As the Red Bus crisis sunk to its lowest ebb, something unexpected happened. The MTA stepped in and is helping RIOC with temporary fixes.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
The Fixes Get a Hand from Senator Krueger
Made aware of the urgency of the Red Bus crisis for Roosevelt Island, Senator Liz Krueger made a call. Reaching MTA Executive Director Janno Lieber, she connected the transportation giant with RIOC.
“Just happy RIOC reached out to our office,” said Krueger’s Chief of Staff and Roosevelt Islander Audrey Tannen. “Liz was able to get the MTA involved in trying to address the problem in assorted ways.”
It was serendipitous. In the struggle to patch and fix RIOC’s aging fleet, the unavailability of parts was a major obstacle. Transportation Director Eddie Perez and his crew had cannibalized all they could. They were down to one operating bus and scrambled for solutions. Then, help arrived.
RIOC and the MTA use the same manufacturer, New Flyer, for their bus fleets. As New Flyer’s biggest customer, MTA lent some access and clout. For several days last week, Perez and Acting Chief Operating Officer Mary Cunneen worked the phones and connections. As a result, one more bus was on the road by Saturday.
With #9 picking up the now adjusted Main Street routes, #10 finally got a day off.
As It Stands now
So far, the greatest change for the better is depth. Back up exists. This eliminates the single point of failure that could have ground Red Bus Services to a halt. RIOC says that, for now at least, it will stick with curtailed services. A single bus will circle Main Street at roughly half-hour per stop intervals while the other rests.
The midday one-hour break, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. continues as does the elimination of all stops south of the Tram.
But things are looking up. There is hope that this new era of cooperation between state agencies yields more fruit.
AVAC: Where the Pipe Curves
This is the final installment in my notes from the December 2nd, Operations Advisory Committee meeting, following “An Emergency, Apparently” and “Rust Is Funny Until It Isn’t”.
