Home Asides Utica, Webster Avenues to get Select Bus Service, eventually

Utica, Webster Avenues to get Select Bus Service, eventually

by Benjamin Kabak

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.

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7 comments

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Alon Levy December 13, 2011 - 7:16 pm

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

By then, there won’t be any need for buses. People will be able to transport themselves by riding unicorns.

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The Cobalt Devil December 14, 2011 - 11:10 am

I ride the Unicorn every day. Works for me 😉

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John Telesca December 13, 2011 - 8:36 pm

Webster Ave – who misses the 3rd Ave El now?

As a rider of the new M15, much of the time saved is from fewer stops, while bording a little faster.

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AK December 14, 2011 - 9:42 am

A considerable amount of time is saved with the new boarding on SBS buses. The MTA’s latest progress report has a nifty chart (which Ben linked to earlier) highlighting the time savings on various metrics:

http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-.....15Time.jpg

No doubt that fewer stops matters too, of course.

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UESider December 13, 2011 - 11:24 pm

The MTA should apply the Cuomo approach and just do it because – they’re NYC Transit

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ajedrez December 14, 2011 - 10:51 am

You’re a little late on this. We’ve known about this on nyctransitforums.com for a couple of weeks now.

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