NEW DORP BEACH — A bus route cut more than four years ago should be reinstated to increase links between Staten Island and Manhattan, according to an assemblywoman.
Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis has joined forces with Amalgamated Transit Union Local 726 to campaign for the return of the X18 express bus.
The route shuttled residents along the North Shore to Manhattan, It was one of several cut by the MTA in 2010.
"With so few mass transit options in Staten Island, it is unconscionable that the MTA would ever threaten to cut service, yet in 2010 numerous bus lines were cut," Malliotakis said in a statement as she launched a petition asking for the service to be resumed.
"The MTA generates $250 million in profit annually from the Verrazano Bridge tolls alone and we want them to use that money to expand bus service across our borough so that Staten Islanders can finally get out of our cars and onto mass transit."
ATU president Dan Cassella said that union members and volunteers plan to start walking door to door to collect signatures for the restoration of the service.
“We need to send a clear message to the MTA that we need more buses on Staten Island, not service cuts,” Cassella said. “We urge everyone to sign the petition.”
Malliotakis said the line would cost around $50,000 to restore.
The MTA had no comment but previously said it had no plans to bring back the shuttered line, which had the fourth lowest-ridership of express buses in the city in 2010.
It said numerous lines take people to the ferry for their commute to Manhattan.
Aside from the petition, Cassella also announced the union's the endorsement of Malliotakis, who's seeking re-election for a third-term in the Assembly in November.
"Nicole has been a champion for mass transit since she was first elected to office," he said.
"She has fought hard to restore and expand bus service in both Staten Island and Brooklyn. We need Nicole back in the Assembly to be our watchdog and to ensure that commuters get the mass transit service they deserve."
