plan to improve NYC bus speed

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 The "6-minute" detail refers to the centerpiece target of a massive, $882 million joint bus action plan titled Next Stop: Fast Buses, Better Service.

Unveiled by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul, the 5-year blueprint is explicitly designed to overhaul the city's surface transit and give riders back an average of 6 minutes per trip by increasing bus speeds by 20% across the city’s most gridlocked areas.

Here is the breakdown of what the plan actually implements to achieve those time savings:

1. Five New "Rapid Bus" Corridors (SBS on Steroids)

The plan establishes the next generation of rapid bus transit, utilizing continuous, center-running bus lanes or completely car-free busways, level-platform boarding (no stepping up), and restricted cross-traffic. The 5 initial target corridors are:

• Flatbush Avenue (Brooklyn) – slated for 2030
• Utica Avenue (Brooklyn)
• Northern Boulevard (Queens)
• Tremont Avenue / Cross Bronx (The Bronx)
• Kensington-to-JFK Corridor (Brooklyn/Queens)

2. All-Door Boarding by 2027

To eliminate the bottleneck of everyone queuing at the front door, the MTA will fully transition to all-door boarding across the fleet by 2027. Riders will be able to tap and board via the back doors using OMNY, which transit advocates estimate will cut bus "dwell time" at stops by up to 40%.

3. Targeted Enforcement & Redesigns

• 50 Priority Corridors: The NYC DOT and MTA have flagged 50 high-delay corridors across all five boroughs for aggressive transit-priority treatments.
• Camera Enforcement: The city will install 200 new stationary bus lane cameras by 2027 to automatically ticket drivers blocking transit lanes.
• Immediate Street Projects: The city is advancing 28 specific street design projects immediately, including new busways on Tremont Avenue, 34th Street, and underneath the M train in Ridgewood.

4. Massive Fleet & Infrastructure Upgrades

• 2,500 New Buses: The MTA will purchase thousands of new buses, effectively replacing over 40% of its current aging fleet.
• Shelters & Benches: To make waiting less miserable, the plan schedules 300 new bus shelters by 2028 and new seating at 875 bus stops.

The overarching goal of the initiative is to ensure that 90% of all New New Yorkers live within a half-mile of a subway station, rail line, Select Bus Service (SBS), or one of these new Rapid Bus stations.