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The B39 only goes from one side of the Williamsburg Bridge to the other. But it is a lifeline for its regulars.
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By Winnie Hu
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New York City has thousands of buses that trek across the city — often in slow motion — on routes that stretch up to nearly 20 miles. Along the way, they make dozens of stops.
Then there is the B39. It goes all of 1.8 miles and makes just three stops.
This little-known bus travels from one side of the Williamsburg Bridge to the other before circling back, like a windup toy stuck on an endless loop between the edges of Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Round and round it goes. It crosses the East River 58 times a day, less often in bad traffic.
Only about 220 people ride the bus on a weekday, the city’s lowest daily bus ridership. It is a money loser for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
But for its regular riders the bus is a lifeline. It carries those in wheelchairs, a vital option when the elevator at the closest subway station is not working. It allows the frail, the old and the sick to rest their feet. (Getting a seat is never a problem.) It is an alternative, and an escape, from the crowded subway lines, walkway and bike path that also cross the bridge.
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“This bus is very important to a lot of us,” said Herbert King, 75, whose walker was parked next to his bus seat. “If it weren’t for this bus, we’d all be in trouble because what are we going to depend on?”
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