NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign • Transportation Alternatives

June 6, 2002

Hon. Lawrence Reuter	Hon. Iris Weinshall
President	Commissioner
MTA New York City Transit	New York City Department of Transportation
370 Jay Street	40 Worth Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201	New York, New York 10013

Dear President Reuter and Commissioner Weinshall:

We are sending you a copy of our report “Bus Rapid Transit for New York City”—along with a list of the city’s 25 slowest bus routes, which we are awarding our first-ever “Pokeys.”

New York City has the slowest bus speeds in America, averaging 7.5 mph. Many of the busses receiving the Pokey travel at a far slower rate. Speeds have been worsening, with average speeds declining 8% in Manhattan between 1996 and 2001 and by 4% in the other three boroughs.

You know it doesn’t have to be this way. Pokey busses waste time, fray nerves and discourage ridership, which in turn encourages car use and promotes traffic congestion.

We are pleased that your agencies are working together to promote Bus Rapid Transit options that would make bus travel faster. To assist in your efforts, we have prepared a comprehensive 90-page report detailing a range of “Bus Rapid Transit” strategies. These include:

• Re-designing bus stops to reduce delay from busses maneuvering into and out of bus stops.
• Longer bus stops to eliminate waits for multiple busses to enter the stop.
• Bus priority signals to help late-arriving busses catch up to schedule.
• Bus lanes with physical means to discourage other vehicles from violating bus lanes.
• Pre-boarding fare payment at high-volume times and places to reduce dwell time at stops.
• Scheduling for even spacing while allowing busses to travel as fast as conditions allow.