s53
s93
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge/Clove Road
A Bay-Ridge bound S53 turning to its last stop on Fourth Avenue and 86th Street
Overview
SystemMTA Regional Bus Operations
OperatorNew York City Transit
GarageCastleton Depot
VehicleOrion VII EPA10
Nova Bus LFS
Began service1989-1990 (S53)
August 27, 2001 (S93)
Route
LocaleStaten Island and Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Communities servedBay Ridge, Arrochar, Concord, Sunnyside, Castleton Corners, Willowbrook, West New Brighton, Port Richmond
StartBay Ridge - 4th Avenue & 86th Street
ViaBrooklyn: 92nd Street, 4th Avenue, 86th Street, Fort Hamilton Parkway
Staten Island: Clove Road, Broadway (S53), Castleton Avenue (S53), Victory Boulevard (S93)
EndPort Richmond - Richmond Terrace & Port Richmond Avenue (S53)
Willowbrook - College of Staten Island (S93)
Length9.4 miles (15.1 km) (S53)
8.7 miles (14.0 km) (S93)
Other routesS62/S92 Victory Blvd
S79+ Hylan Boulevard/Richmond Avenue South SBS
Service
Operates24 hours (S53)
Weekdays (S93)
Annual patronage1,693,007 (S53, 2022)
720,606 (S93, 2022)
TransfersYes
TimetableS53
S93
← S52
← S92		  {{{system_nav}}}  S54 →
S94 →

The S53 and S93 constitute a public transit line in New York City, running primarily on Clove Road and utilizing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to travel between Brooklyn and Staten Island. They are operated by the MTA Regional Bus Operations under the New York City Transit Authority brand.

Route description

S53

The S53 begins in Bay Ridge at Fourth Avenue and 86th Street. Between here and Fort Hamilton Parkway-92nd Street, Bay Ridge-bound buses run via Fort Hamilton Parkway and 86th Street whereas Staten Island-bound buses run via Fourth Avenue and 92nd Street. From here, it continues a short distance east of 92nd Street before turning onto the Gowanus Expressway and continues across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to Staten Island until using Exit 15W to run south on Lily Pond Avenue. It then runs west on McClean Avenue, north on Fingerboard Road and south on Hylan Boulevard. It then runs northwest on Clove Road, passing by Grasmere station. At Targee Street, Port Richmond-bound buses make a dogleg turn to access the westbound Staten Island Expressway Service Road, where it joins the S93. The S53 continues west and returns to running northwest on Clove Road until turning north onto Broadway, where it runs until Castleton Avenue. It turns west on said road until reaching Port Richmond Avenue, where it turns north until reaching the Port Richmond Terminal at Richmond Terrace.[1]

S93

The S93 shares the route with the S53 until reaching Staten Island, where it uses exit 15W to run on Narrows Road until Targee Street, where it meets and once again follows the S53 until reaching Victory Boulevard. It runs west on Victory Boulevard, before later turning south onto Loop Road, entering the College of Staten Island campus and terminating at the South Administration Building on Administrative Loop.[1]

The S93 employs a limited-stop service, making limited stops between Bay Ridge and Victory Boulevard-Clove Road and making S92 stops west of there (local west of Jewett Avenue). It does not run on weekends.[2]

History

The R7 was created on November 21, 1964, the same day the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was opened, and ran across the bridge to provide service between Brooklyn and Staten Island, running between Fourth Avenue-95th Street and Clove Road-Victory Boulevard. A lot of patrons used the route on weekends for a scenic ride during the initial operation year.[3] On November 3, 1965, the route was extended to Port Richmond, with the former Victory Boulevard terminal being delegated to a short-turn terminus.[4][5]

In 1976, when the Sunnyside Campus of the College of Staten Island opened, a R7 special started operating between Bay Ridge and the campus, making significantly less stops compared to the normal R7. Sometime between April 2, 1989, and April 15, 1990, the R7 was relabeled the S53. The R7 special and Victory Boulevard short turn were discontinued at an unknown date. Between November 1994 and January 1996, the Clove Road-Grasmere station overpass was replaced. During this replacement, the S53 was rerouted to run via Old Town Road between Hylan Boulevard and Richmond Road and Targee Street.[6][7]

In July 2001, the MTA announced plans to create a limited-stop variant of the S53 named the S93 (which would start in September 2001) to provide service between Brooklyn, the Victory Boulevard corridor and the College of Staten Island, which had relocated to Willowbrook eight years prior.[8] It would cost an additional $112,000 a year to operate and would also have the benefit of eliminating double fares and would save up to 15 minutes. It would run 3 trips in each direction: to CSI with hourly headways in the morning and to Bay Ridge with bi-hourly headways in the evening. Expected to benefit over 2,000 students, the S93 started service on slightly earlier on August 27, 2001.[9]

As the service proved to be wildly popular and successful, it received multiple improvements over the years. In September 2006, reverse-peak service was added to the route and on April 9, 2007, stops were added along Narrows Road North/South at either street of the Richmond Road/Targee Street couplet, Hylan Boulevard and Fingerboard Road. On May 21, 2007, to decongest the busy Fourth Avenue-86th Street intersection, the S93 terminal was moved one block south to 87th Street.[10] On January 20, 2013, the S93 was extended from the CSI entrance to inside of the CSI campus at the Administrative Loop.[11] Even further improvements came when, as part of $4.9 million service enhancements, midday and evening service was added to the S93 on September 2, 2014.[12][13]

References

  1. 1 2 "Staten Island Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. January 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Staten Island Bus Service" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. January 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  3. ↑ Annual Report 1964–1965. New York City Transit Authority. 1965.
  4. ↑ "Start Express Bus Service Across The Narrows Bridge". Home Reporter and Sunset News. Fultonhistory.com. November 5, 1965. p. 10. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  5. ↑ Linder, Bernard (March 1973). Motor Coach Age. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ↑ Eileen A.J. Connelly (November 13, 1994). "Traffic Trouble Starts Tomorrow: Clove Road Bridge to Undergo a Facelift". New York: Advance Publishing.
  7. ↑ Eileen A.J. Connelly (January 23, 1996). "Bridge Work Shifting to Fingerboard Road: Clove Road Span Reopening; Second Phase of Project to Take 18 Months". New York: Advance Publishing.
  8. ↑ July 2001 NYC Transit Committee Agenda. New York City Transit Authority. July 19, 2001. pp. 128, 129, 130-131, 132, 133.
  9. ↑ Wagner, Michael (August 13, 2001). "CSI gets bus to Brooklyn". Staten Island Advance.
  10. ↑ "Staten Island Bus Service Notice". mta.info. 2007. Archived from the original on November 4, 2007. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Planned Service Changes Effective Sunday, January 20, 2013". mta.info. 2013. Archived from the original on April 14, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Midday service added to S93 bus, connecting Willowbrook to Bay Ridge". Staten Island Advance. September 3, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Planned Service Changes Effective Tuesday, September 2, 2014 S93LTD More Limited-Stop weekday service". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
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