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Brooklyn Bus Network Redesign

This project is part of our larger effort to modernize New York City’s bus network and improve bus service borough by borough. We are taking a fresh look at the bus network, with the goal of meeting customers’ priorities: frequent service, faster travel, reliable service, better connections, and an easy ride.  
Updated Aug 7, 2024
A bus on the Brooklyn waterfront in front of the Manhattan skyline.

Details

  • Location
    Brooklyn
  • Type
    Bus Network Redesign
  • Status
    Planning

Area Map

Timeline

Pre-planning
  • October 2019: Brooklyn Bus Network Redesign initiative launched
  • January 2020: Brooklyn Existing Conditions Report published
Planning
  • August 2021: Bus Network Redesign initiative restarted after COVID-related pause
  • December 2022: Brooklyn Draft Plan published

For languages other than English, use the Google Translate tool at the bottom of this page.  

About the project

The Brooklyn Bus Network Redesign is an ambitious plan to improve bus travel for Brooklyn riders. 

The Draft Plan, released on December 1, 2022, reimagines the current Brooklyn bus network. The proposed network has routes, stops, and frequencies that reflect customer priorities. Our goal is to meet the needs of current and future customers. 

Much of what is in the Draft Plan is similar to today’s Brooklyn bus network. However, there are many proposals to improve the network for our customers. We have improved the network by simplifying it, straightening routes, creating new connections, strengthening interborough service, adjusting frequencies, and right-sizing the distance between bus stops. 

Project benefits

  • Improved connections and a simplified network to decrease travel times and make trips simpler 
  • Improved intra- and inter-borough connections, which were identified as high priorities by Brooklyn riders 
  • Increased frequencies to create a better all-day frequent network to meet customer needs 
  • Better balanced stop spacing to speed up buses and improve reliability  
  • Bus Priority Projects on targeted corridors will maximize travel time savings and improve quality of service  

A map of the proposed Brooklyn local bus network redesign

Next steps

Beginning in January 2023, the MTA will host public events  and workshops to gather additional input from customers and Brooklyn residents. This invaluable input will inform and shape the Proposed Final Plan. This process is laid out more fully in the report.  

Next steps for the Brooklyn local bus network redesign.

Public events

This spring, the Brooklyn Bus Network Redesign (BkBNR) team will partner with the MTA’s MetroCard Mobile Sales team at four locations for pop-up events, host five outdoor outreach events, and six additional pop-up events to continue to meet with and hear from Brooklyn bus customers.    

Events will mostly be held outdoors and may be rescheduled for severe weather. Please be sure to check this page before heading out to one of these events for the most up to date information.

The input gathered at these events as well as from hundreds of New Yorkers who attended our virtual workshops in January, February, and March, will be used to inform the next report in the Redesign process – the Proposed Final Plan. Importantly, the public and other stakeholders should not expect to see changes to the proposals in the Draft Plan announced by the MTA until the next report is published.

Download the Brooklyn Bus Network Redesign promotional poster

Outdoor open houses

We will host five Outdoor outreach events, one for each of the sectors we identified during our initial wave of outreach on the Draft Plan. These events will have an “open house” format and folks can stop by any time during the event to learn how we’re building a better bus network for Brooklyn and talk with our team about their trips. Attendees will have the opportunity to tell us what they like and would like to see changed in the Brooklyn Bus Network Redesign Draft Plan.  

Language interpreters, including ASL, can be made available upon advance request no later than five business days before the event you want to attend. Please email gcr@nyct.com to request accommodations and include “BkBNR accommodation request” in the subject. 

All events will be from 3 p.m.-7 p.m. 

  • Wednesday, April 19 at the Coney Island-Stillwell Av   subway and bus terminal     
  • Thursday, April 20 in Sunset Park at the corner of 5 Av and 44 St
  • Thursday, April 27 at the Canarsie-Rockaway Pkwy subway and bus terminal
  • Thursday, May 4 in Columbus Park at Borough Hall  station
  • Thursday, May 11 at the Broadway Junction   station  

Brooklyn Bus Network Redesign Pop-Up Events  

The nine events listed below will give customers the chance to meet and speak with the Redesign team and talk about the Draft Plan and the route proposals in their neighborhood. Customers will be able to give their feedback on the Draft Plan directly to the team for consideration.     

Please note that the Mobile Sales Vehicle will not be on location for the following dates:  

  • Monday, April 17: 1-3 p.m. at the Red Hook Initiative/Red Hook Houses 
  • Tuesday, April 18: 3-6 p.m. at the Sheepshead Bay   subway station 
  • Tuesday, April 25: 3-6 p.m. at the Flatbush Avenue   subway station 
  • Wednesday, April 26: 3-6 p.m. at the Church Avenue   subway station 
  • Tuesday, May 9: 7:30-10:30 a.m. at the Myrtle-Wyckoff Avs   subway station complex 
  • Wednesday, May 10: 3-6 p.m. at the Classon Avenue  subway station
  • Friday, June 2: 11 a.m.-12 noon at the Nassau Avenue/Humboldt Street B48 bus stop
  • Friday June 2: 12:30-2 p.m. at 685 Manhattan Avenue (at Norman Avenue)
  • Friday, June 9: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Bay Parkway   subway station

MTA representatives meet community members at the Classon Avenue subway station at an event to get feedback on the Brooklyn Bus Network Redesign

Brooklyn Bus Network Redesign and MetroCard Mobile Sales Pop-up Events  

For each of the four events listed below, members of the BkBNR team will be on-site at MetroCard Mobile Sales locations to meet with bus customers and talk about the Draft Plan and the route proposals in their neighborhood. Customers will be able to give their feedback on the Draft Plan directly to the team for consideration.      

  • Friday, April 14: 1-3 p.m. in Bay Ridge at 86th Street and 4th Avenue  
  • Tuesday, May 2:  9:30-11:30 a.m. in Starrett City at Pennsylvania Avenue and Twin Pines Drive 
  • Tuesday, May 2: 10 a.m.-12 p.m. in Sheepshead Bay at Nostrand Avenue and Avenue V  
  • Tuesday, May 2: 12-1:30 p.m. in Flatlands at Flatlands Avenue and East 59th Street

In addition to meeting with the Brooklyn Bus Network Redesign team, the following services are offered at the MetroCard Mobiles Sales Vehicles:     

  • Get help with a Reduced-Fare application   
  • Transfer MetroCard balances (Full fare and Reduced-Fare)    
  • Exchange a damaged Reduced-Fare MetroCard for a temporary replacement    
  • Report a lost/stolen Reduced-Fare MetroCard    
  • Ask our team about any MetroCard-related issues    

MetroCard Mobile Sales schedules are subject to change and all events are weather dependent, so check back before you visit.   

Explore the proposed bus network

Interactive maps

We need your feedback! Use this interactive Remix map to view our proposed bus routes and stops in detail. Please provide comments using the "Post Comment" button on the top right of the page. Then click on the route that you would like to comment on.

 

Proposed Local Network | Proposed Express Network

System maps

Where we left off

The Brooklyn Bus Network has not substantially changed in decades. The continuing decline in bus ridership in Brooklyn, and in New York City, requires a fresh look at how we provide bus service. Buses are slowing down and bus reliability is suffering. Over that same period, our customers’ needs have transformed dramatically. The bus network needs to evolve with them. 

In January 2020, we released the Brooklyn Existing Conditions Report, the first major report in the bus network redesign process. The goal was to take a fresh look at Brooklyn, its people, and its travel needs, and what could be done to improve bus travel to meet those needs. 

However, in March 2020, we paused work on the Bus Network Redesigns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The project remained on pause for approximately 18 months.  

In August 2021, we announced we would restart the Bus Network Redesigns. In Queens, we released the New Draft Plan in March 2022, and the new local network in the Bronx was implemented in June 2022.