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Read the press release here.

Megabus a Mega-Annoyance for Ninth Avenue Residents

Passengers board the Megabus at Ninth Avenue.
Passengers board the Megabus at Ninth Avenue.
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DNAinfo/Meredith Hoffman

HELL'S KITCHEN — Move over Megabus, say Ninth Avenue residents.

Some neighbors of the bus depot at Ninth Avenue and 33rd Street say they are sick of the congestion, trash and double-parking that arrived with the company in October.

Their complaints will be discussed at Community Board 4's transportation committee meeting Thursday.

"Very little has been done," said Laura Oaksmith, a neighbor who has been vocal against the Megabus depot.

"We ask that they move [the depot] to 10th or 11th Avenue because it's less crowded there.

"There are supposed to be just two buses out there but often there are two or three," she said, adding that Megabus had not provided sufficient bathrooms for the large groups of people waiting.

Patrick Aitcheson said the problem is worst on the weekends, when the company is at its busiest and waiting passengers block the Ninth Avenue sidewalk.

Megabus did install a new passenger waiting area in a Ninth Avenue parking lot, but Oaksmith and Aitkenson said that the crowd still spills out on the sidewalk.

Scott Gastel, a Department of Transportation spokesman, said the DOT has reached out to Megabus about the issue, and that the company now provides both a customer waiting space and a portable toilet for customers. 

Christine Berthet of the CB4 transportation committee said it had also worked with Megabus in the spring to draw up a resolution for provisions like the customer queue in the parking lot.

Berthet said that the session Thursday will be "a very open meeting for everyone to discuss their concerns." 

 Megabus did not respond to requests for comment.