W.B.'s Bus Almanac for July 17th (329899) | |
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(329901) | |
Re: W.B.'s Bus Almanac for July 17th |
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Posted by andy on Tue Jul 17 11:55:03 2018, in response to W.B.'s Bus Almanac for July 17th, posted by W.B. on Tue Jul 17 06:13:33 2018. A long forgotten detail is that the M101 route, after the one-way changeover, actually had two separate route variations. The details were complicated, because two separate bus companies under common corporate ownership (Fifth Avenue Coach and Surface Transit) operated the original routes when Third and Lexington were two way avenues.During the month prior to the changeover, some Fifth Avenue drivers staged a wildcat strike to protest their new work assignments under the revised routes under one-way operation. Because some driver assignments were changed from Fifth Avenue Coach to Surface Transit, it was alleged that job seniority would be lost and the pay would be lower. The basic route was labeled M101 and operated between Fort George and City Hall using Surface Transit equipment and drivers. To assuage the Fifth Avenue drivers who went on strike, a short-turn M101 variation was created, operated between 23rd and 125th Streets, using Fifth Avenue Coach equipment and drivers, with the buses lettered for Surface Transit. |
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(329902) | |
Re: W.B.'s Bus Almanac for July 17th |
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Posted by W.B. on Tue Jul 17 14:27:05 2018, in response to Re: W.B.'s Bus Almanac for July 17th, posted by andy on Tue Jul 17 11:55:03 2018. It would appear that the post-one way conversion M-101 was basically a merger by FACL of the pre-conversion M-101 with the NYCO Division's 3 - Lexington Avenue, given this structure of which drivers handled the route at what points. I had read something (probably in your book) to the effect that after the conversions, M-101 was handled by FACL drivers between 23rd and 125th Streets, and ST drivers on each end, thus a FACL-ST hybrid with ST flagging. (I'm sure a small few in that period, especially after late 1960, were among the "new" TDH-5301's in the 3170 range that were allotted to Amsterdam depot.) Into the 1980's, I remember riding on M101 (and some M102) buses where drivers changed at Third and 23rd - but more notable on southbound runs than northbound. This may've been a byproduct of that 1960 arrangement. Would it have been from that point that M-101 was "split" between Amsterdam and 100th Street depots, as it was at the time MaBSTOA took over all the FACL and ST routes, up to 1965 when it went to 100th solely?During the 1962 FACL-ST strike that led to the MaBSTOA takeover, The New York Times, in their listings of Surface Transit routes out of service, had listed M-101 as two routes, Third-Amsterdam and Third Avenue between 6th and 96th Streets. This was evidently based on the October 1958 ST route map, given this 23rd-125th variant route (which I've also seen on late 1970's front roll signs split between red and blue on one). I've read in Google Books, snippets of transcripts of MaBSTOA proceedings from between 1962 and 1967, and the roots of the 2 Fifth-Madison-Lenox' demise took place on July 14, 1967, when they floated the idea of eliminating that route and salvaging the part of the route north of Lenox and 116th to create a "branch" of the M-101 Third-Lexington route - but it was nearly two years, as we know, before that plan was implemented and M-101A came into being. Again, I find it ironic, not to mention coming full circle. At the time NYCO Division's 3 and 4 were eliminated, they were both based out of 146th Street depot, while 2 was out of 100th Street. But in 1969, 2 (and Fifth-Madison-Seventh 2A, which MaBSTOA had merged with the ex-NYCO 2 at the time of the 1966 Fifth and Madison one-way conversions into one route with two "branches," Seventh and Lenox - hard to believe, but that's how MaBSTOA saw it and operationally ran it) were stationed at 146th Street - and the new M-101A was, like the main M-101, out of 100th Street. |
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(329904) | |
Re: W.B.'s Bus Almanac for July 17th |
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Posted by randyo on Tue Jul 17 18:33:26 2018, in response to Re: W.B.'s Bus Almanac for July 17th, posted by W.B. on Tue Jul 17 14:27:05 2018. What probably should have happened was a complete restructuring of the newly created MaBSTOA including a reassignment of routes and a complete integration of employee rosters into one system wide seniority list. If the union objected, then all the parent agency, the NYCTA would have had to do was say “OK either you accept our restructuring or we’ll let the lines revert to FACCO/STS and you can deal with them." |
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(329914) | |
Re: W.B.'s Bus Almanac for July 17th |
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Posted by andy on Tue Jul 17 23:29:44 2018, in response to Re: W.B.'s Bus Almanac for July 17th, posted by W.B. on Tue Jul 17 14:27:05 2018. Believe that the short turn M101 between 23rd and 125th Streets was handled with FACL drivers most likely operating out of 100th St. The M101 Third-Lex-Amst between City Hall and Fort George was a Surface Transit drivers route that was garaged at Amsterdam and possibly 2nd Ave.-126 before that depot became NYCTA Manhattan Division. Maybe some drivers were relieved at 23rd and Third Ave., but those were most likely one Surface driver relieving another. The short turn buses were FACL drivers, a compromise done in order to end the wildcat walkout in June 1960. The buses were FACL 4506/4507 GMs that were re-lettered for Surface Transit, no doubt not to confuse the public. |
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(329918) | |
Re: W.B.'s Bus Almanac for July 17th |
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Posted by W.B. on Wed Jul 18 07:27:44 2018, in response to Re: W.B.'s Bus Almanac for July 17th, posted by andy on Tue Jul 17 23:29:44 2018. Hmm. Interesting. But I did read about that whole business in the book. And as I noted about The New York Times coverage of the 1962 strike that ended FACL and ST's run with these routes, they did not in any way account for the 23d - 125th (as The Times would have designated the former street) run. Or acknowledge that it now went down Lexington. But then, their listings of NYCO and FACO Division routes were based on the 1957 map and did not account for the 1960 elimination of NYCO Division's 3 and 4 which they still showed. |
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(329924) | |
Re: W.B.'s Bus Almanac for July 17th |
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Posted by W.B. on Wed Jul 18 20:26:47 2018, in response to Re: W.B.'s Bus Almanac for July 17th, posted by andy on Tue Jul 17 23:29:44 2018. As well, it looks like this short-turn M-101 was basically a reconstituted, rebranded '3' route (which had run from 131st and Lex to 23rd), hence I wonder if this was a merger of an ST and a FACL-NYCO Division route, besides being a compromise to keep FACL drivers' hand in. |
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