an Open Letter to the Complaints Department at Atlantic Express

after waiting an hour last night on 34th and 6th avenue for a bus (in the hot sun and Manhattan smog), i came in this morning and wrote the following "letter" to the Atlantic Express bus company; i eagerly await a reply:

Atlantic Express continues it's long standing tradition of abysmal service to Staten Island commuters with increasingly longer wait times for x24 and X23 buses both in the mornings and afternoons. During the average five day work week, 3 mornings i'm forced to wait at "the checkpoint" for a bus with a seat; invariably, i take an x22. for the 2nd run of the morning this is absolutely ridiculous.

what is even worse is the nightly wait of a MINIMUM of 30 minutes for a seat. it is unconscionable that one should have to wait from 5:20 to 6:20, on 34th street, for a seat on a bus OR stand for the hour-and-a-half trip home. if you've ever had the unfortunate experience of riding "cowboy's" bus, you'll understand why standing is not an option. what is beyond frustrating, though, is being unable to glean information from the dispatcher; phones ring for ten minutes at a time, without being answered. the dispatchers know that the commuters are angry and don't want to hear it.

there have been numerous rumors circulating, that the MTA will be "taking over" the run of the x24 and x23; i only hope that these rumors are true as it is inconceivable that the MTA could provide poorer service to commuters.