Mamdani’s Bold Bus Lane Gamble: Will City Hall Deliver Relief?

Paul Riverbank, 1/12/2026Madison Ave’s expanded bus lanes promise faster commutes—if City Hall can finally deliver results.

To most of the 92,000-odd people who board buses along this stretch, the math is simple: stuck buses equal lost hours. School runs, late arrivals at work, doctor’s appointments missed—those four-mile-an-hour rides south of Grand Central have bred enough stories to fill a city block. "We're not just talking statistics," Deputy Mayor Julia Kerson observed at a recent press conference. “For a lot of people, a delayed bus doesn’t just mean frustration. It means consequences: showing up late for a shift, picking up your kid after everyone else is gone.”

Mike Flynn—Mamdani’s pick for DOT commissioner—stood at the corner of 42nd Street, his remarks less polished than passionate. “The mayor made it clear: our streets need to be world-class. No more half-steps.” Flynn said that turning Madison Avenue into a genuine corridor for fast buses isn’t some experiment. “Look north of here. When Fifth Avenue got its double-lane treatment, buses didn’t just improve on paper. Riders noticed—buses ran noticeably quicker, express lines shaved off minutes. That’s time back in people’s pockets.”

Here’s what’s on the table: Two bus-only lanes stretched alongside regular traffic and a parking/flexible lane, mirroring what’s already sped things up north of 42nd. City engineers say this formula works even when Midtown’s streets are jammed at lunchtime and after-school pick-up. The Q32, the M1, the M2, and its sister lines snake through both residential blocks and corporate canyons—a living artery of workers, parents, students, nurses headed to shifts at nearby hospitals.

As hurried New Yorkers know, policy talk is easy—delivering on it is a different matter. The city hopes the repainting and lane install will wrap up before year’s end, though an uncooperative autumn could gum up progress. “Paint loves a dry day,” Flynn quipped, drawing a few knowing smiles.

Of course, the stakes run beyond Madison Avenue. The DOT’s list of “next up” projects—McGuinness Boulevard in Brooklyn, 31st Street in Queens—reflects the backlog of transit improvements critics say have gathered dust too long. And for the state’s Congestion Pricing plan, reliable buses aren’t just a quality-of-life upgrade—they’re crucial if officials want New Yorkers to actually consider leaving their cars behind.

In the words of Betsy Plum, who’s spent years with the Riders Alliance lobbying for bolder transit fixes: “This is the kind of real, on-the-ground movement we’ve needed for years. We know buses can get stuck behind delivery vans or—worse—double-parked cars for ten, twenty blocks at a time. We’re not asking for miracles. Just paint. Just enforcement.”

The pressure is on. Local business advocates, like Manhattan Borough President Brad Will, see bus upgrades as a basic investment. “If your front door is in the commercial core,” he told me, “reliable mass transit is non-negotiable. Tie slow buses directly to lost foot traffic, missed sales. It’s all connected.”

So by the time holiday shoppers crowd into Midtown—or sooner, if the weather cooperates—the buses on Madison could finally travel at speeds worthy of a city perpetually in motion. For tens of thousands who every day already measure their lives in stops and starts, the real proof will be in the waiting: Will the city follow through, or will this be one more good idea that never quite outruns the traffic?

This fall, the scatter of blue-and-white city buses crawling down Madison Avenue just might give New Yorkers something rare: a glimpse of rush-hour relief. After years of start-and-stop promises, Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration is moving forward with a plan some daily commuters thought might never leave the drawing board—extending the double bus lanes almost 20 more blocks, straight through the heart of Midtown.To most of the 92,000-odd people who board buses along this stretch, the math is simple: stuck buses equal lost hours. School runs, late arrivals at work, doctor’s appointments missed—those four-mile-an-hour rides south of Grand Central have bred enough stories to fill a city block. "We're not just talking statistics," Deputy Mayor Julia Kerson observed at a recent press conference. “For a lot of people, a delayed bus doesn’t just mean frustration. It means consequences: showing up late for a shift, picking up your kid after everyone else is gone.”Mike Flynn—Mamdani’s pick for DOT commissioner—stood at the corner of 42nd Street, his remarks less polished than passionate. “The mayor made it clear: our streets need to be world-class. No more half-steps.” Flynn said that turning Madison Avenue into a genuine corridor for fast buses isn’t some experiment. “Look north of here. When Fifth Avenue got its double-lane treatment, buses didn’t just improve on paper. Riders noticed—buses ran noticeably quicker, express lines shaved off minutes. That’s time back in people’s pockets.”Here’s what’s on the table: Two bus-only lanes stretched alongside regular traffic and a parking/flexible lane, mirroring what’s already sped things up north of 42nd. City engineers say this formula works even when Midtown’s streets are jammed at lunchtime and after-school pick-up. The Q32, the M1, the M2, and its sister lines snake through both residential blocks and corporate canyons—a living artery of workers, parents, students, nurses headed to shifts at nearby hospitals.As hurried New Yorkers know, policy talk is easy—delivering on it is a different matter. The city hopes the repainting and lane install will wrap up before year’s end, though an uncooperative autumn could gum up progress. “Paint loves a dry day,” Flynn quipped, drawing a few knowing smiles.Of course, the stakes run beyond Madison Avenue. The DOT’s list of “next up” projects—McGuinness Boulevard in Brooklyn, 31st Street in Queens—reflects the backlog of transit improvements critics say have gathered dust too long. And for the state’s Congestion Pricing plan, reliable buses aren’t just a quality-of-life upgrade—they’re crucial if officials want New Yorkers to actually consider leaving their cars behind.In the words of Betsy Plum, who’s spent years with the Riders Alliance lobbying for bolder transit fixes: “This is the kind of real, on-the-ground movement we’ve needed for years. We know buses can get stuck behind delivery vans or—worse—double-parked cars for ten, twenty blocks at a time. We’re not asking for miracles. Just paint. Just enforcement.”The pressure is on. Local business advocates, like Manhattan Borough President Brad Will, see bus upgrades as a basic investment. “If your front door is in the commercial core,” he told me, “reliable mass transit is non-negotiable. Tie slow buses directly to lost foot traffic, missed sales. It’s all connected.”So by the time holiday shoppers crowd into Midtown—or sooner, if the weather cooperates—the buses on Madison could finally travel at speeds worthy of a city perpetually in motion. For tens of thousands who every day already measure their lives in stops and starts, the real proof will be in the waiting: Will the city follow through, or will this be one more good idea that never quite outruns the traffic?