eye on the news
Bus to Nowhere
The Port Authority’s latest bus terminal plan meets every need—except that of practicality.
New York
Infrastructure and energy
The Port Authority recently unveiled its latest proposal in the long-running saga to replace its midtown bus terminal with a new, state-of-the-art facility. There’s no doubt that it needs to be replaced. It’s rundown, lacks access for the disabled, doesn’t accommodate articulated or double-decker buses, and can’t meet current needs, much less projected passenger growth.
Recognizing the need to replace the terminal is one thing; figuring out how to do it has been the problem. The bus terminal’s location, on Eighth Avenue between West 40th and West 42nd Streets, was the outcome of a late 1940s political fight between the Port Authority and master builder Robert Moses. (Moses, who wanted to expand the Greyhound terminal near Penn Station, lost that battle.) The site is ideal because it sits adjacent to the Times Square/Eighth Avenue subway complex, offering New Jersey commuters access to numerous subway lines to make the final leg of their journey to work. At the same time, it provides direct ramps into the Lincoln Tunnel, allowing the tunnel and the terminal to function as a single transportation system funneling buses into and out of Manhattan.