Weekend express buses will soon stop at Dahlgren Place

Dyker Heights residents can prepare for an easier commute! The Staten Island X17 express bus will make a weekend stop at the X28 stop at Dahlgren Place and 86^th Street, beginning on September 30.

Weekend service on the X28 express bus, which runs from Bay Ridge to midtown Manhattan, was canceled in 2010 along with weekend service on the X27 express bus to lower Manhattan.

The resulting uproar from the community and elected officials galvanized the restoration of the X28 weekend stop as well as X27 weekend service, making the commute from Brooklyn to the city more convenient for southwest Brooklyn residents.

The MTA had announced the restoration of X27 weekend service during the summer, as well as the extension of the B64 from Harway Avenue to Coney Island, but has just announced the addition of the X28 stop as part of the X17’s weekend schedule.

“This is the first step in righting the mess that the MTA caused in South Brooklyn in 2010,” Councilmember Vincent Gentile remarked, adding that the MTA also needs to restore the Third Avenue bus that runs past Lutheran Hospital to Downtown Brooklyn as well as switch the B64 and B1 buses back to their respective routes prior to 2010.

“Once we see that, we’ll be back to the minimal level of service we need—and that we had in 2010,” Gentile added.

The operation of express buses is a vital mode of transportation for senior citizens in Bay Ridge, explained Peter Killen, president of the Bay Ridge chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).

“It’s especially important for all the seniors who can’t make it down into the subways,” he said, stressing, “Until the time comes when the MTA makes subways accessible for senior citizens in this neighborhood, the express buses that run from Bay Ridge to Manhattan will give our seniors opportunities to go to museums, attend shows, shop, and travel with more ease.”

But, more is needed, said Jean Ryan, a member of Community Board 10, who uses a wheelchair.

“I’m glad they’re adding an extra stop, but I can’t take the express buses anyway because the MTA doesn’t maintain them,” she noted. “This is just one small step up in a bunch of things the MTA needs to fix, such as training the drivers to use the[wheelchair] lift properly and improving frequency in the bus schedules.”

For information on the new X27, X28 and X17 bus routes, visit www.mta.info.