B44 SBS Update – Initial Reviews Are In: Part 1 Of 3

THE COMMUTE: Select Bus Service (SBS) on the first route in Brooklyn, the B44, is now one week old. I have not yet had a chance to observe or ride the SBS or the B44 local, so at this time I can only offer second-hand information.

As to be expected, there was much confusion resulting from the elimination of the Limited service, which has been replaced with SBS; removal of some Limited stops, which became local stops only, and the rerouting of half of the buses from New York Avenue to Rogers Avenue. Bus riders were informed of the start date through automated announcements on the buses during the week prior to implementation. Not enough information was given to avoid confusion.

Although the project involved five years of planning, meetings and consultations with numerous business and community groups, planning boards and civic associations, and some very limited media coverage, the vast majority of bus riders never heard SBS until a few days before implementation, or until after it began. The MTA could have done a much better job in disseminating information, for example by not keeping SBS schedules a secret until a week prior to its rollout, and local schedules a secret until three days before.

Not Enough Limited Stops Were Converted to SBS Stops

The first problem to emerge was the complaint that too many Limited stops were eliminated. Councilman Jumanne Williams wasted no time in holding a press conference on November 19th, the first day after rush hour implementation. No elected official reacts that quickly unless he was bombarded with complaints. He requested that the MTA reinstitute the former Limited stop at Avenue L as an SBS stop. According to News 12 Brooklyn:

“Early on Tuesday morning, Councilman Jumaane Williams (D–Flatbush) rallied outside a former B44 limited stop at Avenue L and Nostrand Avenue, complaining that commuters and students at IS 240 were left out of the service expansion. The rejiggering caused locals to lose the medium-express line that stopped at Avenue L. The select bus does not, but they still have the local.”

Assemblywoman Rhoda Jacobs representing Midwood also sent a letter to the MTA asking for the restoration of the Avenue L stop.

Inadequate Local Service On New York Avenue

The second problem to emerge with the B44 SBS, which is a much more serious one, is the inadequacy of local service along New York Avenue with the elimination of Limited service without any replacement service. New York Avenue riders saw their service reduced by more than 50 percent. The MTA had banked on all former Limited riders walking more than an extra quarter-mile (five city blocks) to the SBS service, which many are not willing to do. This overcrowded the locals and caused massive delays of up to 40 minutes, without a bus on a route with supposed 10 minute headways much of the time.

The MTA makes the mistake of assuming everything runs on schedule when they plan. All it takes is a few buses to bunch, which happens at least 30 percent of the time, for a 40-minute wait to occur. They should have been able to predict that. Also, common sense tells you that if you run longer buses on the SBS and standard size buses on the local, you will need to have more locals than SBS buses to avoid overcrowding on the locals. I would rather not say “I told you so,” but I did tell you so. Last March, I predicted, a service reduction on the B44 local, nearly empty SBS buses in places, less reliability on the local, overcrowding on New York Avenue, and waits of up to 25 minutes or more for the local — all of which came true this first week.

I also stated that, over time, local riders will be forced onto the SBS, walking greater distances than they would rather walk because they will get tired of waiting up to 40 minutes for a local. When that does happen, the MTA will attribute the entire increase in riding of the SBS to passengers not being aware of the switch in service to Rogers Avenue, which will be true only for a small percentage of the riders. They will never admit that riders would have preferred the local if it ran on time and it was not overcrowded. Check out this NY 1 report, in which a reporter waited nearly 40 minutes for a local to arrive along with a passenger, or just watch this video to hear passenger opinions and a view from the TWU.

Why There Was So Much Confusion

Much of the confusion was related to having to pay your fare before you board the bus. Although it seems like a simple concept, it is a new one for Brooklyn bus riders and confusing for several reasons. When you see a bus in the bus stop, your first reaction is to run for it. If you do not know a route requires pre-payment of the fare, it is not obvious. The kiosks where you pay your fare may not be near the bus shelter or near where the bus stops. Check out this picture.

Also, the sign says get ticket here as if off board payment is an option like on the railroads, where you still can purchase a ticket on board for an extra fee. Signs need to clearly state that paying beforehand is a requirement.

Yes, people will always be confused and someone will still complain no matter what you do, but that doesn’t make up for the fact that there weren’t detailed maps on the buses with the start date one month before SBS started.

Announcements for several days before SBS would be starting were insufficient. What if you don’t ride the bus every day? People needed to know that buses would be using Rogers Avenue, your Limited stop was removed, and that you can no longer ride all the way from Williamsburg Bridge to Knapp Street on a single bus except between midnight and 6:00 a.m. or 7:00 a.m.

You needed to know that, if you ride the B52 or B54 and want to go to Williamsburg, you must transfer for the local, then get off at Flushing Avenue and take the SBS and pay a second fare. Of course you could walk a quarter mile from Myrtle to Flushing or DeKalb, or from Gates to DeKalb to save a fare. But you won’t know if no one tells you. However, the amount of confusion was inexcusable and the fault of the MTA’s poor planning.

Tomorrow: Reviews from bus riders, and next week, the Customer Satisfaction Survey I promised to write about this week.

The Commute is a weekly feature highlighting news and information about the city’s mass transit system and transportation infrastructure. It is written by Allan Rosen, a Manhattan Beach resident and former Director of MTA/NYC Transit Bus Planning (1981).

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