IKEA Scales Back

IKEA is scaling back their operations for their free bus and water taxi services.

By: Henry Berkowitz It turns out that Brooklyn residents that were coming to rely on the IKEA water taxi and regular bus service may have to find alternative transportation options. Many people are a bit miffed that IKEA is shortening its hours of service on both platforms. The Water Taxi, provided at no cost to riders by IKEA, runs between Red Hook and Wall Street. According to passengers, adjustments will have to be made to compensate. Insteaof running every 20 minutes, 10am to 10pm, as it does now, the water taxi will run only from 1pm to 9pm every 40 minutes, beginning October 1st. IKEA's shuttle buses will also be affected. The free shuttles that run from nearly IKEA stores to local subway stops will now only run once per half-hour. That's a significant decline from the project's peak frequency of once every 15 minutes. The shuttle has come to be relied upon by commuters, many of whom cut as much as an hour from their trip each day by taking advantage of the service that IKEA offers. While some riders want to vilify IKEA for shutting down the free transportation program, most people are still grateful to IKEA for providing a safe bus one which to ride. In addition, customers are unhappy because the IKEA buses are, "...way better than the city bus." One elderly patron called to decreased schedule, "...a hardships."