Mamdani, Hochuls $800M plan to speed up NYC buses means more Big Brother camera tickets: The real reason

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov.Kathy Hochul unveiled an $800 million plan Wednesday they said will shorten city bus rides by adding special lanes — and more Big Brother-style traffic cameras to squeeze drivers.The Democrats unveiled the plan at a news conference in Flatbush, claiming new “rapid bus routes” would save riders six minutes per trip while expanding the Automated Camera Enforcement program with 200 new cameras added to 50 more routes by next year.“In New York City, time is money.

And we are going to give New Yorkers some of that time back,” Mamdani said.“Six minutes precisely.”Mamdani started a stopwatch when he made his announcement, promising to keep his speech to six minutes — but the speech went longer, breaking the schedule like an M42 bus.But Allan Rosen, vice chair of rider group Passengers United, said the six-minute promise also falls apart the moment you look at how far most people actually ride the bus.“They are saying that bus lanes will save you up to six minutes,” said, who spent three decades at the MTA, including a stint running bus planning.“That means if you travel the entire bus route, say 8 miles, you save six minutes,” he added.

“The average local bus trip is 2.3 miles.So the average passenger would save only an insignificant two or three minutes from their 45 or 60 minute trip.”The plan between the city Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will install traffic lights with green turn arrows for buses and utilize tape-and-go boarding to speed up rides — though a former MTA bus planner said all the effort will only shorten rides by a couple of minutes.City Hall said it will spend $254 million and $628 million in capital funds over five years for the plan, which also calls for bringing bus stop spacing “in line with international and national standards” — part of the MTA’s ongoing bus network redesign. But that means some bus stops will be eliminated as US and ...