NYC Bus Service Hindered by Congestion

Bus frequency in New York City is hindered by congestion, writes Dave Colon in Streetsblog NYC, making it practically impossible for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to meet a goal of improving frequency by 20 percent.

Buses will never beat a subway in terms of the total number of people one bus can move compared to a full subway train. But that doesn't mean buses need to provide significantly less bang for their buck, which is what happens when they're caught in a sea of double parked cars and trucks parked in the bus lane.

One potential solution is ramping up the use of automated enforcement to cite drivers who block bus lanes. “ABLE [Automated Bus Lane Enforcement] cameras have improved bus speeds by 5 percent on routes where they're used, and faster buses are of course one way to get more bus service for less money, as the Citizens Budget Commission pointed out in a policy brief on MTA finances in the dark days of 2021.” Yet New York’s buses are moving at the same speed now as in 2018—7.5 miles per hour.

Redesigning inefficient bus routes could also help speed up service. “City bus stops are notoriously close together compared to international peers, which means buses are constantly stopping and starting. The buses also run on long and circuitous routes that haven't been updated in decades, forcing drivers to navigate tight streets and wait out traffic to make left turns.”

Meanwhile, “A spokesperson for the MTA did not dispute the tenor of the budget negotiations, but focused on the fact that the transit system survived at all.”