New York City – There’s a new chief in town — and as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s head honcho, Jay Walder says he’s ready take his first fight to the roads.
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His first proposal is an idea that he says can dramatically improve bus service.
So why is he targeting drivers and just what will it cost you?
New York City buses are going to run on time if the new head of the MTA has his way. He told CBS 2 HD exclusively how he’s going to do it.
It will be the transit version of smile, you’re on candid camera.
“You and I would never think of stopping our car on a train track, but some how the idea of stopping a car in a bus lane seems acceptable. It’s not,” Walder told CBS 2 HD on Tuesday.
The MTA’s new chief executive has a game plan for improving mass transit here. He wants more people to take buses and he’s going to make it more attractive by having the buses go faster.
How? By making sure bus lanes are really only for buses.
He wants to install cameras on the front of buses to take pictures of any vehicles travelling in or blocking bus lanes. Tickets will be issued automatically, just like the city’s red-light cameras.
“You go through a process of saying you recognize the license plate, you issue tickets and when you begin to prove to people that a bus lane is meant for a bus and that there’s actually an enforcement that takes place people respond. They respond,” Walder said.
Bus cameras are already in use in London, which is where Walder worked before taking over the MTA. He said it’s an idea that works.
“We did improve the on-time performance of buses in London quite significantly,” Walder said.
The state Legislature would have to sign off on the bus cameras, Walder said. Spokesmen for the Senate and the Assembly told CBS 2 HD on Tuesday that it’s an idea that has promise. And the recently driver-friendly Mayor Michael Bloomberg supports it, too. New Yorkers have mixed reactions.
“It’s more restrictions, in a sense it’s like spying,” one man said.
“I’m not quite sure, really. I think it’s a good idea, but then again when there’s a lot of traffic you would like to move into the bus lane. Wouldn’t you if you were a driver?” said Alex Picciano of Chelsea.
“All for it, because I’d like the buses to go faster and I’m in a hurry and I don’t think people should violate the law,” added Bynchas Brenner of the Upper East Side.
“I think it sounds good. Yeah, I think anything, you know, to have people do what they’re supposed to rather than holding up traffic would be a good idea,” Rhoda Adler said.
The new MTA boss was noncommittal about new fare hikes right now. The next increase is scheduled for 2011.
Walder wants to bring lots of new technology to New York, including new E-Z swipe cards to ride buses and subways and system-wide time clocks to tell you how soon the next bus or train will arrive.
We already have this in our city and its working great…the buses move more quickly and the cheaters are getting $250 fines, which if not paid, will keep them from getting their regisration renewals.
and what if you are making a turn to the right? do you go in the right lane and turn or do you turn from the middle lane….curious
how about a sherrif for the wild bus drivers out there who pull in and out of lanes like they are the only cars out there
Are they installing them in Brooklyn? How much is this costing the city? Where is the money coming from??? MORE TICKETS?????
B”H
Interesting that every communisit law is justified by saying “London has it”.
Only you guys would be against better bus service because it might interfere with your “right” to drive where ever and however you want. I can only shake my head in disgust.
Before making a left turn on a street in lower Manhattan, I pulled over into the bicycle lane on the left, and waited for the light to change. A cop pulled up next to me and warned me that I had to make the turn from the car lane, not the bike lane. I wasn’t ticketed.
As far as bus lanes go, I’m sure the law says that a driver needs to pull into the left-hand (left turn) or right-hand (right turn) lane, regardless of whether or not it’s a bus lane. As #5 points out, this could be used as a Catch-22 trap by the Mayor for Life Bloomberg traffic nazis.
“driver-friendly Mayor”
Uh, what planet is Ms. Kramer living on?
It is rather obvious that the point of these cameras is not to improve bus service (Brooklyn and Queens barely have any bus lanes!) but is instead to generate “revenue” for the city by issuing yet more tickets to drivers. My only question is why the industrious and technically savvy Mayor Mike doesn’t use google earth type of software to monitor all NYC streets 24/7 and send tickets in the mail to drivers that were photographed being in the box during a red light, making an illegal u-turn, parking within 15 meters of a hydrant, double parking etc. While at it he can also send tickets to individuals who jwalk (they issue tickets for jwalking in LA, so why not NYC?). I think it’s a great idea. After all we do already have the technology to do this and these people are breaking the law. In other words we would be fining law breakers – criminals if you will – , making NYC streets safer in the process, and generating revenue all at the same time. Its a winwin if I ever saw one.
In any case, as far as bus lanes go, anyone who actually drives a car in NY knows that bus delays here have little or nothing to do with what goes on in bus lanes. Despite this rather obvious fact the MTA will spend millions of dollars buying, installing and maintaining cameras and software, (no doubt on routes that do not even come close to a bus lane, which is more than 95% of them). The end result? We will still be waiting just as long for a bus but will be paying more to get on it due to the inevitable hike in bus fare that is sure to follow this and other dumb and useless ideas brought to you by the MTA.