Utica, Webster Avenues to get Select Bus Service, eventually

In an otherwise mundane article on the state of bus speeds in the Bronx — spoiler alert: they’re slow — the Daily News let slip an interesting tidbit about upcoming plans for Select Bus Service. With an increase in the number of representatives from the Bronx now on the MTA board, the authority is under pressure to respond to subpar transit conditions in that borough, and as Daniel Beekman reported, the MTA and NYC DOT are exploring Select Bus Service for Webster Avenue’s Bx41.

Streetsblog started poking around DOT’s Select Bus Service website and found out that Utica Ave. in Brooklyn will get bus upgrades too. It was a big day for bus news. Yet, like every obviously smart bus route, DOT and the MTA will take the better part of half a decade to roll out some incremental service improvements. As Noah Kazis reported, these two routes have been under consideration since 2009, but the two agencies must still formulate plans and host public forums on the changes to traffic patterns and, of course, parking.

Ultimately, these two avenues need Select Bus Service, and one of them — Utica Ave. — could use a long-planned subway extension. Yet, we’re still going to see a tediously long process for these improvements. One day, the MTA will simply implement pre-boarding fare payment for its buses without a lengthy consultation with every single stakeholder at every single bus stop, and the buses will speed up. For now, we’ll just wait and wait and wait for another couple of Select Bus Service routes that might be ready before our next mayoral election heats up.