After this current storm...

[Scrabbleship]

According to Metro, only the Vienna-Ballston and Shady Grove-Medical Center portions of Metro will be closed on Friday. More bus routes will resume service though.

I wonder why Metro isn't running shuttle buses for the affected portions of the Red/Orange lines. It isn't like Rockville Pike or I-66 aren't covered in snow and it'd help some riders. Maybe Ride On should do a one-day extension of the 46 to Shady Grove...

[btconet]

Maybe Ride On should do a one-day extension of the 46 to Shady Grove...

I'd anticipate that will mess up the blocking setup.  The bus that arrives at MCC at 222p can no longer leave at 227p.  True, the service will probably get slammed in timekeeping tomorrow anyway, but a 46 extension would probably overwhelm dispatch - not like the 40 footer every 15 minutes is a great substitute for a Red Line Train.

[Tritransit Area]

According to Metro, only the Vienna-Ballston and Shady Grove-Medical Center portions of Metro will be closed on Friday. More bus routes will resume service though.

I wonder why Metro isn't running shuttle buses for the affected portions of the Red/Orange lines. It isn't like Rockville Pike or I-66 aren't covered in snow and it'd help some riders. Maybe Ride On should do a one-day extension of the 46 to Shady Grove...

Cool, that's better news than before!

[WES]

Apparently some bus service started up again, don't know when they decided to restart bus service.  Tonight saw 2607 doing a 38B and a D41LFR doing an A12 and also another D41LFR (presumably 6164 deadheading back to Landover).

I am amazed that bus service didn't start sooner, because the streets were getting better as I left for work at about 12pm.

Oh yea one more thing today one year ago, it was in the 70s.

[WMATAGMOAGH]

Maybe Ride On should do a one-day extension of the 46 to Shady Grove...

I'd anticipate that will mess up the blocking setup.  The bus that arrives at MCC at 222p can no longer leave at 227p.  True, the service will probably get slammed in timekeeping tomorrow anyway, but a 46 extension would probably overwhelm dispatch - not like the 40 footer every 15 minutes is a great substitute for a Red Line Train.

Ride On is on their "S Schedule" on Friday.  From my reading of the brochure on their website, it sounds like the interlines are dropped on the S Schedule so extending the 46 to Shady Grove may not be impossible, except the S Schedule also specifically calls for no 46 service to Shady Grove.

[Scrabbleship]

Maybe Ride On should do a one-day extension of the 46 to Shady Grove...

I'd anticipate that will mess up the blocking setup.  The bus that arrives at MCC at 222p can no longer leave at 227p.  True, the service will probably get slammed in timekeeping tomorrow anyway, but a 46 extension would probably overwhelm dispatch - not like the 40 footer every 15 minutes is a great substitute for a Red Line Train.

Ride On is on their "S Schedule" on Friday.  From my reading of the brochure on their website, it sounds like the interlines are dropped on the S Schedule so extending the 46 to Shady Grove may not be impossible, except the S Schedule also specifically calls for no 46 service to Shady Grove.

That's somewhat short-sighted on their part, but buses are going to get slammed in timekeeping as it is on the 46 (and possibly some routes going eastward -- 5, 26, 37, 38, 48, etc.) with crunches of people trying to get to Metro.

[C40LF_2464]

Apparently some bus service started up again, don't know when they decided to restart bus service.  Tonight saw 2607 doing a 38B and a D41LFR doing an A12 and also another D41LFR (presumably 6164 deadheading back to Landover).

I am amazed that bus service didn't start sooner, because the streets were getting better as I left for work at about 12pm.

Oh yea one more thing today one year ago, it was in the 70s.

Yeah yesterday afternoon i saw some empty a** Flx B's on the F4.

[WMATAGMOAGH]

Maybe Ride On should do a one-day extension of the 46 to Shady Grove...

I'd anticipate that will mess up the blocking setup.  The bus that arrives at MCC at 222p can no longer leave at 227p.  True, the service will probably get slammed in timekeeping tomorrow anyway, but a 46 extension would probably overwhelm dispatch - not like the 40 footer every 15 minutes is a great substitute for a Red Line Train.

Ride On is on their "S Schedule" on Friday.  From my reading of the brochure on their website, it sounds like the interlines are dropped on the S Schedule so extending the 46 to Shady Grove may not be impossible, except the S Schedule also specifically calls for no 46 service to Shady Grove.

That's somewhat short-sighted on their part, but buses are going to get slammed in timekeeping as it is on the 46 (and possibly some routes going eastward -- 5, 26, 37, 38, 48, etc.) with crunches of people trying to get to Metro.

Why is it short sighted? 

Red Line is open up to White Flint now.  I think you are over exaggerating and over hyping this situation.  The federal government delayed its opening, my guess is they knew the roads would get better and 2 extra hours for Metro to be able to open more above ground trackage would make a huge difference, and it seems they were right.  On top of that, people have unscheduled leave if they need it.  Schools are still closed, many were going to be closed today anyway for staff development.  It is the start of the long weekend so many people may have been planning to take off work anyway. 

As for the S Schedule, not interlining in conditions like this makes sense.  Obviously the interlining is a bit more complex than this but let's say the 30 and 36 are interlined such that every trip does a round trip on the 30 from Bethesda, then a round trip on the 36, and so on.  If the neighborhood streets the 30 relies on are still difficult to pass through, the 36 passengers who use a route that only uses state roads are not going to be impacted nearly as much.  Also, the S Schedule calls for fewer buses to be on the road, acknowledging for drivers who can't make it in and lighter than expected loads with schools, the county government, and other workplaces being closed.  It looks like it is mostly based off the old Saturday Supplemental schedules that used to run on Presidents Day, MLK Day, Veterans Day, and Columbus Day. 

As it says on SubChat, "Before Posting, Think Twice!"

[rideonrulez]

Maybe Ride On should do a one-day extension of the 46 to Shady Grove...

I'd anticipate that will mess up the blocking setup.  The bus that arrives at MCC at 222p can no longer leave at 227p.  True, the service will probably get slammed in timekeeping tomorrow anyway, but a 46 extension would probably overwhelm dispatch - not like the 40 footer every 15 minutes is a great substitute for a Red Line Train.

Ride On is on their "S Schedule" on Friday.  From my reading of the brochure on their website, it sounds like the interlines are dropped on the S Schedule so extending the 46 to Shady Grove may not be impossible, except the S Schedule also specifically calls for no 46 service to Shady Grove.

That's somewhat short-sighted on their part, but buses are going to get slammed in timekeeping as it is on the 46 (and possibly some routes going eastward -- 5, 26, 37, 38, 48, etc.) with crunches of people trying to get to Metro.

Why is it short sighted? 

Red Line is open up to White Flint now.  I think you are over exaggerating and over hyping this situation.  The federal government delayed its opening, my guess is they knew the roads would get better and 2 extra hours for Metro to be able to open more above ground trackage would make a huge difference, and it seems they were right.  On top of that, people have unscheduled leave if they need it.  Schools are still closed, many were going to be closed today anyway for staff development.  It is the start of the long weekend so many people may have been planning to take off work anyway. 

As for the S Schedule, not interlining in conditions like this makes sense.  Obviously the interlining is a bit more complex than this but let's say the 30 and 36 are interlined such that every trip does a round trip on the 30 from Bethesda, then a round trip on the 36, and so on.  If the neighborhood streets the 30 relies on are still difficult to pass through, the 36 passengers who use a route that only uses state roads are not going to be impacted nearly as much.  Also, the S Schedule calls for fewer buses to be on the road, acknowledging for drivers who can't make it in and lighter than expected loads with schools, the county government, and other workplaces being closed.  It looks like it is mostly based off the old Saturday Supplemental schedules that used to run on Presidents Day, MLK Day, Veterans Day, and Columbus Day. 

As it says on SubChat, "Before Posting, Think Twice!"

Well said WMATAGMOAGH. I'm one of the few that developed the "S Schedule" at Ride On. We built the "S Schedule" to take out the interlining and to reduce the number of buses on the street. To see that you thought the #46 not going to Shady Grove on the S Schedule is short sighted is one of the stupidest comments I have seen. Work in the business and learn the insides of a transit system before you start talking $hit about it first....

[Tritransit Area]

Rideonrulez, you should have anticipated this very storm and extended the 46 to Shady Grove Station to help with Metrorail.  Shame on you for not looking into your crystal ball!  LOL  .

How long ago was the S schedule created, anyway?  Also, is the county Public Works working with Ride On to ensure that the routes the S schedule calls for are reasonably clear of snow?

Just curious, tis all.

[Sand Box John]

Snow picture by staff photographer Larry Levine and others can be had under the Snow February 2010 thumbnail at Metro Photo Gallery.

[aznboy4305]

That's somewhat short-sighted on their part, but buses are going to get slammed in timekeeping as it is on the 46 (and possibly some routes going eastward -- 5, 26, 37, 38, 48, etc.) with crunches of people trying to get to Metro.

Uh huh. So if a train has a wreck tomorrow, shutting down some portion of the Red Line, do you have a plan ready to pull out your ass? Do you have all your extra service scheduled, blocked, and cut to accommodate the specific situation at that specific time? Did you get this plan through operations and to the garages? Did you go down your list of hundreds of operators to get all the pieces assigned? Can they all report in time? Do they have enough time to figure out what they are doing?

Do you have ALL  of that done and ready to go when that phone rings? If not, that was short sighted on your part, you should've seen that coming. You were supposed to predict the unpredictable.

As far as timekeeping, why don't you learn a bit more about the S schedule before you talk $hit about it.

[Tritransit Area]

Golly...a lot of rage in this thread.  In theory, one would hope there would be contingency plans in place, although WMATA should be the ones responsible.  The only thing is...the snow makes it a tad difficult to get around. 

I don't think it's too wild a notion to expect increased ridership if the bus is running but the Metrorail is shut down.  After all, that's what happened earlier this week, no?

Just checking out the "S" plan...there's no printed "timetable", is there?  Just the brochure with approximate headways?  That may solve the "timekeeping problem".

Link: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/DOT/transit/S_Service_Plan-web.pdf

[rideonrulez]

How long ago was the S schedule created, anyway?  Also, is the county Public Works working with Ride On to ensure that the routes the S schedule calls for are reasonably clear of snow?

Just curious, tis all.

It was created 2 years ago and was run cut manually. There is a printed book that is prepared every winter with the full years updates to route extensions....etc

Just checking out the "S" plan...there's no printed "timetable", is there?  Just the brochure with approximate headways?  That may solve the "timekeeping problem".

Link: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/DOT/transit/S_Service_Plan-web.pdf

There is no "public" timetable available...