Comments on: B31 Overnight Service Kaput

By: Marlon Kappeler

Marlon Kappeler — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 12:14:10 +0000

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By: Johnnie Walker

Johnnie Walker — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 20:40:44 +0000

has anybody considered the amount of alcohol lovers that will now make a bad decision & get behind the wheel because the option of taking a bus will no longer be there.

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By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 20:25:01 +0000

Don't assume all fammily's have health coverage & can afford to take a child to the doctor for the sniffles. Should they then be penalized a bus pass so the kid can get back to school when feeling better. I also like when schools say you can check homework or homework has to be done on a computer. Why do they assume everybody owns a computer ? Some people have to decide weather to buy a computer or put food on the table.To many folks take for granted what other people dream of having.

By: BrooklynBus

BrooklynBus — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:20:07 +0000

Good for you!

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By: Bob

Bob — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 11:50:54 +0000

Oh I don't give up – I write again to those who don't respond & I write scathing responses to those who respond to things I didn't ask or suggest. Once in awhile I get a phone call reply – once I got an email reply with an attachment & the attachment said "Please call my office."

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By: BrooklynBus

BrooklynBus — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 09:51:18 +0000

I've had the exact same experience with elected officials.

I've had better luck in writing to the President of NYCT about a half dozen times. I've gotten detailed responses back but have not agreed with the responses most of the time. Occasionally I've even gotten some action.

Elected officials believe that their job is to write one letter for you. If you are not satisfied, they then view you as a pain in the neck and ignore you. The key if you have the time, and the issue means a lot to you is to not give up. I once got the Borough President to write a letter for me to the MTA. I wrote back, not being satisfied with the BS response, and wrote to him another 6 times, complaining his letters said nothing and he needs to question the responses, not accept everything he gets as gospel. Then I wrote him a nasty letter that got his attention. I received a call from his deputy who agreed they messed things up and spent 20 minutes on the phone apologizing to me. Finally, he wrote the type of letter he should have written the second time. Unfortunately, still nothing resulted. Now the media is looking into it. Who knows? If it means that much to you, you must never give up. That's not how people get change in this country. Anything worthwhile requires hard work.

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By: Bob

Bob — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 01:33:44 +0000

I've written every elected official with that and other suggestions on multiple occasions and in most cases got no reply whatsoever or in 2 cases a reply with a copy of a letter they sent to the MTA opposing cuts.

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By: BrooklynBus

BrooklynBus — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:44:59 +0000

You are correct. 25 people don't ride the B31 overnight. The MTA's report states that 35 riders ride overnight. Did even one of those riders show up at the hearing? That is what I wanted to say.

I never made a case for keeping the service. All I stated was that if the B2 had not been discontinued at night the same bus could be used to serve the B2 and the B31 as Bob previously stated, so in effect it wouldn't have costed anything to provide hourly service to Gerritsen Beach.

As it stands now, the B36 which I believes runs throughout the night, could also be extended from 1 to 5 AM, increasing the headway on that route, to provide service to Gerritsen Beach. The MTA did not explore all options.

This is the first time the MTA has left any neighborhood stranded, because that is not permitted under their guidelines no matter how low the ridership. You don't make guidelines and then ignore them when you want to. First change the guidelines and that shouldn't be up to the MTA to do.

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By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 22:51:25 +0000

Really, think about it. 25 people won't complain because 25 people don't ride the overnight. It is a sad truth that it does not make fiscal or any other sense to keep these lines running. Would you operate at a loss? The hurt has to happen somewhere, this is the real world.

By: BrooklynBus

BrooklynBus — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 19:34:01 +0000

The B44 gets more riders than the B31. B2 riders will also use the B9 as well as the B3. That's not to say that the B3 won't be overcrowded. They just changed their off-peak crowding guidelines last year so all routes will be more crowded during the off-peak. I wrote to Assemblyman Cymbrowitz last year that the state should require legislative approval before the MTA is allowed to make changes like that on their own, but he ignored me. Now if everyone tells him the same thing, it may be a different story. That's the problem with politicians. I didn't try to approach Kruger, because he is totally useless. At least Cymbrowitz listens some of the time. He introduced a bill in Albany last year because I asked him to, but it has been sitting in Committee for over a year and going nowhere. It would have forced gas stations to provide free air to its customers.

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