I mean, has anyone tried to take a bus on the North Shore lately? It's like every route takes a detour over Grymes Hill and leaves you at the ferry 3 minutes after it pulls out of the dock.
And about the ferry -- that's a whole other deal, but one hour on a Sunday morning? Can you imagine Brooklynites waiting one hour for an L train?
Thing is, this shit would never fly in another boro. I guess those people are more mobilized and have more pull because Bloomberg would never shit on any other NYC residents the way that he shat on the good people of Staten Island.
A quick observation about the South Shore: why would anyone even live down there? The god damned train moves in slow motion down the track, giving you a good 42 minutes before you even arrives at the St. George Ferry Terminal. That's right: and 45-minute trip just to GET to the ferry. How about the for a commute?
We hope this doesn't sound like we are disparaging the residents. It's really not their fault, but the transportation options they are given is pitiful and we are surprised that they don't do something about it.
We've read about a light rail. This is like a 21st century method of traveling by train. It's faster, more efficient and can link up to other local rail system's like the PATH in New Jersey and possibly even, gasp, the New York Subway system.
There have been plans to implement this on SI but we aren't sure if there is any public support for it. Well we haven't exactly seen people clamoring over it. Maybe South Shore residents like there 2-hour commute to midtown.
Express buses are great. Speeding through the HOV lane and getting you downtown in no time. But at $5.50 a trip the tab can exceed 50 balls a week. Again: we pay taxes for these services.
The Park-and-Rides are pretty convenient, giving you places to put your car when you hop on the express bus. But some of these routes on the South Shore trek through New Jersey and the tunnel. This only further isolates the area by giving it that unmistakable exurban gleam, one which only comes with a heavy barrier between itself and city dwelling.
There are some possible reasons for this terrible lack of service. The decline of a viable news source, especially among young urban professional, can contribute to the lack of attention this issue gets. There could be the lack of political will among local representatives. But we find it hard to believe that Staten Island are satisfied with the MTA service.
You'll be happy to hear that the Libertarian candidates for districts 60, 61 and 63 are all for bringing the MTA to bear, and for removing barriers to private transportation alternatives on the island.
ReplyDeleteCurrently the MTA has a monopoly on NYC mass transit. Those who don't think the MTA has a monopoly should familiarize themselves with the case of Mr. Hector Rickets http://www.ij.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=816&Itemid=165
Monopolies are bad enough in the private sector, but when the government is the monopoly, you get the service you typically expect from unaccountable bureaucrats.
When we are elected, we intend to put a stop to this sort of systemic abuse by the NYC and state governments.
http://www.statenislandlp.org/
The irony about Bloomberg is that Staten Island is mostly responsible for putting him in office considering our half a million residents and history of voting Republican. Bloomberg used his party hopping ways to his advantage, he's no dummy. Instead of focusing on growing our infrastructure to support our ever growing population, we get bullshit dogbones thrown at us like a Dolphin statue at Midland Beach or a renovated recreation center on Rockland Avenue. The public transportation on this island is deplorable.
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