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| [ARTICLE] East Side Rapider Transit (197582) | |||
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[ARTICLE] East Side Rapider Transit |
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Posted by Newkirk Images on Mon Jun 7 07:53:21 2010 LINK to NY Post ArticleEast Side residents are about to get a speedier ride. Construction begins today on red-colored bus-only express lanes along First and Second avenues between 125th and Houston streets that will be like an "above ground subway," said Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Kahn. The service, which begins in October, will replace the M-15 limited buses. Local M-15s will operate normally. The express service will be similar to the one that runs along Fordham Road in The Bronx. Neither cash nor MetroCards will be accepted on the express buses, but bus stops will be equipped with machines that take cash, MetroCards and the upcoming Smart Cards. They'll dispense receipts that drivers will accept. The NYPD will patrol the lanes, clearing out and issuing summonses to motorists who dare block the 12.5-mile throughway. Also, yellow cabs violating the bus-only rules will have their pictures taken, The cameras will be mounted on poles at strategic locations, and will snap pictures the plates of offending cabs, which account for 65 percent of all bus delays along that corridor, she said. City and MTA brass are lobbying for legislation in Albany that would allow camera enforcement for all vehicles in bus lanes, not just city-regulated vehicles. "We're working with the city to make it clear to drivers that bus lanes throughout the city are for buses only, and a new smart-card pilot will pave the way for faster boarding on all of our buses," said MTA chief Jay Walder. By 2011, drivers of the express buses, like the ones operating on Fordham Road, will be able to control traffic lights. "It's a quantum leap," Sadik-Kahn said. She pointed out that the East Side has been underserved by public transit. "Residents have been waiting this for decades," Sadik-Kahn added. "For them it will reshape what it means to get around via bus." About 54,000 riders already take that corridor every day. tom.namako@nypost.com |
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