New York Laws
Article 39 - Regulation of Traffic by Cities and Villages
1642-A - Bus Permit System in Cities Having a Population of One Million or More.

(i) mass transportation services provided to the general public by any
public benefit corporation constituting a transportation authority, or a
subsidiary thereof, or any public transportation corporation constituted
as an instrumentality of a state, or a subsidiary thereof, directly or
through a contact with another entity, or
(ii) mass transportation services provided to the general public by
any county, city, town or village directly or through a contract with
another entity pursuant to section one hundred nineteen-r of the general
municipal law, or provided to the general public by another state or any
county, city, town or village in a state other than New York directly or
through a contract with another entity pursuant to a similar law of such
other state.
2. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any city
having a population of one million or more may prohibit intercity buses
from loading or unloading passengers on streets within such city except
on designated streets and at designated locations on such streets
pursuant to a permit in accordance with the provisions of this section.
3. The mayor of such city which acts pursuant to subdivision two of
this section shall designate an agency to promulgate rules to implement
this section. Such city agency shall promulgate such rules which shall
comply with chapter forty-five of the New York city charter including a
public hearing. Such rules shall:
a. Establish a system of permits for allocating locations on
designated streets where intercity buses may load and unload passengers,
and prohibit loading and unloading of passengers other than at such
designated locations on such designated streets pursuant to a permit;
b. Require the owner or operator of an intercity bus to submit an
application for a permit for each proposed location for loading and
unloading of passengers. Such application shall include the following
information:
(i) The name, address, telephone number, e-mail address and motor
carrier number of the intercity bus owner or operator, the United States
department of transportation number and/or New York state department of
transportation number for each bus that would use such proposed
location;
(ii) A proposed location or locations to be used by the specified
intercity buses for loading or unloading passengers, and two or more
alternative proposed locations;
(iii) The number of intercity buses that would use the proposed
location or locations;
(iv) The number of passengers anticipated for each such intercity bus;
(v) The proposed intercity bus schedule;
(vi) The planned garage or parking location of the intercity buses
during periods when such buses are not being used; and
(vii) Any other information deemed necessary by the commissioner of
the city agency designated pursuant to this subdivision.
c. Establish criteria for assigning locations to permit applicants,
which shall include traffic and safety considerations, the preferences
of the applicant, consultation with the local community board as
provided in paragraph b of subdivision four of this section and other
criteria deemed appropriate by the commissioner of such city agency;
d. Provide that such permit shall be issued for a term of up to three
years, except that such city may relocate a designated location for the
loading and unloading of passengers by an intercity bus, upon ninety
days notice to the holder of a permit and after consultation with the
local community board as provided in paragraph b of subdivision four of
this section, pursuant to the criteria established in accordance with
paragraph c of this subdivision;
e. Include criteria under which intercity bus owners or operators
assigned a designated location for loading and unloading passengers
prior to the effective date of this section shall be issued a permit to
use such location for the loading and unloading of passengers for a
period of up to three years from the effective date of this section;
f. Establish a timeframe of up to one hundred fifty days for
determinations on permit applications, and a process for reviewing the
determination on the application;
g. Require intercity bus owners or operators to notify such city
agency of changes to information provided in such permit application;
h. Require intercity bus owners or operators to prominently display a
copy of the permit in each intercity bus;
i. Require the posting of all approved applications on a website for
public access by such city agency within thirty days of approval;
j. Include such other requirements as are deemed appropriate by the
commissioner of such city agency;
k. Set forth a schedule of fines or civil penalties for violations of
the rules by owners or operators of intercity buses, including for
loading or unloading passengers on a city street without a permit or for
failure to comply with any permit requirements or restrictions, provided
that such fines or civil penalties shall not be more than one thousand
dollars for a first violation, and not be more than two thousand five
hundred dollars for a second or subsequent violation within two years of
the first violation; and
1. Provide for the suspension or revocation of a permit for failure to
comply with any permit requirements or restrictions.
Such rules also may provide for the imposition of an annual fee for
such permit to cover administrative expenses, not to exceed two hundred
seventy-five dollars per vehicle.
4. The city agency designated pursuant to subdivision three of this
section to promulgate rules shall:
a. Have the authority to designate streets and locations where the
loading or unloading of passengers by intercity buses shall be
permitted;

b. Consult with the local community board for the district
encompassing the location to be designated in a permit, including but
not limited to a notice and comment period of forty-five days, prior to
the issuance or permanent amendment of such permit;
c. Consult with the metropolitan transportation authority when a
proposed location or relocation for the loading and unloading of
passengers by an intercity bus would overlap with an existing
metropolitan transportation authority bus stop;
d. Consult with the port authority of New York and New Jersey when a
proposed location or relocation for the loading and unloading of
passengers by an intercity bus would overlap with an existing port
authority of New York and New Jersey bus facility.
e. Post all locations designated for the loading and unloading of
passengers by intercity bus on a website for public access within thirty
days of approval; and
f. Have the authority to temporarily amend any approved location for a
period of up to ninety days for reasons of public safety or other
emergency or temporary need as determined by such city agency without
prior consultation with the local community board; provided that such
city agency informs the affected community board in writing no more than
thirty days after any such temporary amendment.
5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in addition to those
persons otherwise authorized to enforce any rules promulgated pursuant
to this section and adjudicate violations thereof pursuant to article
two-A or two-B of this chapter, this section shall also be enforceable
by an agency or agencies designated for such purpose by the mayor of
such city, and notices of violation issued by such agency or agencies
shall be returnable to the environmental control board of such city,
which shall have the power to impose the civil penalties herein
provided. All proceedings before the environmental control board and any
enforcement proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with
subdivision d of section one thousand forty-nine-a of the New York city
charter and the rules of the environmental control board, except that
service of a notice of violation of any rule promulgated pursuant to
this section shall be made on the owner or operator of the intercity bus
involved in the violation (i) in the same manner as is prescribed for
service of process by article three of the civil practice law and rules
or article three of the business corporation law; (ii) by delivering
such notice to the operator of the intercity bus, and mailing a copy of
the notice to the owner or operator of the intercity bus, provided that
proof of such service shall be filed with the environmental control
board within twenty days, and service shall be complete ten days after
such filing; or (iii) by affixing such notice to the intercity bus, and
mailing a copy of the notice to the owner or operator of the intercity
bus, provided that proof of such service shall be filed with the
environmental control board within twenty days, and service shall be
complete ten days after such filing. Civil penalties may also be
recovered in a proceeding commenced in a court of competent
jurisdiction. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, such civil
penalties imposed by such environmental control board shall be paid into
the general fund of such city. Notwithstanding section one hundred
fifty-five of this chapter or any other provision of law, where a person
has been adjudicated to be in violation of any rules promulgated
pursuant to subdivision three of this section, such adjudication shall
not have the force and effect of a conviction of a traffic infraction or
of a violation of any provision of this chapter for any purpose not
specified in this section.