Business & Tech

B38 Bus Line a Target for Service Reductions

MTA votes today on massive bus service reductions

Even while New Yorkers are still reeling from last year’s subway service cuts and fare hikes, the MTA will vote today on another round of bus service reductions across the five boroughs, in an effort to reduce its massive budget gap.

None of the buses have been targeted for elimination, but the estimated reductions in service will save the MTA approximately $300,000 a year to help fill a nearly $800 million budget shortfall from 2010.

Brooklyn would see the most reductions, 14 bus lines, while Manhattan and the Bronx could each see seven lines cut. Transit officials say the cuts in Brooklyn would include the B16, B20, B25 and B38 lines. The biggest line hit will be the B36 route from Coney Island to Sheepshead Bay, with a 17 percent reduction.

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Straphangers on the B38 -- which line runs as a major artery from Court Street in Brooklyn Heights (downtown Brooklyn), down Fulton and Lafayette Avenues through Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Bedford-Stuyvesant and ending at the intersection of Broadway and Lafayette at the boarder of Bushwick -- say the reductions will be a huge inconvenience.

“It’s unfair; this is one of the busiest bus lines,” said Lillian Martinez, 34, a B38 passenger. “They’re increasing our fares and then taking away our services at the same time? The last time they cut it down, they didn’t even advise anyone. So I hope that this time they give people ample notice, because you’re standing there waiting on a bus that never shows up.”

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“I feel that it’s really messed up, because this is a main bus that people get downtown with, and this is like, a good bus station for senior citizens,” said Derek Homes, 49, a B38 passenger. “If seniors have to wait longer in the snow, like today, or have to go to the train stations, some of the train stations are not equipped for handicapped passengers. I think it’s really messed up.”

There’s no word yet about when the planned changes will go into effect, but the MTA defended the plan in an internal document by claiming they “represent reductions in service levels to more closely align service with customer demand.” 

In addition to the service cuts, The MTA says it has begun overhauling how it does business, renegotiating contracts with suppliers, consolidating functions across its agencies and identifying other projects that can be deferred or eliminated.

Still, the MTA says it plans to slash up to a total of 40 bus routes in every borough by spring.

“It’s gonna hurt,” said Lori Simpson, 47, a Bed-Stuy resident. “The B38 is one of the main buses you take across town and downtown. It’s gonna hurt a lot of people.”


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