Transit

Manhattan CB 5, which is shaping up to be the "swing district" along the route of the 34th Street Transitway, is only at the earliest stages of formulating a stance on plans to build physically separated bus lanes and pedestrian improvements as part of a river-to-river redesign. Even so, two things were clear at a public input session last night: Curb access remains one of the thorniest issues for DOT street redesigns, and the Murray Hill anti-transit forces are organizing circles around bus lane supporters.

Camera enforcement of the First and Second Avenue bus lanes began today. To mark the occasion, State Senator Daniel Squadron and Assembly Member Brian Kavanagh held a press conference gathering together community leaders and taxi drivers to get the message out to drivers: Block the lane and face the fine. As Squadron and Kavanagh explained, however, drivers may enter the bus lanes to turn right or to quickly drop off or pick up passengers.

This just in from the MTA and NYC DOT. Select Bus Service has shaved off between 12 and 16 minutes of travel time on rush hour runs along the M15 corridor from 125th Street to South Ferry. That's before the debut of camera enforcement.

For many transit riders, there's another fare hike coming down the track, one that many may not even be aware of.

The New York Times called Ted Kheel, who died Friday at the age of 96, New York City’s pre-eminent labor peacemaker from the 1950s through the 1980s. And he was. Ted was also a steadfast advocate for civil rights, a fierce champion of mass transit, a stalwart defender of labor, an urbanist, a philanthropist, and a visionary. And, for the better part of a century, a vital element of progressive struggle in New York and beyond.

As Andrew Cuomo transitions into the governorship, David Paterson just handed him a parting gift: a comprehensive blueprint for how the state can tackle its greenhouse gas emissions. The plan, which has been in development since a Paterson executive order in August 2009, goes into spectacular detail about how the state might reach the ambitious goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels over the next forty years.

After a long legislative battle, the MTA wants you to know about the automated enforcement that will be keeping Select Bus Service lanes clear of traffic.

While many Americans may not think riding a bus is the sexiest form of transportation, the reality is that a majority of public transit trips in the U.S. are taken by bus. Every one of the hundreds of thousands of passengers who boarded a bus in the last year has a story to tell and there are probably lots of Streetsblog readers who would love to share a tale about their favorite line. So why not nominate it as the best bus route in America?