The results for the 2019 Pokey and Schleppie Awards are in, and the “winner” of slowest local bus is (*drum roll*) the M14A.
The NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign and TransitCenter recently released the results of the 16th annual Pokey award, and this year’s slowest bus service clocks in at 4.3 mph. According to the report, that’s slower than a manatee which averages 5 mph!
Traveling between the West Village and the Lower East Side along 14th Street, the M14A was recently upgraded to an SBS route in an effort to move things along but unfortunately its route doesn’t have a dedicated bus lane along one of the city’s busiest streets.
“For years, the M14A has been one of the slowest buses in New York City, so this year’s Pokey Award should come as no surprise,” said Jaqi Cohen, Campaign Director for the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign. “The recent implementation of SBS along the route has been a welcome change for M14 riders. Still, there is no better way to speed up service along the route than by rolling out the red carpet for bus riders with a dedicated busway.”
As for the 12th annual Schleppie Award, the “winner” for least reliable bus route was the B15. This bus travels between Bed-Stuy and JFK Airport, but according to the report “one out of five buses, or 20%, arrive bunched on the B15, and that means long waits and too much unpredictability for 19,827 daily weekday riders.” (“Bunching” is when two or more buses get to their stop at the same time.)
This year, however, a third award was added to the list! If you recall, the M42 has won the Pokey Award five times in previous years with a speed of 3.5mph. That said, this was the first year it did not qualify for the award because ridership dipped so low due to poor service that it did not meet the 10,000-rider requirement to be considered. As such, it was given the newest award: the Lifetime Depreciation Award.
Ouch!
featured image source: istockphoto