New B61

I got the B61 to Red Hook today, & then hopped on it again to get to Atlantic Avenue.  It certainly lacks the cosiness of the B77 run, & I can say goodbye to my pick of seats.  The route will be much more crowded, & Red Hook residents will be more poorly served than ever.  Also, people coming from the Slope/Terrace  now have to get off at Smith & Ninth to transfer to a bus going along Smith Street (the defunct B75 route), and this is especially inconvenient for the elderly (I saw several older people shuffling off the 61 at Smith & Ninth  in confused dismay).  Getting to the Columbia Street nabe & Atlantic Avenue from the South Slope is a slight compensation, for me at least, being a much more enjoyable route than the wretchedly slow B63, and the bus driver I spoke to this morning was ecstatic about his new route:  "I've lived in Brooklyn all my life, & this is a beautiful trip."