NYC Cracking Down on Cars in Bus Lanes to Help Speed Up Transit

(Bloomberg) -- New York drivers better stay out of the bus lanes or risk paying as much as $300 in fines and fees, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

Seven newly deployed NYPD teams will roam the city’s five boroughs issuing $115 tickets and towing cars for another $185 in fees if they are blocking dedicated bus lanes, under a new crackdown announced Thursday by de Blasio’s office.

The initiative is intended to improve a bus system that has lost riders as New Yorkers choose faster transportation options, according to de Blasio, who promised service improvements this month in his State of the City address. Ridership fell to an average 1.9 million passengers per weekday in 2017, from 2.2 million in 2012, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Bus speeds now average about 7 miles an hour across the city, and less than 4 mph in busy commercial districts, according to a statement from de Blasio’s office. His goal is to increase those speeds 25 percent by 2020, and his plan includes street redesign and installation of more dedicated bus lanes that could improve service for 600,000 daily riders.

To contact the reporter on this story: Henry Goldman in New York at hgoldman@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Flynn McRoberts at fmcroberts1@bloomberg.net, Stacie Sherman, William Selway

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