Burg Transit Riders Would be CrushedUnder MTA's 'Doomsday' Budget

g train flooded courtesy of Lesterhead on flickr

Of the five subway lines that serve Williamsburg, two would see service cut in half, and one would be closed entirely, under a new "doomsday" budget contingency to be presented at the MTA's monthly meeting on Thursday.

As part of the 'worst case' plan designed to close a projected $1.2 billion budget gap, the M line, and the perennial stepchild G train would both see 50% service reductions, and the Z train, which connects Williamsburg's Broadway Avenue to the Lower East Side, would be eliminated entirely.

The dramatic cuts would likely coincide with a historically unprecedented fare increase of perhaps a dollar per ride or more.

All this, potentially coming at a time when Williamsburg is splitting at the seams with new residents, neighborhood parking availability is at an all-time low, and financial and environmental concerns have seen a big uptick in subway ridership.

Maybe its time to go check out those new Kent Avenue bike lanes?

Report: MTA To Slash Jobs, Multiple Subway Lines [wcbstv.com]