Transit advocates give ‘Cozy Awards’ to tightly spaced stops

Transit advocates handed out Cozy Awards Monday, in an effort to raise awareness about bus stops in the city that advocates say are too close to each other.
The awards were handed out by the Straphangers Campaign, Tri-State Transportation Campaign and TransitCenter.
"Buses are slow and unreliable and we know one of the best ways to change that, to fix that problem, is to make sure the MTA is doing the right thing when it comes to re-balancing bus stops," says Nick Sifuente, executive director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.

In the Bronx, the “coziest” bus stops were the BX26 between Pelham Gardens and Baychester.
"Bus stops should not be cozy. When bus stops are cozy, it means New Yorkers are spending less time at home, they're budgeting more time to get to work and to school on time," says Jaqi Cohen, director of the Straphangers Campaign.

At just 63 meters, the bus stops at East Gun Hill Road, Allerton Avenue and Gunther Avenue are not just the closest in the entire Bronx, they are actually the closest in the entire city.

The MTA Bus Company responded in a statement, saying, "New York has closer bus stop spacing than most cities around the world, which together with congested city streets contribute to extremely slow bus speeds. our borough bus network redesigns are examining this issue so that we can reduce customer wait and trip times while still allowing convenient access to nearby stops."
According to the MTA, 63% of riders preferred fewer stops.
Improved stop spacing is a main issue the MTA hopes to address with the upcoming Bronx bus redesign.