Paging Mayor de Blasio — Fix Your Bus Lanes

If good bus service was a priority for de Blasio, City Hall wouldn't let NYPD vehicles and delivery trucks obstruct bus lanes all over the city.

What's wrong with this picture? THERE'S A TRUCK IN THE BUS LANE! Photo: TransitCenter
What's wrong with this picture? THERE'S A TRUCK IN THE BUS LANE! Photo: TransitCenter

For a mayor who campaigned as a champion of economic fairness, fixing NYC’s ailing bus system should be a no-brainer. The city’s buses are the slowest in the nation, and the delays and disruptions affect low-income New Yorkers the most.

Bill de Blasio can directly influence the quality of bus service — unlike subway service — by prioritizing transit via the streets and traffic signals his administration manages. But the city isn’t accelerating the pace of bus lane implementation. And if you go out and observe the bus lanes that have already been painted, they’re a mess.

This video posted by TransitCenter this morning shows bus lanes across the city obstructed by delivery vehicles, taxis, and especially NYPD:

The footage brings home how little effort City Hall puts into keeping bus lanes clear.

While 13 of 15 Select Bus Service routes have camera enforcement, the cameras are stationary as opposed to mounted on buses, so motorists can figure out where they’re located and avoid detection.

There’s also very little incentive for delivery companies to avoid specific infractions thanks to the city’s Stipulated Fine Program, which essentially gives them a bulk discount on parking fines.

Then there’s the city’s enormous supply of parking placards, which amount to carte blanche to block bus lanes for the privileged class who have them — a cohort that’s growing larger thanks to de Blasio.

And of course, law enforcement officers are setting a terrible example for everyone else.

These are not intractable problems. If the mayor cares about New Yorkers who ride the bus, he can solve them.

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