Roosevelt Island’s once-reliable red bus service has been thrown into chaos over the last few months — with one fuming islander telling The Post that lately the service just plain “sucks.”
At one time, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp ran five free buses every 15 minutes in a big loop around the island’s 147 acres.
But mechanical problems and constant upkeep issues chopped that down to just one last month, according to Roosevelt Islander Online.
“Our Red Bus fleet is aging, and the buses we have are running constantly,” the agency said in an Aug. 12 statement. “Though we have ordered two new buses, we don’t expect them to arrive on the island until the end of 2024/early 2025.
“For now, our Transportation team is doing its very best to keep things steady, but the situation is difficult.”
Last week, the agency finally pressed another bus into service — but that hasn’t placated irked riders who are tired of waiting at stops for a bus that never comes.
“Lately it sucks,” Karen, a 45-year-old human resources worker, said on Sunday. “I walk. I don’t wait for it anymore. It’s been terrible service.
“It’s a real problem, especially during rush hour,” she continued. “People rely on the bus to commute to the subway. They used to come every eight minutes, now every half hour. It’s bad.”
Rachel Leopold said she’s been late to pick up her son because the bus takes so long to arrive.
“It’s never there,” the jilted 33-year-old said. “I expected it to come, and it never came, so I just walked. It’s unpredictable.”
“It’s a disaster,” added Chris Klemmer, a 44-year-old who works at Barstool Sports. “Very frustrating. Thank God it’s the summer and not the winter. It’s always a crapshoot. It makes it difficult to plan your morning or evening.”
On a recent visit to the island, The Post saw the red buses coming and going fairly often. But as the day wore on, they seemed to slow to just one every half-hour.
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The agency — which did not respond Sunday to a request for comment — has also reportedly added a $115,000, 14-passenger short bus to ease the burden. The Post didn’t spot the shuttle during a visit on Friday.
Sunyana Gadal, a 43-year-old research scientist at Sloan Kettering, said she works just across the river — but her commute still eats up more than an hour each way.
“If you miss that bus, you better walk to the train,” she said. “It’s been really bad.”
“This is a real problem,” said Muhammad, a 40-year-old who works in city government. “It’s wasting a lot of my time. They’re just not doing their job. This bus is not here, and I don’t know what’s happening.”
Laura, a 32-year-old teacher, said she doesn’t even bother with the line anymore — the unpredictable times are too much of a hassle.
But her physically-disabled dad ended up missing a family event because the bus never showed up.
“He waited [at the stop near the subway], but it never came,” she said. “He ended up just not coming.”
“They need to put the buses on a more consistent schedule,” she continued. “You know the buses are there, but when are they coming? I’m never quite sure.”
