Busway (NYC): Meaning and Rules for Taxis

Busway: a street where, during posted hours, only buses (and on most busways, trucks and emergency vehicles) may drive the whole length. Other vehicles, "such as taxis and cars, are allowed local access but generally only from side streets, and vehicles must leave the corridor at the next required turn per the posted signage" (NYC DOT Busways, read October 12, 2026). For a TLC driver, that means you may drive onto a busway block to reach the curb, but you may not use it as a through street.

Local access: how it works on 14th Street

Manhattan's 14th Street busway, between 3rd and 9th Avenues, is the best-known example. DOT's rules for it (NYC DOT 14th Street):

So a taxi can turn onto 14th Street from an avenue, let a passenger out at the curb, and then must turn right at the next street. Driving straight from 9th Avenue to 3rd Avenue at 3 PM is what the busway forbids.

Hours differ by busway

DOT's busway list gives each corridor its own hours. Examples: 14th Street runs 6 AM–10 PM daily; 181st Street in Manhattan 6 AM–8 PM daily; Jamaica Avenue in Queens 6 AM–8 PM daily; Jay Street in Brooklyn 7 AM–7 PM weekdays; Archer Avenue (eastbound) and Fulton Street in Brooklyn run 24 hours. Some busways, like Archer Avenue, allow no parking or loading at all. The full corridor table is in bus lanes, busways and ACE cameras. Always read the sign at the entry.

Cameras

On 14th Street, DOT says "automated cameras along 14th Street monitor proper use of the busway and NYPD traffic agents may also issue summonses." DOT's stationary street cameras are "effective at capturing drivers illegally driving in bus lanes and busways," while bus-mounted ACE cameras focus on parking and standing (NYC DOT Enforcement). Camera tickets go to the vehicle's registered owner.

Where you will see this term

• On the signs at each busway entry, which give the hours and turn rules.
• In DOT project pages and community board notices.
• In a passenger's request ("drop me on 14th Street") that decides which way you enter.

Common mix-ups

• Busway vs bus lane. A bus lane is one lane, and you may enter it to turn right, reach a driveway within 200 feet, or quickly drop off or pick up. A busway limits the whole street to through traffic. See can I drop off passengers in a bus lane.
• "FHVs are allowed." For-hire vehicles get the same local access as other cars, not through access. DOT's planned 34th Street busway page says so directly: local traffic, "including for-hire vehicles," will be allowed to turn onto it from a side street "but must turn at next available right."
• Taxi stand on a busway block. Stand and curb signs still apply; see taxi stand. Hotel curbs follow their own signs too: see hotel loading zones.

More street rules on the places hub.