nws Malliotakis

Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis stands at a Grant City bus stop with Greg Mihailovich, of nonprofit advocacy group Transportation Alternatives, to call on the MTA to add more bike racks to its buses. (Staten Island Advance/Rachel Shapiro)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - An avid biker who has traversed Staten Island's busy roads on two wheels, Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis is asking the MTA to include more bike racks on Island buses to keep bicyclists safe and encourage them to bike.

Malliotakis (R-East Shore/Brooklyn) sent MTA New York City Transit President Veronique Hakim a Sept. 2 letter, asking her agency to consider expanding an existing pilot program that offers bike riders racks on the front of MTA buses.

One year ago, the MTA started a pilot Bike and Ride program, that affixed the racks to S53 and S93 buses, both of which travel between Staten Island and Bay Ridge, Brooklyn via the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

Riders simply load their bikes to the rack before getting on the bus, and remove the bikes when they arrive at their stops.

The MTA purchased 38 bus racks at a cost of $42,000 for the pilot.

The S53 serves about 10,000 customers on an average weekday, whereas on average of 3,250 people ride the S93 route on a weekday.

With that program's usage now being evaluated, Malliotakis called on the MTA during a press conference Thursday to add bike racks to bus lines S51, S78 and S79.

A spokesman for the MTA said, "We are currently analyzing data from the pilot" and wouldn't comment on whether the agency is considering adding new bus lines to the program.

The MTA hasn't released formal usage numbers but Malliotakis said she understands it has been successful. She estimated about 200 people used the racks on S53 buses during June.

Standing at an S51 stop at the intersection of Hylan Boulevard and Midland Avenue in Grant City, Malliotakis argued not only does having the bike racks help Staten Island become more bike friendly by allowing bicyclists to avoid dangerous busy roads by hopping on a bus to a biking area, but the program helps bicyclists get to and from Brooklyn and Staten Island, as the bridge doesn't have a bike lane.

"I do ride along Hylan Boulevard but I don't like to ride my bike along Hylan Boulevard because it's scary," she said.

She stood alongside Greg Mihailovich of nonprofit advocacy group Transportation Alternatives and explained that adding racks to S51 makes sense because the bus runs from St. George, along Father Capodanno Blvd, where there are bike paths and FDR Boardwalk, and over to Hylan Boulevard in Grant City.

She also argued for S79, because like S53 and S93, it runs between Brooklyn and Staten Island, as well as down Hylan Boulevard and Richmond Avenue, where there is access to the Staten Island Mall and Freshkills Park.

The S78 runs from St. George, along Hylan Boulevard to Grant City.

Focusing on those lines that go to the ferry and the bridge are key, the assemblywoman said.

"This is providing a safe and reliable way for you to get your bike to Brooklyn or to the Staten Island Ferry to take you to Manhattan," she said.