The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has revised its proposed plan for "Doomsday" service cuts, potentially rescuing nighttime service on several crosstown buses, saving the Z train, and ensuring that trains run every 20 minutes, not every 30 minutes, late at night. The MTA's new proposed cuts no longer threaten the M79 and M96 buses, and nighttime service on Eighth Avenue's M10 bus would be preserved. The M train would still be cut, though the V train — which currently terminates in the Lower East Side — would extend into Brooklyn to cover its stops in Williamsburg and further east. Though the W train would still be eliminated, Q trains would extend into Queens and N trains would run local in Manhattan to cover its stops. more ›

Midtown bus riders will now get to enjoy the luxury granted only to L train commuters up until now—knowing exactly how long they'll have to wait at their stop with convenient nearby countdown clocks. Eight LED screens have been installed across 34th street, giving riders arrival times for the M34 and M16 buses. The project costs the city nothing since a technology company donated the screens and buses are already equipped with GPS. Mayor Bloomberg pointed out that the technology is "similar to that used to track military vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan.” more ›

Would making crosstown buses free actually cause the congested midtown rides go any faster? Mayor Bloomberg proposed removing fares from crowded crosstown lines as the most dramatic suggestion of his comprehensive transit plan,"Move NYC," which was released Monday as his most significant campaign proposal yet. The Times calls the plan "all the pleasures of a congestion fee without that troublesome fee" and suggests that people's love of all things free means "New Yorkers are likely to go out of their way for the privilege of being taken for a free ride across town." Bloomberg suggested that eliminating the fares might reduce the amount of buses needed since the easier passage could get them moving quicker in his estimation. The News decided to see just how slow the crosstown buses currently are by sending two reporters across 50th at midday—one by foot and one on the M50. The bus beat the walker across its 1.7 mile route, only taking 21 minutes to the pedestrian's 29. The Straphangers Campaign Gene Russianoff says, "That's great...but the midtown buses stink and are still abysmally slow." more ›

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. more ›