NYC buses average 5-8 mph — slower than a bicycle — because they have no physical separation from car traffic

New York City's local buses crawl at an average of about 8 miles per hour systemwide. The worst offenders are dramatically slower: the M42 crosstown bus averaged 5.25 mph in 2025, earning the annual "Pokey Award" from transit advocates. The Bx35 managed 5.59 mph. At these speeds, a person on a bicycle — or in some cases, a brisk jogger — moves faster than a bus carrying 40 people. The core mechanical cause is simple: buses sit in the same traffic as private cars, stop at the same red lights, and have no physical infrastructure separating them from congestion. The downstream pain is enormous. An 8 mph average means a 4-mile crosstown trip takes 30 minutes by bus versus 12 minutes by car or 15 minutes by bike. This isn't a minor inconvenience — it makes the bus an irrational choice for anyone with alternatives, which hollows out ridership to only those who have no other option. Lower ridership weakens the political case for bus investment, which means fewer bus lanes, which means slower buses — a death spiral. The NYC Comptroller's "Life in the Slow Lane" report documented how this speed penalty falls disproportionately on low-income riders and communities of color who are most transit-dependent. The structural reason this persists is political, not technical. Physically separated bus lanes (concrete barriers, not just paint) demonstrably increase speeds by 15-33%. NYC's congestion pricing, implemented in January 2025, delivered immediate bus speed improvements in Manhattan. But installing bus lanes means removing car lanes or parking, which triggers fierce opposition from local businesses, elected officials responsive to car-owning constituents, and community boards. Each mile of protected bus lane requires years of environmental review, community engagement, and political capital. The result: the technical solution exists and is proven, but the political cost of deploying it at scale is one that few city leaders are willing to pay.