Category: Better Bus Service

Southern Brooklyn SBS, 4.25 Years Later

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By Joseph Morales

The B82-SBS is New York City’s newest select bus service route which began service in October 2018. The route runs along Kings Hwy, which is among the busiest roads and travel arteries in Southern Brooklyn to the Canarsie and Starrett City areas and it has done so for little more than 4 years. The bus connects many areas without subway service to the L, B, Q, D, N and F trains as well as 21 bus routes including the B44-SBS(Nostrand/Bedford Av) and B46-SBS(Utica Avenue) which are also among the city’s busiest bus routes. The route contains many large high school campuses such as the Canarsie Educational Campus , South Shore Educational Campus, and James Madison High School. There are also multiple hospitals such as Mt Sinai Brooklyn, The New York Community Hospital and Midwood Medical Center. A large number of residents in communities along this corridor have a car free commute as per the NYU Furman Center such as Flatlands/Canarsie 52.1%, Flatbush/Midwood 73.5% and 67.8% Bensonhurst. Thus, many rely on that bus to get to the many subway stations on the route as well as across Brooklyn. Therefore, access to quality transit across this corridor is crucial to ensure that people have equitable access to transportation. The B82-LCL/SBS was the 7th busiest bus route in all of New York City and the 3rd busiest in Brooklyn in 2021 with a ridership of 5,287,019.

        The purpose of a select bus service route is to provide rapid transit service to areas without subway service that can benefit from subway-like service. Rather than spending years constructing a subway or light rail, the MTA can choose to create a select bus service route in its place. That is exactly what happened with the B82-SBS. 

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New Bus Lane Enforcement Measures Are Set To Speed Up Some Of The Bronx’s Busiest Bus Routes

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By Joseph Morales

The Bronx is a very busy borough and thus many of its residents rely on its bus system to get around, especially in areas that lack subway access. More Bronxites in low-income communities throughout the borough tend to rely on buses more often than those in other areas as residents there are less likely to own vehicles and more likely to live in the most dense areas of the borough. As shown in the graphs below, this is a mostly hard and fast rule with the exception of the northwestern corner of the Bronx in the Kingsbridge/Riverdale areas. Thus, the Bronx Bus Network is truly an engine of opportunity and equity in the borough.

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North Shore BRT and What It Would Mean For All Of Staten Island

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By Joseph Morales

        The North Shore of Staten Island has the highest population density of anywhere on Staten Island, with its density being twice that of Staten Island and similar to population densities in certain parts of Brooklyn, Queens and The Bronx. In addition to its population, the North Shore boasts many key destinations for people in the borough such as St. George(which includes the Staten Island Ferry Terminal), Richmond University Medical Center, the Staten Island Zoo and two large high schools(Curtis and Port Richmond). According to data from the New York City Department of City Planning, 37% of North Shore residents travel by public transportation to work and 27% of North Shore residents do not have access to a car. While these numbers are lower than those in many neighborhoods citywide, they are still much higher than national statistics, indicating that public transportation plays a major role in how people get around on the North Shore of Staten Island. In 2019, according to data from the NYU Furman Center, the median income in Staten Island Community District 1 that consists of North Shore neighborhoods was $79,000 with a poverty rate of 13%, indicating that for many residents they may not be able to afford other modes of transportation.

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1st Avenue Bus Lane Upgrades Could Speed Up The Entire M15-SBS Route

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By Joseph Morales

    The M15 is one of if not the busiest bus route in New York City. The M15-LCL/SBS has consistently ranked 1st in the MTA’s ridership totals in recent years averaging millions of riders annually. This is likely because the M15-LCL/SBS runs from East Harlem to the southern tip of Manhattan and runs along First and Second Avenues, which both offer extremely limited subway access. The recently constructed Second Avenue Subway(SAS) only serves Second Avenue between 96th St and 72nd St and a proposed phase 3 of the project that would send the SAS down to Houston Street is in the MTA’s 20 year needs assessment to be evaluated for completion between now and 2044. Therefore, people needing to get around on the Far East Side of Manhattan will be relying on the M15 for some time to get them around.

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The MTA Is Evaluating Subway Extension to Red Hook That Could Drastically Improve Mobility In The Area

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By Joseph Morales

  Red Hook, Brooklyn is an area with a very rich history as one of the busiest industrial neighborhoods in NYC. Now, it is a densely-populated residential community with a growing arts scene and a wide variety of businesses including an IKEA store. A substantial number of Red Hook residents live in the Red Hook East and Red Hook West NYCHA complexes, which is the largest public housing development in Brooklyn and one of the largest public housing complexes in New York City.

             Unfortunately, Red Hook can be a difficult place to travel to and from via public transportation. Red Hook is one of the few Western Brooklyn neighborhoods to not have subway access and bus service is limited. There are two MTA bus routes that operate in Red Hook, the B61 which travels from Park Slope through Red Hook to Downtown Brooklyn as well as the B57 which goes from the IKEA store in Red Hook to Maspeth, Queens primarily via Court Street through Red Hook and Cobble Hill and Flushing Avenue from Downtown Brooklyn to Maspeth. Despite being overcrowded sometimes, the B57 and B61 are not very frequent.(You can check out the schedules for these buses here:(B57)https://new.mta.info/document/7121 (B61) https://new.mta.info/document/7131These routes are also considered to be slow and unreliable. The B57 averaged speeds of 6.5-7.0 with a CJTP(Customer Journey Time Performance) of 56.2-70.6% each month between July 2021-2022. These numbers are lower than the Brooklyn averages of 7.0-7.3 mph and 65.5-74.8% each month in the same timeframe. While the B61 averaged higher speeds than the Brooklyn average of 7.3-7.8 mph each month as well as a pretty much average CJTP of 65.4-78.6%, it received a D on its latest report card from the Bus Turnaround Coalition, an advocacy group that fights for better bus service in NYC. This was in large part due to its 1 in 8 bunch rate, which was higher than 88.5% of NYC bus routes. A bus is considered bunched if it arrives within 25% of the bus that is supposed to come after them on its route. In addition, this route had a 53% on-time rate which was worse than 73.5% of NYC bus routes. CJTP measures what percentage of buses arrive at key destinations along its route within five minutes of its schedule. 

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NYCDOT is Looking Northern Blvd Better For Both Pedestrians and Bus Riders

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By Joseph Morales

     The Northern Blvd corridor between 114th St and Broadway is one of the busiest stretches in East Elmhurst and Jackson Heights. The area is both a busy commercial and residential area with a plethora of small businesses with roots from all over the world. There is also a good amount of public transit along the corridor. Despite the 7 train being about 0.5 miles south,  the Q66 local bus as well as 4 Queens-Manhattan express buses use the corridor. In addition, the M and R trains are located at the Northern Blvd Station which is on Northern Blvd and Broadway. Around 15,000 bus riders ride the bus along this portion of Northern Blvd on any given weekday. Public Transit and walking is a critical part of how people in the surrounding community get around  in Queens Community District 3, where the corridor is located as 64% of residents here take public transit to work and 8% walk according to data from the New York City Department of City Planning. Only 50% of housing units have at least one vehicle.

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The MTA May Considering Ways to Improve Transit on Staten Island’s West Shore

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By Joseph Morales

  The West Shore of Staten Island comprises the communities on the west side of Staten Island and accompanies about 20% of Staten Island’s total land. The West Shore includes neighborhoods such as Tottenville, Rossville, Travis-Chelsea, New Springville and more. Major destinations in and just outside of the West Shore include, the Staten Island Mall, The Teleport Office Complex, an Amazon Distribution Center and so much more. The West Shore has a large amount of things that can contribute to job growth such as a plethora of green space and other natural areas, suburban-style livable communities and a high density of potential employment hubs. The area also has solid highway access with the West Shore Expressway(NY-440), Staten Island Expressway(I-278) and Korean War Veterans Parkway all traveling through the West Shore. The Outerbridge Crossing and the Goethals Bridge both connect the West Shore of Staten Island to New Jersey. 

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Jamaica/Archer Av Busway, One Year Later

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By Joseph Morales

           The Jamaica and Archer Avenue Busway is a busway in the Downtown Jamaica section of Queens. In addition to being one of the largest bus/subway transfer hubs in Queens, Downtown Jamaica is also among the borough’s cultural, business and economic centers, making it one of the most popular transit destinations in the borough. Downtown Jamaica boasts an abundance of culturally-diverse retail, two colleges and much more. Thus as you might expect, the area gets congested on a regular basis, slowing down the over 250,000 bus riders and 48 bus routes(11 NICE(Nassau County) bus routes who pass through to get to their destinations daily. As many Queens and Nassau County residents live far from a subway station, for many this is the fastest way to get to a subway station. For those making trips within Queens, a large portion of bus routes terminate in Downtown Jamaica, forcing riders to transfer here in order to get to their destinations. Therefore, faster bus service is critical to ensuring that those entering and passing through Downtown Jamaica can travel on fast and reliable buses.

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Free Bus Service Is Making Huge Difference For Connecticut Bus Riders. Could It Be Sustained?

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By Joseph Morales

                  Public Transportation is a major part of how people get around in the state of Connecticut. According to the 2021 American Community Survey(2021 done by the U.S Census Bureau, the Bureau estimated that 8.4% of CT households and 19.4% of renter-occupied households did not have access to a car both with extremely slim margins of error. Connecticut’s bigger cities are even less car-dependent as the percentage of households without access to a car is high in certain places such as Hartford(29.5%), New Haven(10.7%) and Stamford(8.2%) also based on U.S Census ACS estimates. Even if they own vehicles, many CT residents may also use buses in order to get to the Metro-North Railroad(MNR) especially if their local station lacks adequate parking or if residents want to save money on parking permits or fees at certain stations. Rising gas prices may also motivate people who normally drive to use public transit for certain trips.

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The Fair Fares Program Provides Half-Priced Transit Fares to Low-Income New Yorkers. Why Haven’t More People Signed Up?

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By Joseph Morales

(Link to sign up for Fair Fares is at the bottom of the article upon pressing Read More)

In 2019, NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio and the New York City Council announced the Fair Fares Program to make the MTA’s subway and bus services as well as Access-A-Ride affordable to low-income New Yorkers by offering riders either half-priced MetroCards or Access-A Ride fares to help cover daily transportation costs. The city currently has about $75 million dollars targeted to the program which gives New Yorkers living below the federal poverty threshold the opportunity to obtain half-priced MetroCards with all fare options available(Pay-Per Ride, 7 and 30 day unlimited, etc.) The program which has been fully operational for almost the last two and a half years has been able to serve over 270,006 riders according to the fair fares website. It has changed the lives of many, take for instance Derek Jimenez, an East Harlem resident who works a maintenance job that pays about $1,000 a month($12,000 a year) who told the New York Times in February that now his money stretches further. He told them that though he was able to afford certain things like a guitar he got on sale, that he mostly saves the money. “I hold onto it for now, for rainy days. The economy is really hurting.”  Though the program has had some success, it is astonishing that only 270,006 people are enrolled out of the approximately 700,000 people eligible, which is less than half of all eligible New Yorkers. That is up from only 257,004 as of January 2021. There are a number of reasons, but many are rooted in the systemic inequities that low-income residents of New York City continue to persevere through on a daily basis.

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