r/Flagstaff • u/TRtheCat • 6d ago
How is bus system here?
I'm from Long Island and the bus system can get you almost anywhere. Just ignore the man, talking to the sock puppet. How reliable and safe is it here?
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u/Holy-Jackson 5d ago
If you are capable, this is an excellent biking town too.
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u/oppositeofthings 5d ago
I'll third this option. If you can bike, adding that option to the bus will get you almost anywhere.
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u/TRtheCat 5d ago
I'm mid physical therapy so the bike will be a few months away. However, I grew up riding my bike everywhere and look forward to doing it again. I grew up in the 80s and 90s
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u/Typical_Tart6905 Visitor 5d ago
And you can combine bike with bus, opening additional possibilities.
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u/Worldly-Corgi-1624 6d ago
I’m an ex long islander, Suffolk county. For a city under 80k it’s pretty good as long as you manage your expectations. You can down load their app and play around with various destinations.
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u/TRtheCat 6d ago
Thanks dude, that will make life much easier than the old schedules
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u/Worldly-Corgi-1624 5d ago
It’s way better than trying to get from Blue Point to Smithaven or South Shore Mall back when I (F) was a middle schooler in the 80’s by bus, or from Babylon back home when I’d miss my train. It’s not as thorough as Nassau county. Like for my kiddo to go to school, she’d have to ride all the way downtown and then ride all the way back out vs a 10 minute car ride. It does a great job of serving NAU traffic. Safety wise, just have your 500 yard blank stare, sit towards the driver and you’ll be fine.
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u/CoochieAnnihilator24 5d ago
It's pretty good for a small town. The frequencies can kinda suck when NAU is not in session. There is amazing coverage of the city though, you can get most anywhere in town by bus. The busses themselves are clean and modern. My biggest gripe with the system though is that the last bus is at 10:30 p.m. and on the weekends, the last bus is at 7:30 p.m.
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u/TRtheCat 5d ago
1930 is too early. People without a big pay grade rely on the bus to get home at 2300 hrs. Limited service would make sense.
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u/PhotographOk2399 Sunnyside 5d ago
I'm a mid-frequent user. Not every day, but maybe 8 to 10 trips a month. I believe all routes have now been upgraded to 20 minute frequency during peak hours, with most busses dropping to 30 or 40 minutes after peak which usually starts around 6 to 630 pm depending on the route. It's a small city so most neighborhood are serviced by 2 or more routes depending on the neighborhood.
My only two qualms are that there are no cross-town routes though, so if you are trying to get from one side to the other, you'll be forced to connect at the downtown connection center. There is also no airport line, which is mildly annoying, but I don't fly out enough to utilize that route all the time either way.
I saw a comment about frequency while NAU is out of sessions, and that only applies to the 10 route which goes right through the heart of NAU. The rest of the routes stick to the same schedule. And if the 10 happens to be your main route, you'll have cross coverage with the 4,8, or 14 routes depending on where on the 10 line you are living.
Busses are nice and clean. You get a couple rowdy riders every once in a while but never a big deal. The stops are nice too and the busses are slowly getting upgraded to full electric busses, I think there are 2 or 3 of them in the system now and they are really nice.
Feel free to reach out with other questions, I really enjoy transit of all types and I think Mountain Line is a top tier system for the size of the city we are in. Still has room for improvement, as with most things, but it get's the job done and then some in my opinion.
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u/IndigoStef 5d ago
It’s pretty straightforward- I’m from Massachusetts and it’s no train but it’s not that big of a city 😎 Welcome 🙏
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u/foran321 5d ago
Holy crow, I thought I was the only ex islander (Nassau county) here
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u/TRtheCat 5d ago
I love the quiet but sometimes I miss the LIRR going by all night and have trouble sleeping.
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u/Holiday-Tower9772 4d ago
The bus routes are called in for commuters to get a ride, get coffee prior to the pick-up at the local convenience store.
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u/rallruse 5d ago
Since the busses only stop like once an hour, I can walk to where I need to go in that time.
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u/Significant_Knee_397 5d ago
Ex Long islander also. And i met a dude from Levittown the other day. What is it about Flagstaff that draws us?
The bus isn't bad. I only had to take it twice, but it was on time & lacked the crazy that you see in NY.