Multiple express bus routes in the city could see their schedules reduced, according to an MTA memo. The new routes were put in place before Governor Kathy Hochul put an indefinite pause on congestion pricing.

Some New Yorkers say these express buses are their lifeline.

“I gotta take the express bus in order to get to work early,” Ashani Williams, who rides the Brooklyn to Staten Island express bus almost every day, said. “I think they should be increasing, and not reducing.”

The six potentially impacted are the BM2, BM5, SIM1C, SIM4C, SIM23 and SIM24, which operate on weekdays. They serve riders in eastern Queens, Brooklyn and southern Staten Island.

The MTA memo said those routes may return to their old schedules by September.

“Just a lot of congestion, a lot of headaches, you don’t make it home on time, and then you wanna be with your family and stuff like that, you can’t get there fast enough you know? It’s just hard sometimes, dealing with the MTA,” commuter Joseph Sturges said.

In a statement, the MTA said, “Additional express runs were added specifically to increase service at the start of congestion pricing. With congestion pricing paused, it’s logical to pause a linked service increase.”

A reduced schedule for some New Yorkers could mean longer wait times or a longer commute.

“When fall starts to come around, then everybody is on the express buses,” Williams said.

Others said the express bus is their favorite way to get around.

“[It’s more] comfortable, it goes faster, and they very friendly, especially the bus driver — when you ask them question, they answer for you,” said Victoria Masaline, who lives on Staten Island and said she prefers taking the express bus over the ferry to get to work in Manhattan. “The express bus, boom, I’m there.”

The MTA says the service expansion would now need to be supported by operating funds, rather than the capital improvement funds that would’ve been generated with congestion pricing. MTA leadership is recommending the agency cut the service.