Matthew Rodiguez takes the Q65 bus to and from New-York Presbyterian/Queens Hospital, where he disinfects facilities and equipment.

The bus rolls along a section of Main Street busy with foot and vehicular traffic, even during the pandemic, slowing the ride.

“Traffic, I mean, it’s a little chaotic of course. In the morning time, everyone’s rushing to work," Rodriguez said.

Mayor Bill de Blasio now plans to greatly restrict cars along parts of Main Street to speed bus service, creating a busway, modeled after one launched on 14th Street in Manhattan.

“It makes the commute a little faster, because you don’t have that cluster of cars in the way or traffic in the way," Rodriguez said.

As the coronavirus crisis eases, business restrictions are lifted and workers begin trickling back to their jobs, new bus lanes are seen as crucial to keep things moving.

The mayor's plan calls for 20 miles of new bus lanes, including five busways:

- Jamaica Avenue, between Sutphin Blvd. and 168th Street, in Queens
- Fifth Avenue, between 57th Street and 34th Street, in Manhattan
- 181st Street, between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway, in Manhattan
- Jay Street, between Fulton Street and Tillary Street
- Main Street/Kissena Blvd., between Sanford Avenue and Northern Blvd.

On Monday, the start of the first phase of the city's reopening, subway and bus ridership jumped by 213,000 over the previous Monday.

And according to the MTA, returning riders are showing a preference for buses. Bus ridership is now 40% of what it was before the coronavirus pandemic, but subway ridership is stuck at 15% of normal.

The numbers suggest that riders believe they are less at risk of catching the virus on buses, compared to trains.

The MTA had wanted the city to create many more bus lanes than it did.

“I think 20 miles is a really good start," said Sarah Feinberg, the MTA executive who oversees subways and buses. "We requested 60 for a reason. We think 60 is doable and where we need to get to, quickly.”

Among the corridors the city picked, only three were on the MTA's wish list. The Main Street corridor was one of them.

"The bus drivers do an amazing job, but sometimes, it's really congested. I can see how bus lanes can help," a bus commuter said.

Turning this third-of-a-mile strip of Main Street into a busway will help 150,000 daily commuters get to their destinations faster. The city plans to put it in effect this month, with all 20 miles of new bus lanes across the city done by October.