Home Buses As BRT rollout proceeds apace, Express Bus service receives middling marks

As BRT rollout proceeds apace, Express Bus service receives middling marks

by Benjamin Kabak

The New York buses are, for better or worse, a begrudgingly accepted part of the transit landscape. Their schedules are unreliable and service is painfully slow on a good day. But as buses go, the last few weeks have been rather momentous.

First, we saw the roll-out of the MTA’s new Select Bus Service. With pre-boarding fare-payment schemes and dedicated bus lanes, New York’s form of bus rapid transit could revitalize a much-maligned mode of transit. The early returns are promising.

Last week, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign’s Mobilizing the Region blog featured an early test-run of the BRT system. Veronica Vanterpool, TSTC’s associate director, noted that the BRT measures shaved 17 minutes off of her cross-Bronx commute. While enforcement efforts and pre-boarding confusion plagued the ride, Vanterpool believes that, as the system matures, it will become even more efficient. Score one for the good news.

Concurrently, Streetblog’s Brad Aaron pondered how New York City should beef up BRT enforcement. While we have blamed David Gantt for shooting down camera-enforced lanes, Aaron argues that New York should follow Europe’s lead and implement dedicated lines by way of concrete dividers. As these dividers have done with the 9th Ave. bike lane, permanent concrete structures will keep drivers out for good, cameras or not. Sign me up.

And then, on Friday, New York City Transit sneaked out another bus-related story while no one was paying attention. The agency released the Express Bus Rider Report Cards, and as riders were wont to do with the subways, bus service received a C grade. As you might expect, bus riders were most critical of the wait times between buses, the accuracy of schedules and seat availability. If you’re interested in the nitty-gritty, all the details are availabe here as a PDF.

I don’t believe these bus grades can come as a surprise. Bus service across the board is unreliable in the city at best. Buses run at the whim of traffic, and the posted schedules are reliable only as a tool to help potential riders determine how long it should be between buses. The Express Bus service is supposed to be more reliable than the local service, and when the regular bus line report cards hit, I’m sure riders will have similar complaints.

Right now, New Yorkers could use a good bus service, but it seems that buses are viewed as a measure of last resort. If it’s raining, take the bus but only if it’s there. Friends of mine who are new to the city never really learn the bus system, and even life-long New Yorkers use the buses reluctantly. The Select Bus Service is a start, but as the rider report card results show, MTA Bus, now under the umbrella of NYC Transit, has a long way to go.

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4 comments

Ed July 7, 2008 - 7:48 am

Bus service in New York is so abysmal that there is plenty of room for the MTA to improve service without getting the go ahead for special express bus lanes:

1. Double the amount of blocks between stops. In Manhattan, this would mean stopping every other crosstown block instead of every block, and stopping something after something like half a dozen uptown blocks.

2. Having passengers board the bus first, then pay while the bus is moving. This is the standard way its done outside the US. Fare jumpers can be thrown off the bus at the next stop.

3. Work on more clearly designating the bus stops and routes to potential passengers. The new shelters are helping because they are more visible than the old poles. But how about painting the poles a bright color, that is visible from a distance? Also putting a map of the route in the buses.

4. When the current fleet needs to be replaced, the replacements should be smaller and quicker. On some routes more time is spent boarding everyone (see # 2) than in the bus travelling to its next stop. Its better to have smaller busses moving between stops more rapidly, which is the norm in other cities.

You can also have “long distance” busses that get across the city more rapidly than normal, without the specially reserved lanes, simply because they would move across the city without stopping! This is pretty much what the current express busses do anyway. For example, while we are waiting for the 2nd Avenue subway, there is no reason why you can’t have a series of lines that move across town on the feeder streets into the FDR drive, then down the FDR drive to the Financial district. These buses could even do something similar with the West Side and make a loop.

Bus service in this city seems to be configured for elderly people who can’t walk far to a stop but who have nothing but time on their hands. Ideally the bus system should be configured similar to the subway system, with local service for the old lady and express service for commuters. With the current setup, commuters are being shortchanged.

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Boris July 7, 2008 - 10:34 am

Ed,

I totally agree that bus stops are too close together. Relative to bus arrival frequency, it wouldn’t make a difference if I have to walk 3 minutes to a bus stop or 6.

Pay-at-boarding can be expedited using proximity cards, like the ones being tested in the subway. There should be an option of linking the card to a credit card, like E-Z Pass, so a rider can never run out of money. Last night in Manhattan I was looking for an open subway station to check how much money I have left on my MetroCard- and missed an express bus, adding an hour to my trip.

I think the city is big enough to have regional bus service, like Greyhound. Basically, establish a few transit centers (I know of only one- the Eltingville Transit Center in Staten Island) and offer direct buses to Penn Station, Jamaica Station, the airports, and the other transit centers. People will pay a premium for direct service. It will also cut down on the number of cars in Manhattan who are there just to pick up or drop off passengers.

I believe there are Manhattan-only express buses that do what you describe- they take people in Midtown, go down the FDR, and drop them off near Wall Street.

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Lex July 7, 2008 - 11:57 am

“If it’s raining, take the bus but only if it’s there. Friends of mine who are new to the city never really learn the bus system, and even life-long New Yorkers use the buses reluctantly.”

I couldn’t agree LESS. I am a THIRD gen NYer and I can now say, proudly, that I know my way around all 5 boroughs. There are huge, especially in QUEENS, masses of land (maspeth anyone? Red Hook ring a bell? ) that are untouched by the train system which force transit riders to use other means of transport. This is where the bus system fails and glows. In Staten Island and Queens – and also parts of the east Bronx, a lot of people decided to shun the buses and use their cars. This creates a vicious cycle for those who can’t or won’t drive to experience frustration on the bus in needless traffic. Rid the traffic, improve the bus service. Not that your points mentioned weren’t valid. Oh, they are. For instance along Williamsbridge Road or GunHill Road in the Bronx whre buses compete with severe car traffic, it would take much more than clearing the traffic. The Bx 28 should be the new Hybrid buses to make boarding faster for disabled passengers.

I honestly think that the bus critiques here are referencing Manhattan buses more than outer borough buses. In which your points make sense are valid. But think of the outer boroughs where the trains aren’t accessible and riders commuting to Manhattan choose to ride the express bus.

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Boris July 7, 2008 - 9:05 pm

Lex,

People drive when it’s more convenient, faster, and not much more expensive than the bus. It just doesn’t cross my mind to spend an hour on the bus when I can drive for 20 minutes to get there. But given the right incentives- $4.50/gal gas, for example, which we have, congestion pricing, a blanket ban on free parking, etc- and people will stop driving and take the bus instead.

We also respond to insults, in the opposite way. If a bus driver “doesn’t see” you at a dark bus stop or fails to show up on time even to the start of the route, most of us will feel insulted. Those are the kinds of things that can’t get fixed by “voting with our feet” and taking the bus.

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