The MTA’s new double feature
Two-level-bus pilot program in transit overhaul
The MTA is about to bring a bit of London to the Big Apple.
A double-decker commuter bus will start running from Staten Island to Manhattan in a pilot program sometime in the next few weeks as part of an effort to overhaul the city’s bus system, according to officials.
“This is really about tackling long-standing issues,” NYC Transit President Andy Byford said. “We want to make this a reality and get people back on the buses.”
The inside of the bus is tight, with just one staircase.
The new double-decker will run on the X17J express route, which takes riders from Staten Island into Manhattan via New Jersey and the Lincoln Tunnel. There are about 20 stops on the route.
Byford plans to assign more for long-haul routes across the city’s bus system if the new program is a hit.
“You wouldn’t use it on a local route because the dwell time would be too long for people getting in and out,” he said. “But with the double-decker, we can carry more people in comfort for longer trips.”
The city ran double-decker commuter buses from the ’30s to the ’70s and has toyed with bringing them back since, but they’ve never caught on for a variety of reasons.
There are, however, fleets of double-decker tour buses throughout Manhattan.
Although Byford cut his teeth in London’s transit system, it was not his idea to add the double-deckers here. He took over NYC Transit in January and the MTA ordered the bus about eight months ago, according to agency officials.
The double-deckers are central to the MTA’s plans for mass transit.
Those plans include reconsideration of every bus route in the system, as well as a path toward all-door boarding once the MTA’s new payment system is in place, officials said. That should happen in about two years, according to Byford.
Riders will also see stop an- nouncements on about 1,000 buses by the end of this year, Byford promised.
Byford’s bus plan is modeled after MTA Chairman Joe Lhota’s Subway Action Plan, which he released last summer to try to stem massive delays in the system.
The bus plan’s main goals are to make buses faster and more efficient, as well as to bring riders back into the system, officials said.