Overview:
Flatbush Avenue is among five corridors selected for New York City’s next generation of rapid bus service under a joint city-state plan announced by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul. The route is expected to receive dedicated bus lanes, upgraded stations and frequent all-day service, with completion targeted for 2030. Brooklyn will see two other priority corridors along Church and Utica avenues.
Flatbush Avenue is among five corridors selected for New York City’s next generation of rapid bus service, under a joint plan announced Wednesday by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The plan, called “Next Stop: Fast Buses, Better Service,” is a partnership between the city Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. It targets 50 priority bus corridors across the five boroughs, with the goal of speeding up bus service by 20% and cutting commute times by as much as six minutes each way. The city has committed $254 million in expense funding and $628 million in capital funding over five years.
Flatbush Avenue was one of five corridors — along with routes in the Bronx, Queens and Kensington-JFK spanning Brooklyn and Queens — chosen for dedicated, protected bus lanes, upgraded stations with shelters, and frequent all-day service. Work on the rapid route is expected to begin this year, with completion targeted for 2030. Brooklyn will also see two other priority corridors, along Church Avenue and Utica Avenue, according to the announcement.
Rendering of a future rapid transit corridor in New York City. Courtesy of NYC DOT.
Buses in New York City currently average about 8 mph, making them the slowest of any major U.S. system, even though they carry more daily riders — 2.75 million trips — than the bus systems of Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Philadelphia combined, officials said. City officials noted that bus riders are disproportionately working-class, women and people of color, and are more likely than subway riders to live in households earning less than $100,000 a year.
City Council Member Rita Joseph, who chairs the Council’s Committee on Higher Education, said the investment would benefit students and families who rely on buses to get around. “Buses are not a last resort — they are a lifeline,” Joseph said, adding that a more reliable system means “shorter commutes, greater economic opportunity and a stronger, more equitable city.”
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso said he was pleased the borough would receive three of the priority corridors, calling the Flatbush, Church and Utica Avenue routes areas “that have long been plagued by slow bus service.”
Courtesy of NYC DOT.
Beyond the new rapid routes, the plan calls for the MTA to purchase roughly 2,500 new buses — about 40% of its fleet — through its five-year, $68 billion capital program. All-door boarding is set to be phased in starting in 2027, a change officials say will cut down on time buses spend idling at stops.
The plan also includes citywide accessibility and comfort upgrades: 300 new bus shelters by 2028, seating added at 875 stops annually through 2035, and an expansion of real-time passenger information displays from 90 installed this year to 2,900 by 2030.
To keep bus lanes clear, the city plans to expand automated camera enforcement to 25 additional routes each year in 2026 and 2027, and add 200 stationary bus lane cameras by 2027. The NYPD will also expand targeted bus lane enforcement from 14 to 20 corridors this year. Officials said the camera enforcement already in place has increased bus speeds by up to 30% and reduced collisions by 20 percent.
Transit advocacy groups welcomed the announcement. Betsy Plum, executive director of the Riders Alliance, said the plan reflects organizing by bus riders who “won a visionary plan for fast buses.” Ben Furnas of Transportation Alternatives said the plan sets a high bar given that more than 2 million riders’ commutes are at stake.
City officials said they would release performance data six to 12 months after individual projects are completed to track effects on travel times and reliability.
