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Every NYC borough gets a free MTA bus route starting Sunday
By
Stephen Nessen
Published Sep 24, 2023
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Marc A. Hermann / MTA
By
Stephen Nessen
Published Sep 24, 2023
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One MTA bus route will be free in each New York City borough starting Sunday.
Riders will notice digital displays on the front and sides of the buses indicating they are free.
The free buses are on these routes:
- The B60, which runs in Brooklyn from Canarsie to Williamsburg Bridge Plaza.
- The M116, a crosstown bus in Manhattan traveling primarily on 116th Street.
- The Q4, which runs in southeast Queens between Cambria Heights and Jamaica Center.
- The S46 and S96, which count as one route in Staten Island running between St. George Ferry Terminal and West Shore Plaza.
- The BX18, which runs in a loop in the western Bronx between Undercliff Avenue or Sedgwick Avenue and Grand Concourse.
The free buses are part of the state budget deal lawmakers struck with Gov. Kathy Hochul in exchange for new taxes and more funding for the MTA.
The transit agency will study the results of the free bus pilot over the course of a period lasting no longer than a year.
“Getting more New Yorkers on to public transit must be at the forefront of our plan for a greener NY, and making a bus route free in each of the five boroughs of our city begins our journey of doing just that.” Queens Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani wrote in a statement.
The MTA didn't charge bus fares for nearly half a year during the pandemic.
Bus ridership remains down by nearly 40% most days, compared to pre-pandemic levels. The MTA says actual ridership is likely higher than the official numbers due to rampant fare evasion.
New York City Transit President Richard Davey said he wasn’t worried about the five free buses being overcrowded.
“We welcome the ridership, we have a lot of room on those vehicles, but we’ll monitor if we need to add service,” New York City Transit President Richard Davey said at Wednesday's MTA board meeting.
The routes serve about 44,000 of the agency's 1.3 million weekday bus riders.
Last week, the MTA launched a new fare evasion crackdown campaign on local buses, although the agency wouldn’t say exactly where they’re cracking down. An MTA report found recently that as many as 37% of bus riders, or 700,000 people don’t pay the fare.
Progressive lawmakers have pushed for free MTA bus service to help poor New Yorkers.
OMNY machines will be covered in the buses so riders know not to pay. The MTA will use automated passenger counters to monitor how many people are riding.
Tagged
new york city
transportation
Stephen Nessen
Stephen Nessen covers transportation. Since 2008 he has reported on everything from Occupy Wall Street, the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site, Hurricane Sandy, to Trump’s campaign for president. His transportation reporting has taken him everywhere from the MTA’s secret Rail Control Center to the gleaming subways of Seoul. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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