In 2009, Tri-State released a report on improving New York City’s booming intercity bus business, which, over the past decade, has significantly altered the way that people travel between the metropolises of the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic. Now, New York State lawmakers and New York City politicians have announced legislation that would implement one of Tri-State’s recommendations: establishing a set of rules for intercity buses. Separate bills on the topic have passed the New York State Assembly and Senate, and the legislation unveiled today bridges the gap between them.
The bill, which has the support of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, State Senator Daniel Squadron, New York City Councilwoman Margaret Chin, and New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, would authorize New York City to establish a permit system for intercity buses. The bill would grant municipal control over where the vehicles can load and unload and require bus operators to provide information about planned bus timetables, proposed stops, and off-duty parking locations when applying for a permit. In approving bus stop locations, the city would have to consult with community boards (and, if necessary, the MTA). The city would also be free to charge up to $275/vehicle annually for permits and could fine bus operators up to $1,000 for their first violation and up to $2,500 for further violations.
The legislation, if passed, would address concerns raised by bus riders and Manhattan neighborhoods such as rotating, overcrowded bus stops and hard to find bus arrival information.
There is a need for this bill to exempt existing interstate commuter operations (primarily from New Jersey) that pick up and discharge along streets in midtown and downtown Manhattan and that already have assigned NYC DOT stops. Otherwise, this creates an undue financial burden on these commuter operations.
[…] to Network blog Mobilizing the Region, the Big Apple is poised to for the first time create a permitting requirement, including […]
Will the regulation process extend to the outer-boroughs(8th Avenue in Sunset Park Brooklyn)?
[…] process of pick-up and drop-off has been a burden to New York City residents and businesses. Now, a bill supported by Tri-State, which authorizes New York City to establish an intercity bus permit system, […]
[…] legislation (A4578A/S4313-B), whose passage by the Assembly and Senate represented a victory for community leaders and sustainable transportation advocates, would allow New York City to regulate where private, […]
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