RIRA Common Councilor Frank Farance, as he made the case for proposed Red Bus changes in a meeting with RIOC last week. Buddy Satar, RIOC’s bus manager, listened.

Red Bus service went back to its former stops and route on Monday.

The change involves use of the cross-Island road south of Sportspark as a turnaround in place of the circle opposite the Tram station, which was taken out of service with the start of construction of Southtown buildings 5 and 6.

It also eliminates use of the Motorgate/Gristedes loop during the morning rush, saving two minutes or more to offset the minute for the Sportspark loop.

The change came about after the Residents Association (RIRA) Common Council approved a letter to the president of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC), Steve Shane, listing disadvantages of the counterclockwise route that put northbound buses on the new Main Street. That routing required homeward-bound subway riders to walk from the subway station to Main Street, to catch a bus going north. A key complaint, along with the uphill walk, was loss of the subway station as a shelter, seen as a particularly serious disadvantage for elderly and disabled residents in bad weather.

Representatives of the Residents Association, RIOC, and the RIOC Board met last week to work out changes in the Red Bus schedule. Around the table counterclockwise, from lower right: Mark Ponton (RIOC Board), Vicki Feinmel (former RIRA Common Council member), Matthew Katz (RIRA President), Frank Farance (RIRA Communications Chair), Buddy Satar (RIOC Bus Manager, behind Farance), Chris Baker (RIOC staff), Steve Shane (RIOC President), Fernando Martinez (RIOC Vice President for Operations), David Kraut (RIOC Board), Betty Walker (RIRA Island Services Chair), Margie Smith (RIRA Government Relations Chair).

RIRA’s letter (on line in the June 16 WIRE at nyc10044.com), drafted by Island House representative Frank Farance, led to a meeting last week involving Shane, RIOC operations personnel, Farance, RIRA President Matthew Katz, and others. While Shane had initially rejected the Sportspark turnaround as dangerous and/or time-wasting, he agreed to a test, which was conducted Thursday. That led to the route change. After two days, comments received by The WIRE were all favorable. That was also the judgment in a Farance response to an e-mail question from Shane about resident response. "We’ve heard no complaints," Farance responded.

Islanders boarded a Red Bus at the Tram on Wednesday. Bus rides will be free on the Fourth of July.

RIRA’s original letter to Shane had addressed a number of other issues, which remain unresolved. They include:

• Restrictions on strollers. RIOC requires strollers to be folded during rush periods. RIRA complained that the policy is problematic for parents with more than one child and, possibly, packages to carry.

• Bus bunching. Farance pointed out that during the "continuous service" period in the morning, buses tend to begin running in packs, leading to irregular waiting times that can stretch, he said, to as much as 30 minutes.

• Yield signs. These replaced many Main Street stop signs during the Berman administration at RIOC. "Not a day goes by where someone is[n’t] almost hit by a car/truck/bus," Farance wrote to Shane Tuesday afternoon, adding, "Traffic enforcement is especially problematic during the hospital shift changes."