Transit

The MTA will be adding extra transit service on Barclays Center game nights. But past promises of free or discounted MetroCards for arena-goers did not materialize in the transportation demand management plan revealed yesterday by developer Forest City Ratner, which local advocates are calling "too little, too late."

Election Day is more than a year away, but the race to become the next mayor of New York City is well-underway. In the last two issues of its magazine, Reclaim, Transportation Alternatives has been asking the would-be mayors for their thoughts on transit (in the more recent interviews, one question about cycling was added). So far, TA has received responses from all of the major candidates except 2009 Democratic nominee Bill Thompson.

New York City's fourth Select Bus Service route will travel down Staten Island's Hylan Boulevard as soon as this September. The improvements are expected to speed travel times by 20 percent along the island's second-busiest route, according to a report by the MTA [PDF].

Election Day is more than a year away, but the race to become the next mayor of New York City is well-underway. In the last two issues of its magazine, Reclaim, Transportation Alternatives has been asking the would-be mayors for their thoughts on transit (in the more recent interviews, one question about cycling was added). So far, TA has received responses from all of the major candidates except 2009 Democratic nominee Bill Thompson.

Webster Avenue could be the place where Select Bus Service reaches the next level. At a community meeting Wednesday evening, the Department of Transportation and the MTA presented three visions of improved bus service for the corridor [PDF]. Two of the templates can already be found on the streets of New York -- bus lanes running curbside and bus lanes offset from the curb by one lane -- and bus riders are seeing travel times improve 15 to 20 percent thanks to those improvements. But the potential for a real breakthrough lies in the third template -- buses running in the center lanes with elevated platforms -- which would be a major step toward true bus rapid transit.

When gas prices go up, it can be a big motivator for people to start taking transit more frequently. But according to a study released by the American Public Transportation Association and Building America's Future [PDF], even when gas prices start to go down, the newly converted keep riding transit.

The MTA announced yesterday that if it builds a new rapid transit line along Staten Island's North Shore, it will opt for bus rapid transit over light rail, an MTA spokesperson told Streetsblog. The obstacle now, as always, is money.

Has your subway been delayed recently? Blame New York City's aging transit infrastructure, especially its outdated signal system. Then start fighting to make sure Albany fully funds the MTA's next capital plan.

Changes to bus service on 34th Street have improved travel times and bus frequencies and have increased ridership, according to MTA data presented to the transportation committee of Manhattan Community Board 6 last night. Even speedier and more reliable crosstown rides are expected after the next stages of the street redesign are phased in over the next two years.