Dollar vans to replace the B71?

Gary Buiso of The Brooklyn Paper reports that the Taxi and Limousine Commission--now headed by former Brooklyn City Councilmember David Yassky--has approved a plan to turn the former B71 route into a dollar-van route.

As best I can tell, this doesn't mean we'll actually have dollar vans running up and down Union Street. The TLC just approved the concept. No dollar-van operator has actually said he or she will take the route.

Writes Buiso:

The Taxi and Limousine Commission quietly approved the privatization initiative that will allow livery vans to operate along bus routes eliminated by the cash-strapped state agency — including the B71 route that once journeyed from Columbia Street through tony Carroll Gardens and Park Slope on its way to Crown Heights.

[...]

Under the plan, the vans will only be allowed to pick up passengers at specified locations — but drop-offs can be at locations negotiated by the driver and commuter.

Some neighborhood activists are dubious about this proposal:

“Oh my god, it’s insane!” said Maria Pagano, president of the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association. “You’ll have guys dive-bombing in and out on Union Street between school buses.”

Roy Sloane, president of the Cobble Hill Association, added that the “public-private partnership” leaves a bad taste in his mouth.

“The government should be providing essential services that don’t necessarily make a profit,” he said. “The government and this administration seems to be keen on privatizing all the services that [they] used to provide.”

What do you think?