File Photo
The Q58
By Forum Staff
The New York Public Interest Research Group and TransitCenter today issued two “awards” for poor bus service in New York City. The first is the seventeenth-annual Pokey award, given to the slowest of Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) and New York City Transit (NYCT) local bus routes. The un-coveted Pokey Award is a golden snail on a pedestal. The award is based on the average speeds of routes. High-ridership routes (with 5,000 daily riders or more) were considered for the “award” (see Methodology on page 8). The “winner” of the 2022 Pokey Award is… the M102, clocking in at an excruciating 4.6 Miles Per Hour (MPH). It had the slowest speed out of the 77 high-ridership bus routes reviewed by the Straphangers Campaign and TransitCenter. Many of the pokiest bus routes run to or within Manhattan, slowed by intense congestion in the borough. The groups noted that at 4.6 MPH, the M102 moved slower than a fluttering butterfly, which typically has a pace of 5 MPH.
Photo Courtesy of NYPIRG
NYPIRG members
While fluttering butterflies may take their time, they have the ability to move much faster when needed. Similarly, while the M102 suffers from heavy congestion along its route, common sense bus reforms can speed up trips for its over 8,000 daily weekday riders, including the roll out of a strong congestion pricing plan and by enforcing bus lanes and implementing all-door boarding.
Nearly all of the City’s slowest, high-ridership routes have gotten faster since the last Pokey Award was bestowed pre-pandemic in 2019, save for the Queens winner. The Q32 clocked a slower time than the 2019 winner (Q54) by nearly a full mile per hour, overtaking the small gains made by other borough winners. When averaged, this year’s borough honorees have a slightly slower speed by .2 miles per hour (5.8 MPH in 2019’s report compared to 5.6 MPH in this year’s report). ● In Manhattan, the M102 overtakes the M14A as the pokiest Manhattan bus. The M14A has benefited from recent Select Bus Service (SBS) designation – speeding the route up and taking it out of contention for the Pokey Award. ● The Bronx winner, the Bx19, is the same winner as in 2019 and clocked the same average speed. ● The Brooklyn winner, the B35, is the same winner as in 2019, but has improved its average speed (going from 4.8 MPH in 2019’s report to 5.1 MPH for this year’s report). ● Queens’ Q32 takes the mantle from the Q54 and clocks a slower time than the 2019 winner by nearly a full mile per hour. ● Staten Island’s S48 is the same winner as in 2019, and has improved its average speed from 7.8 MPH in 2019 to 8 MPH in this year’s report.
