An Upper East Side bus route has earned the dubious distinction of being the slowest in the city. It is so painfully slow, you can briskly walk faster, according to the Straphangers Campaign, who says the M102 has won this year’s Pokey Award— a golden snail statuette on a pedestal— for the biggest slow poke.
According to the group— which advocates for safe, affordable and reliable public transportation— buses on the M102 route, which runs down Lexington Avenue and up Third Avenue through the UES, creep at a devastatingly slow 4.6 miles per hour, blamed on the ‘intense congestion’ in Manhattan.
“For years, the M102 has been on the list of slowest buses in New York City, so this year’s Pokey Award should come as no surprise,” said Megan Ahearn, with the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign, on Monday.
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“With buses maintaining higher ridership levels throughout the pandemic, the City’s transit leadership should be rolling out the red carpet for riders by enforcing bus lanes and opening all doors for boarding.”
The Straphangers Campaign says that the M102, whose route stretches from the East Village to Harlem, beat out the M14A this year to win the Pokey Award because the latter became a Select Bus Service route, speeding it up and knocking it out of contention.
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It’s not just the M102 that is excruciatingly slow either— the M101 and M103, which also run on Third and Lexington Avenues through the Upper East Side, as well as the M15, which runs on First and Second Avenues, were also ranked among some of the slowest in the entire city.
“Our findings highlight what many city bus riders already know from daily commuting,” said Cecilia Ellis, Coordinator for the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign
“Despite significant bus improvements in recent years, far too many riders still suffer slow and unreliable bus service.”
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I actually enjoy riding this line — I’m in no hurry.
When you think of all of the vehicles (especially those with out of state plates), bicyclists and e-everything that are driven in Manhattan, all of that traffic slows the bus down. Even with the bus lanes, it doesn’t help the bus drivers. Not to mention this bus, along with the M101 and M103 have very long routes and stop every other block for pick-ups and drop-offs. I know the trains aren’t safe (to put it mildly) but sometimes it is faster to take the train than the bus and there are many train stations along Lexington Avenue.