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Transportation & Environment
Application by inter-city bus operator Ades Transit for a bus stop on the east side of 8th Avenue between West 39th and 40th Streets
WHEREAS, Applicant Ades Transit seeks approval from the Department of Transportation ("DOT") of an Application to operate an inter-city bus service between New York City and North Bergen, New Jersey on the east side of Eighth Avenue between West 39th and West 40th Streets; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant proposes five (5) daily pickups on Mondays – Fridays, between the hours of 8:00 AM and 12:00 PM and five (5) daily drop offs on Mondays – Fridays, between the hours of 7:30 AM and 10:30 PM; and
WHEREAS, The Port Authority Bus Terminal currently operates at or above capacity; and
WHEREAS, In response, several companies began offering low cost inter-city bus services from on-street pickup and drop off locations without formal authorization from DOT; and
WHEREAS, Without regulation, a high concentration of inter-city bus services developed in certain areas of midtown Manhattan, quickly resulting in increased sidewalk congestion, traffic gridlock, and increased on-street bus parking and double parking, all of which combined to create safety concerns for drivers, pedestrians, local business owners, and residents; and
WHEREAS, The State Legislature adopted Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1642-a in 2013 to address these concerns, empowering DOT to create a permitting system; and
WHEREAS, This law authorizes the City to:
- Prohibit inter-city buses from loading or unloading passengers on City streets, except at designated on-street bus stop locations;
- Require inter-city bus owners and/or operators to submit an application for each proposed on-street bus stop location;
- Establish criteria for assigning on-street bus stop locations, including traffic considerations and the applicant's preferences;
- Provide for consultation with the local Community Board and, where appropriate, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey;
- Authorize DOT to issue inter-city bus permits and to charge a fee;
- Provide for the relocation of an existing permitted on-street bus stop, upon 90-day notice to the permit holder and the local Community Board;
- Grandfather existing inter-city bus services that currently have designated on-street bus stop locations, by granting a permit to continue to use those locations for up to three years; and
WHEREAS, The proposed location currently serves as a bus stop for Alpha American, LLC, another inter-city bus operator; and
WHEREAS, Community Board Five ("CB5") examined this location for another Applicant in early 2017 and determined it to be inappropriate for an additional large-scale inter-city bus operator, but could accommodate a small service; and
WHEREAS, CB5 approved this location in April of 2017 as a pickup and drop off location for Indus Ways, as that operator's Application would minimally impact the surrounding neighborhood, as it proposed only one (1) daily pickup and one (1) daily drop off and involved a "reverse commute," intending to pick up passengers in Manhattan in the morning and to drop off passengers in the afternoon; and
WHEREAS, Ultimately, Indus Ways declined to use the location for its operation; and
WHEREAS, The current Applicant proposes a dramatically more involved operation, which includes adding an additional ten (10) buses stopping to drop off or pick up passengers at this location each day; and
WHEREAS, As CB5 previously determined, the proposed location cannot safely support the addition of a large number of buses; therefore be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends denial of Ades Transit's application to the New York City Department of Transportation ("DOT") for on-street bus stop at 618 8th Avenue (39th/40th).