As Staten island ridership wanes, Atlantic Express cuts a South Shore-to-Manhattan bus route

[LRG]

After more than 20 years of service, Atlantic Express has decided to end its AE7 express bus route on Dec. 31 due to declining ridership.

 

Recession-related job loss is blamed for the steady decrease in commuters over the past few years, said Atlantic Express spokeswoman Carolyn Daly.

 

The once-popular route served 600 riders a day in each direction, but that number has since dwindled to about 175, she said, and without enough fares to offset the costs, it is no longer feasible to run. She would not say how much the service costs to operate.

 

"It's like a restaurant with no customers," Ms. Daly said. "The ridership has been really weak in the last year."

 

Read more: http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/10/atlantic_express_is_pulling_th.html

[NX Express]

Would it be feasible to move it back to Travis?

[Shortline Bus]

Would it be feasible to move it back to Travis?

 

Maybe they (AE)lost their lease on that building in Travis.

[B35 via Church]

kinda saw this coming w/ the AE6/7, but not entirely for that reason....

 

many people may not know, but the AE6/7 didn't accept metrocards....

 

and I got more news for atlantic express...

those riders are ALREADY taking x22's, 23's, & 24's....

[LRG]

Good to hear that Atlantic Express is also trimming the fat. They don't need to go bankrupt wasting their money running low-ridership lines.

[B35 via Church]

While waiting for a[ny] BM bus this past friday night, around 7pm, I managed to see an AE6/7....

 

it was side-by side w/ the BM5 I got on...

for those that don't know, the BM5 makes a left on 34th, and the AE6/7 makes a right.... anyway, there was only 1 person on that bus, as it made the turn onto 34th...

 

couple months ago (I'd say, no more than 7), when I would frequently take the SI expresses via NJ... of the times I would take the x22, and happen to see the AE6/7 (after having gotten off the x22 @ hylan/page), those buses would be relatively packed...

 

even when I'm around midtown for other reasons, and I notice the amt's of people on those buses, it has dwindled drastically... for what reason, I honestly can't say...

 

- could it be due to the added # of stops along hylan, prolonging trips?

- could be a growing unreliability/decrease in overall service (not necessarily frequency, but w/e other factors that would result in someone abandoning this route) ?

- could it be the dollar round-trip difference b/w it, and the MTA's express routes (+ the x23/24 as well)?

 

Again, I don't know... but I tell you this much....

I don't blame AE for resorting to this... Not one bit.