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MTA Service Cuts Slammed at Bronx Hearing

March 5, 2010

MTA PROTEST

STUDENTS RALLYING OUTSIDE AN MTA PUBLIC HEARING AT THE LOEW'S PARADISE THEATER ON MARCH 3 (PHOTO: J. EVELLY)

By JEANMARIE EVELLY

A flood of outraged residents and elected officials lined up to voice their concerns to MTA board members at a public hearing on March 3 at the Loew’s Paradise Theater on the Grand Concourse.

The transit agency has proposed drastic service reductions and fare changes to cover its nearly $400 million budget shortfall.

Those who elected to speak conveyed their anger as well as a sense of déjà vu, having made the same pleas to stop service cuts last year, when the MTA faced a similar budget deficit.

Among other changes, the MTA has proposed eliminating student MetroCards—which provide three free rides on school days—as well as reducing Access-a-Ride service for the disabled and elderly, and discontinuning the Bx18 bus in Morris Heights, which connects Undercliff Avenue with the Grand Concourse.

Assemblywoman Vanessa Gibson called the proposed cuts “unacceptable,” and stressed the importance of free student rides. “This is not a luxury, this is a right that they have to their education,” she said.

Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. told MTA chairman Jay Walder and other board members that they were underestimating the role mass transit plays in the lives of Bronx residents, the majority of whom don’t have access to a car.

“I’m glad you’re here, Mr. Chairman, but maybe one day you and I could take a walk around the Bronx,” Diaz said. “People need these buses.”

Written by admin · Filed Under News/Features, School News 

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