Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Buses

Bus Riders Warm to Select Bus Service, Drivers Love Red Parking Lane

11:51 AM EDT on June 30, 2008

sbs1.jpg
New York City Transit staff introduce passengers to Bx12 Select Bus Service at Broadway and Isham in Inwood

New York City Transit's Select Bus Service made its prime time debut this morning on the Bx12 line, which connects Co-op City in the Bronx with Inwood in Upper Manhattan via Fordham Road and 207th Street. As we reported in March, NYCT's brand of Bus Rapid Transit lets riders prepay the fare at bus stops, resulting in quicker boarding times once the aqua blue SBS bus arrives. (Fare collection is limited to MetroCards and coins; credit card functionality still to come.) Contrary to reports that the fledgling service is universally despised, the attendant we spoke with said that, aside from some confusion over how to handle transfers, customers were adjusting well.

Changing motorists' behavior is another matter. In spite of the fresh terracotta paint and new signage, the lanes on 207th Street were full of parked vehicles. As pictured after the jump, even transit supervisors were helping themselves, to the point that the NYCT employee mentioned it as a hindrance.

Thank you, David Gantt.

mta_in_bus_lane.jpg
Drivers, including NYCT supervisors, pack the bus lanes on Manhattan's 207th Street

Photos: Brad Aaron

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

SEE IT: Cops Nearly Kill Teen on Moped on Brooklyn Greenway

The NYPD has a history of officers recklessly using their vehicles in chases. On Wednesday, its officers almost killed a moped rider.

June 9, 2023

Bus Advocates Target Anti-Busway ‘Hypocrites’ at Bronx Zoo and Botanical Garden

A petition drive by Bronx bus riders calls out the institutions for boosting transit on their websites, but then trying to undermine it in the real world.

June 9, 2023

‘Duped’: A Harlem 20-Something Blows the Whistle on an Illegal Temporary License Plate Business

Kareem found out the hard way that his Craigslist gig delivering temp tags was illegal. Now he's exposing the operation that employed him, revealing clues about his anonymous bosses that all trace back to the same place.

June 9, 2023

Day 3: These Hunger Strikers aren’t Paid Lobbyists — But Albany Can’t Tell the Difference

ALBANY — “They are putting every barrier in our way to not have to face us directly and  look us in the eye and then make an unconscionable decision. This is Albany at its worst,” said Amy Cohen. 

June 8, 2023
See all posts