Maria Rodriguez checks her phone for the third time as she waits at the Fordham Road bus stop. The Bx12 is running late again, packed with commuters heading home from their shifts in Manhattan. She’s been making this same journey for eight years, watching as traffic crawls along one of the Bronx’s busiest corridors.
For Maria and thousands like her, the promise of faster bus service on Fordham Road has been a long time coming. But now, that promise has become the center of a heated debate between Mayor Zohran Mamdani and some of the city’s most influential transit advocates.
The controversy? Mamdani’s decision to pursue Fordham Road bus lanes instead of the more ambitious busway plan that advocacy groups had been pushing for years.
Why Transit Advocates Are Drawing Battle Lines
When Mayor Mamdani announced his plan to resurrect bus improvements on Fordham Road last Friday, one major voice was conspicuously absent from the celebration. Riders Alliance, the transit advocacy group that has championed bus priority projects across the city, deliberately skipped the event held at West Farms Bus Depot.
The reason runs deeper than simple disagreement over transit policy. According to internal emails shared with amNewYork, Riders Alliance viewed Mamdani’s bus lane proposal as a significant step backward from the comprehensive busway they had been advocating for under the previous Adams administration.
“We can’t celebrate half-measures when New Yorkers deserve real solutions,” said Danny Pearlstein, a transit policy expert familiar with the situation. “The difference between bus lanes and a dedicated busway isn’t just technical – it’s the difference between minor improvements and transformational change.”
The tension highlights a broader challenge facing Mamdani’s administration as it tries to balance ambitious transit goals with political and financial realities. Fordham Road, which stretches across the Bronx and serves as a critical east-west connection, has been plagued by slow bus service for decades.
Breaking Down the Transit Solutions
Understanding why this debate matters requires looking at what each option actually delivers for riders. The differences between Mamdani’s bus lanes and the advocates’ preferred busway aren’t just academic – they translate into real time savings and service improvements for daily commuters.
| Feature | Bus Lanes (Mamdani Plan) | Dedicated Busway (Advocates’ Plan) |
|---|---|---|
| Physical Separation | Paint and flexible posts | Concrete barriers or curbing |
| Car Access | Limited restrictions | Complete vehicle separation |
| Implementation Cost | $2-5 million | $15-25 million |
| Expected Time Savings | 10-15% | 25-40% |
| Construction Timeline | 6-12 months | 2-3 years |
The key advantages of Mamdani’s approach include:
- Faster implementation that could improve service within months
- Lower upfront costs that don’t require extensive city budget negotiations
- Less disruptive construction process for local businesses
- Flexibility to adjust the design based on real-world performance
However, transit advocates argue that these short-term benefits come at the cost of long-term effectiveness. “Bus lanes that cars can still access aren’t really bus lanes,” explained Betsy Plum, a transportation policy analyst. “Without physical barriers, you’re just creating expensive paint that drivers will ignore during rush hour.”
Real People, Real Impact on Daily Commutes
For the 85,000 daily riders who depend on Fordham Road bus service, this policy debate translates into concrete changes in their daily lives. The corridor serves some of the city’s most transit-dependent neighborhoods, where car ownership rates are among the lowest in New York.
Current conditions on Fordham Road tell the story of why any improvement matters. Buses regularly get stuck in traffic, with average speeds dropping below 6 mph during peak hours. What should be a 20-minute trip from the Grand Concourse to the Bronx Zoo often stretches to 45 minutes or more.
“Every minute matters when you’re juggling multiple jobs and trying to get home to your kids,” said Mike Flynn, a Bronx resident who has been following the transit discussions closely. “But if we’re going to invest in improvements, shouldn’t we do it right the first time?”
The mayor’s office argues that incremental progress beats perfect plans that never get built. Mamdani’s approach acknowledges the political reality that major infrastructure projects often face years of delays and budget battles.
Transit advocates counter that this thinking perpetuates a cycle of underinvestment in public transportation, particularly in communities of color that depend most heavily on bus service. They point to successful busway projects like the 14th Street Busway in Manhattan as proof that ambitious transit infrastructure can work when properly implemented.
The disagreement also reflects different theories about how to achieve lasting transit improvements. Some believe that starting with smaller projects builds political momentum for larger investments. Others argue that half-measures make it harder to justify future upgrades because officials can point to existing improvements as sufficient.
Business owners along Fordham Road have their own concerns about both proposals. Many worry about losing parking spaces and loading zones, regardless of whether the city implements basic bus lanes or a full busway. The mayor’s office has promised extensive community engagement, but details about how to balance competing needs remain unclear.
Looking ahead, the dispute between Mamdani and Riders Alliance may signal broader challenges in building consensus around transit policy. As the city faces budget constraints and competing infrastructure priorities, questions about how much to invest in bus improvements – and what form those improvements should take – will likely resurface across all five boroughs.
FAQs
What’s the main difference between bus lanes and a busway?
Bus lanes typically use paint and flexible posts to separate buses from traffic, while busways create physical barriers that completely prevent cars from entering bus-only areas.
How long is Fordham Road and how many people use its buses daily?
Fordham Road stretches approximately 4.5 miles across the Bronx and serves about 85,000 daily bus riders on multiple routes.
Why did Riders Alliance skip Mayor Mamdani’s announcement?
The advocacy group opposed Mamdani’s bus lane proposal because they believe it’s insufficient compared to the dedicated busway they had been pushing for under the previous administration.
How much would each option cost taxpayers?
Bus lanes would cost an estimated $2-5 million to implement, while a dedicated busway could require $15-25 million in infrastructure investment.
When could riders see improvements on Fordham Road?
If approved, bus lanes could be implemented within 6-12 months, while a busway project would likely take 2-3 years to complete.
What other Bronx transit improvements has Mayor Mamdani announced?
Along with the Fordham Road bus lanes, Mamdani has announced plans to restore four bus routes in the South Bronx that were previously cut.
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