Comments on: Bringing the bell cord back

By: The return of the bus pull cord :: Second Ave. Sagas | A New York City Subway Blog

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:58:01 +0000

[...] plan to restore a nostalgic aspect of bus riding to the city’s fleet. Pull cords, they announced, were coming back in style. Gone would be the hard-to-find and expensive-to-repair magnetic [...]

By: zgori

zgori — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:28:07 +0000

I believe the new Orion hybrids have both cords and red buttons on the poles. More importantly, though, is a major innovation on these buses which has been largely unmentioned — the rear door handles incorporate the opening mechanism within them, instead of along a separate tape. This means that exiters who are incapable of following directions (“touch tape to open door”) no longer cause the door to slam behind them.

By: The Secret Conductor

The Secret Conductor — Tue, 19 May 2009 21:26:31 +0000

I don’t agree that this is a good move. a mix of buttons and cords is a better idEa. and yes I am not a fan of the broken cords.

By: Sam

Sam — Tue, 19 May 2009 20:24:38 +0000

Great, you will never be able to reach the cord up against the windows without invading someone else’s personal space on overloaded bus lines, the red buttons on the Orion 7s are long over due. If your sitting, or want to brush someone’s hair, and you do pull on the cord, it will never work because of the cord being torn from vandalism/abuse/deferred maintenance. I remember the cursed Queens Surface/Triboro/Jamaica RTSes with their pull cords that were ripped 25% of the time, and not responding on that side of the bus the other 25% of the time.

By: Lex

Lex — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:33:14 +0000

Yes I’ve seen them on the QBx1 (old Queens Surface Co) buses up here, too. And the new Hybrid Buses all have them. It’s easier for the elderly who are numerous up here and for kid who take so much pride out of requesting the stop. I know I did and now I’d rather that little squirt do for me.

It should also be noted that the newest fleet of Hybrids and the last fleet had stop request buttons/cords accessibility in mind. No matter how crowded the bus is or where you’re standing you can easily request the stop. And at such a low cost, this is progress.

By: northgardner

northgardner — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:22:23 +0000

… or maybe they are new, and what I always thought were hold-overs are actually new.

By: northgardner

northgardner — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:20:27 +0000

They still have bell cords on some MTA Bus busses in Queens (and they’re not new). Either the Q64 or th Q39 (or both) has them.

By: Rhywun

Rhywun — Tue, 19 May 2009 17:57:06 +0000

1. I heard only new buses are coming with the cord, but even if they’re retrofitting old buses, it sounds like a cost-cutting measure that will be worth it anyway.

2. Nostalgia is a powerful human emotion that should not be discounted so easily. If bringing back the cord brings a little extra joy to people, it’s worth mentioning.

By: Alon Levy

Alon Levy — Tue, 19 May 2009 17:41:24 +0000

Meh. I grew up in Tel Aviv and Singapore, where you push “Stop” buttons on buses, and didn’t feel deprived of any meaningful bus experience. Personally I’m grated by this New York nostalgia. Just because New York’s been in relative decline for 60 years doesn’t mean you have to imitate the old days to get better.

By: Scott E

Scott E — Tue, 19 May 2009 17:09:33 +0000

I've got nothing against the bell cords, but retrofitting the whole fleet? That sounds like a more expensive proposition than it is worth. (I keep chucking at the reference to Stanley I. Fischler. This must be the well-known subway aficionado and "hockey maven" Stan Fischler, going incognito under a more formal name).