![]() Reversing the bus system’s decline is urgent: but it will require MTA leadership to admit that buses in New York are beset with problems, and to deploy concerted policy attention to solve them. It can mean more would-be riders traveling in single-occupancy vehicles, less mobility for individuals foregoing trips and a downward spiral where lower usage lead to service cuts, which further repel riders. Ridership decline is a trend we should take seriously. Job growth statistics are from the New York State Department of Labor: Population numbers are from the NYC Department of City Planning: Ridership is steadier in the Bronx and Staten Island, but has not kept pace with increases in employment and population. Despite population and job growth, bus ridership is dropping in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. Though we hope the MTA will announce at the NYC City Council’s hearing on bus service this week that it is developing systemic and pro-active steps to reverse the decline of NYC buses, it is possible the MTA will reprise this argument.Īs Turnaround details, New York City’s buses are slow and unreliable, and these problems are worsening. But given the gravity and scope of bus service and ridership decline in NYC, these limited studies and the actual changes resulting from them fall far short of the citywide effort that will be needed to fix New York’s ailing bus system. MTA responses to the July launch of the Turnaround: How to Fix NYC’s Buses report by a coalition of pro-transit groups asserted that “many of the recommendations in the report are actions the MTA is already taking.” The MTA referred reporters to bus studies of Co-op City (2014) and northeastern Queens (2015) and an ongoing study in Staten Island as examples.
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