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MTA?out to beat the bus’s bad rap – Metro US

MTA?out to beat the bus’s bad rap

The slam on buses is that they are agonizingly slow vehicles used by the aged and infirm.

“Buses are for older people that can’t take the subway,” said Mario Lucero, 20, who works in real estate.

“I’d rather walk than take the bus,” Sean Winters, 23, a recent college graduate said.

MTA chief Jay Walder wants to make the bus hip.

“Buses have long been the stepchild of the transit system,” Walder said. “But it really is one of the areas where we can make the quickest and most dramatic improvements.”

To make them faster and more attractive, the MTA aims to step up enforcement of bus-only lanes and is testing hybrid “quiet” buses. Walder wants countdown clocks at stops and a no-swipe smart card system to speed boarding.

His love for buses may hit some potholes. The MTA’s $343 million budget hole may require service cuts on buses with low ridership and Albany has indicated there’s little money for countdown clocks.

Walder was influenced by his time running London’s transit system before returning to the Big Apple.

Buses, not the “Tube,” are the preferred method of transit there.

“In London, twice as many people ride the bus every day than take the subway,” Walder said. “It’s really the backbone of the system.”