NYC DOT Completes Construction on Hillside Avenue Bus Lanes, Speeding Service for Over 215,000
Daily Riders on One of the Most Important Commuting Corridors in Queens
Buses on Hillside Avenue Move More Daily Passengers Than Entire Individual Transit Systems Like
PATH, NJ Transit Rail, or BART
Project Represents First Major Upgrade to the Existing Curbside Lanes, First Installed in 1969, in
More Than 50 Years
Image of new bus lanes installed on Hillside Avenue, delivering faster buses and shorter waits for
more than 215,000 daily bus riders. Credit: NYC DOT.
NEW YORK – New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez
today announced the agency completed construction of nearly eight miles of new and improved bus lanes on Hillside
Avenue in Queens, designed to deliver faster, more reliable bus service and shorter commutes for over 215,000 daily
riders on 22 bus routes along the corridor. More people utilize the buses on Hillside Avenue than the entire
populations of Yonkers or Rochester. The project is one of the agency’s longest bus priority projects in history,
bringing offset bus lanes from 139th Street to Springfield Boulevard, where buses previously traveled as slow as
four miles per hour.
“NYC DOT is changing the game, one bus lane at a time—and this redesign of Hillside Avenue brings consistent,
camera-enforced bus lanes across the corridor while freeing up curb space to support local shops with their
deliveries and customer access,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “We thank Mayor Adams
and the MTA for their support in improving this critical transit corridor for everyone who uses it.”
“Hillside Avenue bus lanes are a game changer for the more than 215,000 daily riders who rely on the 22 MTA buses
routes along this corridor to connect them with surrounding neighborhoods, other boroughs, the LIRR, subway, Jamaica
Bus Terminal and JFK Airport,” said MTA New York City Transit President Bernard Jackson. “We look
forward to continuing to work together with city partners to implement tools we know get buses moving safely,
reliably and efficiently.”
The Hillside Avenue bus priority project improves service for 215,000 daily bus riders along 22 Metropolitan
Transportation Authority (MTA) bus routes—in addition to another 21,000 daily riders along five Nassau Inter County
Express (NICE) bus routes—and improves connections to four nearby subway lines, the Long Island Rail Road, and the
JFK AirTrain. Buses on Hillside Avenue move more daily passengers than PATH, NJ Transit Rail, or BART. On its own,
the buses on Hillside Avenue would be the 18th largest transit system by ridership in the US.
Hillside Avenue intersects several neighborhoods of eastern Queens, including Briarwood, Jamaica, Hollis, and Queens
Village. The new bus lanes benefit the vast majority of nearby residents who commute to work by transit as well as
the vast majority of the people currently traveling on Hillside Avenue. About 60 percent of nearby residents take
transit to work and 83 percent of Hillside Avenue users are bus riders—even though buses were previously allocated
less than a third of the roadway space.
Before the new bus lane implementation, certain sections of Hillside Avenue featured curbside bus lanes in operation
during rush hours. These inconsistent curbside bus lanes were among the first ever installed in the city, in 1969,
and the 2025 project represents their first major upgrade in more than 50 years.
NYC DOT’s design features a parking lane on each side of the street, as well as one travel lane for vehicle traffic,
one lane for left turning vehicles, and one lane for bus traffic in each direction. The new offset bus lanes are in
effect 24 hours, seven days a week and enforced via the MTA’s Automated Camera Enforcement (ACE) system of
bus-mounted camera enforcement.
The eastbound bus lane runs from 144th Street to Springfield Boulevard. The westbound bus lane runs from 139th Street
to Springfield Boulevard.
The design speeds up bus service and also adds more than 600 parking and loading spaces to support customer and
delivery access to local businesses. Bus lanes installed between 2019 and 2024 have delivered meaningful gains—on
some routes, buses are now running up to 22 percent faster.
The project is the result of nearly 300 pedestrian surveys conducted in multiple languages, visits to more than 400
businesses and more than a dozen meetings with community boards, local elected officials, and other stakeholders.
“The completion of these new and improved bus lanes on Hillside Avenue will have a real positive impact on the lives
of the 215,000 people who ride the bus along this corridor each day,” said Queens Borough President Donovan
Richards Jr. “Riders here will no longer have to endure bus rides that seem to move at a snail’s pace.
These bus lanes will shorten commutes and allow for more reliable bus service, enabling riders to have more time to
spend with their families and pursue the interests they care about.”
“At last, Hillside Avenue bus riders are winning fast, reliable service,” said Riders Alliance Senior
Organizer Jolyse Race. “This transformative project will speed up buses, save lives, prevent injuries
and save time for 215,000 New Yorkers each day. More than just red paint, today’s announcement is living proof of
the strength of our movement to deliver what working people need and deserve. We’re grateful for the hard work and
determination of the Department of Transportation team and eager for what’s to come.”
“We’re thrilled to see NYC DOT’s new and improved bus lanes on Hillside Avenue in Queens,” said Ben Furnas,
executive director of Transportation Alternatives. “In Eastern Queens, buses are a lifeline, and these
new lanes will mean shorter commutes, less time waiting, and more dependable service for hundreds of thousands of
working New Yorkers. We look forward to continuing to work with DOT and community partners to make bus travel
faster, safer, and more comfortable for everyone — with improvements like shelters to keep riders cool and protected
from rain and snow, street trees that reduce heat, and designs that put riders first.”
“Regional Plan Association (RPA) joins NYCDOT in celebrating the expansion of dedicated bus lanes in Queens,” said
Tiffany-Ann Taylor, Vice President for Transportation at RPA. “Dedicating nearly eight miles of roadway
space to bus trips along Hillside Avenue is an important milestone in improving mobility options for local commuters and
the city at large. Offsetting bus lanes from through traffic also provides better curbside access for deliveries and
customer visits to local businesses. RPA has a long history of advocacy in support of faster, more efficient bus service
and applauds Commissioner Rodriguez for shepherding the agency in completing work on one the longest bus priority
projects in New York City history.”
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