Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Buses

Bus Tracking Sabotage: NYPD Clogs 34th Street Lane After Displays Go Live

2:08 PM EDT on August 12, 2009

bus_display.jpg

We've got two dispatches from the opening day of real-time bus arrival displays on 34th Street. First, the good photo: A reader sent the above shot of the display inside the shelter at Third Avenue. That's a nice crisp presentation. Are the times accurate? None of the dailies ran blaring headlines about haywire displays today, so you've got to assume the tracking system performed decently.

A report in AMNY did say that the displays sometimes announced arrivals before any bus pulled up to the shelter. We have a theory about one factor behind the glitches: Maybe the bus riders who encountered overly optimistic countdown times were stationed at the eastbound stop on Park Avenue. Before buses could reach that shelter during the evening rush, they had to contend with a convoy of 12 police cruisers hogging the bus lane on the south side of 34th between Fifth and Sixth:

bus_lane_blockers.jpgThe 34th Street bus lane, yesterday at approximately 5:45 p.m.

Not only are these parked squad cars slowing buses down by forcing them into the other traffic lane, I'm guessing they're also throwing the whole predictive bus tracking algorithm for a big loop.

The alert reader who sent the photo, recalling the last time bus-blocking police cruisers were sighted, noted that the squad cars came from several different precincts in a contiguous area of Brooklyn (the 61, 62, 66, 67, 70, 71, 72, and 78, to be specific). The NYPD has yet to respond to Streetsblog's request for an explanation.

The mayor, who appeared personally at yesterday's bus tracking presser, seems to be banking pretty heavily on a visible transit improvement to score points with voters this election season. Maybe this time someone at Bloomberg 2009 will ask the NYPD to stop using a heavily trafficked exclusive bus lane as their exclusive parking lot.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

We Have the ‘End of Days’ Flooding Pics You Need Right Now

It's bad out there. How bad? Here is a citywide roundup from our staff ... and our friends on social media.

September 29, 2023

Labor Gains: Judge Tosses App Giants’ Suit to Stop Deliverista Minimum Wage

Justice Nicholas Moyne cleared the way for a long-delayed wage hike for workers who brave dangerous roads to bring food directly to New Yorkers.

September 29, 2023

Fed Up Bronxites Tell Mayor To Forget About Bus Ride Invitation After Fordham Road ‘Betrayal’

"I really would think that our mayor would be a little bit more active and speak with us, because he hasn't really made any time with riders. We're not the enemy. We just want better bus service."

September 29, 2023

City Pays $150K to Settle Suit Over Cops Who Harassed Man Who Reported Police Parking Misconduct

Justin Sherwood and his lawyer will pocket $152,000 to settle his federal civil rights suit against the city and several officers who harassed him following his 311 calls.

September 28, 2023
See all posts