Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Buses

New buses are nice, but without improvements like all-door boarding and transit signal priority, they don't make service faster or more reliable. Photo: Flickr/NY Governor's Office

MTA and DOT Aren’t Acting Fast Enough to Turn Around NYC Bus Service

By David Meyer | Aug 14, 2017 | 6 Comments

The slower New York City bus service becomes, the faster the MTA and DOT should act to improve speeds and reliability. But neither agency has responded to the decline of bus service with the urgency the situation demands, according to a report card that transit advocates released this morning.

Council Member Rafael Salamanca, State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr., and Assembly Marcos Crespo (left to right), along with Senator Jeff Klein, want DOT to keep bus riders stuck in traffic. Photo: NYS Assembly/Office of Assembly Member Marcos Crespo

Rafael Salamanca and Bronx Pols Pressure DOT to Scrap Bus Lanes for Bx6

By David Meyer | Aug 4, 2017 | 20 Comments

The bus route serves 24,000 daily trips in an area where 76 percent of households don't own cars, but Salamanca, Marcos Crespo, Ruben Diaz Sr., and Jeff Klein are more worried about car traffic.

Transit signal priority holds green lights and shortens red lights for buses. Image: NYC DOT

There’s No Excuse to Keep NYC Bus Riders Waiting for Smarter, Faster Traffic Signals

By Ben Fried | Jul 24, 2017 | 4 Comments

Giving buses priority at traffic signals has improved speeds by an average of 18 percent on the five MTA routes where the technology is live, according to a new DOT report [PDF]. "Transit signal priority" (TSP) could reverse a citywide decline in bus speeds that has caused riders to abandon bus service in droves -- but only if DOT and the MTA apply it at scale.

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Richmond, Virginia, Shows How Smaller Cities Can Get Serious About Transit

By Angie Schmitt | Jul 20, 2017 | No Comments

The city has started work on its first BRT route, which could be the beginning of an 80-mile network.

The MTA's overhaul of the Staten Island express bus network, set to take effect in 2018, will increase service frequency on key routes, simplify routes so buses make fewer turns, and reduce the number of stops in both Manhattan and Staten Island. Image: MTA

How Transit Agencies Can Stop Worrying and Love Bus Network Redesigns

By David Meyer | Jul 14, 2017 | 10 Comments

By their nature, bus network redesigns create tradeoffs, so it's important that the improvements feel worth it for riders. And that, says Houston Metro board member Christof Spieler, requires having frank, in-depth conversations with transit riders, not just talking at them.

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Dallas Council Members Say Bus Network Overhaul Can’t Wait

By Angie Schmitt | Jul 10, 2017 | No Comments

Dallas's winding, confusing bus routes are ripe for rethinking, and the City Council wants to act fast.

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