Stringer: MTA Bus Service Is New York's 'Other Transit Crisis'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Commuters frustrated by slow subway service won't have much luck above ground.
As 1010 WINS' Juliet Papa reported, for anyone taking New York City's surface transit, bad bus service is an all too frequent reality.
"You can almost walk quicker than take a bus," City Comptroller Scott Stringer said.
Stringer's report called the bus system the city's other transit crisis.
Overall ridership is down over the past 10 years, but within the boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx it's up significantly, because that's where people are working.
"A lot of people who work off-peak hours, our seniors, people who struggle to pay the rent happen to use buses," he said.
And they can't afford Ubers either.
MTA Chairman Joe Lhota said congestion is the problem, and congestion pricing is the solution.
"The bus system and our riders are the victims of a crisis. Traffic congestion and New York City's consistent inability to manage traffic flow and enforce existing traffic laws on its streets is killing our bus service and hurting bus riders. The proper and progressive way to deal with the scourge of traffic is for everyone to support a responsible congestion pricing plan. Traffic congestion is keeping the most reliable and advanced bus fleet in recent history from moving as efficiently as it can and should," he said.
Stringer's report suggests a revamp of routes, enforcement of bus lanes, and a signal priority system that keeps the buses moving.