Gov. Hochul announces service improvements to select MTA bus routes, including 1 on Staten Island

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Gov. Kathy Hochul and the MTA announced on Saturday that 14 local bus routes in New York City will see an increase in service.

Of those 14 lines, one runs through Staten Island – the S79 SBS. This route, which runs from the Staten Island Mall to Bay Ridge, is a line that experiences high ridership.

The other lines can be found in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.

Beginning Sunday, the 14 routes will see improved service, as stated by Hochul.

“Every New Yorker deserves fast, reliable, and accessible public transit and these enhancements will do just that,” said Hochul. “Buses are already moving faster thanks to congestion pricing and now we’re investing in even more service, giving time back to hardworking New Yorkers who keep our city moving. From Co-Op City to Staten Island, we are building a transit system that meets the needs of all New Yorkers.”

These lines will see increased bus service, which is intended to decrease travel times and reduce wait times at bus stops, according to a spokesperson for the MTA. These “frequency improvements” aim to target periods in which these routes are most crowded, as indicated in a press release by Hochul.

“Increasing bus service on some of the city’s busiest routes is a no-brainer,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said. “These latest enhancements, along with the comprehensive bus network redesigns we’re knocking out borough by borough, are changing the game for the million-plus New Yorkers who ride with us every day.”

The increase in bus service is funded with $8 million from the Outer Borough Transportation Account, which was established by the New York State Legislature to transportation service outside of Manhattan.

The boost to the S79 SBS comes a few months after service improvements were made to the S46/S96 back in January, the MTA spokesperson said.

Earlier this spring, enhancements to eight express bus service lines were implemented; an additional line saw improvements in January, as detailed by Hochul’s office.

Here are the routes aside from the S79 SBS that will benefit from these improvements, as shared by Hochul.

The Bronx:

• Bx10 (Riverdale-Norwood)
• Bx17 (Port Morris-Fordham Plaza)
• Bx23 (Co-op City-Pelham Bay Park Station)
• Bx28/Bx38 (Co-op City-Fordham Center)

Brooklyn:

• B17 (Crown Heights-Canarsie)
• B26 (Fulton St-Ridgewood)
• B74 (Sea Gate-Stillwell Avenue Station)
• B103 (Canarsie-Downtown Brooklyn)

Queens:

• Q13 (Flushing-Ft. Totten)
• Q28 (Bayside-Flushing)
• Q35 (Rockaway Park-Midwood)
• Q66 (Flushing-Long Island City)
• Q69 (Long Island City-Astoria)

Continued disruptions

Buses on Staten Island have experienced disruptions over the last few days.

Between both Tuesday and Wednesday, official alerts from the MTA warned that 12 of the borough’s express bus routes had trips canceled, as previously reported.

Additionally, on Wednesday morning, 23 of the 31 local and limited bus routes on Staten Island had service delay alerts on the MTA’s mobile app, warning that customers should expect a longer wait than usual for local buses, like the S40, S48, S78 and S62 lines, among others.

When asked about the bus issues during the transit agency’s monthly board meeting, Demetrius Crichlow, president of New York City Transit for the MTA, explained the delays were related to air conditioning issues.

Disruptions seemed to continue into Friday as the MTA reported delays for the S40, S42, S44, S46, S48, S51, S52, S53, S66, S79 SBS, and S93.

“We’re running as much service as we can with the bus operators we have available,” a service alert issued by the MTA on Friday stated.