Riders of the Bx 10 bus line are getting a small bit of relief from the overcrowding and late arrivals that have plagued the northwest Bronx MTA line in recent years.
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz announced Tuesday, April 18 that the Bx 10 line was getting an additional daily bus to help alleviate congestion.
The NYC Transit Authority has also pledged a commitment to study ridership on the route in order to consider future service improvements to the line.
“Adding an additional route will help ease commutes and make a real difference in the day to day lives of countless families,” Dinowitz state. “I commend the NYC Transit Authority for agreeing to the increase, and I am hopeful that further study will prove the need for even more routes moving forward.”
The Bx 10 line runs along Riverdale Avenue near Mount St. Vincent College through Riverdale, Kingsbridge Heights, Bedford Park and finally to Van Cortlandt Avenue in Norwood.
“We added one trip yesterday and will continue to monitor the route,” confirmed MTA spokeswoman Amanda Kwan.
The Bx 10 line is used by 11,040 commuters each day, which is a 6.6 percent increase from 2010, according to the Bus Turnaround Coalition, a group comprised of mass transportation advocacy groups such as Rider’s Alliance.
At an average speed of 7.7 miles per hour, the Bx 10 buses are faster than some other Bronx buses, but still spends time sitting in traffic and bunching.
Dinowitz spokesman Brendan Fitzpatrick said the additional bus was a small but welcome improvement.
“The assemblyman would like additional improvements to the 10 line,” Fitzpatrick said. “He is glad there will be an additional service but he’s pushing for a more dramatic increase in the service.”
Community Board 8 chairman Dan Padernacht said that while an extra line was appreciated, he was skeptical the move would make much of a difference.
“I don’t think adding one more bus on the route each day is going to alleviate the problems with that route that commuters are facing in this community board,” Padernacht said Thursday.
Padernacht said the Bx 7 and the Bx 10 lines often get backed up further south before they even get into the Kingsbridge/Riverdale area.
The delays have been a topic of concern amongst residents at board meetings for years, he said.
“So in order to alleviate that, what they probably have to do is add additional buses from other lines to pick up (riders) within our area,” he said.
Other Bronx bus routes fared worse in an annual top ten list for street improvement report compiled by the Bus Turnaround Coalition.
The coalition targeted Bx 9 for its late arrival times due to daytime congestion, as well as Bx 28, Bx 38 and Bx 19, which was the slowest Bronx route with an average morning speed of 4.9 miles per hour.
Report cards for all MTA buses in the five boroughs and other commuter resources can be found at www.busturnaround.nyc.
