B44 SBS Update – Initial Reviews Are In: Part 2 Of 3

THE COMMUTE: Yesterday, in Part 1, we provided some media coverage from NewsChannel 12 and NY 1 showing rider frustrations with the new B44 Select Bus Service (SBS). That is not to say that everyone is unhappy about it. As I predicted, those traveling long distances who can make use of the SBS stops will save time and be pleased. You can never please everybody. The question remains: Will more riders be helped or hurt by this new service?

The goal in making any change is to help more riders than you hurt. This is definitely not the case during the first week of service. Some changes will ultimately be made to reduce rider inconvenience, but I believe that no matter what is done, SBS on the B44 will not be worth the effort, because there are too many problems to correct, and I do not believe that the MTA will correct them all.

Riders will get over the initial confusion and that will no longer be an issue. One or more Limited stops will be added depending on who screams the loudest. However, the major issue will remain for at least a while, which are overcrowding and reliability on the B44 local.

In the next year, more articulated buses will arrive and will most likely be placed on the B44 local, mitigating the overcrowding and reliability problems somewhat. But should riders have to wait that long for relief? Of course not. However, there is little incentive for the MTA to increase service on the locals despite the fact that overcrowding violates its secret planning service guidelines not available on its website.

Running extra service costs money. Operating articulated buses does not. So why not just let the riders wait until they arrive? Local riders will have no choice but to walk two long extra blocks to Rogers Avenue for the SBS. Perhaps they will have to walk even further after they get off the bus, if the choice is to perhaps wait 40 minutes for a local in the frigid cold, as we have already started to experience yesterday. That is exactly what the MTA is hoping for. Then they can claim local service is adequate and SBS buses are now full. The MTA will still insist that riders are saving time with the new SBS, when it will be obvious to all former local and Limited riders who switched that they now have a more inconvenient, longer trip involving more walking. The MTA will continue to use the amount of time the SBS and local buses save as their sole metric in measuring the improvements.

Rider And Operator Reviews

Now here are the reviews I promised you yesterday. The first is an email forwarded to me from a friend of mine from someone who rode the bus the first day and uses the handle “theonlyrealhammer”:

“An unmitigated disaster, but I am sure that the MTA will slant the stories in its favor.

“Nostrand Avenue narrowed in its southern end along a shopping district. Fortunately was traveling there early on a Sunday morning, but can imagine how bad it will be on workday. This morning observed almost a dozen empty or nearly empty select bus service buses go by before a local bus came by. The local bus became so crowded that the driver abandoned potential riders at the bus stops. As one of the writers indicated, no SBS service stops at several interconnecting east/west bus routes. Long stretches between the SBS stops. Again, as one of the writers indicated, local ridership will suffer given the poor service with the result that the MTA will reduce the poor service even further. The SBS buses were the double buses, while the local bus was a single.

“Would not be so bad if the MTA cut the number of empty SBS buses and increased the number of local buses.

“Five years of planning and road still ripped up, painting of pavement not competed, digital signs announcing bus times not ready, and signal priority not functional. No excuse.”

The second is from Paul Evans writing in to the New York Daily News, which published such a glowing news article of the B44 SBS before its introduction. The title is Not Sold on Select Bus:

“Brooklyn: Just when you thought service could not get any worse on the B44 bus, the MTA reaches a new low with Select Bus Service. The old, canceled limited bus service needs to be returned to this route because the SBS buses on Nostrand and Bedford Aves. are a disservice. They do not stop at the former limited stops so that the people who wait there actually get less bus service than before via packed local buses. Meanwhile, the SBS buses are mostly empty, with just a handful of passengers on those extra long vehicles; and they still run in bunches! We were sold the idea of SBS buses as a way to prevent people from sneaking on to buses through the back door. I wasn’t persuaded. There was no enforcement on any buses previously. I believe the MTA will cook the data by putting undercover officers on the SBS buses to show how effective they are against fare beaters. Still, I waited for a crowded local bus for 20 minutes the other day.”

This is from Eric B on NYC Transit Forums:

“I tried it today (WB-Jct and back). Still slowed down by all the people trying to pay the driver, or give him the receipt. They need better signs at the stops. A lot of school buses and other commercial vehicles using the lanes and some others otherwise ‘standing.’ The beginning stretch was slowed by the unpaved street. I wonder why they wouldn’t get that finished before starting it. People on Rogers seemed to be confused and not like it, saying it made their trip more difficult.”

Finally, here is an excerpt from a bus driver who calls himself Acela Express on NYC Transit Forums:

“SBS44 started on 11/17/13. First two days were pure hell, especially after the SBS ambassadors left at 7pm on the first two days, when they should have stayed til the last SBS bus left from the bridge.

“It was confusion and frustration for the passengers. However things seem to smooth out a whole lot for SBS on Thursday & Friday (as I’m off Tuesday & Wednesday) — many folks knew to get their tickets before boarding, while are some are still unaware of the new service. Usually at Fulton Street, southbound, it takes 5 minutes to load an entire bus, the traditional way; but with SBS, I was in and out in 30 seconds with a fully loaded artic. Very smooth. They even added strip maps along the bus for passengers to know their way.

“For the local buses, it was just a nightmare all week, as they are mostly on 10-12 minute headways, and with the eliminated LTD service along NY Avenue, they will need to add more local buses to compensate until everyone starts learning express is running down Rogers Avenue. And I did pick up quite a bit along Rogers yesterday compared to the rest of the week — everyone is starting to catch on…Folks have even commended the new service along Rogers as being MUCH faster. All in all, the only improvement needed is local service to handle the load balancing. That’s it, so far.”

In the concluding part tomorrow: a few more reviews, links to more media coverage, as well as some conclusions.

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).

Disclaimer: The above is an opinion column and may not represent the thoughts or position of Sheepshead Bites. Based upon their expertise in their respective fields, our columnists are responsible for fact-checking their own work, and their submissions are edited only for length, grammar and clarity. If you would like to submit an opinion piece or become a regularly featured contributor, please e-mail nberke [at] sheepsheadbites [dot] com.