MTA REVIEWS NEW BUS SERVICE

By [Laura Shin] The MTA says ridership is up and buses are running faster on the new Select Bus Service, compared to the old M15 Limited bus. Joseph Chiarmonte, a MTA transit planner, presented a review of the first six weeks of SBS at a community board meeting Dec. 1. He said buses are running on average 10 percent faster than they were on the old limited schedule before SBS. â??As riders become more familiar with the service, things should be improving more in terms of running time, Chiarmonte said. Ridership through mid-November was at 31,000 riders per week, which is a 10 percent increase from the M15 Limited ridership in October 2009. SBS debuted in October and has improved since its first week, Chairmonte said. Timing issues were examined and a new schedule with four additional trips and two additional buses was implemented Oct. 31. Video enforcement of the bus lanes went live Nov. 22 at 10 locations. Vehicles caught using the bus-only lane can be hit with a $115 fine. More improvements are also expected. Chiarmonte said the MTA recently conducted a review of all SBS stations and found that the ticket machines were installed too close to the curb in some instances. Chiarmonte said the MTA will address the issue. Members of the community at the meeting expressed concern about the M15 Local bus. They said that while SBS buses are running faster, the local buses seem to be crowded and running slower. Alissa Kosowsky, from MTA New York City Transit Government and Community Relations, said the local schedule has not changed, but a full review of the M15 Local service is underway and the information gathered will be used to create a revised schedule.