FORDHAM — The endless headaches for commuters along one of the Bronx’s busiest avenues may soon disappear.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and MTA Chairman Tom Prendergast on Monday to announce the launch of the Bx41 Select Bus along Webster Avenue, which is expected to reduce travel times along the busy thoroughfare by an average of eight minutes.
The newest of the city’s five SBS lines will run just like the others, where passengers are expected to swipe their MetroCards at kiosks at the stops and grab receipts before they board.
“This new service will not only make travel faster and easier in the Bronx, it also is central to our larger efforts to bring new life and economic strength to Webster Avenue,” the mayor said.
Sadik-Khan said faster bus service for the 200,000 people who live within a 10-minute walk of the avenue was long overdue.
“It’s not close enough to any of the subway lines,” she said. “They need a transit lifeline.”
"Today, we are using our streets as the rails for the city's bus system," she added.
The Bx41 joins the M15 and M34 in Manhattan, the S79 in Staten Island and the Bx12 in the Bronx as the only select buses in New York.
“I think it’s fair to say we’re revolutionizing the bus service we have in the city,” Prendergast said. “We’re bringing all these improvements to the Bronx because we know just how much people here depend on our bus service, and we want to make that service as fast and dependable as possible.”
