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Read the press release here.

MTA Chief Says Some Bus Lines Might Be Spared

By Test Reporter | March 10, 2010 10:25am | Updated on March 10, 2010 10:18am
A New York City bus travels down Ninth Avenue near 53rd Street.
A New York City bus travels down Ninth Avenue near 53rd Street.
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Jennifer Glickel/DNAinfo

By Ben Fractenberg

DNAinfo Reportr/Producer

MANHATTAN — Some city bus and subway routes may be spared from service cuts, MTA chief Jay Walder said on Tuesday.

The MTA decided to save some lines — though no final decisions have been made on which ones — after last week’s public hearings at which New Yorkers expressed their outrage at the proposed cuts. Community members organized to fight weekday cuts to busses including the Q79, Q74, and M27, the New York Post reported.

"We have listened closely to our customers and will respond by making changes where we can," Walder told the Post.

The M27 provides crosstown service through Midtown along 49th and 50th streets.

More than 2,500 people attended nine public hearings in the city and surrounding areas this month, the Daily News reported.

People protest transportation cuts at the Chelsea MTA Public Hearing on Thursday, March 4th 2010.
People protest transportation cuts at the Chelsea MTA Public Hearing on Thursday, March 4th 2010.
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DNAinfo/Gabriela Resto-Montero

"That's why we encourage people to attend the public hearings," Gene Russianoff, attorney with the Straphangers Campaign riders advocacy group told the News. "The MTA does have a history of listening to objections to service cuts. It's like the lottery slogan, 'You have to be in it to win it.'"

The MTA’s current plan is to eliminate 14 out of its 244 routes and cut back on 100 others, affecting 200,000 riders reported AM New York.