SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

A look back in transportation on the year that was. Photo by Brian Hoo

THE COMMUTE: It is difficult to believe that I have been writing “The Commute” for two years. In my reflections for 2011, which seem like yesterday, I explained what I hope to accomplish in this column. I stated that my primary goal is to make a positive difference by getting people more involved in transportation issues. I think we have partially succeeded in that goal. Many of you attended Sheepshead Bay’s transit town hall last summer, which resulted in the full restoration of the B4, effective January 6, 2013. Still, much work remains to be done before Sheepshead Bay residents and those in adjacent neighborhoods have the reliable and affordable service we deserve, which takes us as quickly as possible to our destinations.

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Source: MTA

The MTA is increasing efforts to catch fare beaters on city buses, which it estimates cost the city tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue.

Since 2008, the “Eagle Team” has patrolled the budding Select Bus Service fleet to fight fare cheaters, a new form of express bus service that has off-board fare collection, which critics say has spurred on fare beaters. Now, the team of approximately 60 ex-police officers and military veterans will double in size as they prepare to patrol regular city buses. The group members coordinate with police and have the power to issue $100 summonses.

Thomas Prendergast, the head of the MTA’s transit division, explained that the Eagle Team will cost $6 million to deploy, and they will be “chasing $50 million” in revenue lost to fare beaters.

In 2010 the MTA estimated it lost $14 million in would-be fare, but admit that the statistic is hard to track. Drivers are instructed to press a button when someone enters without paying.

The Eagle Team is deployed with a mission to balance customer service with enforcement, said Vincent DeMarino, the transit division’s vice president of security.

“Just the way the police, I’m sure, want people to always wonder is there a cop on every corner, we want them to wonder if one of us is on every bus,” said Vincent DeMarino, the transit division’s vice president of security.

Don’t forget: Sheepshead Bites is hosting a Transit Town Hall to push for the restoration of the B4 service, as well as to convey to our elected officials how important public transportation is to our community.

The event, held in conjunction with Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz, Sheepshead Bay – Plumb Beach Civic Association and Transportation Alternatives’ Rider Rebellion Campaign, will kick off at 7:00 p.m. at Baron DeKalb – Knights of Columbus (3000 Emmons Avenue).

This is not an MTA gripe session. We’re not looking for generic complaints about the system, but proposals to fix the problems plaguing commuters. Among the issues to be discussed are:

• Restoring full B4 service from Coney Island Hospital to Knapp Street (and perhaps tweaking the route to better serve residents)
• Propose alterations to the B44 SBS route, which will replace the B44 Limited
• Suggestions for better riding conditions on other bus and subway lines in the neighborhood

More information can be found on our previous post.

We live here. We shop here. Some of us even work here. So when it comes to mass transit, we know what we want, what we need, and what we ain’t getting.

That’s why Sheepshead Bites is proud to announce the Sheepshead Bay Transit Town Hall, an evening workshop for brainstorming and proposing key fixes to mass transit in our area.

The event, held in conjunction with Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz, Sheepshead Bay – Plumb Beach Civic Association and Transportation Alternatives’ Rider Rebellion Campaign, will kick off at 7:00 p.m. at Baron DeKalb – Knights of Columbus (3000 Emmons Avenue).

(TAKE OUR 3-MINUTE SURVEY AND LET US KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS ON SHEEPSHEAD BAY MASS TRANSIT!)

We know what it’s like out there. If you live in Plumb Beach and want to get anywhere – good luck. Since the B4 was all but abolished (no weekend service, only certain brief hours during weekdays), the tens of thousands of residents south of the Belt Parkway and east of Bedford Avenue have no easy way to get around. If you get off the train at Sheepshead Bay train station, your only destination by bus is Nostrand Avenue or Ocean Avenue, unless you’re heading to Manhattan Beach or Coney Island. And, speaking of getting to other neighborhoods, there isn’t a single good bus option to get to Bensonhurst or Bay Ridge (or for them to get here!)

That’s why we’re asking you to come down next Thursday for the Town Hall, and help us put together a plan – by residents and for residents – to tweak the system to serve us better.

This is not an MTA gripe session. We’re not looking for generic complaints about the system, but proposals to fix the problems plaguing commuters. Among the issues to be discussed are:

• Restoring full B4 service from Coney Island Hospital to Knapp Street (and perhaps tweaking the route to better serve residents)
• Propose alterations to the B44 SBS route, which will replace the B44 Limited
• Suggestions for better riding conditions on other bus and subway lines in the neighborhood

Better service not only means it’s easier for us to get around, but that it’s easier for residents from other Brooklyn neighborhoods to come here, shop here, eat here, sail here and support our local institutions. Better business for the Bay means better living conditions for its residents.

But we need your help. We need your ideas, and we need your presence. Once we as a neighborhood have developed a plan, our elected officials will take it to Albany and to the MTA. And, here at Sheepshead Bites, we’ll keep the pressure on with ongoing coverage.

So join us on May 17, and improve mass transit for all of Sheepshead Bay! (Don’t forget to take our survey, as we’ll be using the results at the Town Hall.)

WHEN: May 17, 2012 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
WHERE: Baron DeKalb – Knights of Columbus (3000 Emmons Avenue)
Refreshments will be served.

Source: Ariela B./Yelp

Our man Randy Rojas hit Nostrand Avenue to bring you yesterday’s story about local businesses outraged that the government failed to do any outreach in the two years of planning for Select Bus Service on the commercial strip. Now another of Nostrand Avenue’s largest and oldest businesses speaks out, blasting the non-existent outreach and warning that some of the changes could hurt business.

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Following a request by Community Board 15, the Department of Transportation will make its second appearance before the board tomorrow evening to address concerns about the Select Bus Service route planned to replace the B44 Limited along Nostrand Avenue.

Allan Rosen has been doing a tremendous job covering all the concerns – and some benefits – that Select Bus Service (a.k.a. Bus Rapid Transit) will have along Nostrand Avenue, particularly focused on the Southern Brooklyn portion of the route. After some delays, the city is expected to begin implementation in early 2013, but has yet to answer all of the questions raised by the community.

One of the important considerations is parking, for which the DOT has given differing answers on how it’ll affect the area. At a hearing late last month, a DOT spokesman to Sheepshead Bites that only 5 to 10 parking spaces would be eliminated in the neighborhood. But another DOT rep at the same meeting told Rosen that there would be no net loss to parking, as spaces that are eliminated below the Junction will be replaced by new spaces as some bus stops are eliminated.

When the DOT last appeared before the Board – in May 2010 – they were faced with an antagonistic crowd concerned the larger buses would eliminate much needed parking spaces, that the benefits are being overstated, that the costs and nuisance are not worth the four-t0-eight minute cut in commute time, and that fare evasion will sky rocket with the off-board payment system. We’ll see tomorrow if residents have warmed up to the proposal – which has gone relatively unchanged – in the 17 months since their last appearance.

The meeting will be held Tuesday, October 25, at 7:00 p.m. at Kingsborough Community College (2001 Oriental Boulevard) in the Faculty Dining Room.

*The original version of this article stated that an MTA representative told Rosen that they were unclear of the net loss. That was an error. The correct information is now published above.

Source: Roosevelt Islander

THE COMMUTE: If you do not have an unlimited pass and there are insufficient funds on your MetroCard, do not attempt to pay your bus fare by combining two cards. The MTA will deduct the remaining amount from the first card and a full fare from the second card, not just the amount you are short. That’s what Queens Assemblywoman Grace Meng discovered last week.

That is because the system was not set up to allow you to combine cards but to use cash to complete your transaction. This is not a problem on the trains since turnstiles do not accept cash. The system works fine if you are short just a quarter or so. But what if you are short $1.30? (Few people will have that amount of exact change in their wallet.) You would lose $0.95 and therefore would be paying $3.20 for a $2.25 ride if you use a second card. The problem is more serious on express buses where you could lose $5 if you do not have an extra $0.50 if you think using a second card will deduct only the money you still owe.

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THE COMMUTE: When the MTA severely cut bus service in June 2010, they did so to help close a budget gap. Their official line was that they were cutting service to improve efficiency and to inconvenience as few customers as possible. Based on a methodology that was never fully disclosed, which I disputed in detail, connections were severed between neighborhoods, increasing the number of trips requiring three buses. By doing so, a double fare was now required for those trips (by those without unlimited ride MetroCards) and the MTA quietly reversed a policy in effect since the 1930s that no service changes would require riders to pay additional fares.

Now the MTA has quietly released a 115-page report [PDF], neatly tucked away on its website evaluating the effects of those changes.

Keep reading for Allan’s breakdown and analysis of the report…

Today’s special edition of The Commute is a follow-up on yesterday’s column on suggestions and critiques of the planned Select Bus Service (SBS) route on Nostrand Avenue, which will replace the B44 Limited.

THE COMMUTE: Last week I made a slight error by stating that the average SBS passenger making a 2.3-mile trip will save an average of 1.7 minutes. A Sheepshead Bites reader brought the error to my attention. The correct estimated time savings is 4.4 minutes compared to current service. Part of this savings is not due to SBS but because the SBS will be operating slightly more often than the current Limited bus. The 1.7 number referred to the time that would be saved if the Limited service were to be increased to the level of frequency provided by the SBS without any of the SBS features. In other words, the SBS by itself when discounting the additional bus frequency will save the average passenger 2.7 additional minutes.

This is the average time savings for everyone using the B44, not only SBS passengers, and includes additional walking time to and from bus stops. One of my concerns before attending the Open House was that the MTA was not taking walking time into consideration and was only measuring bus travel time savings.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s look at how the MTA/DOT came to their conclusions presented at last week’s SBS Nostrand Avenue route hearing, and why they might be lacking.

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