An NJ Transit bus heads westbound through the Lincoln Tunnel.
According to a TSTC analysis of data from the Port Authority, more cars leave New York City via the Lincoln Tunnel in the evening than come into the city in the morning. Yet, the Lincoln Tunnel Exclusive Bus Lane (XBL), which allows buses a faster lane through traffic congestion, is only in effect into NY and only during the morning rush hour. Buses headed back to New Jersey during evening peak times must contend with the same gridlock conditions that cars do, despite the environmental benefits of traveling by bus and despite the fact that bus passengers are the largest share of all commuters crossing the Hudson River into NYC.
The Lincoln Tunnel’s Manhattan-bound XBL is the busiest bus lane in the country, carrying 1,700 buses with over 62,000 passengers on weekday mornings. In fact, it is so popular that it is now congested at times, though it still speeds bus times by 15-20 minutes according to the Port Authority. This has prompted the Authority to study the creation of a bus/high occupancy toll (HOT) lane in the tunnel to alleviate gridlock on the bus priority route.
However, there has been less discussion on how to improve evening rush hour traffic into NJ, which is actually worse. During the average evening peak period (4-7 pm), nearly 15,000 cars travel westbound into NJ; by comparison, around 13,900 cars enter NYC during the morning rush (7-10am). Usage of a Jersey-bound XBL (which would either replace an NJ-bound general purpose lane or be a contraflow lane carved out of NY-bound traffic) would almost certainly rival that of the morning XBL, providing real benefits for the largest share of trans-Hudson commuters and creating further incentives to commute by mass transit.
Image: Jumpy/Wikimedia Commons.
The reason why there are more NJ-bound travelers is obvious- no tolls in that direction. So nothing should be done to make it easier for car drivers to go to New Jersey. If a bus lane is added, it should be taken from NJ-bound lanes. In the afternoon wait times are much worse NY-bound than NJ-bound, because NJ-bound traffic gets an extra lane. That is the lane that should be used for buses.
Better yet, institute tolls in both directions, using cameras and high-speed E-Z Pass.
[...] a post on Mobilizing the Region yesterday, TSTC says it’s time to build on the success of the much traveled Manhattan-bound express [...]
[...] here for the complete [...]
Build the 4th tube; it’s criminal that a nation this wealthy fails to expand tunnel capacity – rail and vehicular – and it figures with all of the lockstep “e” groups that with their either/or reflex, serve to distract from the obscene military budgets.
There has not been a new auto tunnel or bridge built between NY and NJ since the 30′s.
I am sure if this were South Dakota or Nevada something would be done about it.
[...] Another data point from the survey getting a lot of attention is the overwhelming demand for increased bus service out of the Lincoln Tunnel during the evening rush. Commuters are looking for an increase in bus services during the weekday PM peak and on weekday evenings, suggesting the need for an express bus lane in the evenings, which TSTC has long called for. [...]