New interactive website gives grades to the city’s failing bus routes
The NYC Bus Turnaround Coalition–a recently formed partnership of transit advocacy groups who believe the city’s bus system is broken–released a report over the summer that called on the city to make improvements to the system, which is one of the slowest in the nation. Their latest tactic to get the message across comes in the form of an interactive website that gives grades to all 307 bus routes based on speed, ridership, and bunching (when several buses arrive all at once), as Streetsblog explains. There’s also animated visualizations that illustrate the annoyances bus riders deal with compared to a hypothetical look at life riding a system not plagued by delays, outdated routes, and unreliable service.
After exploring the site it comes as no surprise that bus ridership in the city has decreased by 16 percent since 2005 (during this same time, subway ridership increased by nearly 25 percent), and between 2010 and 2015 alone the system lost 46 million riders. It’s also not shocking that service is worst on the busiest lines. As further outlined by Gothamist, the Coalition’s proposed solutions include:
- Adding queue-jump lanes–additional bus lanes at intersections that allow buses to bypass lines of vehicles at red lights
- Incorporating muti-door boarding (like the Select routes currently do) and tap-and-go fare collection
- Redesigning streets for dedicated bus lanes and enforcing penalties for unauthorized vehicles that drive in them
- Updating bus routes based on current traffic patterns
- Implementing countdown clocks at bus stops and on buses
- Creating a system where dispatchers and drivers can communicate en route
The group held a press conference yesterday morning, where they revealed the website, before a City Council hearing on the subject. The Coalition is urging the MTA and DOT to add dedicated bus lanes to at least 25 routes by the end of 2017.
Explore Bus Turnaround here>>
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With all the building going on along the Hudson, wouldn’t it make sense (yes, but ‘joke’ where the DOT is concerned who gives a stuff…!? ) to expand the bus service for tenants moving into this area? I waited 25 minutes for a bus to show up on 60th and West End Ave yesterday around 6pm. 2 never arrived according to the schedule at the bus stop. Also. No seats or shelters provided while we wait outside endlessly. I can only imagine the pain of freezing to death when winter sets in.
Considering all the possible new tenants moving to this part of Manhattan, it would make sense to put in a subway line from the billion dollar extension, the 32nd #7 subway stop. A line above ground up 11th ave?. Too much corruption and disinterest from the MTA for any of these things to ever happen. You gotta be rich to live on the far west side of Manhattan from 72nd Street down. Only a taxi will get you there on time. Maybe. Though if you need to be in midtown for a show around 8pm, it’s not going to happen. Traffic is at a standstill from 60th going south after 7pm.
NY’s become a center for mostly out of state american tourists. Sad. New Yorkers are second class. The subway last night on the 1 train at 10.30 form 42nd st.. You could barely move. SO many people.