Express buses are for everyone

To the editor:

(re: “Riders express outrage at service cuts,” Oct. 31)

At a Women of Reform Judaism meeting Nov. 7, universal outrage was expressed by the members at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s proposal for bus service in the Bronx.

The proposal severely curtails southbound express bus service. The last BxM3 will leave at 1:45 p.m., the last BxM2 will leave at 3 p.m., and the last BxM1 will leave at 4:45 p.m. Weekend travel also will degrade.

The MTA apparently views the express bus as necessary only to relieve traffic for commuters.

In view of the huge effort made to pass congestion pricing, the plan makes no sense. What does the MTA have in mind? Are those who use the express bus service to go to doctors, museums, theater, and to visit friends (the elderly and disabled) to be shunted to the regular bus service and the 1 train (where service is frequently curtailed), thereby increasing traffic on the already overcrowded subway system?

Are friends and family who live in Manhattan and do not own cars to give up visiting relatives in Riverdale because they can’t get home in the evening? Or does the MTA expect seniors (on fixed incomes) to use the more expensive Metro-North system with no Rail Link services on weekends?

Are residents of Riverdale expected to use an expensive car service or drive in to Manhattan and add to the already horrific traffic there? What is the justification for completely eliminating the evening service rather than making it less frequent? What is the plan?

Apparently, if one wishes to have dinner with friends on the west side of Manhattan, you have to plan for the early bird special.

The changes also make no sense for the business community. Thousands of residents moved to Riverdale because of the then-excellent transportation.

Real estate values will change in unpredictable ways as some people decide on the suburbs, and others will swallow the increasing costs of real estate and taxes in Riverdale.

Business for all the cultural institutions in Manhattan will suffer, as will increasingly isolated seniors and the disabled.

The MTA “plan” does nothing to improve life for the people of Riverdale. We urge all residents to call the MTA president, Mr. Andy Byford, at (646) 252-5800 to express our outrage of the severity of this cutback in service.

Helen Meltzer-Krim

The author is a member of Women of Reform Judaism at Riverdale Temple.

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