For many of you, especially those living far from a subway line or the Staten Island Rapid Transit, express buses are a necessary part of your daily commute. It's a lifeline to and from work or school, which is why I decided to take on the task of studying the quality of your express bus ride. This Spring, when my office first undertook this project, little did we know the MTA would soon announce service cuts to many bus lines that outerborough riders rely on.

With that in mind, in addition to reporting on the state of our express buses, the report calls the MTA to task for failing to raise revenue through advertising sales or dedicate stimulus funding for operational costs, rather than cutting mass transit service, as other cities have done.

In my report, you'll also find the results of our survey of bus riders, who gave their input about issues such as cleanliness, noise, lack of shelter at bus stops as well as frequency of service.

In talking to express bus riders, one thing was made clear, express buses are a transportation lifeline for many Staten Islanders and South Brooklynites. We need more and better bus service, not less.