The city’s 14th Street car ban has led to faster bus speeds and increased ridership — with only some negative impact on drivers, city officials said Wednesday.
Bus trips across the so-called “busway,” which runs between 3rd and 8th avenues, are as much as 9 minutes faster, according to an independent analysis by Sam Schwartz Engineering. Ridership is soaring as a result, up an average of 24 percent overall and 30 percent on weekends.
“We are getting New Yorkers moving and saving them time for the things that matter,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement.
At the same time, however, the car ban — which exempts large trucks, 14th Street residents, and local deliveries — has had some detrimental impact for drivers. Getting across town between 12th Street and 19th Street takes anywhere from less than a minute to over three minutes longer post-busway, depending on the street.
But the nearest major crosstown streets, Houston Street and 23rd Street, have actually seen travel speeds improve at some parts of the day, according to the before and after comparison data.
All but one of the north-south avenues that intersect the car ban, meanwhile, have seen travel times between 14th Street and 23rd Street either drop or increase by less than one minute — the exception being Third Avenue, where evening southbound trips are taking 1.6 minutes longer.
The car ban’s launched was delayed for months after local block associations sued over concerns about potential spillover traffic.
Transit advocates said the city’s data proves the naysayers were wrong.
“The mayor’s report confirms what riders knew from day one,” Riders Alliance Communications Director Danny Pearlstein said. “The busway is a huge success.”