Brooklyn’s first “Select Bus Service” — a limited-stop route down Nostrand and Bedford avenues that transit officials promise will increase travel times down one of the borough’s busiest corridors — arrived on Sunday.
The new B44 rapid bus route replaced the B44 Limited Service, and will utilize the latest techniques in rapid transit to cut down travel times by an estimated 20-percent along one of the city’s most crowded routes, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The key to what will hopefully revolutionize the way 41,000 commuters get from Williamsburg to Sheepshead Bay lay in the 10 miles of dedicated bus lanes, which will pave a clear path for busses during rush hours on Nostrand and Bedford avenues.
Naturally, motorists are wary about the new lanes, and the prospect of getting ticketed for trespassing in the bus driver’s territory.
In fact, Sheepshead Bay’s Community Board 15 has been inundated with calls from motorists concerned over the new road rules associated with the bus lanes.
“The community board today got three phones calls about driving in the bus lane,” said CB15 chairwoman Theresa Scavo. “If you’ve got to park, you’ve got to go in the bus lane.”
The bus lanes themselves run alongside parking spots along Nostrand and Bedford Avenues and, while the lanes will not eat up any parking spots, motorists in some circumstances will have to pull into the bus lane in order to parallel park.
Some store owners along Nostrand Avenue have expressed concern regarding delivery trucks, which frequently double park where the bus-reserved lanes are now drawn in order to load and unload merchandise along the commercial strip. The trucks will likely become easy targets for police looking to hand out tickets, according to Pat Basile, owner of the Silver Star Meat Market.
“They’re painting the new lanes where the trucks make their deliveries,” said Basile. “The city’s looking to raise revenue.”
Aside from a quicker commute, straphangers are also going to have to get used to paying for the bus before they board — using terminals installed at the various bus bulbs that have been installed along the new route.
This should free up the bus driver to focus on driving, while another MTA employee checks passengers’ receipts, which they must retain after paying for their ride, or face a fine.
Northbound Stops
Knapp Street – Shore Parkway
Emmons Avenue – Nostrand Avenue
Nostrand Avenue – Avenue X
Nostrand Avenue – Avenue U
Nostrand Avenue – Kings Highway
Nostrand Avenue–Flatbush Avenue
Rogers Avenue–Newkirk Ave (Avenue D)
Rogers Avenue – Church Avenue
Rogers Avenue – Clarkson Avenue
Rogers Avenue – Empire Boulevard
Rogers Avenue – St Johns Place
Bedford Avenue – Fulton Street
Bedford Avenue – Lafayette Avenue
Bedford Avenue – Flushing Avenue
Bedford Avenue – Hewes Street
Bedford Avenue – Taylor Street
Williamsburg Bridge – Washington Plaza
Southbound Stops
Williamsburg Bridge – Washington Plaza
Lee Avenue – Taylor Street
Lee Avenue – Hewes Street
Lee Avenue – Flushing Avenue
Nostrand Avenue – Lafayette Avenue
Nostrand Avenue – Fulton Street
Nostrand Avenue – St John’s Place
Nostrand Avenue – Empire Boulevard
Nostrand Avenue–Clarkson Avenue
Nostrand Avenue – Church Avenue
Nostrand Avenue–Newkirk Ave (Avenue D)
Nostrand Avenue–Flatbush Avenue
Nostrand Avenue – Kings Highway
Nostrand Avenue – Avenue U
Nostrand Avenue – Avenue X
Shore Parkway – Nostrand Avenue
Shore Parkway – Knapp Street
