New NYC Transit buses are coming equipped with interior sensors that automatically open rear doors when a passenger approaches after the vehicle stops.

The technology will make it easier, and quicker, for senior citizens, riders carrying packages, passengers with small children to get off at their stops, and everyone else, said Joseph Smith, vice president in charge of buses.

Some riders avoid the rear doors when exiting because they can be hard to open if vandalized or a component has malfunctioned.

That creates a bottleneck with exiting and boarding passengers at the front.

The first batch of buses with the overhead sensors are due in January.

Rear bus doors are now opened by a compressed-air system, which is activated when a rider touches the yellow tape. The pressure manipulates an unseen wire in the door and completes an electrical circuit, powering the mechanism.

The touch-tapes are often vandalized, forcing exiting riders to push through the heavy floor-to-ceiling doors.

Getting riders on and off buses is the biggest drag on bus travel times.

(Source: NY Daily News)