And the Pokey Awards goes to... the M66 and M42 for slowest buses in Gotham

[Harry 1,076]

[float=left][/float]A bumper car going full speed at 4.3 mph would beat two of the 's crosstown buses, dubbed by advocates as the slowest in the city.

 

The M66 and M42 are the joint winners of the annual and uncoveted Pokey award - a golden snail on a pedestal, the Straphangers Campaign and Transportation Alternatives announced Tuesday.

 

"The M66 and M42 are excruciatingly slow," Straphangers attorney Gene Russianoff said.

 

Read more: News

[GojiMet86 4,697]

[float=left][/float]A bumper car going full speed at 4.3 mph would beat two of the 's crosstown buses, dubbed by advocates as the slowest in the city.

 

The M66 and M42 are the joint winners of the annual and uncoveted Pokey award - a golden snail on a pedestal, the Straphangers Campaign and Transportation Alternatives announced Tuesday.

 

"The M66 and M42 are excruciatingly slow," Straphangers attorney Gene Russianoff said.

 

Read more: News

 

 

I took the M66 for the first time in years two days ago. Not very slow (crowded, though). Granted, it was Sunday night.

[mtattrain 1,185]

Nice job M66/M42!

[Shortline Bus 1,121]

On serious matter if you want the M42 to be to move faster. It never happen but 42nd Street should beMTA buses only between Lex and 9th Aves. That is only way to get rid of traffic and speed service.

[B35 via Church 9,410]

Yet another crosstown route.....

[S78 via Hylan 1,076]

The M66, I'm not surprised. I've walked and beaten that route many times.

[Via Garibaldi 8 8,592]

The M66 isn't necessarily slow... It just gets hammered with folks getting on. That's a bus I would make SBS and that would solve a lot of the slowness on that route. That route also needs low floor buses instead of those damn RTSs since you have a lot of older folks that use it, especially by Lincoln Center. Dare I say it but here and there I would also throw a few artics on the line if they can make the turns on that route accordingly.

 

As for the M42, I still don't get why that line isn't SBS and doesn't have artics. Takes too long to load folks up and those 3Gs are too small. Later on at night 42nd can be tolerate and 3Gs are fine but during the mornings it's ridiculous to use those little buses. I've personally sat on the express bus at 8th and 42nd and have watched as each bus sits there bogged down with folks constantly running and holding the bus up and you have sometimes three buses sitting there. Make it an SBS route so those buses can pull out and get some low floor artics so people can board and get off quickly.

Edited December 12, 2012 by Via Garibaldi 8

[Shortline Bus 1,121]

The M66 isn't necessarily slow... It just gets hammered with folks getting on. That's a bus I would make SBS and that would solve a lot of the slowness on that route. That route also needs low floor buses instead of those damn RTSs since you have a lot of older folks that use it, especially by Lincoln Center. Dare I say it but here and there I would also throw a few artics on the line if they can make the turns on that route accordingly.

 

As for the M42, I still don't get why that line isn't SBS and doesn't have artics. Takes too long to load folks up and those 3Gs are too small. Later on at night 42nd can be tolerate and 3Gs are fine but during the mornings it's ridiculous to use those little buses. I've personally sat on the express bus at 8th and 42nd and have watched as each bus sits there bogged down with folks constantly running and holding the bus up and you have sometimes three buses sitting there. Make it an SBS route so those buses can pull out and get some low floor artics so people can board and get off quickly.

 

 

I am sure the M34-type SBS along 34th Street will be on the M42 within next couple of years. I agree VG8. Not to mention having MVM's would also be very helpful as well.

[Via Garibaldi 8 8,592]

I am sure the M34-type SBS along 34th Street will be on the M42 within next couple of years. I agree VG8. Not to mention having MVM's would also be very helpful as well.

 

I just hope that the next set of buses the orders doesn't have these height restriction problems because on a line like the M66 they make service far slower having the RTSs on them. It's amazing that they would order hundreds of buses and spend millions of dollars on them when they can't be used on certain lines.

Edited December 12, 2012 by Via Garibaldi 8

[QM1to6Ave 1,689]

SBS is definitely going to become more common. I think the M34 is a great example of how SBS works well crosstown, even without the added bonus of articulated buses.

[FamousNYLover 558]

Also during rush hours, 65th-66th Sts Transverse Rd gets heavey traffic.

When I look at street view of that transverse rd,

Going westbound:12'- 0" followed by 11'- 4", 12'- 0",

Going eastbound: 11'- 6", followed by 11'- 6", 11'- 6".

 

What heigh size are Orion VII Hybrid OG/NG, New Flyer/Nova LFS Artic, NOVA LFS, Orion V, School buses and trucks that going through?

[B35 via Church 9,410]

SBS is definitely going to become more common.

So someone else sees this....

 

 

The M66 isn't necessarily slow... It just gets hammered with folks getting on. That's a bus I would make SBS and that would solve a lot of the slowness on that route. That route also needs low floor buses instead of those damn RTSs since you have a lot of older folks that use it, especially by Lincoln Center. Dare I say it but here and there I would also throw a few artics on the line if they can make the turns on that route accordingly.

I don't want to use the word fast, but the M66 is nowhere close to the M42 in terms of lagginess (or w/e synonym you wanna use).... Sometimes I wonder if straphangers comes out with this award and inserts whatever crosstown route to end the statement....

 

*drumroll please*

And the pokey awards goes to..... The M__

 

Yes, Ok, we get it, the crosstowns in general are slow.... What is the point of coming out with these so-called "awards" every year.... They're meaningless....

[Via Garibaldi 8 8,592]

So someone else sees this....

 

 

 

I don't want to use the word fast, but the M66 is nowhere close to the M42 in terms of lagginess (or w/e synonym you wanna use).... Sometimes I wonder if straphangers comes out with this award and inserts whatever crosstown route to end the statement....

 

*drumroll please*

And the pokey awards goes to..... The M__

 

Yes, Ok, we get it, the crosstowns in general are slow.... What is the point of coming out with these so-called "awards" every year.... They're meaningless....

 

Well I think the point is to get the to improve them and they certainly can take steps to make them faster. The question is how long will it take them to implement these changes? It's clear for example that they want folks to use the M42 because of their downright stubbornness to reinstate the M104 despite numerous petitions to have that line restored to the UN (which BTW I will continue to fight to have that restored, but that's another topic), but yet they haven't done much to make the line more reliable. You don't have three buses sitting behind each other all at 8th and 42nd when you can have at least one of those other buses making pick ups further down the line. The line bunches like crazy in addition to it being slow. Give the line a bus lane like 34th street, signal priority and artics! They've catered to 34th street like crazy when there are just as many tourists and business folks if not more along 42nd street who need reliable service.

 

SBS is definitely going to become more common. I think the M34 is a great example of how SBS works well crosstown, even without the added bonus of articulated buses.

 

I agree but those buses along 34th street are just too small. In fact every time I think about using it I try to avoid it for that very reason. It's complete chaos and to be honest the service could be quicker if they had artics because people could board and ascend the bus quicker. Edited December 12, 2012 by Via Garibaldi 8

[Fresh Pond 5,363]

Also during rush hours, 65th-66th Sts Transverse Rd gets heavey traffic.

When I look at street view of that transverse rd,

Going westbound:12'- 0" followed by 11'- 4", 12'- 0",

Going eastbound: 11'- 6", followed by 11'- 6", 11'- 6".

 

What heigh size are Orion VII Hybrid OG/NG, New Flyer/Nova LFS Artic, NOVA LFS, Orion V, School buses and trucks that going through?

 

 

All the buses are pretty much 11'4"

[B35 via Church 9,410]

Well I think the point is to get the to improve them and they certainly can take steps to make them faster. The question is how long will it take them to implement these changes? It's clear for example that they want folks to use the M42 because of their downright stubbornness to reinstate the M104 despite numerous petitions to have that line restored to the UN (which BTW I will continue to fight to have that restored, but that's another topic), but yet they haven't done much to make the line more reliable. You don't have three buses sitting behind each other all at 8th and 42nd when you can have at least one of those other buses making pick ups further down the line. The line bunches like crazy in addition to it being slow. Give the line a bus lane like 34th street, signal priority and artics! They've catered to 34th street like crazy when there are just as many tourists and business folks if not more along 42nd street who need reliable service.

 

That's my point... these awards are moot....

Nothing's actually getting changed/rectified/optimized due to the (in this case) M42 & M66 being classified as a "pokey"..... It's no different than any one of us on these here forums making a mention of how slow the crosstowns are....

 

How long have they been "handing" out these "awards" anyway?

(another way of looking at this is, how long has the MTA been ignoring the straphangers report's efforts at everything you just pointed out)

Edited December 12, 2012 by B35 via Church

[Via Garibaldi 8 8,592]

That's my point... these awards are moot....

Nothing's actually getting changed/rectified/optimized because the (in this case) M42 & M66 having classified as being a "pokey".....

 

Sad but true....

[Cait Sith 8,030]

This whole pokey rewards thing is stupid as hell along with the people DOING this....

[checkmatechamp13 2,272]

*drumroll please*

And the pokey awards goes to..... The M__

 

Yes, Ok, we get it, the crosstowns in general are slow.... What is the point of coming out with these so-called "awards" every year.... They're meaningless....

 

 

We both said the same exact thing last year

 

I mean, it's the nature of the beast. Crosstown routes deal with a lot of traffic, and a lot of people getting on and off at each stop. Obviously they're going to be the slowest, and there's nothing the MTA can do about it (even if it was their goal, which I think it's just to criticize the MTA). I mean, even with the 34th Street busway plan, it wouldn't have increased the average speed by that much. I think the average speed is something like 4 mph now, and it would've increased it to something like 6 mph, which is still probably among the slowest in the city.

 

And with the most unreliable routes, they didn't even pick all the routes. They did the high-volume routes in each borough, but what about some of the lower-volume routes? We've heard a lot of complaints about routes like the Q38 being unreliable, and yet (I haven't bothered to read those reports, because they're a bunch of crap), but I guarantee you it's not listed. (I assume it's because they just use the MTA's stats, and they only list the high-volume routes, which is why these awards are even more BS)

 

Aside from that, they're just doing rote calculations, without any meaning behind them, regarding the ridership patterns and everything. Yes, the crosstown routes only go like 4-5 mph or whatever, but most people are only on them for like 0.5 - 1 mile or so (Just guessing on that). It's more important to improve a route in the outer boroughs that goes say, 10 mph, because people are actually be riding them for a good 4-5 miles.

 

As for when they came out with these awards, I checked Wikipedia, and the Pokey Award came out in 2002, and the Schleppie (unreliable) award came out in 2006. So it's been 10 years the MTA's been ignoring them.

[Via Garibaldi 8 8,592]

I wouldn't say that they're not doing anything. That's a bit of a stretch. I think it's just clear that they are "prioritizing" if you will because the M34 has been pampered beyond belief. I think the M34 has actually gotten better and if it had artics as it soon will have it would be even quicker. No one is saying that crosstown routes will suddenly become speed demons but anything that can help make the commute better within reason should be done. I think people understand that local buses are not subways and don't mind that they can be a bit slow, but at the same time they expect to get to their destinations in a reasonable amount of time. The M23 is another one that should be SBS.

Edited December 12, 2012 by Via Garibaldi 8

[Grand Concourse 2,690]

This whole pokey rewards thing is stupid as hell along with the people DOING this....

 

Exactly. Do they even take into consideration the time it takes for the bus to off load and load riders at every stop? Of course a person walking non stop will probably beat the bus, but does that person have to deal with merging traffic etc? It's pointless.

=

 

I just hope that the next set of buses the orders doesn't have these height restriction problems because on a line like the M66 they make service far slower having the RTSs on them. It's amazing that they would order hundreds of buses and spend millions of dollars on them when they can't be used on certain lines.

 

RTSs aren't slow. It's the driver. I've been on hybrids that takes forever while an RTS would 'blaze' past us.

 

As for the M66 and CP: there's only so much you can do other than to either rebuild the bridge or lower the roadway to accommodate taller buses. Buses aren't going to stay the same height forever.

Edited December 12, 2012 by Grand Concourse

[Cait Sith 8,030]

Exactly. Do they even take into consideration the time it takes for the bus to off load and load riders at every stop? Of course a person walking non stop will probably beat the bus, but does that person have to deal with merging traffic etc? It's pointless.

=

 

RTSs aren't slow. It's the driver. I've been on hybrids that takes forever while an RTS would 'blaze' past us.

 

As for the M66 and CP: there's only so much you can do other than to either rebuild the bridge or lower the roadway to accommodate taller buses. Buses aren't going to stay the same height forever.

 

 

And about that height restriction thing, hybrids CAN go through it, its just that they worry about the batteries.

[Grand Concourse 2,690]

So, 2 old gen* hybrids can run past each other at the same time, but they worry about possible swaying and scraping along the edges, right?

Edited December 12, 2012 by Grand Concourse

[Cait Sith 8,030]

So, 2 old gen* hybrids can run past each other at the same time, but they worry about possible swaying and scraping along the edges, right?

 

 

Not sure about all of that but I think they can run past each other at the same time. It's mostly the batteries and the edges of the bus they are worrying about since they have a tendency to sway.

Edited December 12, 2012 by Cait Sith

[JubaionBx12+SBS 417]

I noticed the article said that +SBS buses have increased speeds by up to 20% and then says that on the M15, +SBS service is over 50% faster than the local. Something doesn't sound right here.

 

Having gone on the Straphanger's site, I see that Bx19 happens to be the slowest non-crosstown (or non-fully crosstown) in the city. That's the route folks should be complaining about.

Edited December 12, 2012 by JubaionBx12+SBS

[Cait Sith 8,030]

I noticed the article said that +SBS buses have increased speeds by up to 20% and then says that on the M15, +SBS service is over 50% faster than the local. Something doesn't sound right here.

 

 

That's what you call terrible article writing....the M15 +SBS is IMO...at least 30% faster, not even close to 50...

 

The M15 +SBS may be faster, but the LOCAL tends to be more frequent....