Busway Is Coming To 14th Street: Here's What You Need To Know

14TH STREET CORRIDOR — A private car ban along 14th Street, one of Manhattan's busiest crosstown corridors, will launch Thursday at 6 a.m. to speed up buses along the route following a vigorous legal battle.

Those who rely on the M14 bus routes from the Lower East Side through the East Village across town to the West Village and Chelsea can expect to see faster bus speeds, particularly along 14th Street, by about 25 or 30 percent, city officials said Wednesday.

"For the 14th Street customers, today is a big day — something new and wonderful," Craig Cipriano, acting president of the MTA Buses, told reporters Wednesday.

Department of Transportation Commission Polly Trottenberg noted the M14A and M14D routes are among the "slowest buses in NYC," with 30 percent fewer daily riders than five years ago.

"We would like to try and reverse that trend," she said.

The transit and truck priority plan, often dubbed the "busway," was expected to launch back to July in coordination with a Select Bus Service plan for the M14. The SBS routes have already launched, sparking quicker bus speeds.

"Since then, bus speeds have gone up by 10 percent, and now just think of the difference our new busway will make," said Cipriano.

Legal battles from West Village and Chelsea residents, led by lawyer Arthur Schwartz, thwarted the busway plan since the SBS launch. Schwartz and his neighbors raised concerns about spillover traffic from the crosstown corridor onto narrower streets.

After back-and-forth all summer that became particularly heated after the lawyer compared activists to the Ku Klux Klan for planning a rally at his home, the plan was given the greenlight by a panel of appellate judges last week.

Trottenberg acknowledged concerns of increased traffic on side streets saying, "One of our goals is to make sure that we're minimizing traffic and impacts from side-street congestion."

DOT will study pilot and make adjustments as needed, she said.

Advocates celebrated the busway's expected implementation alongside government officials.

"This is a wonderful day for bus riders," said Danny Pearlstein of the Riders Alliance. To take action fighting climate change, "car culture in New York City is really low-hanging fruit."

Here's what else you need to know:

What is the "busway"?

The busway was born of since-scrapped plans to shutter the L train for tunnel repairs.

Since then, Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration has reworked the plan as a "transit and truck priority" 18-month pilot program.

The program will bar most private car traffic from 14th Street between Third and Ninth avenues. Instead, bus lanes and trucks will run on the street, as well as emergency vehicles. Trucks with more than two axles or more than six wheels are considered trucks, according to DOT.

Private car traffic will be allowed 14th Street for pick-ups and drop-offs or access to garages.

Commercial loading and unloading zones are also set up along 14th Street.

When will the bus priority plan be in place?

6 a.m. to 10 p.m. everyday.

Overnight, all vehicles are allowed, but there is no parking allowed in order to make room for loading and unloading.

What's wrong with 14th Street now?

City officials say bus ridership on the M14A and M14D routes have declined by 30 percent in five years — from about 36,000 to 27,000 daily riders.

In all of Manhattan, buses move about 6 miles per hour. On 14th Street, they run about 5 miles per hour, according to city officials. The M14A recently got a "pokey" award from a transportation advocacy group for being about the same speed as a manatee.

"We knew we needed to make a drastic change," Cipriano said. Select Bus Service along the M14, which launched July 1, has already seen a 10 percent increase in bus speeds from all-door boarding, sidewalk fare machines, and fewer stops, he said.

The busway is aimed at speeding up the route. Officials expect the route to speed up by about 5 minutes, or by 25 to 30 percent quicker.

Can I take a cab or for-hire vehicle (Uber, Lyft, etc.) to 14th Street? What about my personal car?

Yes, but you or your driver can only drive onto the street for one or two blocks, depending where you turn onto the street. Drives must turn right at the next available opportunity (see map below).

The DOT says, "For some, it may be faster to arrange for pickup or drop-off at the closest adjacent avenue."

Vehicles may no longer make left turns off 14th Street as well, which the DOT says will keep buses from getting stuck behind left-turning vehicles and make it safer for pedestrians to cross.

How will this be enforced?

Cameras along 14th Street will track bus lane violations. NYPD agents will ticket for curb violations.

The MTA will also install cameras on the buses themselves for real-time violations by the end of November through the new Automated Bus Lane Enforcement (ABLE) system.

NYPD and DOT will be on-site educating local businesses, drivers, and other 14th Street users.

How much are fines for driving on 14th Street?

Officials will work to educate 14th Street users about the changes and allow a 60-day grace period for violations.

Then, the first violation will be $50. The second violation would be $100, becoming gradually more pricey up to the fifth violation, which would be $250, in any 12 month period.

Violations also have a $25 late fee.

Cipriano said, "The message is loud and clear: stay out of our bus lanes and out of our busway."

Here's what the changes will look like, courtesy of DOT:

Find out more from the Department of Transportation.