8 AUGUST 3, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Here’s what we saw on a trip on the M train shuttle bus
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@A_GIUDICEREPORT
The so-called “Summer of Hell”
may not be so hellish for commuters
in Ridgewood, Glendale,
and Middle Village who are looking to
get around using the free MTA shuttle
buses while the M train is out of service
for repairs.
Since the M train was taken off the
tracks nearly a month ago between
Middle Village-Metropolitan Avenue
and Myrtle Avenue-Broadway for the
fi rst phase of repairs to replace the
bridge that goes over the Long Island
Rail Road’s (LIRR) Montauk Line
between Fresh Pond Road and Metropolitan
Avenue, commuters have been
forced to take one of three free shuttle
buses to reach other trains and buses.
Fears were high that the shuttle buses
would not be able to accommodate
and move the number of people who
rely on the M train quickly enough,
and that lines would build and delays
would be inevitable.
In order to see just how the shuttle
buses are running, this reporter
jumped on one of the routes and took
a ride down to Myrtle Avenue-Broadway
during Thursday morning’s
rush hour.
To get the best experience of how
the shuttles were operating, I took
the second route — the longest of the
three routes — which starts at the
Middle Village-Metropolitan Avenue
M train station and makes stops at
Metropolitan Avenue and Fresh Pond
Road, Forest Avenue, Seneca Avenue,
Myrtle-Wyckoff avenues (where commuters
can get the L train), Knickerbocker
Avenue, Central Avenue, and
terminates at Myrtle Avenue-Broadway
where riders can transfer to the
M train headed to Manhattan, the J or
Z train, and several bus routes.
As I reached the bus stop on Metropolitan
Avenue at 8 a.m. on July 27, I
noticed a line of buses waiting to pick
up passengers and was pleasantly
surprised to see no line for the Route
#2 bus as well as MTA personnel
directing riders and helping them get
on the right bus. There was, however,
a line building for the express shuttle
bus, but no more than about 10 people.
When I got on the free bus there
were only four other people waiting
to head off .
Promptly at 8:05 a.m. the bus took
off on its route. I was not sure what to
expect from the ride since my original
thoughts of long lines slowly trudging
onto a crowded bus with no seating
available were shattered by the quick
departure.
As the bus approached the intersection
of Metropolitan Avenue and Fresh
Pond Road I fi gured we would run into
some snags as construction on the deck
of the Metropolitan Avenue Bridge
was still taking place, but again, I was
surprised when we fl ew right through
the intersection, barely slowing down.
Three people got on the bus at
the stop, including Edwin Laboy, a
resident of Ridgewood who has been
taking the Route #2 shuttle bus since
the M train went down.
“I used to take the Q54 from here to
the M train stop on Metropolitan Avenue,”
he explained. “Now it is a little
uncomfortable for me since I am no longer
working because of my disability, I
have nerve damage in my legs. I have to
walk about four blocks to get the bus.”
Laboy added that he has been surprised
by the frequency of shuttle
buses and believes the MTA is doing
a good job in helping to move riders
during the train outage.
“Constantly shuttle buses are running,”
he said. “Every time when I
take the bus there’s always seats. I’m
kind of surprised myself. They had a
good plan in place. I think the constant
running of shuttle buses is good. They
are doing a good job.”
A bulk of the commuters departed at
Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenues, presumably
to get the L train into Manhattan. This
stop also saw the most riders get on the
bus — between 10 and 15 new passengers
— but it never got too crowded
and there was always seats available
during the trip.
With school being out for the summer,
there was a nice variety of people
Photo by Anthony Giudice/Ridgewood Times
taking this particular shuttle bus, from
working people, to teens, to the elderly,
and families with their children.
The shuttle arrived at its fi nal destination
at 8:40 a.m., for a total travel time
of 35 minutes. As everyone exited the
bus, most — if not all — of the commuters
went directly up the stairs to the
train station to continue their journey.
It would usually take 35 minutes to
reach Manhattan on the M train from
the Metropolitan Avenue stop, but
overall it was not a bad trip.
When it was time to head back to
Middle Village, I waited for about one
minute for a shuttle bus to show up at
9:08 a.m. As we left at 9:09 a.m., I was
the only rider on the bus, which was a
nice feeling having an entire MTA bus
to myself.
I was riding solo for most of the trip
until four people got on at the Myrtle
Wyckoff stop, and aft er a quick ride
I was back at the Metropolitan Avenue
M train station by 9:36 a.m., for a total
ride time of 27 minutes.
It seems that the MTA has the shuttle
buses running smoothly and commuters
are able to get to where they need
to go with minimal headache.
However, this is just one rider’s
experience on one particular day
during the morning hours. If you or
somebody you know has had diff erent
experiences, please do not hesitate to
reach out to QNS as we are looking to
hear peoples’ stories.
Things were running smoothly on the shuttle buses while the M train is down.
