City Council’s Transportation Committee held a hearing on MTA’s response to blizzard. Here is our testimony :
The bus lanes and routes were not the first lanes to be cleared of snow. Considering how critical is the good functioning of buses, and the volume of users they serve, it would make sense to prioritize the clearing of bus lanes and bus routes first. Emergency vehicles could use those same lanes.
The bus stops and shelters were not cleared of snow therefore impracticable. Whenever the bus arrived, the access from the sidewalk to the bus itself was completely blocked with mountains of snow accumulated by the plows. It is imperative that snow plows change the plow orientation away from the sidewalk when they clear in front of bus stops. In addition, the salting machines should deposit salt ahead of the storms at bus stops.
There is more to delivering transportation service than keeping the buses and subway running. The MTA needs to ensure that the facilities to access the service are usable in a safe manner, or if the resources are constrained, then close the entrances and bus stops and communicate such.