The MTA’s plan to operate free shuttle buses in Brooklyn during L train construction has proven to be a dud.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said Saturday that it will fold the two new B91 and B92 “Williamsburg Link” bus routes into a single route, citing very low ridership on the service.
Hardly anyone is using the routes, which over the past five weeks have offered free rides from the Bedford Ave. and Lorimer St. L stations to the J and M lines on nights and weekends. They’ll be replaced by a new route, the B91A, as of next Saturday.
The new “Link Bus” will not stop at the Lorimer St. L station. It will instead go between the Bedford Ave. L station and the Marcy Ave. J and M station with two new stops along Grand St. at the intersections of Driggs Ave. and Roebling St.
The B91A will run every eight minutes during peak periods, much slower than current three-minute intervals.
The MTA’s weekly “L Project” newsletter said Saturday that many customers have adapted to the reduced service on the L train during nights and weekends without the use of the buses — night and weekend ridership on the J and M lines is up 60%. It said that each B91 and B92 bus picks up just two or three customers per trip.
Moises Del Rio, vice chairman of the Grand Ave. bus depot for Transport Workers Union Local 100, has been keeping a close eye on the service. He said ridership has been even lower than what the MTA suggests.
“My guys are telling me they’re picking up five to six people a night and that’s on an eight- or nine-hour shift,” said Del Rio. “It’s a big waste of money.”
Del Rio said straphangers appear to be dealing with the L train running every 20 minutes between Manhattan and Brooklyn, and are hopping on other regular bus routes when they exit the L train in Williamsburg.
NYC Transit President Andy Byford said the agency had long planned to tweak its alternative service plans during L train construction based on ridership patterns.
“New Yorkers are savvy and quick to adapt,” said Byford. “This quick adaption led to light ridership on the Williamsburg Link — something we always knew was a possibility — so we are changing service to match ridership needs.”
