What to Know
- Two commuter groups — NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign and Transit Center — announced winners of two awards for slowest and least reliable buses
- The M42, which clocks at a sluggish 3.2 mph, is the slowest of over more than 200 local bus routes, making it the winner of the "Pokey"
- The 11th annual “Schleppie,” which is given to the city’s least reliable bus route, was awarded to the B12
A New York City bus line is so incredibly slow it cannot outpace a running chicken, according to a new report.
The M42, which clocks at a sluggish 3.2 mph, is the slowest of more than 200 local bus routes. To put the M42’s speed in perspective, a chicken runs up to 9 mph.
Because of this, the M42 received the un-coveted “Pokey” award for the slowest bus route — the fifth time in 15 years the M42 won the award.
The second slowest bus route is the Bx19, which comes in at 4.6 mph, followed closely by the B63, at 4.7 mph.
“Riding a bus can feel like being in a funeral procession, where you are awaiting a slow caravan of crowded, crawling and bunched buses,” Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign said in a statement. “It’s maddening. Much more can be done to make them run faster.”
On Tuesday, two commuter groups — NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign and Transit Center — determined the winners of two awards, the “Pokey” and the “Schleppie.”
Local
The 11th annual “Schleppie,” which is given to the city’s least reliable bus route, was awarded to the B12.
According to a joint press release by NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign and Transit Center, in the B12 bus route one out of five buses, or 21.4%, arrive bunched, which they describe as “a level of service that is clearly inadequate.”
The Schleppie award is based off of the percentage of buses that are “bunched”, using BusTime data. “Bunching” occurs when two or more buses arrive at a stop at the same time, which means that the buses are not on-schedule.
In 2016, the B12 moved 15,380 riders on an average weekday, according to the commuter groups.
"Bus riders in NYC are used to the stressful and frustrating experience of waiting for a bus that doesn't arrive when it's supposed to, only to show up bunched with two or three other buses," Tabitha Decker of TransitCenter said in a statement. "Bus lanes, priority at traffic signals and better dispatching are needed to take these buses from schleppie to peppy."
In a statement, Shams Tarek, MTA spokesman, said: Improving bus service is the focus of the first major reform plan Transit President Andy Byford announced since starting the job this year. His comprehensive Bus Plan prioritizes completely redesigning the entire bus network in collaboration with NYCDOT and the NYPD, who are critical partners we need to unclog traffic and allow us to deliver the world-class service that New Yorkers deserve and that our fleet and personnel are capable of delivering.”
