The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) and its proposed Bronx Bus Network redesign plan could affect several Norwood bus lines, a move unseen in decades, and which could affect thousands of riders.

The MTA’s draft plan to improve Bronx bus service released last month shows the Bx28 and the express BxM4, which run through Norwood, are expected to be rerouted, while the Bx38 would be eliminated altogether. In addition, the Bx30 will no longer travel to Norwood.

Under the plan, the Bx28 won’t run through Mosholu Parkway and Paul Avenue respectively, which would make the Bx10 the only alternative for riders to Mosholu Parkway North. In total, 23 stops are proposed to be discontinued, with nine new stops being introduced. The proposed plan will also remove 15 of the 79 remaining stops for the line. This will cut the number of stops by 19 percent and “improve stop spacing to an average of 1,005 feet,” according to the report.

The Bx38 is proposed to have all 49 stops eliminated, five of which run through Bainbridge Avenue in Norwood. The line begins on East 192nd Street and Valentine Avenue traveling all the way to Bay Plaza Mall in Co-op City. Many riders value the convenience of this bus line and don’t understand why it would be terminated.

“You have 43,000 people ready to be affected if they cut this line. This proposal is madness, when you look at it, it’s really going to hurt Co-op [City] more than anybody else,” said Synthia Miller, as she stood outside of Montefiore Medical Center on Bainbridge Avenue waiting for the bus.

The plan also proposes to eliminate BxM4 express service along Jerome and Bainbridge avenues. Riders will no longer get service between Katonah Avenue and East 237th Street in Woodlawn and the Grand Concourse and East 158th Street in Melrose. The bus will no longer run through the Grand Concourse and is proposed to be redirected onto the Major Deegan Expressway. In total, the line could have 30 of its 43 stops discontinued, with two of them being officially removed.

The Bx30 is proposed to no longer travel into Norwood but instead would end at Pelham Parkway and White Plains Road. The last five stops are currently in Norwood, running from Bainbridge Avenue and East 210th Street through East 206th Street and Rochambeau Avenue. This would inconvenience riders heading for Norwood since they would have to transfer buses which would lengthen their travel time. In total the line could have 54 of its 91 stops discontinued, with eight of them being officially removed.

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, whose district partially covers Norwood, criticized these suggested changes. In a letter to MTA president Andrew Byford, Dinowitz expressed his frustrations, writing “the draft plan appears to overly burden Norwood with service reductions and it is unclear whether frequency improvements will be sufficient to compensate for this loss in network coverage.”

Dinowitz added, “The Bx10 is chronically plagued by bus bunching and unreliability and I believe it would be significantly overburdened by these changes. The plan proposes to eliminate BxM4 express bus service. There are simply not enough accessible subway stations throughout the city for disabled riders to use the subway instead of the BxM4.”

The proposal aims to address several bus issues such as reliability, wait time, and traffic congestion, a move that aligns with the MTA’s impending Congestion Pricing Plan, which would charge vehicles a fee when they enter Manhattan south of 60th Street. The plan, which won’t be implemented until 2021, looks to reduce congestion and encourage Bronx residents to utilize other ways of transportation. While riders will have no choice but to rise to the occasion, they will no doubt be inconvenienced.

The ridership of elderly and disabled travelers could be affected by these potential sudden changes. With limited options such as Access-a-Ride or an Uber, many fear the route alterations will overburden their commute.

“They can’t get there on time, you call them at night in advance and they still show up late,” said a woman, who declined to be named, on her experience with Access-a-Ride.

“These buses are very slow. Since I’m disabled, I usually take a cab to my doctor appointments, but I feel sorry for the people who have to take these buses, it’s ridiculous,” said Janet Farley, a rider on the Bx30 bus.

The plan also aims to improve overall customer experience. The MTA wants to implement “real-time seat availability information to show how full the bus is via web and mobile applications,” according to the report. They also encourage riders to utilize One Metro New York (OMNY), their new tap-to-pay technology that would eventually eliminate all MetroCards in 2023. All of these facets look to expedite the bus boarding process for customers, one aspect that could help buses run smoothly. It’s a proposal Daniel Pearlstein, policy and communications director for Riders Alliance, a transit advocacy group, looks forward to.

“As bus advocates, we’ve been pushing for a new system because right now what we’ve got is everybody has to board the bus up front, everybody has to dip their card which takes a bunch of time. We’re looking forward to a system of all-door boarding, where you can board and pay a fare at any door of the bus,” said Pearlstein.

Opinions from the community will be vital for the final plan come September, MTA spokeswoman Amanda Kwan acknowledged.

“There’s several rounds of community outreach during the entire process, including another round of open houses to gather public input on the proposed final plan when it’s released in September,” wrote Kwan. “After we review the public feedback on the final plan and make any changes, we will send the proposal to the MTA Board for approval,” she added.

Residents can voice their opinions to the MTA in July. Bronx Community Board 8, which represents Kingsbridge, will host Byford for a “Community Conversation” on July 18 at IN-Tech Academy, located at 2975 Tibbett Ave. The public is encouraged to come out and discuss the Bronx Bus redesign from 7 to 9 p.m., with doors opening at 6 p.m.

On July 29 from 4 to 8 p.m., the MTA will also have personnel engage with community members using a street van set up on Broadway and West 231st Street.