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FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM AUGUST 22, 2019 • THE QUEENS COURIER 11 Queens pols attack MTA’s decision to remove bus arrival schedules BY MAX PARROTT mparrott@schnepsmedia.com @QNS Th e Metropolitan Transit Authority’s (MTA) decision to get rid of printed arrival schedules buses across the city has incurred the ire of Queens politicians. Aft er the MTA began removing the printed schedules in July in order to save an estimated $550,000 and modernize its system, 16 Queens lawmakers signed a letter a the beginning of August attacking this policy as disproportionately aff ecting low-income and senior New Yorkers who may not have access to a cellphone or smartphone. “Replacing bus schedules with only a notice that commuters may text MTA or call 511 for an updated schedule does not help those riders without access to a charged cellphone, especially our senior citizens, low-income New Yorkers, and event tourists,” wrote Councilman Peter Koo, who penned the letter. In lieu of the arrival schedules, the MTA has printed placards that give directions on how to get arrival information by using a smartphone from the MYmta app, texting their route and intersection, calling 511 or tweeting at the @NYCTBus account. In July the agency changes the signage on 83 bus routes across the city. Th e MTA argued that its decision follows other transit systems across the country who have already gone paperless, as a result of high rates of cellphone and smartphone usage. Th e last time the NYC Department of Consumer Aff airs commissioned a mobile services study in 2015, it found that about 96 percent of New Yorkers own a cellphone and 79 percent own a smartphone. Th e change originated from the MTA’s eff orts to update bus schedules across the city. Th e agency stated that replacing the printed materials every time a route is aff ected is and expensive and time-consuming process. “Moving to paperless schedules helps reduce our paper waste and makes the most of new technology that puts real-time information in customers’ hands whenever they need it. Th e $550,000 in recurring annual savings from this initiative allows NYC Transit to redirect our resources to maintaining bus service levels,” MTA NYC Transit Chief Customer Offi cer Sarah Meyer said. But cost effi ciency isn’t the complete motivation for the MTA’s decision. Another part of the MTA’s reasoning stems from the challenges that buses have keeping up with the timeframe set by the printed materials. A response from the @ NYCTBus Twitter indicates that traffi c has become so erratic that a regular time schedule for buses is simply not realistic. “We made this change because we’ve found that our real-time data is much more reliable than schedule data, especially with traffi c conditions delaying buses and our dispatchers making schedule adjustments in real-time to even out waits,” @NYCTBus account has tweeted to several customers who inquired about the changes. Koo closed his letter with a call on the MTA to reconsider this policy and replace the fl iers at all bus stops in the city. Th e MTA has not yet responded to Koo’s request. Max Parrott/QNS The MTA has replaced bus arrival schedules with printed placards that give directions on how to use a cell phone or smartphone to get arrival information. This is more than great rates This is more savings for wherever you’re going. Platinum Savings Account 2.00% �� Guaranteed Fixed-Rate CD 2.10% �� Enroll in a branch by August 30, 2019. ��Ask about our business savings rates. ��Portfolio by Wells Fargo��3�� 1. �� link /WWW.QNS.COM link