New York MTA Cuts Bus Service

“New York City bus riders are in for more pain as Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials [in August] quietly cut service across the five boroughs,” reports Clayton Guse in a paywalled article for the New York Daily News.

The changes are intended to address the transit agency’s ongoing fiscal crisis, according to the article. MTA officials in July admitted that federal relief funds expected to last the agency through 2025 are running out faster than expected as ridership continues to stay beloe pre-pandemic levels.

Guse’s reporting is sourced from an internal email leaked to the publication, so there is some question about the reasoning behind the service cuts.

“An MTA spokesman denied the email’s assertion that not filling some bus driver shifts is meant to save money and cut service, and instead stated that the agency is trying to make sure it isn’t paying drivers when they are not needed,” writes Guse.

Regardless of the reasoning, a lack of operators is continuing to impact service levels on New York buses, just like in less transit-dependent cities around the country.

“The MTA has for more than two years struggled to put out full bus service due to a shortage of drivers. A hiring freeze put in place during the first year of the pandemic decimated the agency’s headcounts,” explains Guse.