BRONX W www.BXTimes.com EEKLY October 27, 2019 10
MTA’s Bronx bus rollout aimed to speed up commute
BY ALEX MITCHELL
AMNEWYORK REPORTER
After months of planning and
outreach, the MTA rolled out a new
look for Bronx’ bus network on
Tuesday.
MTA Transit president Andy
Byford announced the latest and
greatest tweaks to the plan outside
of the Bronx County Building
where Borough President Ruben
Diaz Jr. gave the MTA chief unyielding
support on the plan — which is
anticipated to commence in upcoming
months.
Also speaking at the event were
State Senator Jamaal Bailey, assemblymembers
Michael Benedetto,
Nathalia Fernandez and
LaToya Joyner, Councilman Mark
Gjonaj and NYC Department of
Transportation commissioner Nivardo
Lopez.
“The Bronx bus redesign gives
us the opportunity to build a foundation
for a new high-frequency
network to serve the largest number
of riders at the times when they
need bus service the most,” Byford
said Tuesday morning.
So what exactly can the 675,000
Bronx riders expect from the new
MTA bus layout? More express service
to Manhattan, for starters.
The redesign will be bringing in
a new express bus, the BxM5 which
will run from the north end of the
borough to Midtown. That’s in addition
to the Bx25 and M125 buses being
shifted to two new, local routes.
“Quite frankly we were skeptical
about the redesign, and did not
know what to expect with the redesign
at fi rst,” Diaz said.
The plan will also be removing
400 local stops, Byford explained.
The new network includes additional
bus transfer opportunities designed
to deliver higher frequency of
bus service and reduced wait times
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Academic Core Building, 94-20 Guy R. Brewer Blvd., Jamaica, NY 11451
throughout the borough.
There are also greater connections
between subways and buses,
such as a new route for the Bx40
and Bx42 buses which includes a
stop at the 180th Street station on
the #2 and #5 IRT subway lines.
Seven other bus routes were also
simplifi ed for greater effi ciency
and bring customers to major corridors.
Improving access to Co-op City
was critical to the Bronx bus network
redesign, Byford noted.
When the Co-op City community
objected to the MTA’s draft bus
proposal, he attended their rally to
learn fi rsthand what the residents
wanted. As a result of that meeting
most bus lines serving the neighborhood
were left intact to provide
residents as many travel options as
possible.
Another point that the bus redesign
aims to address is improved
cross-borough service in the Bronx.
Because subway and Metro North
lines only run from north to south
in that borough, commuting from
between the east and west ends
of the Bronx relies heavily on the
MTA’s buses through larger thoroughfares
such as Pelham Parkway
and East Tremont Avenue.
Those roads and about eight
more in the Bronx are going to be
studied by the DOT to either have
bus lanes installed or to become
‘priority’ areas, according to DOT.
The MTA also said that adjustments
could be made to the fi nalized
plan as it progresses forward.
Assemblyman Michael Benedetto joins Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. and other elected offi cials to announce the redesign
on Tuesday, October 22.
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