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NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign • Transportation Alternatives
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First-Ever “Pokeys” Awarded for Slowest Busses in New York
City
The city’s slowest bus is the M96, averaging 4.3 mph at midday travelling across 96th
Street in Manhattan. There are 202 local city bus routes operated by New York City
Transit. (See table of five slowest local bus routes in each borough
based on data from MTA New York City Transit. )
By contrast, the groups noted, a King penguin can swim at 5.3 mph and a chicken can
travel at speeds up to 9 mph. The average person walks at 3 mph.
Transit officials have acknowledged that New York City has the slowest bus speeds in
America, at an average of 7.5 mph. And speeds are worsening, the groups noted, with
average speeds declining 8% in Manhattan between 1996 and 2001 and by 4% in the
other three boroughs.
The slowest bus in each borough, according to New York City Transit 2000 bus profiles,
is:
“Pokey busses waste time and fray nerves,” said Gene Russianoff, staff attorney for
the Straphangers Campaign. “Slow busses are one reason why the recent census says
New York City has among the longest travel times to work in the nation.”
“City busses could travel a lot faster,” said John Kaehny, executive director of
Transportation Alternatives. “Actions like changing traffic signals, passengers paying
before boarding on busy routes, and extending sidewalks out at bus stops can greatly
increase speeds,” Kaehny said.
The “Bus Rapid Transit for New York City” report released by the groups stresses
that while traffic congestion is a key factor in slow speeds, other factors are just as
important. These include long waits for passengers to board; not enough service and
crowding on busses; traffic lights out of sync with busses; vehicles blocking bus stops;
and how bus service is scheduled.
The report offers a variety of strategies for speeding up bus service, including:
A full copy of the report and appendices can be found at:
www.schallerconsult.com/BRT.
The groups noted these kinds of strategies have greatly increased bus speeds in
such cities as Los Angeles and Vancouver. They urged city transportation officials to
conduct pilot Bus Rapid Transit projects as soon as possible.
Possible “BRT” candidates, noted the report, are First/Second Avenue and the
Broadway/Church Street in Manhattan; Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn; Jamaica and
Archer Avenues and Main Street in Queens; Third Avenue in the Bronx; and Hylan
Boulevard in Staten Island.
The groups noted that Mayor Michael Bloomberg has expressed strong interest in
“Bus Rapid Transit” strategies. His campaign platform called for “subways on the
surface” in such places as First and Second Avenue in Manhattan. City Transportation
Commissioner Iris Weinshall has been working with transit officials to explore “BRT”
options for New York City, said the groups.
The report notes that “Slow bus speeds are a key deterrent to bus ridership,
particularly for work trips. In surveys, bus riders cite ‘how long the trip will take’ as the
most serious problem with bus service, and 51% say long travel times are a serious
problem ’most of the time’ for them.”
The report was drafted by Bruce Schaller, a widely-respected analyst who has
worked for MTA New York City Transit and the Taxi and Limousine Commission.
Straphangers Campaign Letter to Transit Authority and Department of Transportation
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The NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign and Transportation Alternatives today awarded
the first-ever “Pokeys” to the 25 slowest bus routes in New York City. The groups also
issued a comprehensive 90-page report advocating “Bus Rapid Transit” strategies that
have boosted bus speeds in the United States and around the world (see