![]() ![]() (Note: No one was pulled over.)Īll told, it took us about 20 minutes to get from the bridge to my stop. Once back in a protected lane, we zipped over the Gowanus Canal and only slowed down at a checkpoint where cops were making sure scofflaws weren’t using the lane. ![]() lane allows some Brooklyn buses, motorcycles, and other vehicles with at least three passengers in on the fun. Once there, we zoomed past cars on the bridge that were practically at a standstill, and continued zooming until we got north of Sunset Park, where the H.O.V. The bus was about full when we got on the highway at the foot of the fabled span, crossed three lanes of traffic, and got into the H.O.V. ![]() On my commute, we moseyed down Richmond Road and turned onto the expressway’s service road, picking up 23 additional passengers at six stops. What makes this miraculous time possible is the nearly two-year-old high-occupancy vehicle lane that connects the bridge to the Hugh L. (Full disclosure: My guaranteed fastest route to work in MetroTech in Brooklyn was by bicycle, which took 50 to 55 minutes including a trip on the ferry and a pleasant ride over the Brooklyn Bridge. My trips to Manhattan and Brooklyn were nearly alway an hour-and-a-half of drudgery whether I used public transportation or drove. I recently hopped on the new SIM15 bus on Richmond Road and Seaview Avenue in Dongan Hills - about a third of the way down the Railway’s line and home to the incomparable Lee’s Tavern - at 8:10 a.m., and got off at Rector Street and Trinity Place in Manhattan just 37 minutes later. That’s because there is no faster route to the Manhattan that I, a life-long resident of the forgotten borough, have experienced in the more than 25 years of making the journey. That’s a steep increase over the $5.50 pricetag for a round trip on the Island’s other means of transportation - buses or the Staten Island Railway to the ferry with a free transfer to a bus or train in Manhattan or what Staten Islanders pay to get over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge with their E-ZPass. It costs $13 a day to get to and from the Rock in style, on a tour bus with comfortable seats, big windows, individual USB ports and air conditioning, and, for those still buying print newspapers, a reading lamp. Staten Island’s recently redesigned express bus routes to the city cost much more than other forms of public transportation - and could even be more expensive than driving. There is a quick and pleasant way to get from Staten Island to Manhattan during the morning rush, but it comes with a high price tag. ![]()
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