Despite B1 bus trips between Kingsborough College and Bay Ridge regularly taking well over an hour – often with straphangers packed like sardines – MTA officials say there are no plans to ease the crunch by adding limited route service that makes express stops at key intersections.
The B1 runs through several southern Brooklyn neighborhoods, including Manhattan Beach, Sheepshead Bay, Gravesend, Bensonhurst , Dyker Heights, and Bay Ridge. It services the busy, commercial streets of Avenue X and 86th Street, and provides crucial public transportation to thousands of residents in those neighborhoods.
Additionally, the B1 bus route is burdened by the high enrollment at Kingsborough Community College, which is the last stop of the line on the Manhattan Beach side. As of the 2011-2012 school year, over 20,000 students are enrolled at the college. Despite the growing demand, the number of B1 trips has decreased from 696 in Winter 2014 to 523 during Winter 2015.
“There are no plans for a limited route at this time, but all options will be considered within financial and operational constraints,” said MTA spokeswoman Amanda Kwan in an emailed statement.
Kwan said the majority of B1 customers at Kingsborough Community College, over 60 percent according to MTA data, transfer to the B and Q trains, making a very short trip between the college and the Brighton Beach train station.
“Given the short distance and few stops between those two points, the students that are the source of the crowding issue would see no fundamental difference between a local and a limited as both would get them to the train in the same amount of time. Much of the frustration with this issue stems from customers attempting to board between KCC and the subway, as they are frequently bypassed by buses that are already filled with students,“ she said.
Despite MTA data, local residents have been inundating Bensonhurst Assemblyman Bill Colton’s office with complaints about the B1’s poor service, lateness, and crowding.
Residents say they wait 20 to 30 minutes for a bus to arrive, only to have two buses arrive back-to-back. They complain that the bus is always overcrowded, no matter what time of day it is, but especially during the morning and evening rush hours.
This led to Colton and the Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 100 this week to call on the MTA to provide weekday limited service on the line – a service utilized on several bus lines throughout Brooklyn.
“Adding limited service to the B1 bus line will greatly enhance the quality of life for local residents by reducing wait and travel times, alleviating excessive overcrowding, and improving connectivity to other subway and bus lines, creating easier, faster commutes for straphangers,” said Colton.
“The problems on the B1 need to be addressed by the MTA, and I am calling on them to make the necessary improvements in service,” he added.
