RIOC projected Tram growth and OMNY would strengthen transportation revenue. Its latest accounts show the Red Bus and Tram both losing money, while the public is not shown one transportation bill.
A significant element missing here is that the Red Bus service, like PSD, is duplicative. This service is already available with MTA buses. There is no sensible rationale for doing again what's already available. The Octagon and Manhattan Park gain great advantage at RIOC's expense by promoting the Red Buses because both fear the impact of not having a free ride on rentals. But why should Southtown, Westview, etc. pay for it. If the Octagon and MP want the buses, let them pay for them. Period. This just isn't a complicated issue. For most of Roosevelt Island, losing Red Buses would leave them in the same condition the rest of the city. No problem at all, really.
You are right that something is off, and the reason it is hard to pin is that the Island stopped asking the first question. Why does this bus system exist at all? Assume it did not. If the northern buildings want a van at the door, they can pay for it. If the hotel returns and wants the same thing, that is the hotel's problem, not a public route. The Q102 already has a published schedule. With the Tram on OMNY, a rider who boards the Q102 and continues into the city or Queens does not buy a second fare. The fair objection is the person who needs two connections and would otherwise pay twice. That point is real, and it is also solvable: ask the MTA to treat a trip that starts on the Q102 as two transfers instead of one. If that were on the table, RIOC could cut staff, drop a dedicated bus hub, and shed the fuel and insurance that come with running a parallel fleet. The loss, for most of the Island, looks small. The savings would not be.
The other theory, besides the usual habit of spending to keep the apparatus, is the farebox. A free Red Bus delivers riders to the Tram with no OMNY tap, so they pay when they board. Shift that trip onto the Q102 and the Tram becomes the transfer, not the sale. RIOC would then shrink a costly bus operation and lose fares it still counts as revenue. Even that is solvable. With a real negotiation, RIOC could have kept the lion's share of every tram tap, transfer or not. The structure is not the obstacle. The will is.
A missing element here is that Hudson Related sees the free bus as an asset for tenants who drive and park in Motorgate. That’s also why they won’t increase Motorgate parking rates to a normal level, even though Manhattan Park, which co-manages it wants to. It all comes out as a a subsidy for Hudson Related.
A significant element missing here is that the Red Bus service, like PSD, is duplicative. This service is already available with MTA buses. There is no sensible rationale for doing again what's already available. The Octagon and Manhattan Park gain great advantage at RIOC's expense by promoting the Red Buses because both fear the impact of not having a free ride on rentals. But why should Southtown, Westview, etc. pay for it. If the Octagon and MP want the buses, let them pay for them. Period. This just isn't a complicated issue. For most of Roosevelt Island, losing Red Buses would leave them in the same condition the rest of the city. No problem at all, really.
You are right that something is off, and the reason it is hard to pin is that the Island stopped asking the first question. Why does this bus system exist at all? Assume it did not. If the northern buildings want a van at the door, they can pay for it. If the hotel returns and wants the same thing, that is the hotel's problem, not a public route. The Q102 already has a published schedule. With the Tram on OMNY, a rider who boards the Q102 and continues into the city or Queens does not buy a second fare. The fair objection is the person who needs two connections and would otherwise pay twice. That point is real, and it is also solvable: ask the MTA to treat a trip that starts on the Q102 as two transfers instead of one. If that were on the table, RIOC could cut staff, drop a dedicated bus hub, and shed the fuel and insurance that come with running a parallel fleet. The loss, for most of the Island, looks small. The savings would not be.
The other theory, besides the usual habit of spending to keep the apparatus, is the farebox. A free Red Bus delivers riders to the Tram with no OMNY tap, so they pay when they board. Shift that trip onto the Q102 and the Tram becomes the transfer, not the sale. RIOC would then shrink a costly bus operation and lose fares it still counts as revenue. Even that is solvable. With a real negotiation, RIOC could have kept the lion's share of every tram tap, transfer or not. The structure is not the obstacle. The will is.
A missing element here is that Hudson Related sees the free bus as an asset for tenants who drive and park in Motorgate. That’s also why they won’t increase Motorgate parking rates to a normal level, even though Manhattan Park, which co-manages it wants to. It all comes out as a a subsidy for Hudson Related.