What a Tunnel Should Do: The Exclusive Bus Lane, Lincoln Tunnel, and the Port Authority Bus Terminal

'Defeating traffic is "the ultimate boss battle," claims the current wealthiest person in the world. It's a pretty debatable claim, but traffic congestion and delay is definitely a nemesis for people who live in many areas of New Jersey and have to contend with New York traffic every day to get to work. If you live and work near commuter train stations, PATH stations, or ferry terminals, you are probably managing to win the boss battle already (no Tesla tunnel required!).

But if you live in other outlying areas on the New Jersey side of one of the world's busiest cities, you don't have convenient train service. What you DO have, though, is access to what is probably the world's most effective peak hour bus system. In the weekday AM peak hours, buses from all over northern New Jersey converge on the Exclusive Bus Lane (XBL), which runs in a contraflow lane on Route 495, through the Lincoln Tunnel, and directly into the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

In this video we'll look at the history of the Port Authority Midtown Bus Terminal, the implementation of the XBL, and future plans for adding new capacity to bus terminal. Along the way we'll talk about the traffic dynamics of tunnels and portals, the person-throughput value of transit lanes, and the classism of how our nation views bus riders.

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Special thanks to YouTube channel Timosha21 for use of the XBL video!
Check out the channel:    / timosha21  
Original XBL video here:    • A Ride on the The Lincoln Tunnel Excl...  

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Other CityNerd Videos referenced:
- Urbanist Ballparks:    • What Is Urbanism? 2022's Top 10 Baseb...  
- Best Ferry Systems:    • Transit On the Water: Top 10 Ferry an...  
- Busiest Bridges and Tunnels:    • Busiest Bridges and Tunnels in the US...  

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Resources:
- Mode Capacity Graphic By Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI) - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
- FTA and PANYNJ Bus Terminal Replacement – Final Scoping Report – Appendix A (PDF, 9.5 MB): https://www.panynj.gov/content/dam/bu...
- FTA and PANYNJ Bus Terminal Replacement – Final NEPA Scoping Information Packet, January 20, 2022 (PDF, 1.6 MB): https://www.panynj.gov/content/dam/bu...
- Trans Hudson Commuting Capacity Study Appendices: https://www.panynj.gov/content/dam/bu...
- Trans Hudson Commuting Capacity Study Summary Report: https://www.panynj.gov/content/dam/bu...
- Port Authority Terminals: https://www.panynj.gov/bus-terminals/...
- Port Authority history: https://www.panynj.gov/bus-terminals/...
- NJ Transit bus schedules: https://www.njtransit.com/bus-to

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Image Credits:
- Penn Station Greyhound Terminal By Berenice Abbott - Flickr: Greyhound Bus Terminal, 33rd and 34th Streets between Sevent... New York Public Library, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
- NY gridlock video Video by Life-Of-Vids from Pixabay

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Music:
CityNerd background: Caipirinha in Hawaii by Carmen María and Edu Espinal (YouTube music library)

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