Second Ave. Sagas

Brooklyn express buses restored amidst political pressure

Written by

Benjamin Kabak

in

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The X27 and X28 express buses from, respectively, Bay Ridge and Bensonhurts to Midtown will be revived following a deal with the MTA struck by State Senator Marty Golden and Councilmember Vincent Gentile, the Brooklyn Eagle reported this week. The two buses had been eliminated due to low ridership last summer amidst the MTA’s service cuts, but Golden and Gentile, who helped file a lawsuit challenging the cuts, claimed that seniors and the handicapped needed this express routes. “The new routes were not working for the people of my district,” Golden said. “On a regular basis, I received emails and phone calls from people waiting at bus stops. The commute, based on the new routes and schedules, was almost double for many, and people were selling their homes, changing their hours at work, hiring second babysitters, and the list goes on.”

I’m happy for these neighborhoods that are getting their bus service back, and the politicians are too. “By restoring service on the X37,” Gentile said, “the MTA has acknowledged that south Brooklyn commuters have been shortchanged when it comes to transportation.” But while terms of the revival were not announced and cost figures are unclear, I have to wonder why these politicians wait until after the fact to act and why their actions are simply knee-jerk ones designed to restore a bus or two. Instead of seeking out institutional changes that will protect our transit services in advance, these politicians are simply pandering to their constituent demands. That’s no way run a public transportation agency, let alone an entire city or state.

Comments

11 responses to “Brooklyn express buses restored amidst political pressure”

  1. Chris

    Pandering to constituent demands sounds like a okay way to run a public entity. It is at least very democratic. Politicians do most of what they do in order to get votes and Marty Golden’s been re-elected by large, large margins multiple times, so evidently he’s doing something right for most of the people he’s supposed to represent.

    The better question is, why don’t constituent demands include institutional changes that will protect transit services?

    Reply
    1. Alon Levy

      It’s an irregular verb: I get essential services; you get subsidized; he is a welfare queen.

      Reply
  2. Anon

    Yes Men Strike NYC Subway?
    http://imgur.com/K8Eny
    Ref: http://www.reddit.com/r/todayi….._annoying/

    Reply
  3. Cap’n Transit

    In 2009 when the Fare Hike Four blocked the Ravitch Plan, Golden could have led a bloc of Republicans to save transit funding. He didn’t lift a finger.

    Reply
  4. BrooklynBus

    Ben, you need to correct the article. It’s the X37 and X38 that will be revived and the X27 and X28 will no longer be doing double duty according tho the link. It’s confusing the way it is written.

    Reply
  5. ferryboi

    Spied a BxM4 express run going down the Grand Concourse today (Sunday) with one, count ’em, ONE passenger, and this on the part of the route just prior to the bus entering Manhattan, where no one else boards. Absolute insanity, yet nobody seems to care that this huge bus, with a driver making $70/hr (benefits included) is driving a gas-guzzling bus to Manhattan dead empty.

    Reply
    1. BrooklynBus

      This is the type of inefficiency that the MTA needs to get rid of. But since it is MTA Bus they don’t care since the City subsidizes them. If it were NYCT, it would have been eliminated a long time ago. Something has to be done about so that these subsidies are spread evenly over the entire express bus system. During the last round of cuts the MTA eliminated NYCT Express buses that were doing far better than MTA Bus that had less patronage because of these subsidies. It may have made sense when they were privately operated and the MTA agreed to takeover the operations only if they were continued, but they need the flexibility to spend the money on all the express routes.

      Reply
      1. Bolwerk

        I spoke to a Q39 operator who said MTA Bus is re-hiring a lot of laid off NYCTA drivers.

        Does the express bus even save much time over taking the R (or something)?

        Reply
        1. ajedrez

          The X27 saves about 10 minutes over taking the (R) to Midtown. The X37 saves roughly 10-15 minutes for people going uptown (riders can transfer to the (D) to speed up their trip).

          I think a lot of those people weren’t necessarily taking it because it was faster-they were taking it because it was more comfortable (and I’m sure some were taking it to avoid the “bad element” that rides the subway)

          Reply
          1. Edward

            Used to take the x28 from 86th St/7th Ave to Midtown. Total time during rush hour: 45 mins. If I walked to 86th/4th to catch the “R”, transferred at 59th St to the “N” express and rode that to Midtown: 65 mins more or less. So what’s the diff in those 15 mins? I always got a seat, the crowd was much more polite, and I didn’t have to worry about transferring from one train to another, especially if there were “track” problems or other such slowdowns. And the bus was always full by the time it got on the Gowanus, so there’s a definite need for the x28 on WEEKDAYS. Weekends are another story: hardly any riders.

            Reply
        2. Al D

          The x27 to Downtown, especially in the 70’s and 60’s, is much faster Downtown that the R. Going to Midtown is more of a comfort and convenience factor because people who take the R to Midtown transfer to the N or D at 59 or 36 Sts. So on the xbus, you remove the hassle of a transfer and a godd maount of standing/crowding. In exchange, you have to sit in Manhattan traffic Downtown to Midtown (and vice versa) so the trip can be just as long (and longer in inclement weather).

          Many x28 commuters in Dyker have no real good alternative because you’d first have to get the B1 to 86 St and then start your trek on the R. The D and N are too far away.

          Reply

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