NYC’s Hottest Bus Stops: NASA DEVELOP and Transportation Alternatives Release New Report and Data Analysis
Only 20% of New York City’s bus stops have a shelter.
People living near the city’s hottest bus stops are 56% more likely to be Latino, 24% more likely to be Black, and 40% more likely to be non-white than people living within a quarter-mile of the coolest bus stops.
New York City has the slowest buses in the nation, and wait times often stretch past 30 minutes.
NEW YORK — Today, Transportation Alternatives is releasing a new report, Waiting for the Bus in New York City is Hot and Miserable. Here’s Why. TA, alongside the NASA DEVELOP Environmental Justice team, analyzed summer daytime temperature data at New York City bus stops using thermal heat imaging satellites. TA and NASA’s data analysis sheds new light on where New Yorkers are waiting for the bus in dangerous, and even deadly, temperatures.
Nowhere in America is the “urban heat island effect” – when limited green space and widespread asphalt traps heat – worse than in New York City, where heat kills over 350 New Yorkers every year. As summers grow hotter, bus stops are an under-recognized source of dangerous heat exposure in the five boroughs. With the slowest buses in the nation and wait times often stretching over 30 minutes, sweltering bus stops are a critical, overlooked, and increasingly pressing risk factor.
TA and NASA found:
The hottest bus stops are 14.5°F hotter than the coolest – and more likely to be located in Black, Latino, Asian, and high-poverty communities, in Queens and the Bronx, and in the communities with the most bus riders.
The coolest bus stops are more likely to have a bus shelter and be located near street trees, green space, or a body of water.
While roughly the same number of residents live near the hottest and coolest bus stops, nearly twice as many white residents live near the coolest bus stops than the hottest.
“Amid this summer’s never-ending heat waves, New York City is forcing millions of its residents to wait for a slow bus in the sweltering heat,” said Elizabeth Adams, Interim Co-Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives. “This report sheds new light on our city’s staggering misallocation of resources and lack of preparedness for the climate crisis – adding insult to injury and upholding a deadly status quo around transportation. The data shows, time and time again, that wealthier and whiter communities are waiting at cooler, safer bus stops. This is a policy choice that is entirely solvable, and we hope to see our city’s leaders make real, tangible changes to protect New Yorkers from excessive heat.”
“Through DEVELOP, NASA seeks to build capacity to make effective use of the Earth observations in both rising professionals and in partner organizations like Transportation Alternatives. It is gratifying to see that the satellite surface temperature data analyzed by NASA DEVELOP participants was able to provide important insight into the conditions felt by the bus riding public in New York City,” said Kenton Ross, Ph.D., Program Manager at the NASA DEVELOP Program.
With this data, TA identified 100 bus stops and three bus routes in need of urgent intervention. The 100 high-priority stops were identified by five characteristics: excessive heat, poor bus service, few alternate transit options, no bus shelters, and predominantly serving New Yorkers who depend on the bus or are low-income, Black, or senior citizens. 93% of New Yorkers living near these high-priority stops are people of color, and they’re also 29% more likely to be disabled and 45% more likely than the average New Yorker to depend on the bus to get to work.
TA also released a list of recommendations for NYC DOT and the MTA to improve sweltering bus stops. Among others, these recommendations include calls to:
By 2025, install bus shelters with seating and countdown clocks at all high-priority bus stops. Where sidewalks are narrow, reclaim parking spaces to create a bus bulb-out with room for a bus shelter.
Plant trees around priority bus stops where possible under current guidelines. Where sidewalks are narrow, reclaim parking spaces to create a bus-bulbout with room for multiple trees or a parklet.
Maintain rush-hour bus service all day on priority routes on days of extreme heat.
TA and NASA also mapped every bus stop in New York City, and the interactive website allows every New Yorker to see how their bus stop’s temperature compares to others around the city.
"Better bus stops are a necessity in our city where extreme heat and increasingly frequent heat waves are putting millions of New Yorkers at risk," New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said. "Forcing bus riders, especially those living in communities of color and low-income communities, to endure dangerous levels of heat exposure is unacceptable. I thank Transportation Alternatives and NASA for shedding light on this matter."
“This report adds new detail to the well-documented reality that Black, Latino, Asian, and low-income communities bear the brunt of rising temperatures and planning failures,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. “As we prepare for the effects of climate change, we must advance evidence-informed policy that prioritizes relief and resilience to the communities that are disproportionately harmed. I thank Transportation Alternatives and NASA for their findings that will continue to reinforce the movement for environmental justice in Brooklyn and across New York City.”
"This new report highlights a long-standing issue that continues to affect our district and beyond. These findings show that just 20% of NYC bus stops have shelters, and those that don't are often 14.5°F hotter—disproportionately impacting communities of color and those with high poverty. Unfortunately, this heat disparity is not a new problem in districts like mine, but it underscores an urgent need for more equitable infrastructure improvements. We must work to protect our most vulnerable residents from extreme heat, especially in the areas where bus ridership is highest,” said Council Member Diana Ayala.
“New Yorkers know well how uncomfortably hot the summer months can be, especially during the afternoon commute,” said Council Member Erik Bottcher. “This study highlights that our highest poverty neighborhoods need stronger investments in bus stop shelters, which play an important role in protecting bus riders in the summer heat. This is an important reminder of why the city needs to develop the Urban Forest Plan to achieve street canopy coverage across all neighborhoods. Investments like street trees and green space are critical to mitigating heat island effects.”
"New York City's sweltering bus stops are more than just an inconvenience—they're a growing public health crisis in a city where over 350 people die from heat every year. As our summers get hotter, it's clear that the need for sustainable, climate-resilient urban spaces is even more urgent. I'm proud to support NASA's DEVELOP program, in collaboration with organizations like Transportation Alternatives, in their work to protect our most vulnerable neighborhoods from the deadly impacts of extreme heat,” said Council Member Shekar Krishnan.
"Bus riders deserve dignity and respect, not extreme heat and dangerous waits for service," said Riders Alliance Senior Organizer Jolyse Race. "This blockbuster report from Transportation Alternatives and NASA confirms what New York's two million bus riders know all too well. Our unsheltered waits for slow and unreliable buses are dangerous to our health. It's honestly outrageous that our leaders subject us to such miserable conditions in a city with 101 billionaires, where most people don't even drive a car."
"This new report puts the lived experiences of MTA riders into context with the cold hard facts of the hot, sweaty truth," said Lisa Daglian, Executive Director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA. "We urge the city to act expeditiously to add and improve bus stop shelters in all five boroughs, starting with the 100 bus stops and three bus routes in need of priority intervention. Bus riders are already hot under the collar for slow rides without bus lanes. They shouldn't have to wait without shelter for their ride to come."
"The impacts of climate change grow more evident day-by-day, and our infrastructure is struggling to keep up. With rising heat and buses stuck in traffic, we need solutions like congestion pricing that will ease gridlock, upgrade bus infrastructure and reduce air pollution," said Andy Darrell at the Environmental Defense Fund.
"Eric Adams talked a big game about speeding up bus service, which millions of working New Yorkers use, but he's broken his promises. This brilliant report shows bus stops are often dangerously hot for a long wait and stops are more likely to be hotter in low-income communities of color. Adams should stop talking nonsense and fulfill his promises by speeding up bus service and also upgrade the stops to cool them down," said Pete Sikora, Climate & Inequality Campaigns Director for New York Communities for Change.
