Main Street gets designated bus-only lane next month. It's the first in the city.

Cameron Knight | Cincinnati Enquirer

Show Caption Hide Caption How to: Ride the bus It’s second-nature to some, but if you’re new to the city or system, hopping on the bus can be intimidating. Here’s a step-by-step guide.

Main Street is getting a bus-only lane in Downtown beginning in mid-November, but there are some caveats.

The far right lane will be designated for buses during the morning and evening rush hours, city officials announced Thursday.

Regular traffic will be prohibited from "traveling continuously" in the far right lane of Main Street between Fifth Street and Central Parkway, but vehicles will be allowed to turn right at Seventh Street and into and out of parking lots from the bus lane.

New signs will be installed to guide motorists. On-street parking and streetcar service along Main Street will not be affected.

SUPPORT JOURNALISM: Subscribe today to get access to all of our coverage

More: Downtown Cincinnati testing bus-only lane

Officials said about 635 Metro buses travel on Main Street between Fifth and Central each weekday. Of those, 90 use the far-right lane to pick up passengers at stops along Main during afternoon rush hour from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

This lane is the first of its kind in Cincinnati.

“We’re excited about the bus lane,” said Ted Meyer, Metro’s director of service planning and scheduling. “It should improve the overall experience for commuters who travel on this part of Main Street, including Metro customers and bus operators.”

The new lane is being treated as a pilot program to examine its effectiveness.

"Bus riders worked hard to show city council, and SORTA that things can improve when they listen to the people most affected," Cam Hardy with the Better Bus Coalition said. "My hope is that it is successful so that we can roll out more bus-only lanes across the city."

More: Metro 'bus buddies' ride the bus despite the Cincinnati transit system's many woes

More: Cam Hardy is dedicated to making the Metro bus system better