The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced the first series of public open houses this fall as part of a comprehensive redesign of the Brooklyn local and express bus networks, which will redraw the entire borough’s bus routes for the first time. This historic undertaking will use public feedback, multiple sources of data and analysis, and a thorough review of demographics and upcoming developments to create a bus network that reimagines service for 650,000 Brooklyn bus riders.
As part of the Fast Forward plan to modernize and transform New York City Transit services, NYC Transit is seeking to transform the entire city’s bus networks to speed up rides and improve bus service. Most of the city’s current bus routes were implemented decades ago, with many replacing old trolley lines from the turn of the 20th century. NYC Transit will redraw those routes to take into consideration the vast changes in usage, ridership, demographics and development the city has seen. Goals of these historic redesigns include providing bus service that runs more frequently and serves more customers throughout the borough’s major corridors. To achieve such goals, Transit will look for ways to straighten routes that are excessively circuitous, limiting redundancy while adding service where needed, and bolstering off-peak service and coverage.
MTA will thoroughly review all local, Select Bus Service, and express bus routes in Brooklyn. Planners and MTA officials will also conduct an analysis of current and future market needs, travel trends, and current bus performance and reliability. Collectively, this work will help identify enhancements such as new routes, changes to service frequency, transit priority treatments, or bus priority signaling technology. MTA staff met with the Brooklyn Borough Board in early October to provide details on public outreach and the redesign process that will take place over the coming months. Public feedback from meetings, surveys conducted in person and online, and public input sessions will help inform this process, which is scheduled for completion in 2020. Each step in the process will incorporate opportunities for public comment, including community meetings and workshops. A draft plan will undergo its own round of public outreach before a final plan is proposed, and that final proposal will also be accompanied by a round of public outreach when it is released in late 2020. The final plan will be subject to public hearing and an MTA Board vote before it can be implemented.
NYC Transit has scheduled 10 open houses to inform customers and Brooklyn residents about the project’s goals. The community is encouraged to attend and share their priorities for Brooklyn’s new bus network. Members of the public will work in tandem with MTA bus planning experts to consider factors such as frequency of service in high-ridership areas, ensuring adequate service throughout the borough and balancing bus stop spacing. Transit personnel will also conduct rider surveys at bus stops and online through a dedicated project website.
In addition, MTA personnel will be on site at locations across Brooklyn to provide information about the open houses, answer questions about the Brooklyn Bus Network Redesign and to help customer submit surveys online.
OUTREACH CALENDAR
Tuesday, October 8, 2019: 6:30-9:30 a.m.
Intersection of Myrtle and Wyckoff Avenues
Myrtle-Wyckoff Av 
, or B13, B26, B54, Q55, Q58
Thursday, October 10, 2019: 6-9 a.m.
Outside of Broadway Junction 
, or B12, B20, B25, B83, Q24, Q56
Tuesday, October 15, 2019: 4-7 p.m.
Intersection of Glenwood Road and Rockaway Parkway
Canarsie-Rockaway Pkwy , or B6, B17, B42, B60, B82, B82 Select Bus Service
Wednesday, October 16, 2019: 4-7 p.m.
Intersection of East 16 Street and Kings Highway
Kings Highway 
, or B2, B7, B31, B82, B82 Select Bus Service, B100
Thursday, October 17, 2019: 4-7 p.m.
Intersection of Utica Avenue and Eastern Parkway
Crown Hts-Utica Av 
, or B14, B17, B46, B46 Select Bus Service
Tuesday, October 22, 2019: 4-7 p.m.
Intersection of 86th Street and Fourth Avenue
86 St 
, or B1, B16, B63
Wednesday, October 23, 2019: 4-7 p.m.
Intersection of Stillwell and Mermaid avenues
Coney Island-Stillwell Av 
, or B64, B68, B82, B74
Thursday, October 24, 2019: 4-7 p.m.
Intersection of Nostrand and Flatbush avenues
Flatbush Av-Brooklyn College 
, or B6, B11, B41, B103, B44, B44 Select Bus Service
OPEN HOUSES
The schedule of upcoming open houses in Brooklyn is listed below. All events are scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.:
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
DeKalb Library, 790 Bushwick Avenue
Kosciuszko St 
, Central Av , or B38, B46, B46 Select Bus Service, B47, B54, Q24
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Crown Heights Library, 560 New York Avenue
Sterling St , Winthrop St , or B12, B43, B44, B44 Select Bus Service, B49
Monday, November 4, 2019
South Shore High School, 6565 Flatlands Avenue (accessible entrance on Ralph Ave)
B6, B82, B82 Select Bus Service, B103, BM2
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
New Lots Library, 665 New Lots Avenue
Van Siclen Av , New Lots Av , or B6, B15, B84
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Williamsburgh Library, 240 Division Avenue
Marcy Av 
, or B24, B32, B39, B44 Select Bus Service, B46, B60, B62, Q54, Q59
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Park Slope Library, 431 Sixth Avenue
7 Av 
, 4 Av-9 St , or B61, B63, B67, B69
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Bay Ridge Library, 7223 Ridge Boulevard
Bay Ridge Av , 77 St , or B4, B9, B37, B64, X27, X37
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Brighton Beach Library, 16 Brighton 1st Road
Ocean Pkwy , or B1, B68
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Walt Whitman Library, 93 St. Edwards Street
DeKalb Av , Nevins St , or B54, B62
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Kensington Library, 4207 18 Avenue
18 Av , or B8
As part of the Fast Forward Plan to modernize New York City Transit, the bus networks in all five boroughs will be reimagined. Brooklyn is the fourth borough to undergo a bus network redesign, with redesigns in the Bronx and Queens currently underway. On Staten Island, a redesign of the express bus network implemented in August 2018 has led to improved service reliability and faster bus speeds by up to 12 percent.
More information about the redesigns is available here: new.mta.info/system_modernization/bus_network
A dedicated website on the Brooklyn redesign with the accompanying online survey, where customers can find reports as they are released, is available here: new.mta.info/brooklynbusredesign
Information about the Bronx redesign is available here: new.mta.info/bronxbusredesign
Information about the Queens redesign is available here: new.mta.info/queensbusredesign
ABOUT THE BROOKLYN BUS NETWORK:
- 63 local routes serving approximately 640,000 weekday customers
- 9 express routes serving approximately 9,000 weekday customers
- The borough’s local bus ridership has declined 14% between 2016 and 2019
- Brooklyn express bus ridership has declined 10% between 2016 and 2019
- Bus speeds boroughwide are currently 7.7 mph, a decline of 3% since 2016