Statement of William Henderson, PCAC Executive Director
to the MTA New York City Transit and Bus Committee on the B82 SBS
MTA Headquarters, 2 Broadway, New York, NY
July 23, 2018
Good morning, my name is Bill Henderson and I am the Executive Director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA. I am here to urge you to support the establishment of Select Bus Service along the B82 route, replacing the current limited-stop service. It is widely known that, following many opportunities for the community to learn about and comment on this proposal, there has been spirited debate within the community served by the B82 concerning the design of this service, but the plan presented today represents a solution that responds to the expressed concerns of the community while overall providing for more efficient bus movement in this corridor.
Select Bus Service is a workable concept that demonstrably addresses the needs to increase bus speeds, arrest and even reverse erosion in ridership, increase rider satisfaction and improve the vitality of the commercial areas that it serves. Our preference is that SBS service operate in bus lanes as much as possible, as this increases the efficiency of its operation. We believe, however, that the approach outlined in the proposal that will be presented to you makes beneficial although limited use of bus lanes, takes advantage of additional traffic management techniques, and should be implemented promptly to address the inefficient and unreliable bus service that B82 riders currently face. We ask that the members of this Committee also lend their support to this plan for B82 Select Bus Service.
Download here: 072318 NYCTRC NYCT Committee B82 SBS