The Port Authority's long-awaited commuter capacity study revives a dormant idea to extend the #7 subway line from New York City to Secaucus as a way to reduce bus traffic to the aging and cramped Port Authority Bus Terminal.

But other ideas, including adding a bus lane to Route 495, and using computer technologies to more efficiently move bus traffic through the Lincoln Tunnel are more likely to happen first, due to funding and a lack of political support for the subway extension, officials said.

"The most significant mitigator of Port Authority Bus Terminal demand would be building the Secaucus extension," said Patrick Foye, executive director after Thursday's board meeting.

Foye conceded there isn't funding available in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's budget for the subway extension. Other officials said there has been no backing for the extension to a Meadowland bus facility since Mayor Michael Bloomberg left office.

How many buses could removed from the terminal if there was a subway to Secaucus wasn't calculated as part of the study, said Lou Venech, Port Authority general manager of regional transportation policy development, who gave the report's highlights.

"The study affirms there is strong enough growth (in bus ridership) out to 2040," he said. "We estimate there could be a 10-20 percent bus diversion (using study ideas), which includes doubling NJ Transit capacity through the Gateway Project."

The Gateway project would build two new rail tunnels under Hudson River, additional tracks in New Jersey and an annex to Penn Station. New York.

A 2013 MTA study said the #7 extension could eliminate 20 percent of the 860 peak commuting hour buses. The Port Authority's study said that diverting buses to the Holland Tunnel or to the George Washington Bridge bus terminal could divert another 40 to 60 buses.

Other improvements could be made to the Route 495 corridor, such as adding a second exclusive New York-bound bus lane, Venech said. The current Xclusive Bus Lane is at capacity, handling 1,850 buses daily. Priority bus lanes could also be added to Route 3 and to the New Jersey Turnpike, the study said.

Other ideas in the study including using emerging driver assisted technology to use tunnel space more efficiently and the future use of autonomous buses to put more buses through the tunnel.

The study also suggested the use of higher capacity double decker buses, although Venech said they couldn't be used on all routes. Bus access to and from the bus terminal also could be prioritized during rush hour, he said.

One idea would build on the planned PATH extension to Newark Airport by building a bus station there, so bus commuters could transfer to PATH trains to New York.

Another ambitious idea would be construction of a new "Lower Hudson" River bridge, however the study didn't say how many buses that would take out of the bus terminal or Lincoln Tunnel.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.