Ladies and Germs, the MTA has announced a redesign of the Staten Island Express Bus system.  Express buses are commuter buses that have limited pickups in Staten Island and then go through Brooklyn or New Jersey “express” without stopping and then do a few drop offs in Manhattan.  In the reverse direction, it is the same story.  It is more than twice the price of a subway or regular bus ride.  The seats are cushioned but the ride itself is terribly bumpy and twisty.  The State has recently completed a dedicated HOV and bus lane that’s extends throughout the Staten Island Expressway over the Verrazano through the Gowanus Expressway and into the Battery Tunnel to Manhattan. 

With the announcement of new routes, prefixed by SIM, and the dedicated bus lanes, we have an amazing opportunity to transform the completely shitty commuter experience for Staten Islanders.  The MTA is seeking commentary on the plan.  Below is my letter to them.

Reference: http://nymta.civicconnect.com/content/together-let%E2%80%99s-make-commuting-faster-staten-island-express-bus-riders

Hello,

I am a 35 year old who left Staten Island and moved to Manhattan at age 18 to attend NYU.  I have visited my family for the last 17 years using both express buses and the SI Ferry+car.  Congratulations on these massive changes. They are going to be such a huge improvement for the quality of life of Staten Islanders and those who visit.

I have a few thoughts:
1) In the list of new routes above, there is no way to distinguish which routes are available off-peak & weekends.  Would it be possible for you to add a second chart for non-rush hour/non-peak routes?  As you know, the needs of the inbound rush hour workers going are quite different from the needs of the outbound  weekend visitors.

2) Using the Staten Island Mall parking lot as a park & ride and as a terminal is on point!  For better or for worse, the SI Mall is strategically located in the center of the Island and it is a major commercial and vehicular hub.  There is a massive amount of unused potential here as a bus terminal.   In cities in Mexico, small private shuttle vans run throughout the cities to bring people to the larger bus terminal.  I can imagine small private shuttle vans bringing people throughout New Springville to the Mall to get the SIM buses in the morning.  This would be an economic booster for the residential neighborhood and also help people get to work faster.

3) The SI Mall renovation will be adding a pedestrian plaza and food market style public space.  The fact that buses will now use this space as a terminal will complement the SI Mall redesign very well.  Perhaps you can consider marketing the new SIM bus routes in conjunction with the SI Mall improvements as a way to sell this to the public better?   This will give the public the impression that there has been a comprehensive "quality of life" review and that the city really cares about the commuting experience and the neighborhood experience for Mid-Islanders.  Right now, there is not very much of a neighborhood feel in this area.

4)  At the new SI Mall hub, I can imagine digital informational signage that lets riders know when the next bus is arriving, warns riders about traffic conditions on the bridges and highways (both the NJ Turnpike and the BQE), warns bus riders about subway delays, and maybe some ads with promotional codes for buying things online with discounts as an incentive for using the hub.  I feel like there is a golden opportunity to really get this right.  All of this information is currently available online, so the kiosk would really just need an internet connection and a basic web designer to pull data from MTA.info and Google Maps traffic layer.

5)  I noticed that the new SIM routes have different pick-up and drop-off locations based on time of day.  I implore you to consider changing the route designation for off-peak times.  It's just too confusing to reuse the peak hour routes, they are actually different routes.  One of the most challenging things about the Express Bus system is figuring out where to pick up the bus.  Of course for commuters, once they find the stop, they never need to worry again.  However, trying to explain to a friend how to pick up the Express Bus from Manhattan to visit my parent's house has always been a challenge.  For example, on the corner of Broadway and Waverly place, there are two distinct Express Bus pick-up spots.  Then you also have the complexity of the X10 and X17 pick-up on Saturdays and Sundays being completely different than on weekdays.  When it comes to the bus stop signage, you have signs for the peak and off-peak stops all at different locations.  This makes it nearly impossible to figure out where to pick up the bus sometimes.  I feel very strongly that if the pick up spots are different because of the time of day, then it is indeed a different route and it should have a different route number.

6) When considering using the SI Mall as a bus hub, please consider the implications for weather.  Building a form of bus shelter that will protect all of the people waiting for the bus in the cold and rain will be a great way to show the commuters that you are serious about making their lives better.

Thank you,

Jonathan Graf