Stretch Of 181st Street To Turn Into Dedicated Busway, Mayor Says

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, MANHATTAN — A busway similar to the 14th Street corridor is coming to the notoriously slow 181st Street bus route, the city announced.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday that five city streets, including a stretch on the Washington Heights corridor, will be turned into busways similar to 14th Street, where most private cars were banned in October to speed up bus routes.

The 181st Street busway, suggested by both the borough president and MTA, will stretch from Amsterdam Avenue to Broadway and will be added in October, according to the mayor.

It is among 20 miles of new busways or bus lanes the mayor announced this week to help New Yorkers get around as the city enters its first phase of reopening from the coronavirus crisis.

"These 20 new miles are going to help over three-quarters of a million New Yorkers to get around more easily," de Blasio said. "750,000 New Yorkers will have a faster way to work, more frequent service [and] less crowding."

Officials have been calling for a busway along the 181st Street corridor since shortly after the 14th Street pilot program began. The 14th Street design, originally an 18-month pilot program, is now slated to become permanent, the mayor said Monday.

The 14th Street busway has decreased bus travel times 36 percent, or 5.3 minutes less, eastbound and 22 percent westbound during peak hours and increased ridership during the weekdays by 24 percent, according to the Department of Transportation.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer contended that the design could mean similar benefits for Uptown bus riders. She suggested studying the 181st Street corridor and Harlem's 125th Street in November.

Bus routes on these Upper Manhattan streets carry about five times as many passengers as on 14th Street, but are some of the slowest in the city. The nine routes have all been given either D or F grades by the Bus Turnaround Coalition, which is made up by members of transit advocacy groups such as the Riders Alliance, TransitCenter and the Straphanger's Campaign.

The 181st Street corridor was also among streets the MTA suggested in their request for 60 new busways and bus lanes for the city's reopening.

De Blasio, who recently drew criticism for telling New Yorkers to "improvise" their commutes, said the 20 miles of new bus lanes and bus ways is what the city "can do right now." The city will look for more opportunities to improve public transportation in the future, he said.