Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Buses

Let’s Hear More About Transit Policy That NYC’s Next Mayor Can Control

Four of the Democratic mayoral candidates appeared on MSNBC with Chris Hayes Sunday morning, and for a short while the subject turned to transit. About two minutes into this segment, Hayes prompted former City Council member Sal Albanese to discuss his proposal to band together with other mayors to lobby Washington for more transit funding. John Liu, Bill Thompson, and Bill de Blasio then took turns discussing their various ideas for getting the feds and/or Albany to direct more funding to the city's transit system.

The funding issue, however, is mainly Governor Cuomo's problem to solve, not the mayor's. The one major transit issue that the next mayor can actually control -- namely, prioritizing space for transit on NYC's streets -- didn't come up on the show. Time was limited, of course, but it would have been great to see someone pivot to the issue of improving surface transit.

Select Bus Service has shown that something can be done to speed up New York's notoriously pokey buses. The next mayor could do much more, by building better bus lanes and by bringing improvements to routes throughout the bus network on a faster timetable. The Nostrand Avenue SBS project, for instance, has been in the public planning phase for more than three years, and the first SBS improvements for Queens are still in development.

New Yorkers make more than 2 million bus trips every weekday. That's a lot of voters who know what it's like to ride a bus that gets bogged down in traffic, or to wait forever for a bus that's been thrown off the posted schedule. So let's hear the candidates talk about how they'll make life better by delivering faster, more reliable bus service.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

New Bill Would Block Apps From Deactivating Workers Without Cause

A Brooklyn Council member wants delivery app companies to be more human and less robot.

July 18, 2025

Friday Video: Is Berlin a Great Biking City?

Have recent moves by anti-bike, pro-car legislators ruined the experience in the capital of a unified Germany? Sort of!

July 18, 2025

Eyes on the Street: Meeker Avenue Bike Lane Is a Failure

The Department of Transportation still hasn't finished a critical bike lane under the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway that the agency has been stalling for over four years even after identifying the strip's danger and lack of proper signals.

July 18, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Cuomo’s Road Rage Edition

Why does Andrew Cuomo drive so recklessly? Plus other news.

July 18, 2025

Fixing Third Ave. Was Once ‘Top of List’ For Eric Adams — But as Mayor He Backed Off

Mayor Adams has delayed a redesign of Brooklyn's Third Avenue despite once saying safety fixes there should be "at the top of our list."

July 17, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines: Jerry Nadler Edition

U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler faced off with Sean Duffy on Capitol Hill. Plus more news.

July 17, 2025
See all posts