Staten Island's Express Bus network is going through more changes, this time with some additional bus stops after complaints from riders. Here's a breakdown:
Where are the New Bus Stops?
Starting on Monday, the following additional bus stops were put into service.
Spring St/Greenwich St
Houston St/Washington St
Richmond Rd/Edgar Pl
Richmond Av/Eton Pl
Arthur Kill Rd/Corbin St
Forest Av/Hart Blvd
Hylan Blvd/Bayview Av
An additional stop, Richmond Av/Rockland Av, is in the process of being reinstated in collaboration with the city transportation department and is slated to be in service later next week.
Also, Academy Bus, the vendor which operates this network’s SIM23 and SIM24 routes, announced earlier this week that it was moving those two routes to 34th St from 42nd St. That change went into effect Monday.
Why Were These Bus Stops Removed in the First Place?
They had originally been removed from the new network in order to make trips faster. Instead, they are now being restored due to, in part, customer feedback and complaints about the distance between some stops.
Will There be More Changes to the Staten Island Express Bus Network?
Starting in mid-January, the MTA plans to add one new peak-period route and one new off-peak route, trip additions and extensions to existing routes, and other adjustments to match service to ridership demand. The changes include:
A new route, the SIM11, which will run between Mill Rd/Tysens Ln and Midtown via Hylan Blvd, Madison Av, and Lexington Av. This will be similar to the former X2 bus route.
The SIM33c will add new off-peak service to downtown and Midtown similar to the previous X10. This will enable the off-peak SIM4c to serve the Richmond Av/Lander Av and Richmond Av/Morani St stops like the peak-period SIM4 does and the previous X17 did. It will also provide new off-peak and weekend service to Mariners Harbor.
SIM1 and SIM34 service will be extended to Houston St, after requests for direct service to TriBeCa and SoHo and to ease terminal capacity issues at Chambers St.
SIM25: The PM span will be extended to run for a longer period of time to match the SIM26 and the former X22.
SIM4c: All off-peak and weekend service will be extended to Huguenot Av/Drumgoole Rd, and the route will be changed to mimic the former X17 route on Richmond Av north of Victory Blvd.
SIM6: This lines’ terminal will be relocated to Lexington Av and 57th St, from 6th Av and 57th St.
SIM3c: The weekday morning span of service will be reduced to avoid overlap with the SIM3. The MTA says customers will be able to shift to new SIM33c off-peak service.
SIM2: This route's off-peak and weekend service will be discontinued, the MTA said, due to very low ridership and to free resources for other routes with higher demand.
Other schedule adjustments will match ridership demand, transit officials said.
For more information on what’s to come, you can head to the MTA’s website.