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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, OCTOBER 20, 2019
Wheel progress
MTA launches sweeping redesign of Brooklyn buses
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority launched its borough-wide overhaul of the bus network on Oct. 2. Photo by Elissa Esher
Transit gurus kicked off a sweeping
overhaul of Brooklyn’s bus
The Metropolitan Transportation
Authority launched its
fi rst ever borough-wide revamp
of Kings County’s bus system by
talking to straphangers at the
Williamsburg Bridge Plaza Bus
Terminal in an effort to bring
faster and more reliable service
to the borough, according to the
agency.
“We’re taking a holistic,
clean-slate look at Brooklyn bus
service. By redesigning the bus
network, we can deliver more
frequent, reliable service that
satisfi es the needs of the borough,”
reads a statement by the
Transit honchos plan to re-examine
the borough’s 63 local and
nine express bus lines over the
coming year — some of which
follow old trolley or former elevated
train lines no longer in use
— while looking at ways to make
them faster and more reliable.
The renewed push to improve
the system comes as more and
more Brooklynites are opting
against taking the bus. Express
and local bus service have seen a
10- and 14-percent decline in ridership
respectively since 2016,
as straphangers rebel against
the shuttles’ sluggish average
speed of 7.7 mph, according to
the agency.
The deteriorating situation,
coupled with recent cuts made to
the B38 , B54 , and the B46 — the
busiest bus route in the borough
— have led to numerous demonstrations
for angry straphangers
, including one disgruntled
commuter, who was so mad that
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BY KEVIN DUGGAN
network on Oct. 2.
agency’s Five Borough arm.
he baked protest cookies at a
rally in August.
Under the makeover scheme
— which is part of New York City
Transit President Andy Byford’s
Fast Forward plan — the agency
will collaborate with the city’s
Department of Transportation to
build new bus lanes, expand service
along busy corridors, and
reroute under-utilized buses.
The agency plans to use data
from MetroCard swipes and satellite
tracking systems, along
with information on residential
and commercial development,
and other transportation methods
— including taxis and ridesharing
vehicles — to help facilitate
their improvements.
Offi cials also want to hear
from commuters — as the agency’s
outreach staff have begun
compiling rider feedback at bus
stops and subway stations, and
will begin inviting commuters to
open house meetings by the end
of the month.
In speaking with this paper,
straphangers were chiefl y concerned
with improving reliability
and reducing overcrowding
on borough buses.
“At the end of the day, if the
buses would just come consistently
I’d have a lot less issues
with the bus system in general —
they should focus on that fi rst,”
said Bedford-Stuyvesant resident
Hosneara Begum. “Most
people are just trying to get to
places on time.”
Another commuter said she
prefers enduring the long descent
into her nearest subway
station — despite suffering from
bad knees — rather than risk being
late using Brooklyn’s unreliable
bus service.
“When I’m in a hurry, I have
to take the train rather than
wait. I have bad knees so I need
to take the elevator - that’s a long
walk - and then I get on a packed
train car and sometimes have to
stand up, which is really bad for
my knees,” said Evette Range.
And one Crown Heights high
school student said he’s often
forced to skip buses, which frequently
arrive packed to the gills
with surly straphangers.
“A lot of the time I just have
to wait for the next bus to come
around, because there are way
to many people for me to fit on
my bus,” said 17-year-old Sam
Sou. “That means waiting a
whole other 20 minutes usually.”
The Transit Authority
wrapped up a borough-wide bus
revamp in Staten Island in 2018,
and has since launched similar
projects in the Bronx and
Queens. They plan to unveil
their fi nalized Brooklyn scheme
in late 2020.
— Additional reporting by
Elissa Esher and Joe Hiti