Bus lanes in New York City

Since 1963, New York City has been using a system of bus lanes that are intended to give priority to buses, which contain more occupants than passenger and commercial vehicles. Most of these lanes are restricted to buses only at certain days and times, but some bus lanes are restricted 24/7. As of November 2017^[update], there are 104 miles (167 km) of bus lanes within New York City.

The lanes are generally used to speed up MTA bus routes on the city's public transport system, which would be otherwise held up by traffic congestion. Bus lanes are a key component of the Select Bus Service (SBS) bus rapid transit network, improving bus travel speeds and reliability by reducing delay caused by other traffic.

Since implementation, the lanes have generally helped to increase bus reliability citywide. However, there have been controversies on the benefits of the bus lanes due to the resulting increased traffic and the methods used to enforce bus lanes during their operating hours. In 2010 the city began enforcing the rule by placing cameras that take photos and videos of violators, leading to increased reports of bus-lane violations.

A curbside bus lane runs along the curb. Vehicles are not allowed to park or stand this lane, but may briefly enter this lane to make right turns unless otherwise specified.

An offset bus lane is placed one lane away from the curb. In this setup, vehicles are able to park or stand at the curb, but are not allowed to double park or stop on the bus lane. Vehicles may briefly enter this lane to make right turns unless otherwise specified.

There are also median bus lanes, which are placed in the center of the road. This setup is only used along East 161st Street in the Bronx, used by the Bx6 and Bx6 Select Bus Service routes.

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