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Transportation & Environment
Application by inter-city bus operator LX Transportation, LLC, for a bus stop for pick-ups only on West 37th Street at 7th Avenue, in front of 201 West 37th Street
At the regularly scheduled monthly Community Board Five meeting on Thursday, April 08, 2021, the following resolution passed with a vote of 34 in favor; 0 opposed; 1 abstaining:
WHEREAS, LX Transportation LLC (“Applicant”) seeks approval from the Department of Transportation (“DOT”) of an Application to operate a bus service between New York City and Virginia Beach, VA and Norfolk, VA on the northside of 37th Street west of 7th Avenue; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant proposes one (1) pick-up on Thursday and Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and two pick-ups (2) on Friday and Sunday at 3:30 p.m. and 6:45 p.m.; 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, Vision Tours Inc. and Sprinterbus use this location, which is currently allotted to them; and
WHEREAS, Vision Tours Inc. and Sprinterbus are the same bus company; and
WHEREAS, Vision Tours Inc. currently has 6:00 a.m. drop-offs Sunday through Saturday and 11 p.m. drop-offs Sunday, Monday Thursday and Friday at this location; and
WHEREAS, Vision Tours Inc. currently has 9 a.m. pick-ups Sunday, Monday, Thursday and Friday, and 4 p.m. pick-ups daily, and 11:59 p.m. pick-ups Sunday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at this location; and
WHEREAS, Sprinterbus has 11 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. departures from Norfolk, VA and Virginia Beach, VA which become the 6 a.m. drop-offs for Vision Tours Inc. at this location; and
WHEREAS, DOT inspected this location and considers it appropriate; and
WHEREAS, the Transportation and Environment Committee assessed this application and suggested that Applicant consider that its 3:30 p.m. pick-up times might conflict with Vision Tours 4 p.m. pick-up times; and
WHEREAS, Applicant agreed to reconsider its 3:30 p.m. pickup time and change its pick-up time to 3:00 p.m. if it conflicted with Vision Tours 4 p.m. pick-up time, including taking on the cost of an applying for an additional 3 p.m. permit to acquire the flexibility while agreeing never to use both concurrently; therefore be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends approval of LX Transportation LLCs application for a bus stop on 37th Street west of 7th Avenue as long as LX Transportation LLC’s 3:30 p.m. or revised 3:00 p.m. pick-up times do not conflict in any way with Vision Tours Inc. 4 p.m. pick-up times.