Quick snapshot
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s promise to make buses less glacial just took a big step forward: the city is moving ahead with a long-delayed redo of Madison Avenue to give buses their own space and shave minutes off commutes for a lot of people.
The plan in plain English
By the end of the year, double bus lanes will be stretched south from 42nd Street down to 23rd Street. That redesign is aimed at helping roughly 92,000 riders who use local and express buses along that corridor every day.
Why this actually matters
Madison below 42nd is notoriously slow — buses there average about 4.5 mph, which is barely faster than a brisk walk and well below the citywide bus average of roughly 8.1 mph. Faster buses mean fewer people standing around waiting and more time for things like coffee, naps, or pretending to read a book.
What the street will look like
The new layout carves out two lanes exclusively for buses. There will still be one general traffic lane, and a second lane that switches between parking and driving depending on rush-hour needs. The idea is to match the street to how people actually use it — more than half of travelers on this stretch get around by bus.
How this fits with other efforts
City officials say this move builds on speed gains already seen inside the congestion-pricing zone (Manhattan below 60th Street). Think of it as stacking small wins: congestion pricing nudges traffic patterns, dedicated lanes lock in faster bus trips.
A bit of history and a paint-related pause
The project was first proposed in 2025 but got put on ice during the final year of the previous administration after the city missed its last chance to do the street painting. That delay is now over and the redesign is back on track.
What advocates and leaders are saying
Supporters cheered the restart. City transportation officials pointed to nearby projects — like the Fifth Avenue redesign — that already produced measurable speed boosts for buses. Transit advocates stressed that buses are the unsung workhorses of the city, and faster service gives riders real back their time.
Proof from nearby streets
The Fifth Avenue makeover is one example officials like to cite: adding double bus lanes there helped local routes run up to about 12% faster and express buses see gains around 20% — the kind of improvement that turns a missed-connection panic into a slightly annoyed sigh.
Bottom line and timeline
Expect the new bus lanes to be in by year-end. For nearly 100,000 daily riders on Madison Avenue, that could mean shorter, more reliable trips — and fewer opportunities to practice patience in the cold.
