Bus Rapid Transit
Streetsblog Basics
Scores of New Yorkers Turn Out to Reimagine 14th Street
A capacity crowd of around 80 people gathered at a community center in Chelsea last night to brainstorm the future of 14th Street.
November 11, 2016
How to Keep Buses Moving on the 14th Street PeopleWay
As the city and MTA consider how to move thousands of L train passengers across Manhattan when the subway line shuts down for Sandy-related repairs, momentum is growing for a 14th Street "PeopleWay" free of private motor vehicles. But with 10,000 passengers during the peak hour in the peak direction, prohibiting cars alone won't prevent 14th Street from becoming a bus parking lot, according to Annie Weinstock and Walter Hook at BRT Planning International.
September 28, 2016
A Closer Look at How the L Train Shutdown Will Disrupt Transit Trips
The 18-month shutdown of the L train between North Brooklyn and Eighth Avenue may be three years away, but officials still have to move quickly to help hundreds of thousands of L passengers get where they need to go. So far, city officials and the MTA have yet to provide much in the way of specifics.
September 7, 2016
B44 Moving 15-30 Percent Faster After Select Bus Service Upgrades
As bus speeds decline in NYC, the few routes that are getting dedicated bus lanes and off-board fare collection are bucking the trend. The newest evidence comes from the B44 route along Nostrand Avenue and Rogers Avenue in Brooklyn, where buses are moving 15-30 percent faster since NYC DOT and the MTA upgraded the line to Select Bus Service, according to an update the agencies released yesterday [PDF]. Ridership on the route increased in 2015, going against the borough-wide pattern, following years of ridership losses before and during SBS implementation.
July 1, 2016
A New Blueprint for Streets That Put Transit Front and Center
The National Association of City Transportation Officials has released a new design guide to help cities prioritize transit on their streets.
April 15, 2016
Keep L Train Passengers Moving With Great BRT
The news that Sandy-related repairs will require closing one or both directions of the L train under the East River (the “Canarsie Tube”) for one to three years has understandably caused panic among the estimated 230,000 daily passengers who rely on it. Businesses in Williamsburg that count on customers from Manhattan are also concerned about a significant downturn in sales. When the Canarsie Tube was shut down on weekends only last spring, it was bad enough for their bottom line, and this will be much worse.
February 4, 2016
Eric Ulrich Flip-Flops on Woodhaven Boulevard Redesign
After coming out strong for Select Bus Service on Woodhaven Boulevard, City Council Member Eric Ulrich has done a 180.
January 21, 2016
New Evidence That Bus Rapid Transit Done Right Spurs Development
More American cities are considering bus rapid transit, or BRT, as a cost-effective method to expand and improve transit. One of the knocks against BRT, as opposed to rail, is that it supposedly doesn't affect development patterns. But a new study [PDF] by Arthur C. Nelson of the University of Arizona and released by Transportation for America finds that BRT lines can indeed shape real estate and attract jobs -- if the projects are done right.
January 12, 2016
DOT: Full Woodhaven Boulevard Upgrades Coming Sometime Next Decade
DOT and the MTA will roll out enhanced bus service on Woodhaven Boulevard in 2017, but several miles of the promised bus lanes won't come until the 2020s, agency representatives said yesterday.
December 16, 2015
Tish James and Queens Pols to DOT: Finish Strong on Woodhaven BRT
Public Advocate Letitia James joined Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer, Council Member Donovan Richards, and Queens transit activists on the steps of City Hall this morning to push the de Blasio administration to follow through on its plans for better bus service along Woodhaven Boulevard.
December 7, 2015