Both houses of the NY State Legislature have passed a bill requiring the MTA to implement four new south shore express bus routes. But most parties agree it would be better for the MTA to begin the routes without a legislative mandate, which could set a precedent for micro-managing of transit service by Albany.

Unfortunately, James Simpson, an MTA board member and a Staten Islander, assailed Local 726's motives in comments reported in Friday's Staten Island Advance. Simpson said the union, which represents S.I. bus workers, simply wanted to build its own membership, ignoring the support the measure has from environmental and civic groups, the Staten Island public and most S.I. elected officials.

Staten Islanders seeking extension of transit service to the South Shore were interested to learn that that MTA Metro-North Railroad serves not only Connecticut with its New Haven line and New Jersey with its west-of-Hudson lines, but also has a shuttle bus that connects the southwestern Massachusetts town of Great Barrington - many times further far from Midtown than Tottenville, S.I. - to the end of its Harlem Valley Line. "It's stunning that the MTA still hasn't discovered the south shore, but it runs buses to the Berkshires," said ATU's Larry Hanley.



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