Politics & Government

All Aboard! Extended B57 Service Launches Sunday

After lobbying for better service, Councilmember Brad Lander and others will celebrate their advocacy victory by taking a ride on the extended bus route on Jan. 6.


Feel like a road trip? Join Councilmember Brad Lander in celebrating the extension of the B57 bus line this Sunday, January 6, by taking a ride into Red Hook.

In the fall of 2011, Lander, Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, Councilwoman Sara González, and other community advocates released the report Next Bus Please: Improving the B61 Bus, outlining problems on the troubled bus line, calling for the extension of the B57.

And the MTA listened.

Find out what's happening in Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hillwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Service on the extended route—which runs along Smith and Court Streets, into Red Hook, past Smith/9th Street and down to IKEA—will start this Sunday. The celebratory ride will take place at 1:30 p.m. The councilman will meet at the B57 bus stop on Court Street between President and Carroll Streets.

One side effect of the extended B57 route means less crowding on the B61, which often skips stops because buses are too crowded—much to the chagrin of those trying to commute.

Find out what's happening in Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hillwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, as small businesses there struggle to recover, bus services are ever more important, Lander said in a release.

While local bus service levels still have a ways to go, this victory is well deserved and appreciated by many.

Will you be on the bus this weekend?


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