B63 Gets Bump In Service, 11 Other Buses Slow Down This Summer

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — The bus that largely runs along Brooklyn's Fifth Avenue to connect Bay Ridge to Brooklyn Bridge Park will be one of the only lines getting faster in a series of summer service cuts, the MTA announced this week.

Transit officials announced in a meeting on Monday that 32 bus schedules, spanning 19 routes, would be changing over the summer. Of those buses, 11 would see decreased service and eight, like the B63, would go faster.

The changes, officials said, were made to more accurately reflect customer demand on the city's buses.

For the B63 — which runs through Sunset Park, Park Slope, Boerum Hill and Brooklyn Heights —the increased service means reduced wait times during certain portions of the weekdays.

The morning peak hours will see wait times change from nine to seven minutes and during evening peak hours riders will wait a minute less, or nine instead of 10 minutes, for the bus. After peak hours, nighttime riders' wait times will go down from 20 minutes to 15 minutes. The midday 12-minute wait times will not change.

Overall, the changes reflect an 8 percent increase in service for the B63, the largest increase of any route in the summer changes.

The buses taking the largest hits to service in the summer plan are both in Manhattan, including an increase in wait times on the M55 from 15 minutes to 20 minutes during the morning rush. The M7 will also see waits increase by a minute or two throughout the day.

Most other Brooklyn buses will get reduced service, including the B3, B74, B24 and B11, though not as drastic as the two Manhattan routes. The B4 bus, though, will see an increase in service on Saturdays. This southern Brooklyn bus, which runs through Bay Ridge down to Sheepshead Bay, will have wait times cut by 10 minutes during Saturday mornings.