The MTA pulled a Brooklyn bus out of service this week so that it could be fumigated after a passenger reported seeing a bedbug.
According to the MTA, the bus on the B44 line, which runs from Sheepshead Bay to Williamsburg, was removed from service after someone said they saw a bedbug on another passenger. The bus was treated for the bugs, but none were ever found, the MTA said.
Bus driver Terence Bernard, who operates a B44 bus, said he thought the bedbug scare was likely a false alarm.
"I remember one day somebody thought there was a bug, I got up to look and it was a ladybug," said Bernard.
Bedbugs have been spotted this summer on several subway lines, in particular on the N train, and one city lawmaker is demanding answers.
"Because there's a lack of information there will be increased hysteria, because people right now are in the dark," said Brooklyn City Councilman Mark Treyger. "There was a train conductor on the N line that was bit numerous times and the MTA did not notify the public about that. It came out through the workers and the people on that train."
Treyger is pushing for a new law that would require the MTA to provide more information to passengers about bedbugs on trains and buses.
But the MTA says with 2 million daily bus riders and 5.8 million subway customers a small amount of bedbugs is always a risk.
"The MTA has found no bedbug infestations on any trains or buses," said MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz. "The MTA is securing the services of a recognized expert to examine our management plan and ensure we are taking all possible steps."
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On Thursday, some commuters said they understood the MTA's position -- saying mass transit is not the problem.
"The buses didn't have bedbugs," said Stacie Rathbone. "It's the people who had bedbugs."
