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De Blasio announces 20 miles of new bus service for coronavirus reopening

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Published June 8, 2020
Updated June 8, 2020, 12:46 p.m. ET

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced 20 miles of new bus service across the five boroughs that will help 750,000 New Yorkers safely return to work after the coronavirus shutdown.

“This is a major step,” de Blasio said Monday at his first in-person press conference in months at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

“More service equals less crowding equals more health and safety,” de Blasio said.

The announcement includes five new trial busways like the one along 14th Street in Manhattan. The corridors, totaling 3.5 miles, will roll out starting this month. The first will be Main Street in Queens in June, Jamaica Avenue in Queens and 5th Avenue in Manhattan in July, Jay Street in Brooklyn in August and 181st Street in Manhattan in October.

The 14th Street pilot project busway in Manhattan will become permanent, de Blasio said.

“It is a clear success,” de Blasio said.

The city is also adding 16.5 miles of new bus lanes starting with East 14th Street in Manhattan and 149th Street in The Bronx in June, Hylan Boulevard in Staten Island in July, and Merrick Boulevard in Queens in August.

The MTA had called for three times as many bus lane miles as the mayor announced on Monday.

Staten Island Ferry service will increase to every 20 minutes during rush hour starting Monday afternoon to match growing ridership, de Blasio said. The ferries will have social distancing markers as well as free hand sanitizer and face coverings.

The city will dispatch 800 school safety agents to hand out face coverings at subway stations, de Blasio said.

The mayor vowed to take the subway sometime soon, following Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s planned trip on the rails Monday morning.

“I think it’s really important to show people that really important work is being done on subways and buses to keep people safe,” de Blasio said.

Bus ridership has rebounded faster than subway ridership amid the coronavirus pandemic. Transit advocates had pushed for 40 new bus lane miles, while the MTA itself requested 60.

MTA exec Janno Lieber said the mayor’s plan was a good start.

“Twenty miles of bus lanes is a step in the right direction,” Lieber said, “but we asked for 60 for a reason, which is that we really want to speed service so everybody can get more frequent service.”

“We are still counting on the city to commit to an additional 20 to 40 miles this year,” said Jaqi Cohen of the Straphangers’ Campaign.