September 19, 2019
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MTA Announces Bus Service Enhancements, Including Increased Use of Longer Articulated Buses to Add Capacity |
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Four Routes Serving Queens, Staten Island and Brooklyn to Increase Service Frequency, Reducing Crowding and Wait Times Conversions from Standard Buses to Articulated Vehicles on B46 Select Bus Service Route Will Add More Seats, Reduce Crowding and Result in Recurring Annual Savings of $2.4 Million
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that it plans to enhance service on five bus routes benefitting a total of 65,000 customers to ensure ridership demand is met adequately and to operate citywide bus service more cost-efficiently and effectively while netting annual savings of $2.1 million. “We are more nimble and responsive with the way we manage our bus operations and use new fleet technology, which results in better and cost-efficient service for our customers,” said Craig Cipriano, Acting President of MTA Bus Company and Senior Vice President of New York City Transit’s Department of Buses. “We will be looking to use more of these new state-of-the-art articulated buses as they are delivered, putting them on popular bus routes so that more of our customers can benefit from our modern new fleet.” As NYC Transit continues to modernize its bus fleet, it is increasingly adding vehicles with longer buses equipped with better technology and customer-facing amenities on high-ridership routes that travel on streets that accommodate larger vehicles. By implementing these 60-foot articulated buses, more customers can be accommodated in one vehicle thereby significantly increasing service without adding more vehicles to already crowded city streets. This conversion follows a similar conversion on the B38 route where NYC Transit successfully added more seat capacity with the longer articulated buses, benefiting more Brooklyn customers. For schedules to be implemented in January 2020, NYC Transit plans to adjust service on five routes, including:
NYC Transit typically makes these adjustments three to four times a year to account for changing bus usage and traffic speeds, as well as seasonal changes influenced by factors such as lighter demand during summer months when many students and customers are on vacation. Service is monitored before and after each adjustment to determine whether additional changes are needed. These seasonal service adjustments will provide a net total of $2.1 million in annual recurring savings, allowing NYC Transit to reallocate those savings and reinvest resources elsewhere in the system. The fleet conversion to articulated buses on the B46 SBS route will provide annual recurring savings of $2.4 million, while the additional service on the four routes will cost approximately $300,000 annually. NYC Transit will closely monitor all routes with adjustments after new schedules are implemented in January 2020. |
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