More than 2 million riders take buses every day, and they are critical transit resources to outer-borough neighborhoods, the disabled and some of the elderly. Yet buses have been neglected in the debate over New York City’s transit crisis. Is there a way to give passengers a better ride?
A new book released by the transit advocacy group Riders Alliance on Thursday details the experiences of Bronx seniors as they traverse the bus system.
The MTA and NYC Transit unveiled their Bus Action Plan on Monday, an effort to transform the city’s bus network and address declining ridership numbers.
A slow-evolving plan to create better bus service is encountering resistance in two boroughs.
Likely because of service problems, bus ridership overall has been shrinking. But that’s more true for some lines than others, and on some bus routes, ridership is on the way up.
The mayor has proposed expanded select bus service. The roll-out is too slow for many advocates. Meanwhile, bus drivers say increased bus-lane enforcement is necessary.
What’s wrong with the city’s buses? What’s right with them?
The authority’s chairman gave a few hints about what the forthcoming ‘bus action plan’ will look like.
Because so little of the subway system is accessible to the mobility impaired, buses play a vital role for people living with disabilities or aging New Yorkers who have trouble navigating stairs. But crowding and delays affect those riders even more than others.
Advocates says City Hall, the governor’s office and the MTA should look to cities across the country and in other countries for technological advances that could make buses reliable.
Pols don’t pose at bus stops like they do at subway stations. There isn’t an action plan for the bus system or as much information about the number of delays or what they cost commuters. But the days of buses being the neglected element of the city’s transit network might be coming to an end.
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