Yesterday the New York City MTA announced the results of their long-awaited Staten Island Bus Study. The plan proposes dramatic changes such as Express Bus routes that go directly to and from Midtown or lower Manhattan. It also calls for combining some bus routes and eliminating under-used stops. According to interim director Ronnie Hakim, bus riders on the island will be seeing “increased reliability, lower travel times, better frequency of service and better headways” beginning in 2018.

The Bus Turnaround Coalition welcomes the MTA’s draft plan to modernize Staten Island’s express bus network. People and cities do not stand still: the MTA’s plan is the update and improvement commuters need to get to work and home faster and more efficiently. The Coalition hopes Staten Island bus riders, elected officials and community leaders approach the proposal thoughtfully and work to implement faster and more reliable bus service as soon as possible.