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Add rush hour
branch to the B42 along Seaview
Ave to E 108 St.
Ø The B17 which currently serves
Seaview Avenue does not provide direct service to the L Canarsie
Line. A transfer to the B42
is required. Ridership data shows that potential customers will resist making
a bus transfer if they must also transfer to a subway. Further, since the L train serves a very limited
area of Manhattan, virtually all L train riders require at least one
additional train line to reach their destination. Therefore, many Seaview Villlage
residents currently are required to take two buses and two or three trains to reach their
destination and
have to walk over a quarter-mile to access
a bus that goes to the nearest subway line which is the L train. Their only other choice is to drive or utilize the infrequently
operated B103
Ø There is enough service on the B42
during rush hours to split the service between the last three blocks of Rockaway Parkway and Seaview Avenue without severely
impacting current riders and greatly improving accessibility.
l The current B42 rush hour headway is every 3 to 4 minutes. Splitting the
service would require residents of the mid-rise housing south of Seaview Avenue to wait an average of one and a half to two
extra minutes for a bus, or a maximum of four extra minutes on a short route with high service reliability. Since only the first two stops of the route are affected, the reduced headway will not adversely affect
crowding since there is ample capacity on the buses for the additional passengers.
Ø This proposal would reduce the number of vehicles
customers are required to take to make a trip. Although the mileage along Seaview
Avenue is about 600 feet longer than the current route, the additional running time is the same, approximately three minutes. Therefore the operating cost is not increased.
Ø B42 Seaview Avenue service would
provide direct bus service to the L line for an additional 12 square blocks of Seaview Village. Although MTA New York City Transit may
consider operating two bus routes on Seaview Avenue as duplicative, residents that would be served by the B42 proposed branch currently
are beyond the quarter-mile service area to a bus route that provides service to the L line, the only subway
line serving Canarsie. The additional revenue provided would increase the profitability of the B42 or reduce its loss
Ø During non-rush hours, northbound buses could be diverted
along Seaview Avenue to E 108th Street, turn-around, operate along Seaview Avenue back to Rockaway Parkway and continue their
normal route.
l This
would add about 5 minutes to the northbound trip for passengers boarding at the first two stops near the Belt
Parkway. Operating a branch during non-rush hours instead would add 10 minutes on both trips.
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