NWS BUS
Crowds of students wait for the S78 bus in New Dorp. NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign and Transportation Alternatives ranked the S78 as the most unreliable bus in the borough. Regular riders say the bus is habitually late and overcrowded. (Staten Island Advance/Vincent Brone)
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The MTA will be making Staten Island bus study presentations to the Traffic and Transportation Committees of all three Community Boards throughout October.
The announcement was made by Borough President James Oddo, City Councilman Steven Matteo (R-Mid Island), Councilwoman Debi Rose (D-North Shore), and Metropolitan Transportation Authority NYC Transit Interim President James L. Ferrara.
"In order to get the kind of service we need and expect, we need to involve the public in the decision-making process," said Oddo. "This study does just that. It is not a study that relies on the analysis of overpriced, off-Island consultants that will take years to complete. Instead, it will rely on the common sense of Staten Island bus riders who know the reality on the ground better than anyone else, and the goal is to find implementable solutions."
The project, called the Staten Island Comprehensive Bus Study, aims to bring changes in obsolete routes and an increase in service where there are great ridership demands on the transit-starved Island -- while invoking the input of frequent riders.
"This study is critical to improving our borough's most frequently utilized public transportation vehicle, with a goal of providing us with proposals to enhance and expand our current service to ensure all Staten Islanders benefit," said Matteo.
Ferrara said the MTA will continue to ensure Islanders commute as smooth as possible.
"Since 1982, the MTA has invested nearly $1 billion for local and express bus service on Staten Island, including new buses and upgrades to bus depots," said Ferrara. "This study is part of our unwavering commitment to look at ways to improve service and provide better transit options for borough residents."
"For many Staten Islanders, public transit is a lifeline to jobs, basic shopping needs and visiting family members, and it has been too long since we've evaluated its overall efficiency," added Rose. "Since I have been in office, we have dealt with MTA issues on a case-by-case, route-by-route basis. Today, we change that by joining the MTA in comprehensive review that examines ridership numbers, GPS data and feedback from Staten Islanders who ride our buses, with the goal of more efficient service throughout the island.
During the presentation process, individuals' recommendations -- deemed "easily implementable" -- will be put into action immediately, while longer term recommendations may require additional planning and resources to fully implement.
Beyond routing, MTA NYC Transit will also study customer satisfaction with the environment inside the buses, at bus stops and transferring between buses. At the completion of the study, both short and long-term recommendation will be made.
Minority Leader Matteo added that this next phase is "another step toward achieving that goal," and that he looks "forward to robust discussions with our constituents and all of the stakeholders."
The meetings will take place throughout October, during each Community Board's Traffic and Transportation Committees regularly scheduled meeting.
Community Board 2 met on Monday, Oct. 5.
The next metings are: Wednesday, Oct. 7 - Community Board 3 at 7:30 pm at 655 Rossville Ave, Suite 218, Staten Island, New York 10309
Monday, Oct. 19 - Community Board 1 at 1 Edgewater Plaza, Suite 217, Staten Island, New York 10305
The dates and locations of the public workshops have yet to be determined.
The full study is estimated to be complete by winter 2016.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
RetroSearch is an open source project built by @garambo | Open a GitHub Issue
Search and Browse the WWW like it's 1997 | Search results from DuckDuckGo
HTML:
3.2
| Encoding:
UTF-8
| Version:
0.7.4