Bronx BRT press conference this morning. L-R: NYS Assemblymember Adriano Espaillat, Bronx BP Adolfo Carrion, MTA CEO Lee Sander, NYCDOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, Mayor Bloomberg.
NYCDOT and the MTA today announced the first of NYC’s planned bus rapid transit routes, the Bx12 Select Bus Service on Fordham Road in the Bronx — but warned that without approval of congestion pricing, it would be the city’s only BRT route for the foreseeable future.
The Bx12 Select would replace the existing Bx12 Limited service beginning June 29, running more often than the Limited and with service on Sundays. Bx12 Local service would not be affected.
Buses would be sped up with three major improvements. Fares would be paid under a “proof of payment” system where riders would pay at stations and show a receipt if asked by on-board fare collectors. This model has been successfully used on BRT systems like the Las Vegas MAX, as well as the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, and solves one of the most significant sources of bus delay — the backup as passengers pay one by one at the head of the bus. It would also allow riders to board at the front and back of buses.
Bx12 Select buses would also have traffic signal priority, gaining the ability to extend green lights and shorten red lights by several seconds when behind schedule.
Finally, the Select route would include bus lanes between the Bronx Zoo and Cedar Avenue, as well as between the Broadway/207 St and 10th Ave. subway stations in Manhattan.
This significant service improvement is one example of the innovative projects which congestion pricing can open the door to. While NYCDOT and the MTA said that this year they would roll out improvements to local bus service on 34th Street and Fifth/Madison Avenues in Manhattan, Jamaica, and downtown Brooklyn, they warned that planned BRT routes in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island could not go forward without the $354 million in federal grant money the city would receive if congestion pricing legislation is passed by April 7.
(Bx12 Select route map after the jump:)
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$354 million in immediate transit improvements and the long-term health of the New York regional transit system are at stake with one week left for the New York City Council and State Legislature to pass congestion pricing legislation.
Interested readers, please help out in any way you can: Testify or show support at a [...]
 New Yorkers support congestion pricing 59%-38% if the money raised is used to improve mass transit, according to a Quinnipiac poll released last week. The results are virtually identical to those of a January poll (which MTR covered here).
The poll also found, however, that only 43% of New Yorkers think it is very or somewhat likely that pricing revenue will go to transit.
MTR can’t blame New Yorkers for being skeptical about any elected official’s stated intentions, even if congestion pricing has the support of environmental, business, labor, equity, and civic groups. It must be pointed out, however, that revenues from several tolls and taxes are already partially or entirely dedicated to transit funding.
For example, the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (MTA Bridges and Tunnels) has since the late 1960s financed billions of dollars of mass transit expenses with revenue gained from vehicle tolls, according to a legislatively set formula. Portions of the mortgage recording tax, petroleum business tax, corporate franchise tax, and sales tax have also been dedicated to transit since the 1980s.
In other words, the State Legislature has the power and responsibility of creating a “transit lockbox,” and congestion pricing’s elected supporters have on multiple occasions insisted that congestion pricing legislation, when it is introduced, must and will include such a provision.
To help convey this message, Environmental Defense Fund launched an ad campaign last week which emphasizes that 100% of the net revenue from congestion pricing will go to public transit and that this extra funding will lead to better transit and a more livable city. This is in addition to the Empire State Transportation Alliance/Campaign for New York’s Future campaign already underway. Ads for the EDF campaign will appear on bus shelters (an example is shown above), subway cars, print media and radio.
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Transit advocates with the Campaign for New York’s Future recently took to ten New York City local bus routes to survey riders on their commutes. The results: A majority of surveyed bus riders think traffic congestion delays buses, think that more buses would improve their commute, and support congestion pricing to pay for more [...]
For many years, several NYC communities have sought a way to discourage outside motorists from parking their cars long-term throughout their residential neighborhoods. The idea is that these drivers displace local residents from parking close to their homes, reduce business activity by limiting the turnover of spaces used by shoppers and others utilizing services [...]
How will the MTA’s 2008-2013 Capital Plan benefit your borough or county? Interested citizens should check out TSTC’s website for newly released fact sheets which identify, by borough or region, transit improvements which will be completed in the next five years if the MTA receives sufficient funding for its capital plan, which will require [...]
The great promise of New York’s congestion pricing plan is that it will raise critically needed money for public transit system expansion and repair. Congestion pricing advocates are bringing that message straight to transit riders — the constituency most poised to benefit from the pricing plan — and asking them to speak out [...]
Last month the Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission selected the “alternative congestion pricing plan” (as described here) as its recommended traffic reduction plan for New York City, a vital step towards a more balanced and equitable regional transportation system. Unsurprisingly, the plan’s entrance into the political landscape has sparked furious discussion.
Another plan which has [...]
One of the key concerns expressed by community residents, advocacy groups, and elected officials about any congestion pricing proposal has been the impact on air quality from a perceived increase in vehicular traffic in their communities. The “periphery argument” reasons that drivers seeking to avoid the congestion fee will drive to just outside the [...]
It’s apparent from the report (PDF) released yesterday that the Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission took careful notes during the more than 25 hours of public testimony given on the Mayor’s congestion pricing plan. The report examines the Mayor’s plan, along with four alternatives reflecting concerns raised over several months of public hearings.
“Congratulations to the Traffic Mitigation Committee for releasing a thoughtful and fair interim report,” said Kate Slevin, Tri-State’s executive director. “The congestion pricing alternatives presented in this report were created by and designed for New Yorkers as a direct result of a successful public process. We applaud the Commission’s work and strongly urge the City Council and State Legislature to approve an equitable and effective congestion pricing plan that raises money for transit.”
The Commission met yesterday to discuss the findings of the interim report, and faces a January 31 deadline to recommend one or more proposals to the City Council and State Legislature.
Along with Mayor Bloomberg’s original congestion pricing proposal (setting the northern boundary at 86th Street, excluding periphery roads such as the FDR and West Side Highway, charging a $4 intra-zonal charge), the report considers four alternatives.
Alternative Congestion Pricing Plan
The first of these is an alteration of the original congestion pricing proposal. Most significantly, it shifts the northern boundary down to 60th Street. It also eliminates the intra-zonal charge for Manhattan residents. This change would significantly reduce implementation and operational costs because it dramatically cuts the number of license plate reading-cameras needed. It also addresses privacy concerns raised repeatedly during the public hearings.
The number of people impacted by the proposed congestion pricing fee would decline by about 46,000 drivers (25%), with most of the benefit accruing to Manhattan drivers. However, the plan evens that out somewhat by eliminating the current parking tax discount for Manhattan residents. The alternative plan would also assess a $1/trip surcharge for taxi and livery service trips beginning or ending in the CPZ, as well as a $1 surcharge for vehicles entering the zone without EZ-Pass, and would increase metered parking rates in the zone. This alternative is expected to reduce driving by slightly more than the Mayor’s original proposal (6.8%) and raise $520 million per year in net revenue for transit, about $100 million more than the Mayor’s plan.
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Masthead Mobilizing the Region is published by the staff of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.
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