Let's Make Buses Work Like Above-Ground Subways
Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez
Testimony before MTA board
March 22, 2017
Good morning Chair, members of the board and members of the public here today. My name is Ydanis Rodriguez and I am Chair of the NYC Council Committee on Transportation.
Several months ago, our committee held a hearing to look into how we can improve bus service in our city. At that time, I asked if the MTA had a mid- to long-range plan to improve bus service in a comprehensive way. I am here today to renew the call for this plan as our city continues to be left in the dust by cities across America and across the world when it comes to bus service.
As was addressed on Monday, MTA buses have lost nearly 2 million annual riders over the past 10 years. It is no secret to riders who've made this switch that bus service is lagging behind other forms of transportation, and in some cases it even lags behind walking.
We cannot expect to move forward into the future productively as a city if our public transit systems do not improve. Buses continue to stand as the mode where we can make the most transformative and ambitious changes to incur major gains in ridership. The time to draft these plans is now. We are all familiar with recent headlines about consumers voting with their feet, leaving public transit for car services.
This is not the way to advance as a city. It does not help us economically to add to already gridlock traffic with more cars. It does not help public safety, our environment, our physical and mental health and we cannot be resigned to this fate.
While building new subway lines are obviously expensive and time consuming, making meaningful improvements to bus routes and services are less of a lift. What's more, we don't have to reinvent the wheel, or in this case-the bus, to take serious strides.
I was encouraged by the conversation that took place here on Monday, where MTA officials presented on the historic deterioration of bus ridership, why this has taken place and some ideas for improvement.
However, the time to think small is over. Having arrived at this point with bus service, the MTA should work with the City and the DOT to think big, be ambitious and take risks to make improvements. Too many New Yorkers are already dissatisfied with what they know of the NYC bus experience, so it is time to give them something entirely different. It's time to bring fully fledged BRT to NYC. It is time for the planned improvements to the Q52 along Woodhaven Boulevard become the standard for bus service citywide.
Tinkering with transit signal priority and dedicated bus lanes on a small scale will not bring drivers or Uber users back to buses. We need to take a comprehensive, system-wide approach to drastically change the user experience, specifically related to the time it takes to get from point A to point B.
To do this, we need to make off-board fare payment uniform throughout the system. We need to see transit signal priority available on every route in the city. Buses need dedicated lanes everywhere, but especially on streets with more than one route; and we need to see mounted cameras on buses to hold drivers that violate dedicated bus lanes accountable. These are just the early and easy steps, achievable in a 5 year plan.
In a 10 year plan, we should be looking to build at-grade boarding to ease access for the disabled community, bus bulbs at stops so buses can stop and continue without turning. If we want to be very ambitious, we can even look to some corridors without nearby subways as possibilities to develop fully separated bus routes with middle-of-the-road boarding to create what would effectively become an above-ground subway.
We know New Yorkers don't like the bus system we have. It is slow, ineffective and unpopular. Let's work to give them the bus system they don't even know exists yet. Cities across the world have already worked to perfect it and locals know they can rely on their buses. For New Yorkers, time is always of the essence. We know changes like wi-fi and USB outlets-as positive as these additions are-will mean little to them if there isn't also TSP installed to make their rides shorter.
These are achievable goals. All we need to do is draft a plan and execute. I am willing to be your partner in this effort, as are a wide cross-section of transit organizations eager for change. I know the DOT is interested in working on these issues with you and I am happy to encourage them where necessary too.
These enhancements can lead to the praise that often seems elusive for the MTA. I'll be the first to cheer.
Thank you.
