By Philip Newman
The slowest bus in Queens is the Q58, which averages 7 miles an hour, but that is speeding when compared to the winners, which creep along Manhattan crosstown routes.
The transit activist agency Straphangers Campaign awarded the “prize” jointly to the M66 and the M42, which tied for slowest in the agency’s 11th annual Pokey Awards.
The award, represented by a golden snail on a pedestal, is for the slowest local bus route.
Manhattan’s M42, which runs crosstown on 42nd Street, and M66, which runs crosstown on 65th and 66th streets, were clocked at an average speed of 3.9 mph.
“The M66 and M42 would lose a race to an amusement park bumper car — and be a lot less fun!” said Gene Russianoff, attorney for the Straphangers.
The Schleppie Award for the least reliable bus went to the M4 in Manhattan. The Straphangers said almost 30 percent of M4 buses, which travel up Madison Avenue from Penn Station to Washington Heights, arrive bunched together or with major gaps.
The Q58 bus, the slowest in Queens, runs from Ridgewood to Flushing-Main Street.
The Straphangers praised the new Select Bus Service, which the agency said was “living up to their promise” by improving bus service. The Select buses have features such as pre-boarding and exclusive lanes to save time.
Reach contributing writer Philip Newman by e-mail at timesledgernews@cnglocal.com or phone at 718-260-4536.
