MTA & Vacca To Meet About The Bx8
As I have discussed at different points in time, it was clear that some boroughs really got a knockout punch when the MTA’s service cuts went into effect. One of the boroughs to get a heavyweight hit was the Bronx which saw cutbacks or complete elimination to a number of routes including the Bx14.
I opined about the elimination of the Bx14 & how it came as no surprise to me due to the lack of service compared to other lines along with low ridership. The only area to really be hit by the elimination of the route was the Country Club section of the Bronx. The MTA attempted to address that issue by rerouting the Bx8 to serve it on its way to Throggs Neck.
Unfortunately many riders in the area are not happy & they are not alone as so is Councilman Jimmy Vacca. He will be meeting with the MTA to discuss the rerouting of the Bx8 along with potential solutions to address the concern of local riders & residents. Patrick Rocchio of The Bronx Times & YourNabe.com has more:
The backlash against the MTA’s new Bx8 bus route continues, and now city officials have jumped into the fight.
Throggs Neck residents want the MTA to recognize the flaws of its new bus route, and they’ve recruited community and merchant groups on their behalf.
In a closed-door meeting with community and merchant leaders on Tuesday, July 13 at Councilman Jimmy Vacca’s office, those concerned gathered to express their frustrations about the new route of the Bx8, which replaced the Bx14 bus on June 27.
The Throggs Neck Merchants Association and Throggs Neck Home Owners Association have asked Vacca to hold a special meeting about issues that have developed.
Vacca brought in the Spencer Estate Civic Association and Country Club Civic Association members, who have been having problems with buses running too frequently as well.
He has been in touch with the MTA about the unforeseen negative impacts the new route has had on different communities throughout Throggs Neck and Pelham Bay, and is hoping to affect change soon.
“The bottom line is that the current bus configurations cannot stand as they now exist, as there have been too many negative impacts,” Vacca said. “As many of us warned, the elimination of the Bx14 was uncalled for. The MTA has got to realize that all is not well, step in, and correct what they have done.”
Three major concerns have arisen from different communities along the portion of the Bx8 running from Spencer Estate and Country Club to Locust Point and Edgewater Park, Vacca said.
Firstly, residents from Edgewater Park and Locust Point have been forced to add a significant amount of travel time to their morning and nighttime commutes because their bus follows a less direct route to and from the Pelham Bay IRT train station.
Click here for the complete report.
The old saying of you can’t please everybody screams out in this situation. The MTA correctly eliminated a low ridership line & offered a decent alternative for those who used the service. Yet even with doing that, your typical NIMBY complains are coming the forefront especially about too much service.
I am curious as to how this meeting will go & what if any changes we will see to the route. I’ll keep tabs on this.
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Bx8 route should extend to Queens (Bay Terrace in Bayside). The Throgs Neck Bridge is at the terminal of the route in Locust Point and to draw ridership it is only appropriate to extend the route across the Bridge. The Bx40 and Bx42 has its ridership (as proven with the use of Articulated Model buses) for Throgs Neck section of the Bronx.