Mamdani and Hochul unveil a plan to fix New York’s painfully slow buses
51-page "Next Stop" strategy promises faster, more reliable service on a network 2.75 million riders — many low-income — depend on daily
NEW YORK, United States (MNTV) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul unveiled an ambitious plan to overhaul the city’s sluggish bus system, casting faster, more reliable service as a matter of basic economic fairness for the millions who rely on buses to reach work, school, and care.
The 51-page plan, “Next Stop,” pairs street redesigns and expanded bus-priority measures with tougher lane enforcement and a modernized fleet.
Officials estimate it could cut up to six minutes per trip on at least 50 major corridors and raise bus speeds by as much as 20 percent — meaningful gains on a network where buses now crawl at an average of about eight miles per hour, slower than the subway and far slower than cars.
Mamdani framed the effort bluntly: a city with New York’s resources should not run some of the slowest buses in the country.
Hochul tied it to broader state transit investment and the MTA’s capital program, describing the city-state partnership as a model for urban transportation.
The plan commits to 28 new bus-lane projects across the five boroughs and five rapid-bus corridors in underserved parts of Brooklyn and Queens, built with center-running lanes and signal priority.
It also invests in the ride itself: 2,500 new buses by 2030, replacing more than 40 percent of the fleet with cleaner vehicles; expanded all-door boarding to end the front-door fare bottleneck; and hundreds of new shelters with seating, greenery, and better accessibility for riders with disabilities. Enforcement is central — expanded automated monitoring to keep lanes clear, since even well-designed lanes fail when cars block them.
The stakes are highest for the roughly 2.75 million daily riders, a large share of them from lower-income communities and communities of color, for whom slow buses translate directly into lost access to jobs, healthcare, and childcare.
Transit advocates welcomed the plan as potentially the most significant improvement to city buses in decades.
Delivering it will take coordination across the city DOT, the MTA, and enforcement agencies, and will mean facing down the familiar opposition to changing streets and traffic patterns — resistance that has stalled bus-lane expansion before and let average speeds keep sliding.
We must take charge of our narrative. Research indicates that 92% of their Muslim coverage is negative. Help us change that.
Have Your Say!
Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? Please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@soundvision.com.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a Muslim Network TV’s representative. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
Tweet: @MuslimNetworkTV
