Picture courtesy of Passengers United
This op-ed is a response to a July 6 commentary printed in New York News by New York Metropolis Transit President Demetrius Crichlow concerning the rollout of the Queens Bus Community Redesign.
MTA New York Metropolis Transit President Demetrius Crichlow demonstrates a scarcity of correct understanding of the chaos, confusion and hardship that on a regular basis bus riders and bus drivers have truly been experiencing since Section 1 of the Queens Bus Community Redesign launched on June 29. The crew at Passengers United and I’ve been out within the borough daily informing the ridership of the modifications to their buses, pointing them in the proper course, and (most significantly) listening to their wants and issues. The truth on the bottom is much from what Mr. Crichlow is describing.
The NYC Division of Transportation didn’t change the bus cease signage on each route. In some circumstances, corresponding to alongside the Q110 route on Jamaica Avenue, stops with older-type indicators have been stored whereas others with newer indicators have been eradicated. Nowhere is it indicated whether or not the cease remains to be intact. This has left passengers at midnight, notably these unable to make use of or depend on cellular apps (that is extra so the case with older adults), whereas additionally creating confusion for drivers about the place they need to and shouldn’t cease to choose up passengers.
On some routes — together with native routes — nearly each different bus cease has been eradicated. Mr. Crichlow ought to know by now that bus speeds should not all the time consultant of passenger journey instances, and that the commutes of many mobility-impaired riders have change into considerably longer because of the improve in first- and last-mile distances. However the disproportionate hardship this has created for a lot of mobility-impaired riders goes past simply how lengthy it takes to get to/from their stops. Now, in lots of circumstances, they need to additionally traverse uneven, slender, and/or in any other case inaccessible sidewalks to get to their buses. It is usually price noting that many stops that have been eradicated have been in entrance of important providers, corresponding to grocery shops, faculties, medical workplaces, and locations of worship, creating boundaries to entry for individuals who depend on them. It’s clear that the planning crew for the Queens Bus Community Redesign by no means stepped foot into the neighborhoods once they determined which stops to take away.
Picture courtesy of Passengers United
These cease eliminations haven’t resulted in any actual enchancment to bus service both — buses are nonetheless bunching, and headways have truly elevated. Which means service is now operating much less often — notably on routes serving poorer and/or outlying communities — regardless of guarantees by the MTA that service would enhance. The brand new Q82 Rush route, for instance, is a loss for these alongside Hempstead Avenue in Queens Village as a result of, not like the previous Q110, which used to run there, it runs solely half as often, and, not like the previous Q110, it doesn’t run in a single day. The brand new Q110, which now continues alongside Jamaica Avenue to Floral Park, can also be much less frequent than its former counterpart.
The MTA claims to be investing $33.7 million yearly into Queens bus service, which sounds improbable if taken at face worth. Nonetheless, that quantity doesn’t inform the complete story as a result of it leaves out the excellence between buses operating in income service (to move passengers) and buses operating out of service (corresponding to between depots). For years, my crew has requested the MTA to launch the income miles and hours for each the brand new and former bus networks, that are quantitative knowledge vital to find out whether or not the Queens Bus Community Redesign plan contains extra bus service for passengers, in comparison with the earlier bus community. The MTA has persistently refused to offer these knowledge, even going so far as to indefinitely delay a Freedom of Data Legislation request I submitted for these actual paperwork a number of months in the past. What does the MTA have to cover if the Queens Bus Community Redesign actually means extra bus service (which, as mentioned above, will not be the case all over the place)?
All through all the borough, confusion about bus routes and cease modifications has led to aggravation. Bus drivers have been blamed and harassed for the modifications — regardless of not having any say in them — as a result of for some passengers, they’re the simplest to take their anger out on.
In the meantime, we nonetheless lack clarification about whether or not the MTA’s six-month “promotional” free switch coverage for the Queens Bus Community Redesign may also embrace a 3rd switch for these utilizing the subway as a part of their journey. I hope that Mr. Crichlow was misinformed when he indicated that the third switch wouldn’t prolong to the subway (regardless of the MTA Board’s decision for this coverage making no point out of it), as that may nonetheless depart many hundreds of Queens commuters paying double fares once they hadn’t earlier than the redesign. Nonetheless, this “promotional” free switch coverage solely applies to OMNY, not MetroCard, leaving out NICE Bus commuters and others who’re unable to modify. There may be additionally no assure that the MTA will embrace MetroCard knowledge (along with OMNY) in its research to find out future free-transfer routes and connections. The MTA must cease assuming that everybody can simply swap to OMNY and will as an alternative assess why some are nonetheless reliant on the MetroCard and the way they will greatest be accommodated.
The Queens Bus Community Redesign will not be going “very smoothly” — it’s turning right into a civil rights catastrophe. We urge the driving public to not lose hope, however as an alternative rise to the event and take motion in the event that they really feel they’ve been discriminated towards or are being disproportionately harmed. Sources to study extra concerning the bus route and cease modifications, how they have an effect on you, and how one can take motion can be found on the devoted Queens Bus Community Redesign portal and on Passengers United’s web site.
*Jack Nierenberg is the vice chairman of Passengers United, a grassroots advocacy group that elevates the voices of on a regular basis transit riders to advance true fairness, accessibility and security within the New York area’s public transit.
