City transportation officials on Thursday promised to one day install a seat at every bus stop in the city, giving riders a place to rest their legs while they wait for the MTA’s notoriously slow service.
Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said the department reached a $40 million agreement to add 875 benches at bus stops each year through 2035, eventually bringing seating to all the roughly 14,000 stops.
The benches have arm rests that prevent people from laying down across them, part of a “hostile architecture” trend that deters homeless people from sleeping in public spaces. At bus stops where there isn’t enough space for a bench, transportation department officials said they would install metal bars that riders can lean on.
“This is not a privilege. This is a human right,” Rodriguez said. “ We have to take care of the big things and the small things, and it is the small things, the details that make a difference in so many New Yorkers lives.”
New York City’s buses have remained among the slowest in the nation during Mayor Eric Adams’ time in office. The mayor has repeatedly nixed or delayed bus lane projects across the city designed to speed up service, and has never complied with a law passed in 2019 mandating the city install 30 miles of new bus lanes each year.
The buses themselves are operated by the state-run MTA, but the city is responsible for the streets and traffic patterns that slow them down.