Bay Ridge

Pols praise proposal to restore weekend X28 buses

Treyger: We just want back transit services that were taken from us

June 20, 2016 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Riders could be seeing weekend service on the X28 bus return in September. Eagle photos by Paula Katinas
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A proposal to restore weekend service on the X28 express bus is winning praise from elected officials who represent neighborhoods where riders would stand to benefit from a return ofSaturday and Sunday buses.

The MTA was scheduled to meet Monday to hear testimony on the proposal to restore weekend service on the X28 bus line, according to Councilmember Mark Treyger. Under the proposal, weekend service would be brought back for a six-month trial period that would begin in September, Treyger said.

Weekend service on the X28 bus was discontinued in 2010 as part of an MTA service reduction plan aimed at cutting costs.

“We promised residents in Southern Brooklyn that we would keep fighting for more transportation options, and we are seeing the fruits of our labor,” Treyger said. “Now, we are seeing really positive progress on getting weekend service on the X28 restored. We have not been asking for luxury items like streetcars. We just want to get back the transit services that were taken from us.”

The X28 bus route runs from West 37th Street and Surf Avenue in Coney Island to East 57th Street and Madison Avenue in Manhattan. The bus makes stops in Coney Island, Bath Beach, Bensonhurst and Dyker Heights on its way between Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Weekday ridership on the X28 in 2015 grew by seven percent over the previous year, according to Treyger (D-Coney Island-Gravesend-Bensonhurst), who cited figures from New York City Transit, a subsidiary of the MTA.

The proposed restoration calls for Manhattan-bound Saturday service to operate from 6 a.m. to 8:15 p.m. and for Brooklyn-bound service to run from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday service would operate from 7 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. toward Manhattan, and from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. toward Brooklyn.

Saturday service would operate every 30-40 minutes, and Sunday service every 30-60 minutes.

Treyger said he worked alongside fellow lawmakers, including state Sen. Diane Savino (D-Coney Island-parts of Bensonhurst-Staten Island), and assembly members Bill Colton (D-Gravesend-parts of Bensonhurst) and Pamela Harris (D-Coney Island-Dyker Heights-Bay Ridge) to lobby the MTA to restore weekend service on the express bus line.

“I would also like to thank the Transit Workers Union, which has always been supportive of our efforts. This is a huge step in the right direction, but we are not done. We still need to see improved service on other bus routes, such as the B1, the B64, and the B82. But we have positive momentum now, and we will continue speaking up until we get back all that we have lost,” Treyger said.

State Sen. Marty Golden, who organized a petition drive in 2013 to try to convince the MTA to bring back the weekend service, said riders will benefit from the restoration.

“It will help to remove the problem many seniors and the disabled face in getting to Manhattan on weekends and again the city will be more accessible on the weekends,” Golden said.

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