MTA

Separated bus lanes. Elected officials are calling for them. The next version of enhanced bus service on 34th Street may include them. Why does New York City need them? Well, take a look at how the city's current crop of bus lanes are working out for riders. Streetfilms' Robin Urban Smith went on a couple of excursions this week, heading over to the 34th Street bus lane and the Fifth Avenue bus lane. This is what she found.

Count Keith Olbermann among the otherwise well-informed New Yorkers who don't have a clue when it comes to what's happening with the MTA.

A group of 19 elected officials has urged NYC DOT and the MTA to think big as the agencies design a Bus Rapid Transit corridor for First and Second Avenues. With the right configuration, the project could improve bus speeds dramatically, relieve crowding on the jam-packed Lexington subway line, and enhance safety for cyclists and pedestrians on a corridor that's currently roiled by wide rivers of traffic.

New on the transit tech front, from the creators of Walk Score, is City-Go-Round, a site where you can find and download mobile apps that help out transit riders:

The Daily News captured this off-the-cuff comment from Mayor Bloomberg on Albany's sudden failure to deliver more than $350 million to New York's transit system:

Contrary to popular belief, the mayor isn't the only elected official with a say in New York City transportation policy. So in this installment of Streetsblog's series on Michael Bloomberg's third term, we're switching things up a bit. We asked New York's most experienced transit advocate, Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign, how Comptroller-elect John Liu and Public Advocate-elect Bill de Blasio can put their clout to use for New Yorkers who depend on buses and trains. Here's what he told us.

Here's a fun time-waster. Since Monday, @FakeMTA has been posting faux transit updates on Twitter. Examples: "Sneak peek at completed Second Ave. Subway released!" and "If passengers don't move all the way into the car, the C train is going to turn around and go home." There are benign neighborhood-specific barbs as well, with the L line as a favored target.

Our series on the next four years of NYC transportation policy continues with today's essay from Joan Byron, Director of the Pratt Center for Community Development's Sustainability and Environmental Justice Initiative. The Rudin Center for Transportation Policy recognized Byron's work at the Pratt Center with the 2009 Civic Leadership Award. Read previous entries in this series here and here.

Earlier this week DOT and the MTA showed plans for Bus Rapid Transit on the east side of Manhattan to the Seaport/Civic Center committee of Community Board 1. With implementation scheduled for next September, the question of how to allot space on First and Second Avenues is increasingly urgent. Robust bus improvements paired with protected space for biking on this corridor could become a model for sustainable street design in New York.