MTA gives Bronxites reprieve
from express bus service cuts
The proposed cuts the MTA
was planning for Bronx express
lines had Manhattanbound
commuters on the edge
of their seat.
However, express bus riders
can now breathe a bit easier
now that the MTA’s Bronx Bus
Redesign plan no longer includes
cuts in service for now.
On Thursday, January 16,
the MTA said it will not implement
any changes to express
bus service and will revisit the
issue later this year for 2021.
A hearing will be held
Thursday, February 20, to review
the fi nal draft of the Bronx
Bus Redesign and proposed
changes to local bus routes.
Borough President Ruben
Diaz, Jr. commended MTA
president Andy Byford for delaying
the cuts.
“As always, thank you @
NYCTSubway and my friend
Andy Byford for listening to
the concerns of Bronx commuters,”
Diaz said on Twitter.
In 2019, the MTA proposed
severe express bus cuts, including
the elimination of many lo-
cal stops.
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz,
Senator Alessandra
Biaggi, Councilman Andrew
Cohen, and Congressmen Eliot
Engel and Adriano Espaillat
penned a letter to the MTA in
November, decrying the west
Bronx cuts.
“With the implementation
of congestion pricing, we
should not be reducing service
– we should be expanding it,”
they said in the letter. “We understand
the fi scal realities of
express bus service and that
the operating budget is already
constrained even without the
necessary increased investment
in outer-borough bus service,”
they said in the letter.
“However, mass transit, by its
very nature, is a subsidy to encourage
people to not drive into
our city’s densest areas.”
Councilwoman Vanessa
Gibson also expressed her pleasure
with this decision as well.
The original plans called for rerouting
he BxM4 line, but now
residents can rest easy.
“Grateful to hear this and
RIDE FOR HALF PRICE
Starting in late January, low-income New York City residents
who are at or below the federal poverty level may qualify for
a half-priced transit fare using a Fair Fares MetroCard.
Check your eligibility at nyc.gov/fairfares
or call 311 for more information.
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,8 JANUARY 24-30, 2020 BTR
The MTA’s proposed express bus service cuts will not take place this year.
Schneps Media Jason Cohen
especially saving the BxM4 express
bus that allows our residents
on the Concourse to get
to/from Manhattan! Thank
You!” Gibson said on Twitter.
Assemblyman Michael
Benedetto announced the express
bus news to Co-op City
residents.
Co-op City residents live in a
transit desert and rely heavily
on the express buses, he said.
Rodney Saunders, the second
vice president of the RiverBay
Board of Directors in
Co-op City is quite pleased the
MTA listened to the residents.
Co-op City, as well as
Throggs Neck and Pelham Bay,
were about to be hit hard with
off-peak service reductions.
Early morning buses heading
uptown from Manhattan
and Manhattan-bound runs after
early afternoon were being
eliminated and weekend buses
were cut back severely.
For instance, under the initial
express bus plan, the last
downtown-bound express bus
service from the east Bronx
ended at 1 p.m. on Saturday and
noon on Sunday .
On weekdays, runs that carried
fewer than 10 passengers
on average were also targeted
for cutailment.
Also, there were going to
be less Bronx express stops in
an attempt to speed up the service.
The MTA planned to save
millions by making the proposed
reductions.
The MTA’s express bus cuts
were met with a huge outcry.
By postponing the changes the
MTA will give the ridership a
chance to comment before implementing
a fi nal plan.
/fairfares