Bus Riders Slow to Embrace GPS Tracking for Notoriously Tardy B61

PARK SLOPE — Bus riders seem to be embracing the new GPS tracking system for Brooklyn's notoriously slow B61 about as slowly as the bus itself.

The new system, Bus Time, was supposed to take the guess work out of waiting for the poky bus by allowing riders to check how far the bus is from their stop on their computers or smart phones.

The bus tracking technology debuted on July 1, but on Monday, none of the dozen riders DNAinfo New York polled at five B61 stops were using Bus Time, and most were unaware of the free service, which is advertised on the side of many B61 buses.

DNAinfo New York tested the service and found that it accurately displayed the B61's location, telling users that the bus was ".9 miles" away from a particular stop, for example, and then updating the bus's status to let riders know when the B61 was closing in on the stop and even the exact moment when the bus pulled up at the stop.

"It's a great idea, you don't have to be waiting, wondering where the bus is," said a young father who waited several minutes for the B61 in the blazing sun with his wife and infant daughter at Ninth Street and Fifth Avenue. He hadn't heard of the service, but quickly looked it up on his phone when told about it.

Three riders said they liked the idea of Bus Time, but wouldn't be using it because they don't have smart phones.

Others said they had never heard of Bus Time, but were well-acquainted with the shortcomings of the B61. "I don't know (about Bus Time), but I know the bus comes late. Sometimes you wait 45 minutes or an hour. Somebody has to do something," said a woman with a cane who said she rides the B61 two or three times a week.

Complaints like that spurred the MTA to install Bus Time on the B61, which meanders through Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Red Hook and Cobble Hill. The tracking system is one of several improvements made to the line in the wake of a report by Park Slope City Councilman Brad Lander and U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez about problems on the B61 line.

The study — called "Next Bus Please: Improving the B61" — found that the bus was chronically late and overcrowded. It's not only public officials that have explored the B61's failures. A film in the 2012 TriBeCa Film Festival featured characters on a seemingly endless wait for the B61 in Red Hook. The blog Brownstoner dubbed the B61 "soul-destroying."

The Bus Time system is also used on Brooklyn's B63 line, which runs along Atlantic Avenue and Fifth Avenue, and it's slated to be installed on Bronx buses by the end of this year.

"Bus Time is a great step forward for B61 riders, who are looking for more reliable bus service," Lander said in a recent statement announcing the service.

He added that there are still plenty of improvements needed on the B61, including upgrading lighting at the Smith-Ninth Street station, using BusTime to alert the Gowanus Canal bridge operator if a bus is approaching so the bridge opening can be held until the bus passes, and rerouting the bus crossing the Brooklyn Queens Expressway by creating a new intersection at Mill Street.

One drawback to Bus Time is that it doesn't say how fast the bus is moving.

"Even if it tells you it's .8 miles away, there could be a traffic jam — you could be standing there for half an hour," said Leonora Tapia, a New Jersey resident waiting for the B61 on Ninth Street for a trip to Ikea with her mom. Tapia said she'd like to see a more sophisticated system for tracking buses, but nonetheless she whipped out her phone to check the Bus Time website.