page_title: Bus lanes in New York City
section_title: 21st century
hierarchical_section_title: Bus lanes in New York City / History / 21st century
caption_attribution_description: English: A terminating Bx22 bus at Fordham Road and Valentine Avenue in Fordham Center, Bronx.
context_page_description: Since 1963, New York City has been using a system of bus lanes that are intended to give priority to buses, which contain more occupants than passenger and commercial vehicles. Most of these lanes are restricted to buses only at certain days and times, but some bus lanes are restricted 24/7. As of July 2018, there are 120 miles of bus lanes within New York City.
  The lanes are generally used to speed up MTA bus routes on the city's public transport system, which would be otherwise held up by traffic congestion. Bus lanes are a key component of the Select Bus Service bus rapid transit network, improving bus travel speeds and reliability by reducing delays caused by other traffic.
  Since implementation, the lanes have generally helped to increase bus reliability citywide. However, there have been controversies on the benefits of the bus lanes due to the resulting increased traffic and the methods used to enforce bus lanes during their operating hours. In 2010 the city began enforcing the rule by placing cameras that take photos and videos of violators, leading to increased reports of bus-lane violations.
context_section_description: The NYCDOT started painting bus lanes red in 2007-2008, with the introduction of Select Bus Service (SBS). The first bus lane that was painted red was installed on 57th Street in 2007, but the red paint was removed two years later. The NYCDOT chose an epoxy-based red paint for visibility reasons, but after extensive testing and review of said paint, found that the red paint was only durable when applied on newer asphalt surfaces. In 2010, the NYCDOT began studying other epoxy-based red paints for use on bus lanes. As a result of the study, three brands of red paint were determined to be suitable for use on New York City bus lanes. In 2017, the Bx6 became the first corridor to use bus lanes in the median of the street, as opposed to bus lanes on the curbside or one lane away from the curbside. The median bus lanes supposedly speed up traffic by going around double-parked cars.
  In January 2019, mayor Bill de Blasio promised to add 14 to 15 miles (23 to 24 km) of bus lanes a year as part of a plan to speed up the city's bus system. On April 18, 2019, de Blasio unveiled the Better Buses Action Plan, which recommended 24 locations where changes to speed up bus service should be made. As part of the plan, twenty-four corridors would receive new, upgraded, or protected bus lanes, in addition to other strategic measures intended to speed up bus service. In addition to new bus lanes on fourteen corridors and bus stop improvements to six locations, bus lanes will be upgraded along four corridors. These are Lexington Avenue between 96th and 60th Streets, Madison Avenue between 60th and 42nd Streets, and 42nd Street between FDR Drive and 12th Avenue in Manhattan, as well as Livingston Street between Boerum Place and Flatbush Avenue (potentially protected bus lanes) in Brooklyn. 
  A busway on 14th Street was implemented in October 2019 on a trial basis. In June 2020, de Blasio announced that the city would test out busways on Main Street and Jamaica Avenue in Queens, 5th Avenue and 181st Street in Manhattan, and Jay Street in Manhatan. The 14th Street busway would become permanent, and 16.5 miles (26.6 km) of new bus lanes would be added.
caption: Curbside bus lanes on Fordham Road in the Bronx
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