The state Department of Transportation has received a $10 million federal grant to fund the development and implementation of a bus rapid transit system across the new Tappan Zee Bridge, according to the office of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
The grant, which is about half of what the state applied for earlier this year, was awarded Oct. 26 by the U.S. Department of Transportation through its Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery program.
Bus rapid transit is an efficiency strategy that includes dedicated bus lanes and traffic-signal priority to prevent frequent red light stops.
The governor said the increase in mass transit options will help reduce traffic and congestion in the region. There are about 13,700 daily commuters from Rockland to Westchester.
U.S. Rep. Nita M. Lowey, a Democrat who represents parts of Westchester and Rockland counties, sent a letter in July to Anthony Foxx, the federal transportation secretary, pointing out that public transportation is vital to the region and a bus rapid transit plan would make east-west travel more accessible to residents and commuters.
In February 2014, a 31-member mass transit task force released a report saying bus rapid transit should run across the new bridge, which is a $3.9 billion project designed to support public transit including a bus or rail system. The group outlined a roughly $160 million plan for seven new bus rapid transit lines dispersed between Westchester, Rockland and the Bronx counties.
Three of the seven suggested lines would run across the new Tappan Zee Bridge.
Marsha Gordon, CEO and president of The Business Council of Westchester and a member of the task force, told the Business Journal previously bus rapid transit would be available when the new Tappan Zee Bridge opens in 2018.
The rapid transit bus lines are one portion of the mass transit task force”™s 2014 plan. Other components include updating existing bus lines in the counties, additional studies and making upgrades to the White Plains Metro-North train station, which is currently being studied by a consultant for the city to determine its potential as a multimodal transportation hub.
The task force”™s total plan is estimated to cost around $402 million.
