Too many buses jam Main Street on Roosevelt Island. Weighty traffic from mostly empty vehicles wrecks the roadway, but it’s also environmentally unsound. No surprise, city and state fail even to notice.
By David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
Buses duplicating routes, crowding narrow streets are usually less than half-full. Sometimes, they run in tandem, barely able to stay out of each other’s way. There are too many using too much energy but no plans for any changes.
How We Got To Too Many Buses
When Manhattan Park opened in 1989, the managers paid RIOC for increased services and bigger buses. They still do, and they’ve always sunk cash into the north half of Motorgate. Accessibility was a big issue for attracting tenants. It still is.
Less than twenty years later, The Octagon opened with two new wings and hundreds of new neighbors. They, too, welcomed cars with an underground parking garage. But with cars not ideal for commuting in New York City, they chipped in for extending Red Bus services too.
Before that, the city handled demanded north of the Roosevelt Island Bridge, most of it serving Coler Hospital. And while Red Buses connecting the two newest complexes made sense, excess was built in.
The toll on the environment makes no sense, and laggardly state and city officials are even less aware and creative than usual.
We Need New Thinking About Buses
Not just a waste of resources, the overabundance of buses trafficking Main Street takes a toll on infrastructure as well as the environment. Main Street, especially in the canyon, has more ripples and rolls than a section of the East River, because it was never built for loads this heavy.
And the value of energy efficient buses is leveled by having too many and duplicating lightly traveled routes.
Traffic experts will have better ideas, but why are city buses operating north of the Roosevelt Island Bridge or south of the Tram? In fact, always near empty Red Buses south of the Tram don’t make much sense either.
There is, also, little argument in favor of any Red Bus stop before Manhattan Park. But we have several, some covering distances Manhattan residents walk to catch rides every day. And all along a single street already handled by the MTA.
Conclusion
Roosevelt Island can easily maintain more than adequate mass transit while cutting back on traffic. People can walk more, and businesses benefit when large, unfull buses don’t deprive them of pedestrians.
And worst of all, the crisis builds on most of the Main Street riders getting on for free with MTA transfers and Red Buses, creating an unjustifiable entitlement.
More from the Roosevelt Island Daily
- A Week in the Rhythm: How Roosevelt Island Connects With the City’s StoriesA week in the rhythm of Roosevelt Island brings highlights from city stories—including public safety, community events, transit updates, and local culture—that shape life on the Island and nearby Queens.
- Steadiness and Support Connecting Roosevelt Island and Queens CommunitiesExplore how steadiness and support connect Roosevelt Island and Queens communities during recent local incidents, summer programs, and shared acts of care.
- How Roosevelt Island Stays Connected to City Life Through Everyday RoutinesSee how the Roosevelt Island connection to city life is shaped by daily routines, transit changes, safety updates, and neighborhood events across the city.
- What This Week’s Events Reveal About New York City LifeExplore what this week’s events reveal about New York City life, from public health updates to moments of neighborly support and resilience.
- Roosevelt Island Fourth of July: Local Reflections on the 250th Independence DayDiscover how Roosevelt Island celebrated the Fourth of July for the nation’s 250th Independence Day, with local stories, citywide traditions, and reflections on neighbors and community.
Air Doesn’t Have an Address
The Roosevelt Island Steam Plant fight has reached a new stage: DOB has agreed to a site walkthrough, ArchRI says it is bringing independent engineers and architects, and four elected officials have formally asked RIOC to create a Community Advisory Group (CAG) for the project.
