NYC unveils plans for 34th Street busway amid Trump administration threats to withhold funding for it
It could be a miracle on 34th Street -- for bus riders, at least.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's office announced Tuesday it will transform the historic thoroughfare into a busway, meaning it'll soon be limited to buses, trucks and emergency vehicles most of the time.
"If it's going to add to the traffic, I'm not happy about it"
The M34 crosstown bus is notorious for being slow. Back in August, transit advocates walked alongside a trip from First Avenue to Eighth Avenue and still beat the bus by seven minutes.
"It's really chaotic. Sometimes you have to wait even up to 15 minutes plus," commuter Sulani Nymbili said.
The 34th Street busway will run in both directions between Third Avenue and Ninth Avenue.
The Department of Transportation is starting public outreach this month, and hopes to complete construction by the fall. Once in effect, from 6 a.m.-10 a.m. daily, it will allow through traffic for buses, trucks and emergency vehicles. There will be local access for cars, which means drivers are required to make the next available turn to exit the corridor.
"If it's going to add to the traffic, I'm not happy about it," one driver said.
"14th Street, I see cars on it all the time. Where's the people to stop them from doing it?" Upper East Side resident Bruce Byers said.
14th Street busway shows encouraging results, DOT says
The DOT says it has seen encouraging results from the 14th Street busway, which has been in effect since 2019. The city says bus speeds increased by up to 24%, and crashes have decreased by 42%.
"People are lining up to get on the bus, so that is so cool, what they're actually doing," tourist Eldrick Briscoe said.
The Trucking Association of New York says it partnered with the DOT on the initial plan and this is "making it possible for trucks to deliver more reliable service."
Mamdani campaigned on making buses free.
"Are the buses going to be free?" Midtown resident John VanBeber asked.
The answer, for now, remains no.
Back in the fall, the project was halted because the Trump administration threatened to withhold federal funding for it, citing concerns about its impact to freight traffic and vehicle access. A spokesman for Mamdani said the city has "been in active communication with the federal government regarding their concerns."
CBS News New York has reached out to the Federal Highway Administration for comment on the 34th Street busway, but we haven't heard back.
