14th Street Bus Ridership And Speeds Spike, MTA Says

14TH STREET CORRIDOR, NY — A ban on most private cars along the 14th Street corridor to make way for buses is, as anticipated, drawing riders to take the bus.

Preliminary MTA data have shown spikes in ridership of 17 percent so far in October, about 31,000 riders, compared to this time last year on the M14A and D, the transportation agency announced Thursday.

"Our Fast Forward Plan promised improved service to bus riders and that's exactly what we are delivering," MTA's NYC Transit President Andy Byford said in a statement.

Select Bus Service along the M14 routes has also sparked ridership increases, the data show.

On weekdays, the MTA found a 15 percent spike in ridership last month, compared to September 2018 — from about 26,000 to more than 30,000 riders each on weekdays in September 2018. Saturday and and Sunday saw 37 and 29 percent ridership increases, respectively, during September, the preliminary data show.

"The new bus priority measures and Select Bus Service on 14th Street are producing tangible benefits, and it's great to see riders flocking back to the route," Byford added.

Ridership spikes, MTA says, can be attributed to M14 Select Bus Service changes and the busway, the controversial plan to bar most cars from Third to Eighth avenues to speed up the pokey route and enforced by bus cameras.

Travel time on the M14 has decreased too. In September 2018, a trip between Third and Eighth avenues took about 15.1 minutes, but so far after the busway was added, it took 10.6 minutes, or a 30 percent decrease, MTA said.

On-time performance jumped 45 percent in September 2018 to 68 percent after the busway was implemented so far in October.

The busway pilot was long lauded by transit advocates and loathed by some residents, who sued over the plan saying the car ban would cause a spillover of congestion onto side streets.

So far, congestion on 12th, 13th, 15th, and 16th streets hasn't panned out, according to transportation firm INRIX. The firm's preliminary data shows the new busway "had no discernible performance changes to neighboring roads."

The West Village lawyer leading the lawsuit, Arthur Schwartz, did not immediately respond for comment, but told WNYC/Gothamist he plans to continue the lawsuit.

Though no other busway plans have been announced, Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg has said 14th Street would be a "template" for other streets.

DOT didn't immediately respond to questions about when and how the department would decide on other bus priority programs, but transit advocates are already making suggestions, including Manhattan's 34th and 42nd Street and Fordham Road in The Bronx.