After an analysis of the first months of the Bronx bus redesign, the MTA found the project made routes faster, as ridership unexpectedly increased and stops initially removed were added back.
The MTA conducted a 6-month evaluation of the redesign after the project was implemented in June 2022, with a focus on from the time schools opened in September until Thanksgiving, an MTA spokesperson who declined to be named told the Bronx Times. Ridership and traffic are abnormal over summer vacation and during holiday shopping season, the spokesperson said.
The Bronx Bus Redesign had goals of making bus routes more direct and improving east-west and intra-borough bus connections. As part of the project, bus frequency increased on eight corridors for 10 routes leading to shorter wait times; 13 routes were changed; two routes were added and about 18% of stops were — at least initially — removed. Six bus lanes were also installed in conjunction with the NYC Department of Transportation.
Changes
Though the new design officially launched in June 2022, follow-up changes were made in the fall and earlier this year following community feedback. Of the 258 Bronx bus stops that were initially removed, 22, or 9%, were restored, according to the MTA.
The agency spokesperson told the Bronx Times that the restored stops were added back gradually from July to January, which overlaps with the analysis period. According to the spokesperson, these changes should not have had a significant impact on the analysis of the bus speeds because a small number of restorations took place, staggered over time.
Also changed since the implementation is the name of the Bx18 two-way loop, which is now called the Bx18A and Bx18B.
Ridership increase
Robert Thompson, manager of bus service planning for the MTA, said at a NYC Transit meeting Tuesday that an improvement in ridership was not something the agency “necessarily expected,” as part of the redesign, but a 6% increase from Sept. 8 to Nov 23,…
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