Chapter 9: Transportation (Surface Transit) E. SURFACE TRANSIT EXISTING CONDITIONS LOCAL BUS SERVICE The East Side of Manhattan, which includes some of the most heavily traveled bus corridors in the United States, is well served by frequent and comprehensive bus transportation service. There is at least one NYCT local bus route on every north-south avenue, except on Park Avenue north of Grand Central Terminal. Portions of Fifth and Madison Avenues in East Midtown have as many as six local bus routes. The eastern edge of East Midtown, the Upper East Side, and East Harlem, on the other hand, are served by a limited number of bus routes, and its residents must often walk more than 5 to 10 minutes to get to the nearest subway station. The M15 is the only local bus route serving the densely populated First and Second Avenue corridors. Operating at 2-3 minute headways, its high volume ridership makes it the highest ridership bus route in North America. Therefore, the First and Second Avenue corridors are a primary focus of this MIS/DEIS. The Lower East Side and Lower Manhattan are served by local bus routes on every major north- south avenue. The Lower East Side represents another major focus of this MIS/DEIS. Its high- density residential population typically requires buses to access subway stations, which are often not located within convenient walking distances. Lower Manhattan, on the other hand, has a highly developed subway network, and local bus use is less pronounced there. The study area is also well served by crosstown bus service. Most of the major crosstown streets, e.g., 34th, 79th, and 86th Streets, have at least one local bus route, providing transportation from river to river. Figures 9E-1 through 9E-5 depict the bus routes in the study area. An overview of the major bus corridors and other key routes is presented below: Corridor Key Routes Fifth and Madison Avenues M1, M2, M3, M4, and, to a lesser degree, Q32 Lexington and Third Avenues M98, M101, M102, and M103 First and Second Avenues M15 York Avenue M31 Avenues A, B, C, and D M9, M14, and M21 East Broadway and Madison Street M9 and M22 (Lower East Side) Allen Street (Lower East Side) and M15 Water Street (Lower Manhattan) There are a number of other routes serving major and minor crosstown streets throughout the study area. Frequency of bus service is generally high, with scheduled headways (the time between buses) on some routes as low as 2 minutes during the peak periods (e.g., on the M15 in the AM peak). As shown in Table 9E-1, hundreds of buses are in operation in the study area during peak hours. Table 9E-2 presents the scheduled headways for the local bus routes by time period for most north-south routes and key crosstown routes serving the study area. Almost 60 percent of the local bus routes in the area provide service 24 hours a day, seven days per week. 9E-1 Manhattan East Side Transit Alternatives MIS/DEIS Table 9E-1 Scheduled Local Buses in the AM Peak Hour Zone No. of Buses Lower Manhattan 106 Lower East Side 171 East Midtown 334 Upper East Side 206 East Harlem 157 Note: Number of buses includes north-south and east-west routes. Source: 1994 NYCT Route profiles. Table 9E-2 NYCT Local Bus Routes: Bus Headways for Key Routes Weekday Service Saturday AM Midday PM Evening Midday Routes (min) (min) (min) (min) (min) NORTH-SOUTH ROUTES M1: Fifth/Madison Aves. 6 8 5 11 10 M2: Fifth/Madison Aves./Powell Blvd. 8 8 7 15 10 M3: Fifth/Madison Aves./St. Nicholas Ave. 7 9 9 10 10 M4: Fifth/Madison Aves./Broadway 3 8 4 15 8 M5: Fifth Ave./Ave. of the Americas/Riverside Dr. 5 10 7 11 10 M6: Seventh Ave./Broadway/Ave. of the Americas 10 10 9 12 9 M9: Ave. B/East Broadway 8 15 10 30 30 M15: First/Second Aves. 2 3 2 3 4 M31: 57th St./York Ave. 3 10 4 9 12 M98: Washington Hts-Midtown Ltd Third/Lexington Aves. 8 1 Trip 10 1 Trip — M101: Third/Lexington/Amsterdam Aves. 5 6 6 10 9 M102: Third/Lexington Aves./Malcolm X Blvd. 6 12 8 12 9 M103: Third/Lexington Aves. 12 12 12 15 12 B51: Fulton Mall-Lower Manhattan (Manhattan Bridge) 15 30 10 30 — Q32: Penn Station-Jackson Hts, Madison/Fifth Aves. 8 11 8 10 10 EAST-WEST ROUTES M8: 8th/9th Sts. 9 9 9 12 20 M14: 14th St./Ave. A 8 10 9 10 10 M14: 14th St./Aves. C/D 3 6 4 5 6 M16: 34th St. 9 12 12 20 12 M21: Houston St./Ave. C 15 20 15 15 20 M22: Madison/Chambers Sts. 8 15 10 15 12 B39: Williamsburg-Lower East Side/Delancey St. 12 15 12 20 12 Note: — Indicates that there is no service. Source: 1994 NYCT Route Profiles updated by the NYCT Scheduling Department. 9E-2 Chapter 9: Transportation (Surface Transit) NYCT EXPRESS BUS SERVICE NYCT operates three express bus routes within Manhattan, the X25, the X90, and the X92, on weekdays only. The X25, which begins opposite GCT, provides service primarily for Metro- North Railroad customers traveling to and from the Wall Street area. It provides an alternate con- nection between these two nodes, other than the Lexington Avenue subway. Both the X90 and the X92 provide bus service from the residential sections of the Upper East Side to the Lower Manhattan Financial District. All three express bus routes operate southbound in the AM peak period and northbound in the PM peak period, generally at 10- to 20-minute headways. NYCT also operates three express bus routes from Brooklyn into Manhattan, four routes from Queens, and 19 routes from Staten Island. These buses generally operate at headways ranging from 5 to 30 minutes. These routes are oriented to the Lower Manhattan and Midtown Manhattan commercial districts. PRIVATE EXPRESS BUS SERVICE NYCDOT has granted express bus franchises to various private companies to provide express bus service from parts of the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens into the Manhattan CBDs. Service is provided either to the Midtown area or to the Wall Street area, although some bus routes provide service to both destinations. Non-franchised commuter service from Staten Island generally travels through New Jersey to Manhattan via the Holland Tunnel. These bus companies are not franchised by NYCDOT but operate under licenses granted by the Interstate Commerce Com- mission (ICC). Service to and from the Bronx is provided by two bus companies: Liberty Lines Express, Inc. and New York Bus Service. Liberty Lines operates throughout the Bronx, but concentrates service on the west side of the borough including the Riverdale section, with limited service from Yonkers. New York Bus Service operates predominantly on the east side of the Bronx. Frequent service is provided during the AM and PM peak periods. The Command Bus Company, Inc. provides express bus service from the Bergen Beach, Canarsie, Kingsbay, and Gerritsen Beach sections of Brooklyn into Lower Manhattan, the Lower East Side, and East Midtown. There is frequent service from Brooklyn in the AM peak period; some routes operate with head- ways as low as 10 minutes. During the PM peak period, scheduled headways of between 10 and 15 minutes are common. Express bus service from Queens is provided by four bus companies: Green Lines, Jamaica Buses, Inc., Queens Surface Corporation, and the Triboro Coach Corporation. Green Lines pro- vides express service from almost a dozen neighborhoods including: Rockaway Park, Howard Beach, Forest Hills, and Woodhaven. Rochdale Village is served by Jamaica Buses, Inc. Queens Surface Corporation provides service to and from Fresh Meadows, Clearview, Jewel Avenue, and Bayside, while the Triboro Coach Corporation serves the Rego Park, Jackson Heights, and Forest Hills areas. Headways vary significantly route by route. Express bus service is also provided into Manhattan from several areas outside of New York City. The Bee-Line System provides service from White Plains and Tarrytown in Westchester County, while Monsey Trails provides limited bus service to and from Rockland County. Three bus companies provide service from Suffolk County: Sunrise Express, Hampton Express Inc., 9E-3 Manhattan East Side Transit Alternatives MIS/DEIS and the Hampton Jitney. The Sunrise Express provides one round trip per day from Greenport on the north fork of Long Island. Both Hampton Express Inc. and the Hampton Jitney provide ser- vice from Montauk and Southampton on the south fork. BUS PREFERENTIAL TREATMENTS The large volumes of autos, taxis, and trucks competing for street space with buses contribute to congested traffic conditions and low bus travel speeds. NYCT has implemented "limited-stop" bus service and, with NYCDOT, priority bus lane treatments, as two means of increasing travel speeds and travel time reliability. Bus routes operating with "limited-stop" service stop only at major cross streets and transfer points, often traveling up to eight blocks between stops. Observations indicate that, between stops, limited-stop service may operate in the third or even the fourth lane from the curb to avoid conflicts with slower traffic and curb parkers. Passengers frequently prefer to let regular buses go by and wait for a limited-stop bus, which operates at a higher speed and reduces overall travel times. Within the study area, NYCT provides limited-stop service on the M1, M2, M4, M5, M15, M98, and M101. Limited-stop service is provided in the peak direction, i.e., southbound in the AM and northbound in the PM, during rush hours on the M1 and M4 routes on selected trips.