New crosstown busways have been paved along a primary road in the South Bronx, aimed at speeding up buses known for barely surpassing walking speed, the city Department of Transportation announced.
The bus-only lanes on East 149th Street run 2.7 miles from Southern Boulevard and River Avenue. The lanes -- equipped with traffic cameras and priority traffic lights -- cut through the bustling shopping district known as The Hub, along with Lincoln Hospital and Hostos Community College.
A total of roughly 55,000 daily riders take the Bx2, Bx4, Bx17, and Bx19, which all run through the east-west artery. Pedestrians will also benefit from improved busways given the newly installed pedestrian islands and loading zones to maintain safety, according to the DOT.
"We know that the key to effective bus service is well enforced bus priority," said Craig Cipriano, president of the MTA Bus Company and senior vice president for NYC Transit, in a statement. "Buses in the 149th Street corridor are among the slowest in the city, but that won't be the case anymore."
The Bx19, running from the New York Botanical Garden to the Denny Farrell/Riverbank State Park in Manhattan, ranks as the city's eighth slowest bus, with an average speed clocked at 4.6 mph, according to a 2018 survey by the Straphangers' Campaign called the Schleppie Awards. The Bus Turnaround Coalition, a transit advocacy group, found that ridership on that bus line dropped by 7.7% on that route from 2018 to 2019. The group has marked the bus route an "F" for its poor performance. The same group graded the Bx2 and Bx17 a "D," and the Bx4 an "F."
In its press release announcing the upgrades, the Mayor's Office described the buses as "moving at walking speed or slower most of the day" given the flood of drivers that ride clog the streets and delay bus service.
The city is offering some latitude to drivers as they get used to the new lanes, first issuing a warning to violators who double park on a busway. Come December, anyone caught on camera parked or driving through a busway can face fines as high as $250.
The improvements are part of the DOT's Better Buses Restart plan intended to speed up service and ease congestion across the city. Advocacy groups such as Transportation Alternatives have warned that the city can avert "carmageddon" if it invests in "major capital improvements to build a citywide network of car-free protected bus and bike lanes."
This is the initiative's fourth completed project this year, with Jay Street in Brooklyn, the 14th Street extension in Manhattan, and Hylan Boulevard in Staten Island all receiving some kind of a bus upgrade.
