NEW YORK—Waiting for the bus. It’s late again. Waiting and waiting, then three buses come all at once. Once on the bus, pedestrians seem to make better time down the sidewalk, as the bus crawls slowly along. This scenario may be the case if you are a regular rider on the M42, the city’s slowest bus. It was recently clocked at 3.6 MPH.
The New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) Straphangers Campaign and Transportation Alternatives, an alternative transportation advocacy group, held their annual Pokey and Schleppie award ceremony outside the New York Public Library on Tuesday. The “Pokey” award went to the M42 as the slowest bus and the “Schleppie” award went to the Bx41 as the least reliable bus.
After nine annual “Pokey and Schleppie” award ceremonies, Straphanger representative Gene Russianoff says things have only gotten worse.
“They were slow in 2002 when we started doing this and they’re slow now,” said Russianoff adding that “change can be excruciatingly slow in New York City—like the buses.”
The slowest routes in each borough are:
B35 at 5.4 mph in Brooklyn
Bx19 at 5.1 mph in the Bronx
M42 at 3.6 mph in Manhattan
Q58 at 6.6 mph in Queens
S48 at 8.2 mph in Staten Island
The schleppiest, or least reliable routes in each borough are:
B44 at 21.7 percent unreliability in Brooklyn
Bx41 at 23.5 percent unreliability in the Bronx
M101/2/3 at 22.3 percent unreliability in Manhattan
S78 at 21.8 percent unreliability in Staten Island
Of the 2.5 million people who ride the bus each day, Russianoff says that most are elderly, handicapped, or caregivers. He claims that the bus is treated as a second class form of transportation and not given priority by the city.
The reviews were not all bad, however. It seems both MTA and Straphangers can happily agree that the new Select Bus Service (SBS) is speeding up some routes. SBS on Bx12 and M15 have gotten some congested lines moving more efficiently. SBS incorporates special bus lanes and ticket machines at the bus stop so passengers can purchase their tickets before boarding.
“More bus customers will benefit from speedier and more efficient service as additional SBS routes are rolled out across the city,” said Charles F. Seaton, press contact for the MTA. “Also, we are continuing to work with the New York City Department of Transportation to increase the number of bus lanes and locations where buses would have traffic signal priority,” noted Seaton.
The New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) Straphangers Campaign and Transportation Alternatives, an alternative transportation advocacy group, held their annual Pokey and Schleppie award ceremony outside the New York Public Library on Tuesday. The “Pokey” award went to the M42 as the slowest bus and the “Schleppie” award went to the Bx41 as the least reliable bus.
After nine annual “Pokey and Schleppie” award ceremonies, Straphanger representative Gene Russianoff says things have only gotten worse.
“They were slow in 2002 when we started doing this and they’re slow now,” said Russianoff adding that “change can be excruciatingly slow in New York City—like the buses.”
The slowest routes in each borough are:
B35 at 5.4 mph in Brooklyn
Bx19 at 5.1 mph in the Bronx
M42 at 3.6 mph in Manhattan
Q58 at 6.6 mph in Queens
S48 at 8.2 mph in Staten Island
The schleppiest, or least reliable routes in each borough are:
B44 at 21.7 percent unreliability in Brooklyn
Bx41 at 23.5 percent unreliability in the Bronx
M101/2/3 at 22.3 percent unreliability in Manhattan
S78 at 21.8 percent unreliability in Staten Island
Of the 2.5 million people who ride the bus each day, Russianoff says that most are elderly, handicapped, or caregivers. He claims that the bus is treated as a second class form of transportation and not given priority by the city.
The reviews were not all bad, however. It seems both MTA and Straphangers can happily agree that the new Select Bus Service (SBS) is speeding up some routes. SBS on Bx12 and M15 have gotten some congested lines moving more efficiently. SBS incorporates special bus lanes and ticket machines at the bus stop so passengers can purchase their tickets before boarding.
“More bus customers will benefit from speedier and more efficient service as additional SBS routes are rolled out across the city,” said Charles F. Seaton, press contact for the MTA. “Also, we are continuing to work with the New York City Department of Transportation to increase the number of bus lanes and locations where buses would have traffic signal priority,” noted Seaton.
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