East Village Bus Named Slowest In NYC By Transit Advocates

EAST VILLAGE, NY — In some bad news for East Village commuters, the local M102 was just named the slowest bus in New York City by a group of transit advocates.

The line that runs from the East Village to Harlem recently won the 17th rendition of the Pokey Awards, given out by the New York Public Interest Research Group's Straphanger Campaign and the advocacy organization TransitCenter.

The M102 had an average speed so far this year of an excruciating 4.6 MPH, according to the transit groups.

Representatives from the group pointed it is slower than the average speed of a fluttering butterfly, which typically has a pace of 5 MPH.

“The M102 and many other New York City buses are devastatingly slow, but we know that
dedicated bus lanes, all-door boarding, and congestion pricing will speed them up,” said
Ashley Pryce, TransitCenter Senior Advocacy Associate, in a news release. “Hundreds of thousands of riders rely on New York City buses every day, and they need the MTA, the City, and the Governor to enact these solutions.”

Here are the five slowest buses in the city, according to the groups.

• M102: 4.6 MPH - Between Harlem and the East Village
• Bx19: 4.8 MPH - Between New York Botanical Garden and Riverbank Park, Manhattan
• B35: Between Brownsville and Sunset Park
• Q32: Between Jackson Heights and Penn Station
• S48: Between St. George and Mariners Harbor

In a bit of good news, nearly all the city's slowest bus lines have gotten faster since the last Pokey Award given out in 2019 (besides the Q32).

You can check out the full report on New York City's slowest buses — here.