By Jennifer Glickel
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN WEST — New Yorkers are frustrated and angered by the MTA's Wednesday approval of severe service cuts to bus and subway routes.
The plan will increase crowding on buses and subways, decrease services late at night and on the weekends, and eliminate the W and the Z subway lines. More than 20 bus routes throughout the city will have reduced service.
The cuts come as the MTA struggles to manage a looming $343 million budget deficit in 2010.
Most disturbing to many New Yorkers is the possible cancellation of the program that allows city students to receive free or discounted Metrocards for their commutes.
"It's horrible what they're doing. I mean, students can't get -- how are they getting to school? Parents don't have the money," said Caroline Ferenczi, a straphanger appalled by the MTA's overall performance. "Everybody's suffering and [the MTA] just wastes money."
W train rider David Maldonado is worried about his commute home.
"I take the train late at night, so this means the less trains, the longer waiting time," Maldonado said. "So it's definitely not a good thing."
Ross Chappell, while shocked to hear that entire lines are disappearing as part of the 2010 budget cuts, placed some of the blame on the fact that New York City's transportation system receives a significantly smaller proportion of overall public works funding than other major cities around the country.
