Comments on: Eyes on the Street: Ikea Shuttles Tearing Through Brooklyn ‘Hoods

By: Mel

Mel — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:08:35 +0000

Just a silly little response to Ed's comment on bus racks. The bus labeled as Kansas City is actually a Seattle bus (KC= King County)

By: Lee

Lee — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:42:52 +0000

I was thinking the same thing. Why not pedicabs? In other countries Ikea provides cargo bicycles as rentals (made by Velorbis) for hauling flat-packs home and back. I know they do an e-trike and various other solutions. Perhaps they could lend Ikea a hand here in NYC.

http://www.velorbis.com/local-news/tags/IKEA/

"We want to work closely with corporations to encourage cycling initiatives and healthy lifestyles for employers and employees – stress free travel for city professionals. As we all know; a healthy body equals a healthy, motivated mind.

Your company can purchase a fleet of bicycles for your employees to use on a first come, first served basis. This option could allow your company to provide unique and convenient transportation options for your employees – bicycles could be used to travel from the station to work and from the station to home, effectively reducing stressful journey times. Corporate bicycles could also be used as innovative promotional gifts for Company customers and suppliers.

An available bicycle fleet can be viewed as a goodwill gesture with the cost fully tax deductible for your company. "

By: gecko

gecko — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:29:55 +0000

For whatever it is worth in Red Hook, there are many lots filled with buses (perhaps in the hundreds) that go out every day that have nothing to do with Ikea.

Luckily, in recent years the idling law has been enforced and the bus companies seem to be in compliance.

By: Ed

Ed — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:55:56 +0000

Even if they just did it for the P.R. value, these buses should be compact electric hybrids, and we all know they should have bike racks on the front:

Portland: http://outdoors.mainetoday.com/trailhead/Bike%20n%20Bus%2007.JPG
Kansas City: http://transit.metrokc.gov/up/archives/2003/032003-hybrid.jpeg
San Francisco: http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t175/jcwinni/304649_465041_381_470_MUNI__large_I.jpg

By: Adam

Adam — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:56:25 +0000

To Jooltman...IKEA should have thought about what they said...as I'm not sure of a private operator around NYC that owns hybrid buses, and they knew (or should have known) that they could not keep this promise. Oh, and those buses are not on their designated route, which requires the use of Van Brunt Street.

By: Adam

Adam — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:51:25 +0000

At least the Elizabeth IKEA uses one designated company, Academy, for its shuttles. What the NYCDOT (and IKEA) need to do is establish specific routes for motorcoaches to get to IKEA, specifically involving the Gowanus and Court Street (alternately via Van Brunt), and designate one operator for its services following a specific route that is best for all parties involved, and close the streets, especially Clinton, Henry, and Hicks, which were never designed to handle 45' buses, to all buses except school buses and franchised buses. (a No Vehicles over 33' except Local Deliveries and Authorized Buses sign would do). This is one case where buses are NOT desirable.

By: gecko

gecko — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 17:03:15 +0000

Follow-up on UPS: "During World War II, fuel and rubber shortages influenced retail stores to curtail delivery services and to encourage customers to carry their packages home."

"Millions depend on UPS. Step inside the largest package delivery company on the planet, delivering 4 billion packages a year."

Further removing cars and trucks from the streets, major package sorting facilities situated along the East River and much broader use of the city's extensive waterfront might serve as the genesis of one vision for reinventing freight delivery in New York City based UPS' Worldport (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worldport) and profiled in National Georgraphic's series “Ultimate Factories” series in the episode on UPS.

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/ultimate-factories/3330/Overview#tab-Videos/05351_00

By: gecko

gecko — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:02:44 +0000

#41 Attendee, Thanks for the correction. Was probably told this years ago by someone working at Macy's and believed it ever since. The history describing the possible connection:

http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/about/history/1980.html

"1930 - 1952
In 1930 UPS extended its reach to the East Coast when it began consolidating the deliveries of several large department stores in New York City and Newark, New Jersey. However, trends during the 1940s and 1950s prompted UPS to redefine itself. During World War II, fuel and rubber shortages influenced retail stores to curtail delivery services and to encourage customers to carry their packages home. Nonetheless, UPS still continued to grow."

By: Attendee

Attendee — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 01:26:14 +0000

For the record, UPS started out delivering (opiate) drugs from pharmacies to customers in Seattle.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:54:22 +0000

If you look at the Ikea web site, you will see that the shuttle bus route goes down Columbia, not Clinton Street. The point is not only the speed and the congestion on a residential street, but they are not following their own proper route down a street where buses already run.

By: gecko

gecko — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:19:22 +0000

UPS (United Parcel Service) started as Macy's freight and delivery service so, would it be too much of a stretch for UPCS (United PediCab Service) originate from Ikea's flagship store; other HPVs (human-powered vehicles) as well?

By: gecko

gecko — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:49:16 +0000

These huge buses are hysterical.

Ikea should be embarrassed enough to do a lot better.

By: jooltman

jooltman — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:32:11 +0000

These buses are WAY too big. And didn't IKEA promise to use hybrid buses? That's what Bill deBlasio's office told me. Well, these charter buses are not hybrid and they stink. I've also seen mostly empty buses. IKEA talks a good game about "striving to prevent the negative environmental impact of business" when they are trying to sell "green" products to people. What about their own business practices in our neighborhood? Yuck.

By: J. Mork

J. Mork — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:06:28 +0000

dd: yeah, and the guys who broke into the Watergate Hotel were outsourced too....

By: arv

arv — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:23:42 +0000

I was on Clinton the other day and it wasn't hard to notice these huge buses hauling ass down a pretty narrow street.

By: ddartley

ddartley — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:58:33 +0000

According to Ikea, the shuttle buses that serve the location are outsourced. The company they use is called Corporate Express.

By: susponyc

susponyc — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:31:20 +0000

I live on Columbia Street. We have had the B61 for years and that causes havoc, but at least most drivers are respectful of the residential neighborhood. We have IKEA shuttles TEARING down Columbia Street too. It is terrible., Why don't they use VAN BRUNT, north of the tunnel which is a proper truck route, COlumbia Street, aside from MTA is for local traffic only. I think that we need to get a neighborhood group to meet with the 76th. Does another person have to die before something is done about Red Hook traffic?

By: combustiblegirl

combustiblegirl — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:12:32 +0000

I live in Red Hook and when were leaving the neighborhood last Saturday to go to Prospect Park we were nearly run off the road by one of the shuttle buses going to Smith and 9th. (I'm not exaggerating, either.) The bus (and others we saw later) were traveling way to fast for those roads and were driving recklessly and aggressively. All I kept thinking is, this is a bike route! I would not want to ride my bike along this part of the proposed greenway path. Also for those who suggest the buses take Van Brunt, that's the route for the MTA, and they're trying to divvy up the traffic onslaught. Van Brunt would also grind to a halt if all traffic were directed down there as well. The reality is that these buses are too big and the drivers at the moment are driving irresponsibly and dangerously. And where is the police department to keep this in check. (Ha!) I called IKEA to let them know what happened. They of course transfered my call to a central office and kept me on hold for 20 minutes before taking down the details and the bus number. Something has to be done to mitigate the threat here. Keeping more cars off the road is good, but not if what replaces them is a hazard.

By: Lee Watkins

Lee Watkins — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:08:45 +0000

Some of the Ikeas are now offering shared danish cargo bicycles with trailers to take goods home in - why not pressure the NYC location to follow in their footsteps?

https://www.freetrailer.dk/default.aspx

Update - "The first IKEA in Copenhagen to loan out the bikes is in Gentofte, north of the city. Since the programme started, IKEA reps from Sweden, Germany and China have flown in to visit the Gentofte store and to see the Velorbis bikes and trailers in action."

http://www.copenhagenize.com/2008/06/ikea-idea-with-velorbis-bikes.html

By: paulb

paulb — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:07:02 +0000

I agree with d--these over-the-road buses are the wrong rolling stock for the job. But I suppose that's what's available for charter.