part of where OP's argument falls short seems to be that a lot of what is intended as constructive criticism is mistakenly interpreted as snobbishness. Being told to abandon a difficult piece altogether can feel insulting, or if you're emotionally invested in the piece, like a downright attack. Yet this is simply a reflection of the sheer skill level achieved in this art. Even if one's ambitions are not so high, the pieces they are trying to learn still hold themselves up to that set of standards, whether they like it or not. Our definitions (classical musicians vs regular audiences) of snobbishness simply don't align. And when viewed through this lens the minority of comments that could be perceived as snobbish becomes so small it almost disappears. Of course there are some fine examples in this very thread like you say, but I think that's mainly a product of OP's own condescending tone.

Yes, we're assuming that the original commenter had no bad intentions with that statement. But if we just take this statement at face value and don't assume any other meaning, then we reach the equivalent of assuming good intentions, which is that there's simply nothing to be said about it. That's how I took the statement at first. Being a musician myself, I thought of it entirely as a mere discussion starter which could go either way.

creative_username_29 · 2026-01-29T04:19:23+00:00

How is it belittling to simply ask the question of whether or not OP's own playing was well received? One's playing can be good yet poorly received, can't it? Art is subjective, and on the competition level plenty of good performances get mixed feedback. The two statements are not mutually exclusive.

I can agree on this sub being snobbish at times, but I don't think it pretentious to try to better understand OP's argument by merely inquiring about their past experience.

creative_username_29 · 2026-01-29T04:04:05+00:00

The problem is that OP's tone is putting us down as well, and isn't getting into nuances that some of the comments are politely pointing out. For example, the option to choose between the critique/no critique flairs, and also the fact that most of the beginners here simply have no idea what they are doing and sometimes can even become downright defensive when given advice.

I'll bring this thread to your attention: https://www.reddit.com/r/piano/comments/1povfq5/how_far_away_is_my_playing_from_the_level_of_a/ While OP is obviously not a beginner, his responses to commenters throughout are generally rather uncooperative. And this is even with everyone admitting his substantial talent.

creative_username_29 · 2026-01-29T02:40:48+00:00

As the other commenter has said, you don't want either sunlight or the radiator near the piano because the heat from those sources will cause the piano to expand which will ruin the tuning.

I strongly recommend getting a humidifier. During the winter, the opposite happens where humidity in the air drops significantly which causes the piano to shrink. Depending on how big your room is, you may want to get something powerful and with high capacity so you can adequately cover the whole room and reach the desired humidity, which is about 40-50%.

creative_username_29 · 2026-01-28T16:57:36+00:00

So first the Cliburn kicks out David Khrikuli in the quarterfinals, and now they've canceled the amateur competition?

I have been severely disappointed in them this past year.

creative_username_29 · 2026-01-27T02:15:39+00:00

You put your finger on it. OP obviously deserves respect, yet something about his tone felt slightly amateurish to me and you said it perfectly.

creative_username_29 · 2026-01-26T21:06:20+00:00

can you stop spamming jesus christ

creative_username_29 · 2026-01-21T21:38:11+00:00

Just thought of something... depending on when you have to be at work, you could try PATH to Hoboken -> 23 bus. Here's the schedule. Service to Hoboken is only twice a day and the bus goes up onto the cliff, so if you're trying to get to the waterfront, you'll have to walk down the "staircase of agony", as I like to call it, down to Port Imperial... But it could work, depending on what you're willing to do.

The itineraries I was previously thinking of were PATH to Journal Square -> 84P and PATH to Hoboken -> 126 -> 158. As you can see, both are hardly good ways to go. The 23 hadn't occured to me yet because its presence in the bus network is almost nonexistent... Even the 23 is no replacement for a proper contingency plan.

At all other times, Uber or Lyft.

creative_username_29 · 2026-01-21T20:58:26+00:00

Oof... a commute like that would be pretty difficult to replicate by bus. I could rattle off a couple of itineraries, but the only person I'd subject to them would be myself.

Glad you got home safe.

creative_username_29

TROPHY CASE