The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) announced on Friday, Oct. 9 the completion of bus priority lanes and related infrastructure on 149th Street in the Bronx. The 2.7 miles of bus lanes along the highly-trafficked 149th Street corridor are now equipped with transit signal priority (TSP) technology.

In addition, new enforcement cameras will also help ensure that only buses and other essential vehicles utilize priority sections of the roadway. The corridor is home to four popular bus routes (Bx2, Bx4, Bx17, and Bx19) and runs through some of the busiest destinations in the Bronx, including Lincoln Hospital.

Effective immediately, bus lane enforcement cameras will be activated to monitor the corridor, with drivers receiving warnings for the first 60 days. Beginning in December, and pursuant to a state law passed last year, bus lane violations will be issued to any non-essential vehicle using the bus lane.

The violations, which start at $50 for a first offense, and escalate to $250 for multiple violations, will work in tandem with transit signaling priority, a technology that extends green lights when buses approach, and shortens the time buses spend at red lights.

Taken together, the changes are expected to improve bus speeds while reducing travel times for tens of thousands of daily riders. Before ridership dipped as a result of the pandemic, 55,000 customers traveled along the four bus routes on a typical weekday and the bus speeds were among the slowest in the system.

Sarah Feinberg is New York City Transit’s Interim President.”The simple fact of the matter is that even during this pandemic, the bus system remains a critical lifeline for more than a million New Yorkers each day,” said Feinberg.

“Creating more dedicated bus lanes is a simple yet transformative approach toward alleviating traffic congestion. We know that a car-led recovery will only lead to more gridlock. Bus priority is the most vital ingredient in ensuring that our bus customers get around quicker and more reliably and I’m eager to move forward with more projects like the one we’re announcing today.”

Meanwhile, Polly Trottenberg, New York City DOT Commissioner, said the DOT was proud to partner with New York City Transit to bring world-class bus service to 149th Street in the South Bronx. “Whether you are a heroic health care worker at Lincoln Hospital, a Hostos student, or a shopper at the Hub, you can now count on faster, more reliable bus service, she said. “As part of the mayor’s Better Buses plan, we will continue to bring better bus service to riders in every borough in the months ahead.”

More on Dedicated Bus Lanes

According to a joint press release from the MTA, dedicated bus lanes have yielded outstanding results throughout the city in recent years. In the Bronx, the Bx6 SBS route began operating along a dedicated busway in 2017, with travel times having increased as much as 14 percent.

More on Transit Signal Priority 

The MTA has partnered with NYCDOT to install this effective technology at 1,382 intersections throughout the city since 2012 and the pace of installation has grown this year. Since the onset of the pandemic, 461 intersections have benefited from such installations.