Bloomberg Calls for Free Crosstown Buses In Expansive MTA Plan

Photo of the current slow-moving swipe line regularly seen on crosstown buses by Paolo Mastrangelo on flickr

Mayor Bloomberg is calling for the MTA to eliminate the fare of the most frequently used—and very slow—crosstown bus lines such as the M50 and M14. Perhaps sensing that the campaign season was beginning to get bogged down in talk of neverending term limits and a recent poll that showed challenger Bill Thompson closing the gap among voters, the Bloomberg campaign came out today with a 33-point proposal to reshape the transit system throughout the five boroughs. After largely letting the MTA stew in its own juices throughout the budget crisis, Bloomberg is reminding New Yorkers that he is still the mayor who not that long ago attempted to make congestion pricing his legacy.

Bloomberg's "Moving NYC" campaign plan (see the full proposal on his campaign website) points out that since many of the crosstown lines are used in large part by subway riders taking advantage of the free transfer, the cost of letting riders walk on to the heavily-trafficked bus routes would not be too taxing. The plan states, “Any loss in revenue will likely be offset by the gain in travel times, which may reduce operating costs by allowing the authority to run fewer buses." Not specifically mentioned was how pleasant it would be to not have commuters trying out five empty Metrocards only to have the driver give up and allow the person on anyway.

Some of the other more eye-catching election year initiatives included in the plan are:

Extending the V line from the Lower East Side into Brooklyn
Express F line service
"Countdown Clocks" on train platforms being spread beyond the L line and throughout the ststem
Reopening LIRR stations in several Queens neighborhoods
Expanding the bus rapid transit experiment that was tested out on the Bx12 across Fordham Road in The Bronx
An HOV lane on the westbound Gowanus Expressway
A "robust, high frequency inter-boro ferry service"
Expanding the CityTicket program to all LIRR and Metro North stations at all times so Bronx and Queens riders pay reduced fares

On that last point, Bill Thompson was quick to offer a reminder of how much MTA fares have gone up under the mayor. He also mentioned that he has been calling for a CityTicket expansion sounds like something they've heard before. A Thompson spokeswoman said, "This plan is full of empty promises and stolen ideas such as CityTicket which was proposed by Bill Thompson in 2006 and 2009."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Billy Parker in News on August 3, 2009 4:40 PM

Comments [rss]

dadoc

Just wondering, is there a viable alternative? Thompson's kind of a dink, and I see nobody who inspires at all. And by viable I mean intelligent manger with some vision & guts, not just breathing and politically viable.

felixthecat2

Douceberg took controls of school, FAILURE and now he wants control of the MTA. DICKtator Doucheberg makes me puke

Manitoba

I'm considering voting again for Bloomberg, but I'm curious to know how you feel about him before I make up my mind.

felixthecat2

http://bloombergwatch.com/

jamieob256

The streets in Manhattan are filthy, too. 86th Street on the Upper Eastside is absolutely putrid.

felixthecat2

so is the lower east side. The clean street are near king Doucheberg's townhouse on East 79th st

jamieob256

The streets in Manhattan are filthy, too. 86th Street on the Upper Eastside is absolutely putrid.

[mis]inheritance

It will be interesting to see how this turns out. Money is always the key issue, especially with the MTA. This article reminded me of the MTA strike a few years back.

Seems like many are not very supportive of Bloomberg at this stage of his term.

dadoc

1> Dump the "Countdown Clock" idea. Waste of money, does nothing to improve service. Even if you had the money, in NYC would break down repeatedly.

2> The main reason for long crosstown transit times is double parkers & bus-stop/lane blockers. I don't know what the current double park ticket is, but on major transverses (all Avenues, 14 St.,23,34,etc) How about making it $500, 2 points and a mandatory tow for the first, & going up from there, including commercials and Papi's Paratransit. And that includes plaque-dinks who park their personals in the bus stops. They'll soon get the idea, and won't block traffic flow.

3> Find some sort of way to let an approaching bus know there's already two buses stopped at the next stop. Let them wait 60 sec, then proceed. The backup at 14th & 1st is ridiculous. Commuters are great at lining up, keeping organized. But 3 or 4 buses at a time is highly ineffective.

4> Institute something like the Oyster in London. No "swipe again at this turnstile", keep it in your wallet, keep 'em moving. Do the Soup Nazi. Can't swipe, back of the line! No Ride for you!

5> Line up and summarily execute all MTA brass & union officials. Replace with non-politically connected people who have an interest in running a system effectively and without massive corruption. The fate of their predecessors will keepthemon their toes. Except for Melamine, sometimes the Chinese have it right.

6> And, fire at least half the MTA. Base salary on performance. Hire a bunch of educated individuals at a lower salary/benefit rate. In this economy, they're available. Do it while you can.

ribaldry

My vote cant be bought and dont forget Bloomie was all for the fare hike. Too little too late. Not long ago you could go club hopping all around the city for a buck a ride. Now there are no clubs and costly slow subway service. R.I.P. NYC.

Manitoba

How about proposing changes to things he actually has control or influence over? This is like proposing changes to the NYC water system when you're the head of the DOT.

jaycjay

"How about proposing changes to things he actually has control or influence over?"

OK, basically you're saying that no resident of the city should voice an opinion on how the MTA deals with anything, because none of has control over it.

That's all he's doing. Releasing essentially some ideas for the MTA to consider. Yeah, it's more a political move than it is anything else but if it's well grounded enough to bring consideration from the MTA board (which does include mayoral appointees, so he does have some influence) it's not a complete waste.

Manitoba

It's more that he's proposing these changes as if they were something he would do if he gets a third term. It's not some offhanded thing he thought of while on the treadmill and scratched on a memo pad. This whole thing is a well-planned and funded campaign. He's using (wasting) city tax dollars to make it look like his influence on this issue is greater than it is.

I like the fact that he has an opinion on how to improve service, but I think he's trying to mislead people as to the level of how much he can do to affect the MTA's decisions.

emilydickinson

There isn't a single item on that list that will make a noticeable difference in the quality of my commute.

How about we do something about the ridiculous flooding that occurs on the N/R line every time it rains. Also the way Jay St. smells every morning is downright unholy.

jibbly

Oh you should see all the wonderful waterfalls that crop up in some of the outdoor Brooklyn stations (I'm sure these occur in Queens and the Bronx, just haven't seen them personally). In the winter the water freezes into giant icicles and stalactites and stalagmites.

NannyState

"And if I'm elected, 50% fewer rodents."

JacqueMehoff

he's had eight years and he's putting this out now?

Please.

record homelessness, record unemployment.

OK he can bulldoze the tent cities under the highway ramps but did he see the lines for job fairs?

he's had eight years. enough is enough.

Free crosstown buses? is that the best he's got?

it's time for someone else to do the job, anyone can do the job. the city survived will survive without him, I promise.

GOP

Much rather have Bloomberg/Giuliani NYC than Dinkins/Koch NYC.

JacqueMehoff

no surprise there from GOP.

the city again will survive without bloomturd. I promise.

any city journal lovers here, the people with hardons for Heather MacDonald.