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| What Has Happened to The Bx55? (276980) | |||
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What Has Happened to The Bx55? |
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Posted by nh153 on Wed Jun 12 12:46:45 2013 I noticed in the most recent Bronx Bus Map that the Bx55 has been further reduced. It no longer runs on weekends. The schedule is now apx. 4:30am to 8pm weekdays only.The Bx55 is one of those bus lines that were put in place when the MTA tore down a rail line. Another is the B42 bus, that replaced the L line to Canarsie Pier. And there's the Q53 line which replaced a section of the Long Island Railroad in Queens. The Bx55 and Q53 were limited buses before the term Limited was even used, because they replaced rail service, and only stopped at certain corners. When the Third Avenue El was operating in the Bronx, it followed a route up Third Avenue, then onto Webster Avenue, terminating at the Gun Hill Road 2/5 station. To this day, that's the route the Bx55 follows. Originally it ran 24/7, as frequently as the El ran, every few minutes on weekdays, every ten minutes or so on weekends and every 20 minutes overnight. Some years ago, the MTA stopped running the Bx55 overnight. After all, it paralleled the Bx15 anyway. And when Request-A-Stop became the late night rule, the Bx55 was making many of the same stops as the Bx15. At least the MTA has made sure the Bx15 runs every 20 minutes overnight in the Bronx, even though it runs only once per hour into Manhattan. They also reduced the number of Bx55s going the entire route. Only half go to and from Gun Hill Road, up Webster Avenue. (The Bx41 now goes along Webster Av. 24/7. It originally didn't run overnight.) Half the Bx55s terminate at Fordham Road. The MTA has never reduced service on the B42. To this day, it runs exactly as the L train runs, including 20 minute service overnight. It may be one of the shortest bus routes in NYC but it is also one of the most frequent at night. The Q53 also runs quite frequently. It doesn't run overnight because the LIRR line it replaced never ran overnight either. It now has a partner route, the Q52, which follows the same limited stop service on Woodhaven Blvd. but has a different terminal in the Rockaways and doesn't go all the way to Woodside. I guess it was started when the A/S trains to the Rockaways were knocked out by Hurricane Sandy. I haven't heard whether it will be continued now that subway service is restored. Maybe the city council members in the Bronx aren't as powerful as whoever represents Canarsie? The MTA never tinkers with the B42, even though it keeps reducing service on the Bx55. |
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