Bx6 Riders Rave About Bus Lanes and All-Door Boarding

More NYC bus service should have the features that sped up this high-ridership cross-Bronx route.

A new center-running bus lane and median island bus stop at East 161st Street and Sherman Avenue. Photo: TransitCenter
A new center-running bus lane and median island bus stop at East 161st Street and Sherman Avenue. Photo: TransitCenter

Dedicated bus lanes and all-door boarding debuted on the Bx6 earlier this month, and riders are noticing the difference.

Three weeks after DOT and the MTA launched Select Bus Service on this high-ridership route across Upper Manhattan and the South Bronx, TransitCenter staff checked in with people who ride the Bx6. It looks like changes have made tangible improvements — riders say their trips are faster and they’re saving time:

The Bx6 is the ninth SBS route to debut under de Blasio. Similar improvements could be extended to dozens of routes in a relatively short amount of time.

TransitCenter and the Bus Turnaround Coalition are pressing DOT and the MTA to speed up many more bus routes via modern, faster fare collection and rapid roll-out of bus lanes and signal priority for buses at intersections.

It should be an easy call for Governor Cuomo, de Blasio, and the transportation agencies that report to them. Tens of thousands of people ride the Bx6 every day — and they’re getting more time for themselves and less aggravation thanks to these changes. Millions more New Yorkers stand to benefit from a systemwide turnaround of NYC bus service.

  • Vooch

    every arterial in the city should have one lane painted red as a dedicated bus lane

    would cost pennies and improve the lives of millions of NYs

    could be implemented in a few months

  • Joe R.

    But think of all the poor, homeless cars that would create!

  • Vooch

    The thought is simply too horrifying to consider.

  • AMH

    It would also do wonders for emergency vehicle access. Every evening there are ambulances fighting their way through rush-hour gridlock–how many lives does that cost?

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