By Carla Zanoni
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER MANHATTAN — Inwood and Washington Heights residents will be largely spared from the cuts to the city's MTA service that begins Sunday, but residents here are still bracing for the fallout.
Few lines in Northern Manhattan will see disruptions and those riders who are impacted will be given free transfers, the MTA said. Still, because of the citywide changes, riders who venture beyond the immediate area are still preparing for the worst.
"I ride the bus every day," Inwood resident and waitress Maria del Campo, 33, said. "It's already slow. I'm worried more changes mean more time getting to work and home."
The MTA did not immediately return calls for comment.
Inwood will see no cuts to their local bus lines, but residents who travel north through the Bronx to Riverdale will no longer have the option of taking the BX20 on Saturdays or during off-peak hours during the week, the MTA said.
There will be no BX20 service before 6 a.m., between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., and after 7 p.m. The BX20 had already been suspended on Sundays prior to the recent round of cuts. Riders will need to take the BX7 or BX10 for alternate service.
In Washington Heights, residents will also lose use of the M18 line, which begins in Washington Heights on 168th Street and Audubon and ends at Central Park North in Harlem. Riders can instead use the M3, M100, or M101.
The M98 also no longer stops inside the George Washington Bridge bus station, but patrons can hop on the bus on Broadway outside the station. Riders who wish to travel below 68th Street will have to transfer to the M101, M102, M103 or 4/5/6 trains to complete their ride.
