Ever wonder why a B61 bus never comes on schedule? Why there's a drought of buses for 20 minutes, and then three arrive in quick succession? I'll tell you why: They're all at Ikea!
Here's a picture taken at 8:15 AM, Monday, Aug. 18. You can't tell from the shot, but there's another, fourth bus just to the left. All four vehicles are B61s, and all are parked, their drivers chatting with one another on the sidewalk. I stood waiting for a nearby B77 for 10 minutes and not one bus moved.
This is 8:15 AM, remember! Rush hour! Hundreds of Red Hook and Cobble Hill residents are waiting at bus stops along Van Brunt, Columbia and Atlantic to get to work in downtown Brooklyn. And there guys are having a coffee klatch. I've been told by those in the know that the drivers sometimes bunch up not by accident, but on purpose, so they can socialize at the end of the line. This would seem to prove the rumor.
UPDATE: Don't like my complaint? Try this equally good one on Neighborhood Threat.
http://www.brooklyn11222.com/2008/08/18/the-b61-bus-is-a-disgrace/
ReplyDeleteI wrote about this exact thing this morning.
Angry minds think alike! I've posted a link to your item. This has long been a grip of mind. Check out my breathless rant from last year: http://lostnewyorkcity.blogspot.com/2007/09/shameful-bus-called-b61.html
ReplyDeleteI lived in Greenpoint for years and I am actually coming to visit in just a few days. I am disgusted to hear this news. This is shameful!
ReplyDeleteThere's frequently 2-3 B25s parked at Fulton Ferry Landing for 10-15 minutes at a time. I've been told variously that it's to keep to the schedule or to give the drivers a mandated break.
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