A route like the B23 could be improved by:
1) Connecting to the Prospect Park Q/S Station. It allows passengers to go to several different locations from a single stop via the B16, B41, B48, and the Q and S subways. Buses would run via Flatbush Avenue to Lincoln Road, making limited stops only on Flatbush Avenue between Church Avenue and Empire Boulevard.
2) Connecting to the shopping center at Shore Parkway on the B6. From what I understand, this shopping center has several large stores, including a KMart, at the facility. Therefore, the B23 would be extended from the 62 Street M/N/W Subway Station via New Utrecht Avenue, Bay Ridge Avenue, Bay Parkway, Shore Parkway, 28 Avenue, and Cropsey Avenue, terminating at Cropsey Avenue and 25 Avenue. This bus would now gain connections with the B1, B3, B4, B6, B8, B64, and the B82. This also extends the route to an additional trip generator in the shopping center.
3) Increase frequencies. This bus currently runs every 12 minutes during rush hours and roughly every 20-30 minutes off-peak. The frequencies would be boosted to every 10 minutes during rush hours and every 15 minutes off-peak. In addition, 9200 and 9300 series soft seat buses would be used to provide the service. At the Prospect Park Station, the 62 Street Station, and the shopping center, a large sign would be put up with all of the B23's departure times near high-traffic doorways and the outside of the facilities.
4) Issue schedules and make them available. The new schedules would be very close to what Liberty Lines Express and New York Bus Service does with their routes. All of the stops would be listed in the timetable, along with their expected running times. Then, departures from the two endpoints and the 62 Street Stations would be listed in the schedule as well. People can roughly calculate the time that the bus would reach their own stop, making someone a little bit more likely to use it. Then, I would send a batch of schedules to local delis, supermarkets, and laundromats so that people can pick them up on their way out. Not everyone would do it, but it's available if they need it and makes the service more accessible.
That's a start for now.