My trips to Manhattan and Brooklyn were nearly alway an hour-and-a-half of drudgery whether I used public transportation or drove. I recently hopped on the new SIM15 bus on Richmond Road and Seaview Avenue in Dongan Hills - about a third of the way down the Railway’s line and home to the incomparable Lee’s Tavern - at 8:10 a.m., and got off at Rector Street and Trinity Place in Manhattan just 37 minutes later. That’s because there is no faster route to the Manhattan that I, a life-long resident of the forgotten borough, have experienced in the more than 25 years of making the journey. That’s a steep increase over the $5.50 pricetag for a round trip on the Island’s other means of transportation - buses or the Staten Island Railway to the ferry with a free transfer to a bus or train in Manhattan or what Staten Islanders pay to get over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge with their E-ZPass. It costs $13 a day to get to and from the Rock in style, on a tour bus with comfortable seats, big windows, individual USB ports and air conditioning, and, for those still buying print newspapers, a reading lamp. Staten Island’s recently redesigned express bus routes to the city cost much more than other forms of public transportation - and could even be more expensive than driving. There is a quick and pleasant way to get from Staten Island to Manhattan during the morning rush, but it comes with a high price tag.

Express bus from queens to manhattan