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M42 Named Slowest, Q8 Least Reliable in 2025 ‘Pokey/Schleppie’ NYC Bus Awards

Advocates urge City Hall to pair congestion pricing with enforced bus-priority lanes.

Overview

  • The M42 crosstown route averaged about 5.25 mph, while Queens' Q8 posted the largest extra wait at roughly 3.62 minutes beyond scheduled intervals.
  • Organizers debuted a Mazel Award for improvement, honoring the M79 for speeding up from 6.63 to 7.25 mph and the SIM32 from 15.1 to 17.1 mph.
  • NYPIRG’s Straphangers Campaign and the MTA’s Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee presented the rankings to spotlight slow and unreliable routes.
  • Advocates credited modest gains to congestion pricing and network redesigns but called for dedicated, enforced busways and priority lanes to deliver real relief.
  • The MTA cited front-facing bus-lane cameras and congestion pricing as boosting speeds on some routes and pointed to OMNY proof-of-payment and all-door boarding as forthcoming speed-ups, while DOT had not commented.