Bus lanes in New York City
Since 1963, New York City has been using a system of bus lanes that are intended to give priority to buses, which contain more occupants than passenger and commercial vehicles. Most of these lanes are restricted to buses only at certain days and times, but some bus lanes are restricted 24/7. As of May 2021, there are 138.4 miles (222.7 km) of bus lanes within New York City (with an additional 23 miles of high occupancy vehicle lanes on highways which also accommodate buses).
The lanes are generally used to speed up MTA bus routes on the city's public transport system, which would be otherwise held up by traffic congestion. Bus lanes are a key component of the Select Bus Service (SBS) bus rapid transit network, improving bus travel speeds and reliability by reducing delays caused by other traffic.
Since implementation, the lanes have generally helped to increase bus reliability citywide. However, there have been controversies on the benefits of the bus lanes due to the resulting increased traffic and the methods used to enforce bus lanes during their operating hours. In 2010 the city began enforcing the rule by placing cameras that take photos and videos of violators, leading to increased reports of bus-lane violations.
Types of bus lanes[edit]
A curbside bus lane runs along the curb. Vehicles are not allowed to park or stand in this lane, but may briefly enter this lane to make right turns unless otherwise specified.[1][2]
An offset bus lane is placed one lane away from the curb. In this setup, vehicles are able to park or stand at the curb, but are not allowed to double park or stop on the bus lane. Vehicles may briefly enter this lane to make right turns unless otherwise specified.[1][2]
There are also median bus lanes, which are placed in the center of the road. This setup is used along East 161st Street in the Bronx, used by the Bx6 and Bx6 Select Bus Service routes, Woodhaven Blvd in Queens, Kings Highway in Brooklyn and EL Grant Highway in the Bronx.[3]
A busway typically allows buses and trucks to travel along the corridor, while also permitting local access via side streets for all other vehicles. Traffic regulations on busways vary. This type of busway began with the 14th Street Busway, originally only a temporary measure when the L train was shut down in 2019. Additional busways have been installed, beginning with Jay Street in Brooklyn, Main Street in Flushing, Jamaica Avenue in Jamaica, and 181st Street in Manhattan.
History[edit]
20th century[edit]
As early as 1959, the city wished to build exclusive bus lanes on Lafayette and DeKalb Avenues in Brooklyn. The lanes would be built on streets that were to be converted from two-way to one-way streets. They were intended to increase the speed of bus service on these avenues, since without the bus lanes, the routes were projected to lose riders. However, traffic commissioner T. T. Wiley disapproved of the proposal, since the city did not install exclusive bus lanes.[4]
Benefits[edit]
Bus lanes have generally increased average bus speeds and reduced travel times where they are installed. For instance, after bus lanes were installed along East 125th Street in East Harlem in 2014, the average speeds of the M60 Select Bus Service route along that segment increased 32% to 34%, and the average speeds of the M100 and Bx15 local buses increased 7% to 20%.[100]: 9, 14 By contrast, along West 125th Street where bus lanes were not initially installed, there was no marked increase in local bus speeds.[100]: 15 The speeds of M60 SBS buses increased 27% to 36%, but only as a result of other improvements such as off-board fare payment and fewer stops.[100]: 10, 13 Another corridor, Fordham Road in the Bronx, saw a 14% to 24% increase in average bus speeds on the Bx12 route after bus lanes were installed.[101]
Controversies[edit]
While bus lanes reduce the time for bus commuters, they may create traffic jams and increase travel time for other vehicles. On one bus lane, some drivers reported that travel times had more than doubled, and residents reported increased honking and pollution, despite a study by the NYCDOT indicating that there would not be increased traffic for other vehicles.[102] The cameras allow for a temporary stop to pick up/drop off passengers at curbside bus lanes, but cab drivers are concerned that customers may take longer than usual to arrange payment, which may result in a fine.[86] The installation of bus lanes reduced the amount of on-street parking in some areas, in turn potentially forcing the closures of businesses.[101]
In one incident in 2014, the city delayed mailing out the violations for a few months, causing violators to receive multiple tickets that added up to as much as $7,000.[103] According to one commentator for The New York Times, this did not serve the purpose of the cameras, which were to educate drivers and keep the bus lanes empty of cars.[86] The city agreed to review the violations and to keep each driver liable only for the first violation they received.[103] There was a bus lane camera on Staten Island that gave tickets to drivers who failed to make an immediate right turn, even though it was not possible to make the right turn, since the next possible turn was a private driveway or a one-way street that had traffic running in the opposite direction. One retired police officer showed that his ticket was withheld by the judge and the appeals system. The city eventually turned off the camera.[92][104]