The Pleasant Plains Park-and-Ride needs a reliable bus that's certain to get commuters from point A to point B. (Staten Island Advance/Mark Stein)
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - PLEASANT PLAINS - One way or another, the Pleasant Plains Park-and-Ride needs a reliable bus that's certain to get commuters from point A to point B in a reasonable time frame, say residents who voiced their opinions at a Community Board 3 meeting last Wednesday.
Their demands came following an Atlantic Express (AE) presentation of a proposed restoration plan of the former AE7 bus route. The route was dropped by the private transportation company at the end of last year.
The bus company said it needs a subsidy for approximately $675,000 from New York City to run the new route, which was terminated due to low ridership on Dec. 31.
"We can't do anything unless the city says 'yes,' " said Carolyn Daly, spokeswoman for Atlantic Express, several days after an AE representative made the presentation to the board and approximately 35 people in attendance.
Atlantic Express is offering to add 20 trips to make transportation easier for its customers.
Under a deal struck in 2001, AE was given a subsidy to run its X23 and X24 routes, while the MTA was to operate the X21, now discontinued, and the X22. The AE7 could fill the void in that subsidy program created by the loss of the X21, as outlined in the plan.
With the help of the subsidy, the company envisions a revamped AE7 that would stop at the Pleasant Plains Park-and-Ride, which is now all but vacant after the service was cut.
The new route also would stop at the "checkpoint" stop shared by the X22, X23 and X24 routes at Arthur Kill Road and the West Shore Expressway, which would give commuters more options.
AE7 ridership had dwindled over the years – from 600 at the height of the service, when it operated out of the Showplace Center lot in Travis, to about 175 in December of last year.
MetroCard fareboxes would be installed in Atlantic Express buses to accept the same fare and currency as the other competing routes.
Commuters said they waited "for hours" from May to September last year. They said the drivers weren't reliable and that when the AE7 was removed, riders, left to take the X23 or X24, had no choice but to hop on a very crowded bus.
"It's really an embarrassment when it takes Staten Islanders an hour and a half or two hours to get to work," argued one commuter, Colleen Meehan, of Tottenville.
"We are truly the forgotten borough," barked another commuter.
Councilman Vincent Ignizio (R-South Shore) said the MTA has not lived up to its charter-mandated responsibilities to provide adequate express bus service to his constituents.
He wishes the MTA would think out of the box to provide a limited-stop X22 that goes from the Pleasant Plains Park-and-Ride, to the Checkpoint, to Manhattan.
Ignizio said the now-vacant park-and-ride has been a white elephant since the day it opened, and that the MTA should be embarrassed.
"I find the MTA so unresponsive to the needs of my community. It's very frustrating, because I don't control them, nor does any elected official," he said, adding that the South Shore's commuters, which have the longest ride to work in the country, are ignored.
"There's a lot of Staten Islanders on the South Shore that really need this service," said Ms. Daly. "We're looking for a way to put those people back on the bus and take the overflow from the X23 and X24 and put it on the AE7 and have it work together that way."
"The transportation for people out there is horrendous. We don't care if the MTA or Atlantic Express (gives it)," said Frank Morano, chairman of Community Board 3. "We want something done for the people in that area. It's totally an outrage."