Review Finds Woefully Slow Buses and Too Few Bus Lanes

Heavy traffic and few bus lanes make NYC buses among the slowest in the country despite daily ridership of over one million people.

By Barbara Russo-Lennon, amNY

Bus riders are losing out as the city’s Department of Transportation (DOT) continues to lack enough funding to get NYC buses moving faster on the streets, a new report released on Thursday uncovered.

The NYC Independent Budget Office’s (IBO) latest review of initiatives to improve bus speeds found what most NYC straphangers already knew: City buses are painfully slow despite the system’s daily ridership of over one million people.

Although the state-run MTA manages the buses, the IBO report blames the slow rides on heavy traffic, too few bus lanes, and inconsistent enforcement of bus lane rules—much of which could be addressed with NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) resources. The lack of DOT resources has also caused the city to slow the progress of expanding the bus lane network.

“New York City buses are an integral part of the city’s public transportation system,” the report states. “Alongside the subway, buses move millions of people every day across the five boroughs, sometimes serving as the only mode of transportation available in certain neighborhoods. Despite their importance, city buses continue to be plagued by slow speeds.”

NYC buses average an excruciating 8.1 miles per hour. This makes them some of the slowest buses in the country, according to the IBO.

The IBO zeroed in on a particular initiative: the ongoing NYC Streets Plan. This plan features the city’s goal to create 150 miles of protected bus lanes by 2026. Protected bus lanes within the plan, the DOT said, refer to lanes with physical barriers to keep other cars out or are monitored by camera enforcement.

But the plan is lagging behind. Since 2022, only about 10 miles of protected bus lanes have been built — with most of the expansion consisting of “regular” bus lanes.

According to the report, DOT’s budget has grown alongside broader city spending but more ambitious mandates have not been able to keep pace. In other words, resources for projects such as the bus lanes have not seen a direct boost in resources.

Although the NYC Streets Plan was implemented under the previous mayoral administration under Local Law 195, established in 2019 and amended in 2023, DOT officials said the agency is committed to improving the bus system.

“New Yorkers deserve faster bus commutes and bus lanes that are free of double-parked vehicles, which is why DOT has focused on building physically-protected bus lanes that keep cars out and using cameras to enforce against drivers who try to turn bus lanes into personal parking lots,” a spokesperson for the DOT said. “As the report acknowledges, this issue predates the current administration, but we are nevertheless committed to improving bus service for millions of New Yorkers.”

The Streets Plan is just one part of Local Law 195, which requires the DOT to create a master plan every five years to redesign and improve transit and expand pedestrian and cycling infrastructure.

Although the IBO report blames too much traffic and too few bus lanes for slow bus speeds, some transportation advocacy groups attribute the tardiness to other factors in city government.

City bus riders ‘shortchanged’
Danny Pearlstein, policy and communications director of the Riders Alliance, said Mayor Eric Adams’ transportation budget “mushroomed” while shortchanging city bus riders.

“As capital spending jumped almost 40 percent and operations grew close to 30 percent, America’s slowest bus speeds didn’t budge,” he said. “Hiring freezes, misplaced priorities, and political interference by powerful people led to broken promises and neglected legislation.”

Pearlstein also highlighted the importance of transportation access to jobs, schools, and healthcare.

“Every New Yorker should be able to reach basic needs and opportunities with ease, regardless of our age, income or ability to operate a car, or how far we live from the subway,” he said. “We deserve a fast, reliable bus system worthy of New York City.”

Meanwhile, Filippa Grisafi, who runs an express bus advocacy group on Staten Island, said there is little enforcement in bus lanes on Hylan Boulevard, which slows down traffic leading to the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge to Brooklyn.

“Also, cars stop in traffic to cut off buses to make a right turn from the middle lane,” she said. “When police do pull vehicles over, they stop in the bus lane and not into a parking lot or side street.”

She also added that there is a lack of enforcement on the Staten Island Expressway and Gowanus high-occupancy-vehicle lanes, both of which frequently get single-occupancy vehicles butting into the multi-passenger routes.

In the meantime, the DOT, along with the MTA, have introduced some tactics to get buses moving faster, including congestion pricing and a transit signal initiative that gives buses the green light sooner.

While the IBO report calls Local Law 195 a “step in the right direction,” it also notes that other changes, such as all-door boarding and increased traffic enforcement, can improve bus speed.

Editor’s note: A version of this story originally ran in amNY. Click here to see the original story.

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