Angry riders got off the X12 express bus Friday that runs between Staten Island and Manhattan, after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority decided to trim service.

"It's insanity I took the bus this morning and it was slammed it was packed," said one rider. 

"It was terrible actually we waited for 40 minutes for a bus and then they came back to back it was crazy buses were crowded and they cut service," said another rider.  

Starting this month, the MTA  cut several X12 and X42 buses -- during the morning rush.

And during the evening rush, the MTA took away two more.

"It’s ridiculous, it's asinine, my constituents rely on this line, both line es 42 and the 12 one of the most popular bus lines on the north shore," said City Councilman Steve Matteo.

Matteo says the X12, was created to improve weekday rush hour bus services, on one of the most heavily used routes.

But what he's most frustrated about, is the cuts come just as local officials are working to upgrade bus service in the borough.

"To cut it while we are undertaking a bus study to increase service on Staten Island that’s being led by borough president and the MTA while conducting this study is cutting service on X12 and X42 that makes absolutely no sense to me," said Matteo.

Matteo sent a letter to the MTA,  requesting that service be returned to the previous schedule. But the MTA says they've been reviewing the ridership and are sticking by their decision.

In a Statement to NY1, a spokesperson said: "After a review of the X12/42 route, we aligned service with the route’s ridership, which combined was 2,248 average weekday customers in 2015 and reflects a decrease of 3.7 percent from the year prior." 

"Getting a bus in the morning has been terrible for the amount of money that we pay we should have more buses not less," said one rider.

The buses cost $6.50 each way and many riders spend close to $300 per month commuting

"It's insanity you get slammed on the express bus you can't drive the Verrazano bridge and the battery tunnel is insanity," said another rider.

The MTA says it will continue to monitor the route and say make adjustments as ridership changes.