Better Bus Lane Enforcement Means Better Bus Service

As regular bus riders know from bitter experience, New York City has the slowest buses in the nation. In congested areas, buses move at less than four to five miles per hour. That’s barely faster than an average pedestrian. Here are some of the unpleasant facts – and information – on one way to enforce bus lanes effectively and speed buses:

• Average bus speeds in New York City compare poorly with other big American cities. In 2006, the average speed of buses in New York was 8.1 miles per hour. In the next slowest city – Chicago – it was 9.7 mph. In Boston, 10.5 mph, Washington 11.2 mph and Los Angeles 12.3 mph. (The source for all three charts is the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.)

• It’s not your imagination – bus speeds have been dropping in New York City. chart In 1996, the average bus speed was 9.1 mph, but by 2002 it had slowed to 8.4 mph. Average bus speed had fallen to 8.1 mph by 2006.

• Not surprisingly, Manhattan buses have the slowest speeds, crawling at an abysmal average of 5.5 mph. Buses in the Bronx and Brooklyn are not much faster on average, reflecting congestion in these boroughs. Bronx buses travel at an average speed of 6.8 mph and 7 mph in Brooklyn. Queens buses travel at an average 9.6 mph and 12.3 mph in Staten Island.

• The slowest bus in New York City in 2009 was the M42, according to the Straphangers Campaign. It averaged at 3.7 miles per hour, clocked at 12 noon on a weekday. The pace is not much faster than an average person walking, which is about 3 miles per hour. The M42 would lose a race to a five-year-old riding a motorized tricycle.
bus speeds dropping table

• 25 of 194 local city buses take longer to travel their route than Amtrak does between New York and Philadelphia. A trip on the longest route – the M4 from midtown to Upper Manhattan – takes 1 hour and 50 minutes. In comparison, weekday runs of New York to Philadelphia Amtrak regular service take 1 hour and 18 minutes to 1 hour and 27 minutes.

• Lax traffic enforcement allowed limousines, taxis and trucks to illegally block dedicated bus lanes at evening rush hours in key midtown intersections for as long as 15 minutes on more than 350 different occasions without a single vehicle being ticketed, according to an August 2009 survey by the office of the Manhattan Borough President.

A Solution: Camera Enforcement of Bus Lanes

In a recent report – Making Every Dollar Count – the MTA wrote:

“During 2010, MTA and New York City will test a program to keep bus lanes clear. The MTA is partnering with New York City Department of Transportation and NYPD to speed up bus service by improving bus lane markings and signage, using on-the-spot ticketing, and deploying cameras along six highly congested corridors in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. By targeting these six corridors, service will be improved on 50 total bus routes. Similar support and cooperation will continue on the highly successful Select Bs Service on Fordham Road in the Bronx as well as continued planning for new Bus Rapid Transit Routes on First and Second Avenues in Manhattan and Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn.”

The six bus lane “hot spots” are:

Lexington Avenue between 57th and 72nd Streets;
Madison Avenue between 42nd Street and 59th Street;
Third Avenue between 42nd and 56th Streets;
Livingston Street between Flatbush Avenue and Boerum Place in Brooklyn;
Archer Avenue between 150th Street and 160th Street in Queens; and
Jamaica Avenue between Parsons Boulevard and 168th Street.

Enforcement by the City of MTA by bus camera will require state authorization.