Now the MTA does this

 

 AMNY

The MTA plans to boost service on various express bus lines in a bid to spur drivers to switch to mass transit as congestion pricing takes effect in New York City.

Express buses with the highest weekday ridership will see additional trips per day starting in June should the plan be approved by the MTA Board this week, according to a document posted on the MTA’s website. The routes take riders from outer borough neighborhoods with comparatively scant train access, or none at all, to the heart of Manhattan.

The routes that will get beefed up service are the BM2 and BM5, both of which run between southeastern Brooklyn and Midtown Manhattan, as well as the SIM1C, SIM4C, SIM23, and SIM24 between Staten Island and Midtown.

The MTA says the intention of the boost is to incentivize drivers to switch over to mass transit as it prepares to implement congestion pricing on June 30.

“This is belt and suspenders,” said Richard Davey, president of New York City Transit, at the MTA Board meeting on Monday. “You’ve often heard us say that we have capacity in the subway system and the bus system, largely because of COVID. But this is an opportunity for us to continue to improve express bus service in these corridors.”

The plan will be funded with $883,000 per year from the state’s Outer Borough Transportation Account, which is funded by a surcharge on taxi and for-hire vehicle trips. The OBTA also funds toll rebates on outer-borough bridges and will fund a new monthly discount for city riders of the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North.

Congestion pricing is expected to take effect in Manhattan below 60th Street on June 30, with a $15 toll charged to most motorists and a higher toll for trucks. The plan has survived numerous rounds of public review but could still be derailed if any of a number of lawsuits are successful.

 Still way too little and much too late. 

Jimmy's take on transportation

- Yuppies at Vernon-Jackson need a ferry because the train is too crowded (they already have one)
- New Select Bus Service and Express Service must be created for LIC - even though it is built up because it is one subway stop from Manhattan
- CitiBike!
- Let's not build a new subway line because who cares about future generations?
- Hey, how about a pedestrian/bike only bridge to Manhattan? Because that's feasible.

Opposition to express bus between Flushing & Jamaica

From the Queens Courier:

As the city revs up plans to create express bus service between Jamaica and Flushing, residents and local politicians are throwing up speed bumps and roadblocks against the initiative.

“All they’re doing is shifting the burden of heavy traffic from one group of people to another,” Councilman Rory Lancman said. “And I can’t support anything like that.”

Across New York City there are several express lines that aim to cut down bus travel times by devoting a lane exclusively to express service, or Select Bus Service (SBS). But creating an exclusive bus lane means there is one less lane for regular traffic, a point that is a deal breaker for Lancman.

In a letter written by Lancman and Assemblyman Michael Simanowitz, the officials explain why they oppose the express bus lane to the Department of Transportation and the MTA. The Kew Gardens Hills Civic Association also signed onto the letter.

“No one can tell us exactly what the plan is, and that’s part of the problem,” said Jennifer Martin, co-president of the civic association. “If they’re going to reduce a busy thoroughfare to one lane, that’s going to create a tremendous backup. There has to be a better option.”

Jimmy feels for the tower people

From CBS New York:

Officials in Queens have called on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to do more to help Long Island City businesses in the face of planned weekend shutdowns on the 7 line this year.

The MTA announced last month that it will shut down the line between Queensboro Plaza and Times Square for 13 weekends between the end of this month and July.

The authority said the shutdowns are necessary for maintenance and signal work.

Queens officials argue that halting the line for such an extended period of time will isolate residents in the neighborhood.

The city councilman and other Queens officials met with MTA officials on Thursday to discuss ways in which the authority could help local businesses while the 7 line is down.

Van Bramer said he wants the MTA to subsidize East River ferry service to Manhattan and allow customers to use MetroCards while train service is down. He said ferry service would be just a few minutes door-to-door from Long Island City to Midtown and that it would only cost $4 a ride.

Officials also want the MTA to provide express bus service to and from Manhattan, a request that has been made before, as well as a campaign promoting Long Island City businesses while the line is halted.

Whatever happened to caveat emptor? This work has been going on for decades, it's not something new. No one was crying before LIC got yuppified. "Halting the line for such an extended period of time will isolate residents in the neighborhood..." Good, so they can spend their money at local businesses.

Douglaston wants better transportation

From Bayside Patch:

A bevy of elected officials representing northeast Queens are calling on the city to increase bus service to Douglaston and add more bus stops in the community.

Currently, the last express morning bus leaves the community at 7:45 a.m. As a result, many Douglaston residents living south of the Long Island Expressway have limited commuting options.

"There aren't enough bus lines serving the neighborhood," U.S. Rep. Steve Israel, D-Great Neck said. "We want additional bus stops and our fair share of federal funding"

Israel and state Assemblywoman Nily Rozic, D-Fresh Meadows, want to see an increase in funding for the Federal Transit Authority Bus and Bus Facilities Grant, which pays to replace, rehabilitate and purchase buses and construct bus stops.

Routes to LGA to run express

From the NY Post:

The city announced today it will add three high speed bus routes to LaGuardia Airport starting next year that could save as much 40 minutes in travel time, officials said.

The proposed routes - which will have dedicated travel lanes in high traffic areas - will run from the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens.

They are the M60 Select Bus Service that runs along 125th Street in Manhattan, a new route from Woodside and Jackson Heights, Queens via the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, and a proposed Select Bus Service route from Webster Avenue in The Bronx.

Like the popular SBS routes deployed in other parts of the city, the buses will have passengers pay prior to boarding to speed things along and have technology installed to switch traffic signals from red to green.

Astorians want more transportation options

From the Times Ledger:

In light of recent public transportation restorations across the city, Astoria’s elected officials and civic members demanded Tuesday that the MTA bring back the W subway line and the QM22 express bus.

The request has been a common one for Astorians. Community members had protested the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s budget cuts-inspired decision to get rid of the lines in 2010 as well as conducted petitions and more rallies to restore services after they were eliminated.

The MTA did not respond to requests for comment.

The W train ran from the Ditmars Boulevard subway stop at 31st Street in Astoria along the Broadway line and ended at the Whitehall Street stop in Lower Manhattan from 2004-10, and ran from Ditmars to Coney Island in Brooklyn from 2001-04. The QM22 ran from Jackson Heights to Midtown Manhattan, making stops in Astoria and Long Island City.

Why no mention of the Q train? That goes from Astoria to Coney Island.

More development, less public transportation

From the Daily News:

A high school senior fed up with the MTA's service in Astoria has launched a petition to restore the Manhattan-bound express bus.

"This would be a one-seat ride to lower Manhattan and the east side of Manhattan," said Ali Fadil, 17, a senior at the Academy of American Studies in Long Island City.

Fadil's petition, online at petitiononline.com, calls for two express lines to pick up riders along Ditmars Blvd. and 21st St., with one headed into lower Manhattan and the other into midtown.

"This would help a lot of people," Fadil said.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority scrapped its Q22 express bus from Astoria to Manhattan because of low ridership, an agency official said.

"Given its low ridership, high per-passenger cost and the close proximity of local bus and subway service, it was discontinued in June 2010 and there are no plans to restore the route," said MTA spokeswoman Deirdre Parker.

Some locals said adding an express bus is more than just a good idea - it's a necessity.

Evie Hantzopoulos, 45, executive director of a nonprofit group in Manhattan, said the population boom in Astoria means straphangers need options.