Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Buses

Win Back Transit Riders By Speeding Up Bus Boarding

By Angie Schmitt | Mar 1, 2017 | No Comments

One surefire way for U.S. transit agencies to improve bus service is to streamline the boarding process by enabling riders to get on at any door. In a new report, NACTO makes the case for all-door boarding and looks at how American transit agencies are moving forward on implementation.

While MTA Waffles on Proven Solutions, New Yorkers Continue to Abandon the Bus

By Ben Fried | Feb 22, 2017 | 58 Comments

MTA ridership numbers for 2016 are in, and it's clear that New Yorkers continue to abandon slow, unreliable bus service. If the MTA and NYC DOT don't act urgently to improve bus speeds and reliability, warn transit advocates, they risk "a downward spiral of increasing congestion, slower travel speeds, and a slower New York."

Bus ridership has dropped sharply in Manhattan and Brooklyn compared to other boroughs. Image: Eric Goldwyn

Decline in NYC Bus Ridership Concentrated in Manhattan and Brooklyn

By David Meyer | Feb 21, 2017 | 17 Comments

New Yorkers have been giving up on the bus, with a 16 percent drop in ridership between 2002 and 2015. An analysis of each borough by Eric Goldwyn shows the bus ridership decline has been concentrated in Manhattan and Brooklyn. There may be several factors at work, but worsening traffic congestion is almost certainly a culprit.

With all-door boarding, buses move faster because riders don't have to pay one-by-one at the front of the bus. Photo: Ben Fried

Will Ronnie Hakim Go to Bat for Bus Riders? So Far, the Answer Is “No”

By David Meyer | Feb 15, 2017 | 6 Comments

Don't count on MTA interim chief Veronique "Ronnie" Hakim to inject a sense of urgency into the task of turning around the agency's sputtering bus system. In testimony to state legislators this afternoon, Hakim repeated the same excuses the MTA has given for months to justify stonewalling on fare technology that promises to speed up bus trips.

Targeted bus lanes can speed up service in congested areas. Photo: NYC DOT

The Top 10 Bus Corridors Where DOT Should Make Streets Work For Transit

By David Meyer | Feb 9, 2017 | 16 Comments

New York City bus service is the slowest in the nation and riders are abandoning the bus in droves, even as the city's population steadily increases. To win people back over to the bus, the advocates at the Bus Turnaround Coalition have pinpointed 10 routes where DOT can make service faster and more reliable.

Council Member Brad Lander addresses the crowd at the first of six workshops for DOT's citywide transit plan. Photo: DOT

DOT Kicks Off Citywide Transit Plan

By David Meyer | Feb 8, 2017 | No Comments

NYC currently has the slowest bus service in the U.S., and ridership has declined 16 percent since 2002. DOT is looking to turn those trends around, speed up buses, improve walking access to transit, and plan service to meet future demand. While the city's buses and subways are run by the MTA, DOT can make a big difference for surface transit through its management of streets, sidewalks, and traffic signals.

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