Onward and upward: Staten Islanders report marked improvement in express bus service, but more work still needed

Staten Island express bus riders are getting some relief as commuter advocates reported on Friday better service with decreased delays and cancellations throughout the borough.

Borough President Vito Fossella said at a New Springville press conference on Oct. 17 that express bus cancellations dropped significantly to 174 in September, way down from 518 in August and 971 in July.

“We still have work to go,” Fossella said. “It’s still a work in progress. And the structural long-term solution has to be something more like another garage.”

The beep credited the recent improvement to meetings he had with MTA leadership, union representatives and commuter advocates throughout the summer. Among the initiatives promised, Fossella said, were the development of Quality Assurance maintenance teams, cycling newer buses from the other boroughs and training more mechanics to make long-term repairs to buses.

Closing Meredith Avenue bus depot

Staten Island currently has three bus garages. The MTA in January closed the Meredith Avenue bus depot, which was a fourth, makeshift bus garage, saying it was no longer needed. But Fossella and other advocates have said throughout 2025 that closing the Meredith Avenue site would result in delays, cancellations as buses would take longer to get serviced or repaired.

“For too long, there were too many cancellations,” Fossella said. “We publicly disclosed that when they closed the Meredith Avenue bus depot that it would be a mistake that would lead to maintenance issues and cancellations, and all that unfortunately came true.”

Echoing Fossella, Danny Cassella, president of ATU Local 726, called for more repair space to improve bus service for riders. He explained that another bus depot would open up more repair space for mechanics to get the work done.

“The maintenance, which is definitely a big problem here on Staten Island, is not going to get any better. We just don’t have the space,” he said. “There’s not enough room for the mechanics to work. And these are some of the hardest-working people.”

He explained that mechanics often work overtime and on their days off in effort to get buses rolling, despite the lack of available repair space.

“It was a big issue closing Meredith. It should not have happened,” Cassella said. “I think we should start looking for another piece of property, and I don’t mean a temporary solution, I mean a permanent solution.”

A line of commuters in Lower Manhattan boarding the SIM1 express bus to Staten Island.Photo by Barbara Russo-Lennon

Local express bus advocate Filippa Grisafi agreed that service has improved, thanked the borough president, MTA leadership, and others for their collaborative work in trying to make service better for Staten Island commuters.

“It has contributed a great deal to the improvement in canceled trips, service gaps, and some maintenance issues,” she said.

However, she added that one of the biggest issues is the MTA’s removal of the SIM4X and SIM8X routes. MTA leaders, she said, assured riders that removing the routes would not lead to overcrowding on other buses. They would also get more service on certain routes to support the canceled ones, she said.

“We were promised more service on the regular SIM4 and SIM8 to make up for the canceled X routes,” she said. “Yet the very minimal increase in service has been totally inadequate. These buses continue to see daily standees and overcrowding on both the morning and afternoon trips.”

Looking forward

Staten Islanders and their politicians are urging the MTA to remedy the service issues on the SIM4, SIM8, and other bus lines before cold weather arrives.

“The MTA will have to continue to make investments and listen to the folks behind me,” Fossella said. “These are the ones who see it every day.”

In the meantime, Frank Farrell, MTA’s NYC Transit acting executive vice president of buses, said the agency will continue to improve service within the borough.

“We’ve made great strides in improving Staten Island bus service with express bus on time performance improving by 8% since this time last year, and we look forward to shaving even more time off of Staten Islanders’ commutes,” he said in a statement to amNewYork.