Photo Courtesy of MTA
The MTA on Thursday announced that its bus Open Stroller Pilot will begin Phase II, expanding to upwards of 1,000 buses on 57 routes in all five boroughs.
By Forum Staff
EThe Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) on Thursday announced that its bus Open Stroller Pilot will begin Phase II, expanding to upwards of 1,000 buses on 57 routes in all five boroughs.
The second phase of the Open Stroller Program will retrofit all Local and Select buses operating out of six depots by the fall of 2023 with designated stroller spaces. The 57 local and select routes operating out of those depots served a combined 250,000 daily weekly riders in 2021 and include some of the busiest routes in the system.
Dedicated stroller space allows riders with young children to board without needing to fold their strollers first. As with the previous phase of the pilot, added stroller space on buses will be either an open space near the rear door or a space created by flipping up two side-by-side seats, depending on the bus model.
The bus routes that will feature an open stroller space include:
- Brooklyn: B1, B3, B6/6 LTD, B36, B64, B74
- The Bronx: Bx6, Bx6 SBS, Bx8, Bx11, Bx17, Bx19, Bx21, Bx23, Bx27, Bx31, Bx32, Bx33, Bx35, Bx36/36LTD, Bx46
- Manhattan: M15, M31, M101, M102, M103, M125
- Queens: Q12, Q13, Q15, Q15A, Q16, Q20A, Q20B, Q26, Q28, Q31, Q32, Q44 SBS, Q48, Q50LTD, Q76
- Staten Island: S40, S42, S46, S48, S51, S52, S53, S66, S76, S81 LTD, S86 LTD, S90 LTD, S93 LTD, S96 LTD, S98 LTD
The buses will run out of the following six depots: Eastchester and West Farms in the Bronx, Ulmer Park in Brooklyn, Tuskegee in Manhattan, Casey Stengel in Queens, and Castleton in Staten Island.
The MTA received more than 200 customer comments on bus stroller policy through our online feedback form since the pilot started last fall. Four out of five support allowing open strollers on buses and/or expanding the pilot to more buses/routes. Customers and operators alike have reported faster and easier boarding experiences, more comfortable bus rides, and more positive interactions with fellow riders on the pilot routes. In addition, bus operators on routes participating in the open stroller pilot were asked to record stroller usage, with over 4,000 stroller journeys tallied since the beginning of the pilot, and no reported safety incidents or conflicts resulting from the pilot. The MTA will continue to collect robust customer and operator feedback as the pilot expands to more buses and routes.
The additional buses participating in the Open Stroller Program will be identified with a stroller decal on the outside of the bus that customers can easily see before boarding. Once inside the bus, the designated space will be identified with a similar decal.
The designated open stroller spaces are entirely separate from existing priority seating for bus riders with disabilities. A bus customer boarding with a wheelchair will still have the same number of designated spaces.
“For far too many families across our borough and city, our public transit system is either difficult to utilize or simply inaccessible. But the expansion of the Open Stroller Program will make a world of difference for families with young children who deserve to get around with ease like anyone else,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr.
