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Bus shelters now displaying arrival times
Tuesday August 11, 2009 6:25 PM By Jason Fink
It’s a common question on the streets of New York, sometimes peppered with some choice adjectives: Where’s the bus?
Starting today, riders on 34th Street got a large part of the answer, as the MTA installed digital displays at eight shelters along the M34 and M16 routes showing estimated arrival times for the next four buses.
“It already exists in London, Chicago and other cities and it’s what we need here,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said during a news conference in front of one of the shelters, on Park Avenue.
The displays, similar to those on the L subway line, were done free of charge by the contractor that built the shelters and, if the pilot program is successful, the MTA will purchase them throughout the city over the next few years, officials said.
Similar programs have been tried more than once and never worked, NYC Transit President Howard Roberts acknowledged.
“The difference here is . . . this has basically worked since they turned it on,” said Roberts.
The displays, which also give the time and temperature, are not perfect. A few times yesterday, a bus was listed as “due” several minutes before it showed up. Officials said that GPS devices in the buses communicate with the shelters and through an algorithm it is determined how far away they are.
Tags: buses, MTA, transportation
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Study: Police lax on preventing drivers from parking in bus lanes
Sunday August 2, 2009 6:26 PM By Heather Haddon
Poor policing lets drivers score free parking in city bus lanes, according to a study released yesterday by the Manhattan borough president.
Researchers observing six busy midtown intersections found motorists blocked buses for up to 15 minutes in more than 350 different instances. Not one vehicle was ticketed during the 40 hours of spot checks.
“What’s the point of having these regulations if they are never enforced,” asked Borough President Scott Stringer.
At the worst intersection, East 42nd Street and Madison Avenue, motorists blocked a bus about every 90 seconds.
Taxi, livery cabs and limousines were the most frequent culprits, followed by private cars and delivery trucks.Tickets for blocking bus lanes are $115.
The NYPD issued nearly 1,800 summonses in the first six months of this year to drivers blocking the bus lanes, and the agency continues to ticket motorists “as resources are available,” a police spokesman said.
In February, the city installed video cameras to ticket drivers blocking the bus lanes on 34th Street, which shuttles 31,000 passengers a day on 30 routes.
City officials have lobbied Albany to allow them to expand the program, but state officials haven’t given it the green light.
City buses carry 2.4 million commuters during weekdays, according to the most recent MTA statistics.Tags: buses, MTA, new york city
