Despite Outcry, MTA Moves Ahead With Bus Service Cuts

BROOKLYN, NY —Despite outcry from advocates and elected officials, the MTA on Thursday moved forward on plans to cut service on Brooklyn's busiest line.

The B46—which runs mostly on Utica Ave. from Williamsburg Bridge Plaza to Marine Park via neighborhoods like Bed-Stuy and East Flatbush—has the highest ridership in Brooklyn and is the second most used in the city. The line that transports 38,000 riders on average on weekdays, according to MTA statistics, will soon come less frequently.

Specifically, 12 buses instead of the current 20 will run during rush hour and during the middle of the day as few as six buses will run rather than 10, the Daily News reported.

The service changes, which the MTA says will save it $2.4 million per year, are set to come in late January. The bus service cuts come as the MTA is looking at a $1 billion budget deficit for 2022.

The move also follows transit advocates holding a press conference calling on the state to find the money necessary to fund bus service for New York's transit riders rather than cutting it.

"Black and brown and poor New Yorkers depend on this system," Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, a mayoral candidate, said Thursday. "I say to the governor and to [MTA Chair] Patrick Foye, no cuts to the B38, no cuts to the B54, no cuts to the bus system."

A spokesperson for the governor blasted the transit advocacy group that organized Thursday's demonstration. "We get that all the Riders Alliance has to do all day is complain, but we are busy actually working for the riders,"said the spokesperson, Patrick Muncie.

In addition, an MTA spokesperson defended the service cuts by saying that "[f]ewer vehicles on streets speaks for itself as a reduction in traffic."

Comptroller Scott Stringer, who was among the politicians at the Thursday morning demonstration, was incredulous.

"Is the earth flat, too? This couldn't be more wrong," he said on Twitter in response to the MTA's attempt at backing up its bus service cuts. "Buses carry WAY more people in a limited space than cars do. That means fewer buses leads to MORE congestion. The MTA shouldn't need to have this explained to them."