The Straphanger's Campaign, Transportation Alternatives, and the Tri-State Transportation Campaign sent a letter to Mayor Giuliani last week urging him to take strong and immediate action to speed up travel for the city's 2.5 million bus riders. New York City holds the dubious record for the slowest buses in the U.S. Speedier, more reliable service would encourage more people to get out of their cars and onto public transit, further easing congestion for buses and other vehicles.

The letter asked the Mayor to task city agencies with attaining the following five-year goals: expand the number of bus-only lanes throughout the city, give buses priority at bottlenecked traffic signals, redesign bus stops to discourage parking and adequately fund strict enforcement against motorists blocking bus stops and bus lanes.