July 9, 2008
Bus Ridership Outpaces City's Bus Service
“Crushed by crowds? Have to wait for more than one bus to go by? It’s not your imagination. Transit officials have never caught up to the waves of new bus riders,” says Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign. His group is reporting that despite an increase in average weekday bus ridership of 22 percent over the past ten years (to 2.45 million), weekday service on city buses increased less than 15 percent.
In Brooklyn, the gap was more than triple, with ridership spiking 26% since 1997, but service only increasing 8%. Only in Manhattan and Staten Island did service slightly outpace the surge in ridership. NYC Transit counters that because ridership in the mid-'90s was well below capacity, service was already in place for all these new riders. But the Straphangers analysis comes as transit officials are considering raising fares and cutting service in response to an impending budget deficit that may reach $700 million.
Speaking to the Times, a spokesman for the MTA disputed the report with Putin-esque self-assurance: “The Straphangers’ assertion that our bus customers are being ‘crushed by crowds’ or that customers are ‘having to wait for more than one bus to go by’ does not systemically occur on N.Y.C. Transit bus routes.” Furthermore, global warming is a myth, the Internet is a fad, and subway platforms are freezing in the summer.
Photo of Benoit courtesy carpe icthus.
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in communist russia, bus waits for you!!!
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what bus is that? I've never saw so many young looking people on a bus.
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This is the prime reason that I always drive my car when I'm going somewhere in NYC.
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Putin-esque? OK, but it sounds more like "Baghdad Bob" to me.
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It's like the MTA version of the "Shaggy defense."
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I think MTA's statement is accurate. On a "systemic" level, the bus system is not ‘crushed by crowds’ ‘having to wait for more than one bus to go by’. However, it does happen on some routes at peak periods. There are significant issues with schedules and service that need to be adressed.
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The biggest problem with bus service is the bunching up of 2 or even 3 (and yes, sometimes 4) buses at once on the same route. Instead of buses being spaced apart every 10 minutes, or so, you get 2-3 at a time and people end up having to wait 30 minutes or more for buses that are supposed to run every 7-10 minutes. It'd ridiculous. If a driver sees he's near another bus he should be required to wait and create some distance. Maybe you could just equip the buses with GPS and drivers can the be instructed to stay a certain minimun behind each other. The other problem is people exiting the front entrance. Move to the back people.
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With appreciation for the fact that inserting gratuitously snippy sarcastic remarks is just part of your style, the last sentence isn't necessary, your spin was accomplished nicely with the characterization of the MTA spokesperson as Putanesque.
As much as I dislike the MTA, I agree with them on this one. It's no great accomplishment for the Straphangers to find a couple of unhappy riders; in the places I've traveled to (Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn) there doesn't seem to be a systemic problem with overcrowding. I'm sure there are occassions when the buses ARE crowded -- if it is a regular (as opposed to occassional) thing with certain lines at certain times, they should increase service to accomodate that. But there needs to be some balance.
A bus SHOULD be reasonably full; it is a terribly ineffecient and expensive way to move just a few individuals. Especially if you buy into the myth of global warming.
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"Putin-esque self-assurance" may be the most OTM statement made by Gothamist in a long time.
The posters on this blog have come up with more ideas for increasing revenue for improved operations without raising fares then several decades of MTA board members.
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M23 bus, rainy day, goes something like this:
Gee, there sure is a long line for the bus. I wonder how long everybody has been waiting? They look mad and wet. It must have been awhile.
(20 minutes later)
Whoohoo, a bus! Wait, there's another! And another! And another! But they're all full!
(climbs inside bus)
(20 minutes later)
Whoohoo, we've gone two blocks! At this rate, I'll only be two hours late.
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Imagine that... $4/gallon gas drives up ridership and the MTA isn't ready for it. I am shocked... SHOCKED, I tell you.
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Sometimes, it's faster to walk than take the bus. There are times that I'm kicking myself for not walking when the bus takes too long to arrive.