Bus Rapid Transit
Streetsblog Basics
Select Bus Service Debuts on Manhattan’s Busiest Bus Route
Select Bus Service is up and running along First and Second Avenues, bringing rapid bus enhancements to the second busiest bus line in New York City. Though riders will need some time to adjust to the new system, many are already praising the faster service.
October 11, 2010
Riders Want Faster Buses Across Q’Boro. Are Bus Lanes Coming?
NYC DOT is studying how to speed buses across the car-clogged Queensboro Bridge, and data the agency collected over the summer [PDF] show just how great the need is. Buses are crawling and riders are fed up. Relieving the bottleneck for riders could make transit a far more attractive option for Queens residents. One potential solution -- adding dedicated bus lanes to the bridge and its approaches -- is a PlaNYC promise waiting to be fulfilled.
September 24, 2010
Reading Between the Lines on East Side’s Missing Bike Lanes
Select Bus Service remains on track to debut on October 10, confirmed NYC DOT and the MTA at a meeting of the project's Community Advisory Committee last night. Bus service improvements along the corridor are as crucial as ever and will be bolstered by camera enforcement, which DOT announced would be in effect starting in November. The changes that take effect in 25 days, however, won't be the full complete streets package originally promised. Above 34th Street, bike lanes and pedestrian refuge islands were unceremoniously stripped from the plan some time this spring.
September 15, 2010
Albany’s Bus Lane Cam Deal Only Covers Five Select Bus Service Routes
We reported on Friday that bus lane camera enforcement was passed as part of the so-called student MetroCard deal: If the MTA would eat the cost of student fares, Albany would allow it to keep its bus lanes free of traffic. That wasn't ever a good deal for transit riders, but as is so often the case, it gets worse in the fine print.
June 21, 2010
Eyes in the Capitol: Four Seconds of Glory for Bus Cam Bill
This clip from yesterday's Assembly Transportation Committee meeting doesn't quite live up to the hype.
June 16, 2010
City Council to Albany: NYC Wants Bus Lanes That Work
Yesterday the New York City Council voted 46-4 to keep dedicated bus lanes free of traffic using camera enforcement. The measure, known as a home rule message, is a necessary step before state legislation can authorize a bus cam program. Attention now turns to Albany, where the bill faces critical votes in both the Assembly and State Senate in the days ahead.
June 10, 2010
Quinn and Vacca Urge City Council Support for Bus Cameras
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and transportation committee chair Jimmy Vacca gave better service for New York City bus riders a boost yesterday, speaking in favor of bus lane enforcement legislation currently making its way through Albany. The legislation is a critical component in the city's plans to expand and enhance Select Bus Service, including the route on First and Second Avenues officially announced yesterday.
June 8, 2010
East Side Re-Design Moves Ahead, But Full Bike Corridor Is on Hold
The re-design of First and Second Avenues has been a complex project to judge since the initial plans were unveiled earlier this year. From the beginning, it's been the most ambitious re-envisioning of a major corridor we've seen in New York City to date: 250 blocks of faster bus service and safer traveling for cyclists and pedestrians. But it has not met the high expectations of New Yorkers who held out hope for a truly high-performance busway and a continuous, protected bicycle corridor.
June 7, 2010
Albany Running Out of Time to Give NYC Bus Riders Faster Service
Urgency is mounting in Albany to pass a bus lane enforcement bill, as the end of the legislative session draws near and the launch date of rapid bus service on the East Side of Manhattan approaches.
May 26, 2010