Following the installation of off-board fare payment machines last month, Select Bus Service lanes are going in on 125th Street. Joseph Cutrufo of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign posted this pic on Twitter yesterday.
SBS lanes were originally intended to be installed between Morningside and Second Avenues, but DOT chopped off the bus lanes west of Lenox Avenue in response to protests from State Senator Bill Perkins and other electeds. After SBS goes live on 125th, the rest of the bus lane could be added, thanks to pressure from State Senator Adriano Espaillat and City Council Member Mark Levine.
The tens of thousands of people who ride buses on 125th Street each day will see travel times improve, but not as much as they would without interference from Albany. State law restricts SBS camera enforcement to six routes, not including 125th Street, so it will be up to NYPD to keep drivers out of the new bus lanes.
