2017 Bus Ridership Stats

[Via Garibaldi 8]

MTA New York City Transit

Average Weekday Ridership: http://web.mta.info/nyct/facts/ridership/ridership_bus.htm
Average Weekend (Saturday + Sunday) Ridership: http://web.mta.info/nyct/facts/ridership/ridership_bus_weekend.htm
Annual Ridership: http://web.mta.info/nyct/facts/ridership/ridership_bus_annual.htm

MTA Bus Company

Average Weekday Ridership: http://web.mta.info/nyct/facts/ridership/ridership_busMTA.htm
Average Weekend (Saturday + Sunday) Ridership: http://web.mta.info/nyct/facts/ridership/ridership_busMTA_weekend.htm
Annual Ridership: http://web.mta.info/nyct/facts/ridership/ridership_busMTA_annual.htm

Seems to be a mixed bag.  Weekend ridership is up on some lines.  Weekday ridership is down on some lines, but commuting with the bus still isn't anywhere where it should be.

 

I will say that the BxM7 seems to be hemorrhaging riders.

[B35 via Church]

The Q37's difference in ridership b/w 2016 & 2017 defies mathematics !

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

Breakdown of the highest increase and decrease in ridership (in percent), by borough for MTA Bus and NYCT

 

Highest Increase

 

LOCAL WEEKDAYS:

The Bronx: Bx24 (+4.4%; NYCT) (***NOTE: ONLY BUS LINE IN THE ENTIRE BOROUGH WITH AN INCREASE IN RIDERSHIP FOR THIS CATEGORY***)

Manhattan: M23 (+7.3%; NYCT)

Brooklyn: B37 (+7.5%; NYCT)

Queens: Q26 (+4.7%; NYCT) & Q103 (+16.4%; MTA Bus)

Staten Island: S93 (+2.8%; NYCT) (***NOTE: ONLY BUS LINE IN THE ENTIRE BOROUGH WITH AN INCREASE IN RIDERSHIP FOR THIS CATEGORY***)

 

LOCAL WEEKENDS:

The Bronx: Bx24  (+9.5%; NYCT) & Bx23 (+3.9%; MTA Bus)

Manhattan: M21 (+9.7%; NYCT)

Brooklyn: B37 (+27.4%; NYCT) & B100 (+4.6%; MTA Bus)

Queens: Q20A (+8.1%; NYCT) & Q103 (+20.1%; MTA Bus)

Staten Island: S79 (+2.7%; NYCT)

 

EXPRESS WEEKDAYS:

The Bronx: BxM4 (+3.1%; MTA Bus)

Brooklyn: X28/38 (+1.1%; NYCT) 

Queens: X63 (+2.5%; NYCT) & QM25 (+18.4%; MTA Bus)

Staten Island: X21 (+10.9%; NYCT)

 

EXPRESS WEEKENDS:

The Bronx: BxM4 (+8.3%; MTA Bus)

Brooklyn*: X27 (+6.0%; NYCT)

Queens: N/A (***NOTE: ALL BUSES LOST RIDERSHIP DUE TO ONGOING MIDTOWN TUNNEL WORK THAT WAS SUPPOSE TO END IN THE SPRING BUT DID NOT***)

Staten Island: X17 (+3.6%; NYCT)

 

Highest Decrease:

 

LOCAL WEEKDAYS:

The Bronx: Bx4 (-13.2%; NYCT) & Q50 (-0.5%; MTA Bus)

Manhattan^: M66 (-24.6%; NYCT)

Brooklyn: B25 (-11.6%; NYCT) & B103 (-3.4%; MTA Bus)

Queens: Q17 (-7.5%; NYCT) & Q111 (-7.2%; MTA Bus)

Staten Island: S55 (-16.1%; NYCT)

 

LOCAL WEEKENDS:

The Bronx: Bx33 (-11.5%; NYCT) 

Manhattan^+: M35 (-24.5%; NYCT) & M66 (-22.5%; NYCT)

Brooklyn: B12 (-12.0%; NYCT) & B103 (-2.4%; NYCT)

Queens: Q1 (-5.9%; NYCT) & Q113 (-9.5%; MTA Bus)

Staten Island: S46 (-5.0%; NYCT)

 

EXPRESS WEEKDAYS:

The Bronx: BxM6 (-7.9%; MTA Bus)

Brooklyn: X27 (-2.1%; NYCT) & BM1 (-8.6%; MTA Bus)

Queens: X64 (-6.3%; NYCT) & QM21 (-10.1% MTA Bus)

Staten Island: X9 (-11.0%; NYCT)

 

EXPRESS WEEKENDS:

The Bronx: BxM8 (-3.9%; MTA Bus)

Brooklyn: BM3 (-15.7%; MTA Bus)

Queens: QM4 (-17.3%; MTA Bus)

Staten Island: N/A

 

^: Because of the M5 split in January 2017, the statistic was not counted because of an unfair comparison with 2016 ridership (-31.5% WKDY/-31.0% WKND)

*: Because the X28 did not have weekend service throughout 2016, the statistic was not counted because of an unfair comparison between it and 2017 ridership data (+285.2%)

+: An increase in farebeating on the M35 may account for the decrease in ridership. For this statistics, this and the second-highest decrease were included

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

46 minutes ago, B35 via Church said:

The Q37's difference in ridership b/w 2016 & 2017 defies mathematics !

Lol, I saw that too. They probably use excel and round the statistics to the nearest whole number. Both numbers may have been close to 7,841.5 but rounded in opposite directions. Since the unrounded difference was less than 0.5, it rounds to 0, which provides for that weird number.

[GojiMet86]

Look at that, the Q103 gaining ridership.

[P3F]

Nice to see the B37 getting more riders.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

I think there are a number of factors for some of these numbers.  For example, I said that if gentrification occurs along the BxM4 you'd see an increase in ridership, and that is indeed happening along parts of the Grand Concourse.  The BxM7 is a bit alarming, especially when you consider how vocal Co-op City has been about that express bus historically.  I have to believe that the increase in rents is killing the residents up there.  It's a working class neighborhood at best, and rents have shot up considerably, otherwise, I really can't understand the ongoing huge losses in ridership along that route.  If you compare it so say Throggs Neck which also relies heavily on the express bus, the decrease is quite substantial.

I think the  is facing a large uphill battle.  The demographics are changing across the city, rents are skyrocketing which means more people are running to the subway, and buses continue to move slower than ever.  I can actually leave my apartment 30 minutes later at times in the morning and make it work faster than with the express bus.  The BxM2 in the mornings is very slow and most of the riders are off by Mount Sinai and by the Museum of Natural History.  Fewer and fewer riders take the bus down to Midtown in the morning, and more are switching to other modes.  At night though there's more ridership since the bus is generally quicker over the subway/bus combination.  The BxM18 at night in particular is worsening from what I've been seeing.  The first two buses to Riverdale are often 30+ minutes late and can take almost two hours to reach Riverdale.  The BxM1 has had lots of missing buses in the morning and it's been noticeable.  I don't understand why they can't replace drivers when they're out sick or vacation, but there have been times of late where a bus won't show up for almost the entire week.  

[Future ENY OP]

1 hour ago, P3F said:

Nice to see the B37 getting more riders.

Maybe we can see the B37 getting back to its former stand on Court Street soon. 

[JubaionBx12+SBS]

There's one word that comes to mind when I see these numbers it's.... TANKING. I see losses nearly across the board and I can list off a few that were 10% or greater just within a year. I can't wait for our high ridership routes to play the game of 'How low can we go?' in 2018? All of our busiest routes are down a few thousand riders per weekday (at a minimum) from their numbers in the 2000's and early 2010's.  The fact that our high ridership routes are suffering the most (as is the case in Chicago and LA to add some US parallels) shows that the problem with the system as perceived by riders is the inability (or IMO, unwillingness) to handle high passenger demand. The main focus for the redesign efforts should be on capacity for the busiest corridors of the city so rider's aren't shunning M15 like routes above all. We need to make our buses great again (pun intended) and the places to start are 1st/2nd, Utica, Fordham, Nostrand etc,..

[Lil 57]

They need to extend the S55/56 routes, I can see them being cut into school only routes if ridership keeps declining.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

40 minutes ago, JubaionBx12+SBS said:

There's one word that comes to mind when I see these numbers it's.... TANKING. I see losses nearly across the board and I can list off a few that were 10% or greater just within a year. I can't wait for our high ridership routes to play the game of 'How low can we go?' in 2018? All of our busiest routes are down a few thousand riders per weekday (at a minimum) from their numbers in the 2000's and early 2010's.  The fact that our high ridership routes are suffering the most (as is the case in Chicago and LA to add some US parallels) shows that the problem with the system as perceived by riders is the inability (or IMO, unwillingness) to handle high passenger demand. The main focus for the redesign efforts should be on capacity for the busiest corridors of the city so rider's aren't shunning M15 like routes above all. We need to make our buses great again (pun intended) and the places to start are 1st/2nd, Utica, Fordham, Nostrand etc,..

I don't think they want that to happen quite frankly.  More riders means having to pay more drivers and add service...

[B35 via Church]

4 hours ago, GojiMet86 said:

Look at that, the Q103 gaining ridership.

Combination of CostCo & (for whatever the reason), a sudden influx of Astoria PJ's riders taking it to the (F).... Still can't figure the latter out, but in any case, it's good for the route overall.

2 hours ago, Future ENY OP said:

Maybe we can see the B37 getting back to its former stand on Court Street soon. 

What's happening on the route (really since it's been brought back), compared to when it existed before 2010, is that more people are using it north of the Prospect (expwy.) now.... To a similar extent, the B103 is also benefiting from more bus usage in Gowanus, Boerum Hill, etc..... I mean, look at how that immediate section of Brooklyn has transformed - Hell, once upon a time, much of nobody made reference to "Gowanus" the neighborhood...

With the way it's (the B37) used, I don't think there's a real need to run it past Barclay's, to be honest.... It's good where it is.

38 minutes ago, Lil 57 said:

They need to extend the S55/56 routes, I can see them being cut into school only routes if ridership keeps declining.

School only, as in school trippers? Not sure what you're trying to say here......

[N6 Limited]

I think the B37 gained riders because of the Enhanced Station Initiative closing stations on 4th Ave.

[S78 via Hylan]

11 minutes ago, N6 Limited said:

I think the B37 gained riders because of the Enhanced Station Initiative closing stations on 4th Ave.

I wouldn’t say that. The route increased in ridership before those closures.

[NewFlyer 230]

What I noticed is that overall bus ridership in all boroughs decreased as a whole. It’s sad to see how there are tons and tons of routes that have been steadily decreasing each year like the Q17, M15, M4, B46 and tons more. It seems like nothing has been done to solve falling ridership other than cut service. We already see how much service a lot of the PBL expresses lost since being taken over. Uber’s and lyfts are growing more attractive as the buses and the subways continue to fail. 

People don’t want to put up with bus service anymore because it’s slow, the network is outdated and some routes need to have more short turns especially when there are for example several buses bunched up and a huge gap in service. Traffic of course is one of the main factors to cause the lack of reliability, but so is the lack of enforcement of bus lanes, vehicles parked in bus stops, poor depot management and the MTA being too stingy to add service to routes like the Q19 or QM3 whereas if people saw that routes like these ran more frequent they might actually take them.

[Lil 57]

3 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

School only, as in school trippers? Not sure what you're trying to say here......

Like turning them into routes that run on school days during school hours only, like the X32 (before that was cut). 

[Orion6025]

43 minutes ago, Lil 57 said:

Like turning them into routes that run on school days during school hours only, like the X32 (before that was cut). 

Any NYC route that ultimately becomes a glorified school bus is bound to be cut sooner or later. Just save the effort and outright cut it if there's no demand beyond school kids and arrange a contract to have school buses take everyone home

And FWIW, the Q22A would have been a more similar example IMO, but the X32 works technically.

[Interested Rider]

If you look at the history of the S/55 & S/56 history going back to the time that it was originally the S/115 Prince's Bay, the route was originally a rush hour/school route. When I was riding the one that originated at the correctional facility before it closed almost seven years ago, the only time that it carried passengers was during school hours and any other time, it was empty.

[Q43LTD]

I like the how the Brewer local (Q111) outranked the Brewer LTD's (Q113/114). Anyway:

Bronx

Bx12

Bx1/2

Bx36

Bx19

Bx9

Bx15

Bx6

Bx40/42

Bx41

Bx35

Brooklyn

B46

B6

B44

B35

B82

B41

B15

B1

B8

B38

Manhattan

M15

M14

M101

M86

M100

M60

M34

M4

M96

M23

Queens

Q58

Q44

Q27

Q46

Q17

Q20

Q43

Q85

Q54

Q5

Staten Island

S79

S53

S48/98

S46/96

S44/94

S78

S74/84

S40/90

S61/91

S62/92

Express

X17

X1

X27/37

X10

X28/38

X22

X12/42

X5

X7

X2

MTA Bus

Q10

Q52/53

Q65

Q25

Q23

Q60

B103

Q66

Q111

Q6

MTA Bus Express

BxM7

BxM9

QM5/35

QM2/32

BxM8

BxM10

QM15

BxM1

QM24/34

BM1

I'm only gonna say this once. Do NOT ask me why I didn't combine the NYCT figures with the MTA Bus figures. The website has them on separate pages and it is very difficult for me to combine them. Hopefully when the merger comes through, they'll be combined
 

 

 

 

 

[checkmatechamp13]

On 7/13/2018 at 9:17 AM, Interested Rider said:

If you look at the history of the S/55 & S/56 history going back to the time that it was originally the S/115 Prince's Bay, the route was originally a rush hour/school route. When I was riding the one that originated at the correctional facility before it closed almost seven years ago, the only time that it carried passengers was during school hours and any other time, it was empty.

When I rode it a few years ago, most of its ridership seemed to come from the Bloomingdale Road corridor (rather than the "original" S55 portion along Annadale Road, which was usually empty)

In any case, I think the big problem with the S55/56 is that they're too circuitous and don't serve the higher-density portions of the South Shore efficiently enough. The S55 should run down Arden Avenue instead of straight down Annadale Road (to provide that portion of Arden Heights with a more direct ride to the SIR & Tottenville High School), and the S56 should run straight across Woodrow. To take it one step further, it should be restructured with the S74 so that you have a route down Rossville/Foster/Seguine, and then a route straight across Woodrow, instead of having both routes meander around. (There should also be a route down Huguenot IMO)

[Gotham Bus Co.]

33 minutes ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

In any case, I think the big problem with the S55/56 is that they're too circuitous and don't serve the higher-density portions of the South Shore efficiently enough. The S55 should run down Arden Avenue instead of straight down Annadale Road (to provide that portion of Arden Heights with a more direct ride to the SIR & Tottenville High School), and the S56 should run straight across Woodrow. To take it one step further, it should be restructured with the S74 so that you have a route down Rossville/Foster/Seguine, and then a route straight across Woodrow, instead of having both routes meander around. (There should also be a route down Huguenot IMO)

 

Maybe something like that will arise out of the Staten Island local network redesign.

[B35 via Church]

23 hours ago, Q43LTD said:

I'm only gonna say this once. Do NOT ask me why I didn't combine the NYCT figures with the MTA Bus figures. The website has them on separate pages and it is very difficult for me to combine them. Hopefully when the merger comes through, they'll be combined.

Thanks to the power of Excel.....

Weekday locals

Brooklyn: Top 10 are the same NYCT routes you posted...

Bronx: Top 10 are the same NYCT routes you posted...

Manhattan: (No MTABus routes)

Queens: Q58 > Q44 > Q27 > Q10 > Q46 > Q52/53 > Q65 > Q25 > Q17 > Q23

Staten Island: (No MTABus routes)

 

Weekend locals

Brooklyn: B46 > B6 > B35 > B44 > B41 > B82 > B15 > B8 > B38 > B1

Bronx: Bx12 > Bx1/2 > Bx19 > Bx36 > Bx9 > Bx15 > Bx41 > Bx40/42 > Bx6  > Bx39

Manhattan: M15 > M14 > M101 > M60 > M86 > M100 > M7 > M104 > M3 > M4

Queens: Q58 > Q44 > Q52/53 > Q10 > Q27 > Q25 > Q60 > Q17 > Q65 > Q66

Staten Island: S79 > S53 > S48 > S44 > S78 > S74 > S46 > S62 > S61 > S40

[Around the Horn]

On 7/12/2018 at 6:05 PM, Lil 57 said:

They need to extend the S55/56 routes, I can see them being cut into school only routes if ridership keeps declining.

They need to extend one of them to Perth Amboy and maybe the other to Woodbridge (in addition to a north shore route going to Elizabeth)

[Q43LTD]

13 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

Thanks to the power of Excel.....

Weekday locals

Brooklyn: Top 10 are the same NYCT routes you posted...

Bronx: Top 10 are the same NYCT routes you posted...

Manhattan: (No MTABus routes)

Queens: Q58 > Q44 > Q27 > Q10 > Q46 > Q52/53 > Q65 > Q25 > Q17 > Q23

Staten Island: (No MTABus routes)

 

Weekend locals

Brooklyn: B46 > B6 > B35 > B44 > B41 > B82 > B15 > B8 > B38 > B1

Bronx: Bx12 > Bx1/2 > Bx19 > Bx36 > Bx9 > Bx15 > Bx41 > Bx40/42 > Bx6  > Bx39

Manhattan: M15 > M14 > M101 > M60 > M86 > M100 > M7 > M104 > M3 > M4

Queens: Q58 > Q44 > Q52/53 > Q10 > Q27 > Q25 > Q60 > Q17 > Q65 > Q66

Staten Island: S79 > S53 > S48 > S44 > S78 > S74 > S46 > S62 > S61 > S40

A lot of cutting and pasting? I gotta see the formula for this..

[B35 via Church]

16 minutes ago, Q43LTD said:

A lot of cutting and pasting? I gotta see the formula for this..

Actually, no..... All I did was copy & paste the stats for the NYCT routes & for the MTABus routes all on one sheet & did some (custom) sorting.

So going through with re-ranking everything (meaning, with all the local routes on one spreadsheet)....
Taking the (weekday) top 10 MTABus routes you already posted, I can tell you where they rank overall (out of 229):

Q10 (18th), Q52/53 (24th), Q65 (26th), Q25 (28th), Q23 (36th), Q60 (46th), B103 (47th), Q66 (48th), Q111 (64th), Q6 (74th)