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| My corner, from the Woodruff chess playing side |
Neighbor Edu Bayer took the pictures. Ironically I'd JUST met him, then this came out, the most human and touching look at the City's Dollar Van culture I've ever seen (
here in the NY Times). The Q is a huge fan of DV's, even if they cost $2 now (they were a buck when I moved to the 'hood). Yes, a few "cowbody" drivers are terrible aggressive drivers - I make sure I get in vans from one of the main DV companies, and always make sure the van has TLC plates and the driver has the proper registration. If you're in a hurry, or it's late or early or holidays and weekends, the B41 just doesn't cut it. And the DV is always a trip, as well as a cheap, fast trip. I've discovered so much great music by riding them and keeping my ears open.
Congrats to Edu an his wife on the birth of their son. I'm super impressed by Bayer's work, global, political and deep. You can sample
on his website. So much talent around here it boggles the mind! Another reason NYC is the most exciting place in the country to live.
7 comments:
I appreciate NY Times and the Q trying to humanize the Dollar Van drivers. I'm sure there are some legit and safe drivers. But to say that unsafe drivers are an exception is disingenuous. I walk and drive on the Flatbush corridor with regularity. The drivers constantly swerve, blow lights, make drops/pick ups at cross walks, and cut you off. This is an everyday and frequent occurrence. They also incessantly add to the noise pollution by constantly honking their horn. Finally, a majority of these vans look like they are going to fall apart. Passengers don't seem to mind because it gets them from Point A to Point B faster. Having ridden these dollar vans several times, I get that. But I would like to see more traffic enforcement on these vehicles, despite the NY Times article or the Q's view on these vans. Same goes for the ones driving between the chinatowns, etc. It can be argued that these vans suck money out of the MTA and we all know MTA is desperate for more money.
As bad as the dollar vans are (and they're pretty bad) I think they've forfeited the "worst drivers" award to the Uber and Lyft personnel. Maybe these bigger mini-buses just aren't as deadly agile as the old vans. They certainly aren't as fast.
Also, a few days ago I saw something odd on Flatbush Ave. A white car marked "Taxi & Limousine Authority Enforcement Division" was behind a dollar van. (In nearly 40 years in NYC I've never seen one of these T&L vehicles before.) I saw the dollar van pick up a passenger near Midwood St. and the T&L cops immediately put on their flashing lights, stopped the van, and approached the driver. It didn't look to me like the driver did anything else other than stop, open the door, then close the door—maybe 5 seconds total. Admittedly it was in a lane of traffic and mid-block. I didn't stick around for the rest of the story but I was wondering—are the dollar vans technically illegal? Or was there something in that pickup that violated an (almost) never-enforced regulation?
re: It can be argued that these vans suck money out of the MTA and we all know MTA is desperate for more money.
That argument seems disingenuous because as the article says:
"The first dollar vans are thought to have appeared in New York around 1980, when drivers offered rides to strangers for $1 during a transit strike."
Furthermore, the dollar van serves a need. There are signs that service along the B41 bus route (especially local service) needs to be improved:
From 2003: "Reducing Delays on the B41 Bus" - a report presented for Transportation Alternatives, NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign: https://www.straphangers.org/reports/Reducing_Delays_on_the_B41_Bus.pdf
From 2013: "B41 Is Slowest Bus In Brooklyn, Transit Group Says" https://patch.com/new-york/prospectheights/b41-is-slowest-bus-in-brooklyn-transit-group-says-prospectheights
From 2018: "NYC Bus Service Isn’t Getting Better, and de Blasio’s Not Doing Much to Fix It" https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2018/02/14/nyc-bus-service-isnt-getting-better-and-de-blasios-not-doing-enough-to-fix-it/
These selections are from within the past 15 years.
Maybe if service along the B41 were improved significantly, there'd be less of a market for the dollar vans, right? Besides, whatever money you believe dollar vans suck out of the MTA coffers would pale in comparison to the amount that has been divested from the MTA's budget for years. (See also: "How Politics and Bad Decisions Starved New York’s Subways" from the New York Times.)
@10:30, OK OK OK. Fair enough - the MTA is a mess...not just because these dollar vans suck money out of the MTA. The MTA sucks for lots of reasons including bad labor contracts, political indifference, bad decisions, etc. Flatbush traffic in general is soul crushing. Just like ride hailing apps have increased traffic leading to more bus delays, the same thing can be said about these dollar vans. There are lots of them, and they clog up the corridor.
Your last point is a chicken/egg issue. That is, the bus would operate more timely if there were fewer dollar vans (and ubers). For me, I identify 2 points that make me against these dollar vans: 1) they're unnecessarily noisy; and 2) you can be sure they are either minimally insured or uninsured. So if you get hit by one of these careless/aggressive drivers, you're shit out of luck that you'd ever be able to recover your medical bills or get compensated for pain and suffering. That's why these dollar vans are so cheap. Meanwhile, if an MTA bus hits me, at least I know I can recover. Also, I think MTA bus drivers are far safer than dollar van drivers. I have no beef in general with MTA buses.
re: Your last point is a chicken/egg issue. That is, the bus would operate more timely if there were fewer dollar vans (and ubers).
Did you read the report from the Straphangers Campaign? It gave several possible solutions to speed up the route; it did not single out the dollar vans. It mentioned "traffic congestion". As someone who has ridden the B41 from one end (Cadman Plaza) to another (Kings Plaza) all my life, I have seen first-hand that the dollar vans are not the sole cause of traffic congestion. They're probably not even a major contribution of congestion. Plenty of personal vehicles contribute to the congestion, like those who sit in their cars, obstructing one lane, while someone else in the vehicle patronizes a local business on Flatbush Avenue. Delivery vehicles also do this.
re:Just like ride hailing apps have increased traffic leading to more bus delays
Is there data to support that assertion? Significant delays along the route existed well before the advent of Uber and Lyft.
Anon @ 3:14. I do not disagree that dollar vans are not the sole cause of traffic congestion. The other examples you cite are also causes and no doubt very frustrating to see on a daily basis, including personal vehicles. Also, have you also noticed lots of "Official NYC" cars that also clog up the streets?
Anyway, yes. There is empiracal data that shoes that ride hailing apps cause traffic. https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2017/12/how-to-fix-new-york-citys-unsustainable-traffic-woes/548798/
But back to the dollar vans: I do not appreciate them at all. I appreciate them as much as I appreciate the forced entertainment of "showtime" on the Q train at any hour of the day. F-them.
re:I appreciate them as much as I appreciate the forced entertainment of "showtime" on the Q train at any hour of the day.
Obviously. They're not going anywhere any time soon though.
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