Establishes in N.Y. city a bus rapid transit and bus mobility demonstration program to enforce certain restrictions

9 Co-sponsors

• Joseph P. Addabbo Jr.
• Ruben Diaz
• Pedro Espada Jr.
• Liz Krueger
• Carl Kruger
• José Peralta
• José M. Serrano
• Daniel L. Squadron
• Toby Ann Stavisky

Title of bill

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law and the public officers law, in relation to establishing in a city with a population of one million or more a bus lane demonstration program to enforce restrictions on the use of bus lanes by means of bus lane photo devices; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof

Summary of provisions

This bill amends the Vehicle and Traffic Law and the public Officers Law to authorize the City of New York to establish a Bus Lane Demonstration Program imposing liability on the owners of motor vehicles found to be in violation of City restrictions on the use of bus lanes through the use of bus lane photo devices. Bus lane photo devices will record data by photographic, micro-graphic, video tape, digital video recorder or other recording methods and produce one or more images or sequence of video images of the motor vehicle at the time it is in violation of bus lane restrictions. The bus lane photo devices will be utilized exclusively within the routes receiving improvements as part of the Bus Lane Demonstration program.

Justification

The New York city Department of Transportation, in coordination with the MTA New York City Transit Authority, is implementing a Bus Lane Demonstration Program. In order to enhance the speed and reliability of the City's buses, it is imperative that designated bus lanes remain free of parked and moving vehicles, trucks loading and unloading, and other unauthorized motor vehicles. These options are necessary given the 53% rise in bus ridership in the City over the past 30 years and the subsequent reduction in bus speeds due to increased traffic. More than 20 bus lines average less than 10 mph during midday. Unreliability is also a major concern, with many bus lines experience problems due to bus bunching, gaps between service and buses running significantly off-schedule. Each year the NYPIRG Straphangers campaign awards the "Pokey" to the slowest local bus route in New York City. The award is given based on actual rides taken by Straphangers staff and volunteers, In 2009 the slowest bus was the M42, with a travel time of 3.7 miles per hour. Given that the average walking speed for an adult is around 3 miles per hour, riders are not much better off paying $2.25 for a cross-town trip. Bus lanes are meant to speed buses through traffic congestion. Bus riders deserve the assurance that their $2.25 fare will buy them a trip that is faster than walking.