Social Media Partnership with SILive.com/Staten Island Advance Adds to Ongoing Outreach Ahead of August 19 Launch;

Customer Ambassadors and Mobile Information Centers Stationed on Staten Island and in Manhattan During Peak and Off-Peak Hours;

Digital Trip Planning Available Online for Customized Itinerary Building

As part of the ongoing aggressive outreach campaign to engage and inform the public about the Aug. 19 launch of the newly redesigned Staten Island express bus network, MTA New York City Transit President Andy Byford and the planners overseeing the redesign will be answering questions live in a Twitter chat co-hosted by SILive.com/Staten Island Advance newspaper at noon on Monday, August 13.  Transit officials are also boosting their summer-long community outreach efforts with additional locations for mobile information centers and staff to answer questions and distribute new maps and timetables to customers.

“Redesigning an entire bus network is no small task, and we know that getting used to new routes can be daunting,” said NYC Transit President Andy Byford. “We’re making ourselves available in multiple ways, in person and online, to answer questions and address any concerns from customers so that they know what will be happening beginning August 19.”

President Byford and the planners will be tweeting live from the @NYCTBus Twitter handle, answering questions submitted by the general public, by SILive/Advance and its readers, and by Borough President James Oddo. Customers can follow along or submit questions using the #AskNYCT hashtag, and those who are unable to participate can also submit questions to SILive/Advance or to Borough President Oddo ahead of or during the Twitter chat.

This Twitter chat is part of NYC Transit’s ongoing push to engage with customers across all platforms and share information on the network redesign ahead of the launch date on Sunday, August 19.  Customer ambassadors are continuing to staff key bus stops throughout Staten Island and Manhattan during peak travel hours to answer questions and distribute information. To engage with customers who travel during off-peak hours, a fleet of specially branded mobile information centers are welcoming customers at additional locations on Staten Island, including the Staten Island Mall and the campus of the College of Staten Island. Both the staff at these centers and at key bus stops are distributing new network maps and route-specific timetables, as well as answering any questions such as customized trip planning. Customers can also plan their trips up to 30 days in advance using the digital trip planner tool linked from the MTA’s new website at https://new.mta.info or by downloading the free MYmta smartphone app, which has a built-in trip planning tool. More information about the new network, including maps and timetables, are available at the Staten Island express bus redesign microsite at http://mta.info/SIExpressBus.

The network redesign is the result of a three-year study of Staten Island’s 50-year-old express bus network to evaluate how to improve long and unreliable commutes between Staten Island and Manhattan. NYC Transit proposed a redesigned network based on collaborations with community boards, elected officials, transit advocates, partner agencies such as the New York City Department of Transportation, bus operators, and ATU Local 726, the bus operators’ union. NYC Transit, TransitCenter, NYU’s Rudin Center for Transportation and Borough President Oddo hosted a “Staten Island Bus Hackathon” in 2016 during which approximately 150 programmers, planners and transit advocates provided input. NYC Transit then conducted extensive community outreach to gather feedback on the proposal, holding six open houses in 2017 and 2018, hosting a public hearing in May 2018, and surveying customers on buses, at bus stops and online via the MTA website.

The redesigned network speeds commutes for Staten Island express bus commuters by simplifying circuitous routes, updating stop locations and moving routes from known areas of street congestion. Customers will benefit from increased service, both with extended rush hours and additional trips during off-peak hours and weekends, and streamlined commutes that serve the same geographic areas of Staten Island as the current network but with greater efficiency. The vast majority of customers will continue to use the same express bus stop that they currently use. Nearly 36,000 people use Staten Island express buses each weekday.

The redesigned express bus network launches on Sunday, August 19, but NYC Transit will continue to solicit comments and feedback through surveys to refine the new routes as needed.

Customer ambassadors will be staffed at key Staten Island and Manhattan locations during peak hours before, while, and immediately after the network redesign is implemented on Sunday, August 19. The mobile information centers will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the following locations throughout August.  Further dates and locations may be added and information will be posted online:

Eltingville Transit Center:

• Monday, August 6
• Wednesday, August 8
• Tuesday, August 14
• Thursday, August 16
• Monday, August 20
• Wednesday, August 22
• Tuesday, August 28
• Thursday, August 30

College of Staten Island Campus:

• Thursday, August 9
• Wednesday, August 15
• Thursday, August 23
• Monday, August 27

Staten Island Mall, on Marsh Avenue at Richmond Hill Road:

• Tuesday, August 7
• Monday, August 13
• Tuesday, August 21
• Wednesday, August 29