TSTC Issues Lincoln Tunnel Emancipation Proclamation

The Lincoln Tunnel’s Manhattan-bound XBL is the busiest bus lane inthe country, carrying 1,700 buses with over 62,000 passengers onweekday mornings. In fact, it is so popular that it is now congested attimes, though it still speeds bus times by 15-20 minutes according tothe Port Authority. This has prompted the Authority to study the creation of a bus/high occupancy toll (HOT) lane in the tunnel to alleviate gridlock on the bus priority route.

However, there has been less discussion on how to improve eveningrush hour traffic into NJ, which is actually worse. During the averageevening peak period (4-7 pm), nearly 15,000 cars travel westbound intoNJ; by comparison, around 13,900 cars enter NYC during the morning rush(7-10am). Usage of a Jersey-bound XBL (which would either replace anNJ-bound general purpose lane or be a contraflow lane carved out ofNY-bound traffic) would almost certainly rival that of the morning XBL,providing real benefits for the largest share of trans-Hudson commutersand creating further incentives to commute by mass transit.