The V may soon replace the M, giving Bushwick direct uptown service without the need for a connection. — Photo by Diego Cupolo

It’s not just low-income students affected by the MTA’s budget shortfalls. Some riders will have their commutes lengthened no matter what they can afford.

Last year reports of the Z train’s imminent cancellation had Bushwick and Bedford-Stuyvesant residents wondering whether their rush-hour commutes would be lengthened by all-local service on the J. The J and Z “skip stop” on the same Broadway elevated track, allowing the J to run express from Myrtle Avenue to Marcy Avenue. Now it seems the MTA will spare the JMZ its budget-cutting wrath.

Web producer Chris Glazier lives on Eldert Street near Broadway, and feared the loss of the morning J express service. “The J is already packed at rush hour and I can’t see the MTA running enough trains to cover the added patronage,” he said. “So I’m glad to hear the Z is getting spared.”

One minor and temporary change will be made to weekend service on all “brown” lines, with train frequency cut from eight to ten minutes to accommodate constuction. This is a drag, say straphangers, but one proposed service change has many affected residents almost giddy: the M train may be altogether deleted and replaced with an extended V train, providing uptown and Queens service without the need for even a single transfer.

The L train will also see service frequency reductions in all off-peak times. Currently trains are timed to arrive so that seats are available to all passengers. The frequency would be cut so that there are 10-18 “standees” per car. Rush-hour service will be unaffected.

 
The B13, in green, will be cut off north of Myrtle-Wyckoff. Cut service in red.

Some local bus routes will be altered. Due to low ridership, the B57 bus that takes Bushwickers to downtown Brooklyn via Flushing Avenue will be discontinued from 1 to 5 AM. But the route will be extended through downtown to Cobble Hill and Red Hook by replacing the B75. The B13 route that takes East New York residents through Ridgewood and Bushwick to Williamsburg will end at Myrtle-Wyckoff — the 1,250 weekday riders will have to take the L instead, increasing the average ride by five minutes, but saving the transit authority $1 million.

Other local routes affected are the B7, connecting South Bushwick and Ocean Hill in the direction of Coney Island via Kings Highway, which will see overnight service discontinued, and the Q24, which would lose its western segment along Broadway from Van Buren to Broadway Junction, saving the MTA $700,000 and lengthening the average commute by 10 minutes for its roughly 3,000 daily riders.

Kristin Sedivec rides the B57 from Wilson Avenue to her downtown office, and while the night service cut won’t affect her commute, she sympathizes with those who may work downtown into the wee hours. “I’d much rather be on a bus than walking through the projects that late at night,” she said.

Also of local interest, the G train will now end at Court Square in Long Island City instead of continuing on toward Jackson Heights.

The budget service reduction report [pdf] can be read at MTA’s website.

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