The unfranchised buses operating in new york city are certified by the interstate commerce commission and new york state dot. They are not subject to the city's extensive review process, which attempts to balance traffic, economics, and community impacts. These buses, in their operations as commuter expresses, atlantic city specials, charters, and tour buses, provide a valuable service to their passengers; however, they also add to congestion throughout manhattan. Unfranchised buses account for about a fifth of all buses entering manhattan streets south of 63rd street. Their growth is a direct result of the federal and state deregulation of intercity bus operations inthe early 1980s. In this paper, short-term actions are suggested toimprove the operation of unfranchised buses within the existing legal framework. For the long term, the authors suggest legislative changes that exempt the city from interstate commerce commission control over intrastate bus services operated by interstate carriers. Theyalso suggest that further legislative changes in other large metropolitan areas may redress the balance between federal and local control of intrastate bus service. This paper appears in transportation research record no. 1221, Research in bus and rail transit operations.
Abstract