New Yorkers waiting for the bus will soon have more places to sit.
Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday announced a $40 million investment to install seating at every city bus stop that sits on public property and has sufficient space.
The initiative, led by the city’s Department of Transportation, will bring benches or leaning bars to around 8,750 bus stops across the five boroughs that currently lack seating, City Hall said in a release.
What You Need To Know
The city is investing $40 million to bring seating to all eligible bus stops over the next decade
The Department of Transportation will install about 875 benches or leaning bars each year starting in November
Officials say the effort aims to make public transit more accessible for older adults, families and people with disabilities
Starting in November, seating will be added at about 875 bus stops each year over the next decade, while maintaining existing benches and leaning bars.
City officials described the initiative as a “monumental” upgrade to make transportation more accessible for older adults, parents with young children and people with disabilities.
“To make New York City the best place to raise a family, and grow old in we have to take care of the big things and the small things,” Adams said in a statement. “This $40 million investment will ensure that every eligible bus stop across the five boroughs that lacks seating will be fitted, every year over the next 10 years, with either a bench or a leaning bar.”
DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez noted that the initiative will help make buses more accessible overall.
“For many New Yorkers, having a place to sit at the bus stop is more than just a matter of comfort, it’s a matter of whether they can take the bus at all,” he said in a statement.
According to city data, nearly two-thirds of eligible bus stops currently do not have seating.
More than 5,000 bus stops citywide do already have some form of seating, the release noted.