"Capitol of the World?" Not When it Comes to Buses

In Quito, Ecuador, the Bus Rapid Transit system has secure boarding areas. Bus riders pay before boarding the bus, reducing delays. Dedicated travel lanes speed buses through peak hour traffic.

New Yorkers fancy themselves as being at the center of the universe. But when it comes to bus service, New York City is way behind. Advanced Bus Rapid
Transit Systems whisk transit riders around Bogotá, Lima, Jakarta, Curitiba and many other developing world cities. Bus Rapid Transit is also very much in vogue in
Western Europe, including London, Rouen and elsewhere. Bus Rapid Transit’s popularity is largely due to the fact that it is inexpensive and easy to install quickly compared to subways or even light rail. Bogotá’s immensely successful Trans-Milenio system carries up to 35,000 riders an hour in each direction on one major street. The M15 on Manhattan’s East Side, which is New York City’s busiest bus route, only carries 2,340 riders per peak hour. Experts think that an average BRT lane in Manhattan could carry up to 6,300 passengers per peak hour.

Read the latest news on bus rapid transit in NYC.