Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Bus Rapid Transit

Graphed: How East Side Select Bus Service Cut Trip Times and Gained Riders

Ridership along the First and Second Avenue Select Bus Service route is up despite declining ridership in Manhattan overall. Image: NYCDOT/MTA.

Yesterday, we reported on the impressive gains in speed and ridership along the First and Second Avenue Select Bus Service route. Since then, NYC DOT and the MTA released their official progress report on the project. It's full of graphics that show the boost for bus riders even more clearly.

caption

Select Bus Service cut the length of a full trip down the M15 route by 12 minutes. Seven of those minutes were saved at bus stops thanks to faster, all-door boarding, while five were thanks to dedicated, camera-enforced lanes keeping buses clear of traffic.

Those improvements have attracted about 10,000 more daily riders to the SBS than the old M15 limited, while ridership on the M15 local is down about 5,000. All told, it comes out to a nine percent increase in ridership on the corridor, suggesting the SBS buses are picking up some former M15 local riders as well as thousands of New Yorkers who didn't care to wait for the old limited.

Ridership is actually down slightly on the local, but the Select Bus Service is far more popular than the limited was. Image: NYCDOT/MTA.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Why No BRT For NYC? Two New Reports Tackle Why Your Bus Service Sucks

Years of bus priority projects barely made a dent in speeds because Big Apple leaders won't install real bus rapid transit, two recent reports argue.

July 11, 2025

Citi Bike Riders Are Pissed About Eric Adams’s 15 MPH Speed Limit

Citi Bike's new 15 mph max speed limit is a bad deal for riders and a potential threat to safety, riders said.

July 11, 2025

Friday Video: Cyclists, Check Out Your Next City

Streetfilms' Clarence Eckerson visited London earlier this summer to check in on the Big Smoke's cycling revolution.

July 11, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Just the News Edition

We've got one more workday before we can hit the beach. Plus the news.

July 11, 2025

Council To Close Instacart Loophole, Pass Delivery Industry Regulation Bills

The City Council will vote on Monday to close the "Instacart loophole" and force all app companies to pay workers a minimum wage.

July 10, 2025

‘Blood On His Hands’: Cyclists Slam Eric Adams After Judge Lets Him Remove Brooklyn Bike Lane

Mayor Adams will have “blood on his hands” for his decision to rip up three blocks of the popular protected bike lane.

July 10, 2025
See all posts