Veronica Vanterpool of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign recently took Streetfilms for a journey on the Bx12 Select Bus Service (SBS) instituted last year on Fordham Road in the Bronx. Travel time on the route has been cut by 20 percent thanks to the improvements, and commuters we spoke with certainly sang its praises. A recent report showed the SBS is carrying 30 percent more riders than the line it replaced, and a NYC Transit rider report card found 98 percent of users rated it satisfactory or very satisfactory.

It uses some of the elements of Bus Rapid Transit - pre-boarding so buses load faster, it has limited stops, features buses that look different then standard MTA buses, and it has a painted terra cotta lane which cars are supposed to avoid. However, since the lane is not physically separated from traffic, there are periodic problems with illegally parked vehicles. Still, based upon its success (come on 98% approval is pretty incredible!) NYC is looking at other areas to expand to with similar treatments.