Sluggish Performance: Lander's School Bus Report Shows Inferior Service on Over Half of Bus Routes

New York City's bus service has come under the spotlight following the publication of a report by City Comptroller Brad Lander, titled "Life in the Slow Lane: A Report Card for NYC Buses". The report, published on September 4, 2024, gives more than half of the 332 bus lines a "D" or worse grade.

The report found consistent patterns of "underperformance" across the bus system, with 56% of bus lines being poor-performing. One of the key issues highlighted is the bunching of buses, where buses arrive too often and back-to-back, resulting in long waits for commuters at bus stops. Brooklyn had the highest rate of bunching, with 15% of buses bunched, compared to the citywide average of 10.6%.

Another concern raised in the report is the lack of information about which New York City bus lines received an 'A' grade. Only seven buses received an "A" grade: the B31, B84, BX29, M60-Select Bus Service (SBS), Q35, S89, and SIM26. On the other hand, 186 bus lines received an unsatisfactory "D or F" grade.

City officials have acknowledged the issues and have pledged to make improvements. MTA officials stated that the Queens bus network redesign, which initiated its first phase of a system-wide overhaul on June 29, 2024, is one of several actions the agency is taking to improve bus service citywide. Another bus-lane project is in progress on Hillside Avenue in Queens.

The DOT has also been active in improving bus service, with several projects completed and more in the works. These include bus lanes on 96th Street in Manhattan, Northern Boulevard in Queens, and Livingston Street in Brooklyn. The MTA can set goals to increase bus speeds by 15% citywide, according to NYC Transit's acting senior vice president of buses, Frank Farrell.

City Comptroller Brad Lander also called out "failures" on the MTA's part but noted that these issues provide opportunities for improvement. He suggested that city and state officials can "target interventions" to improve bus performance using the letter-grade system.

In a positive note, between Jan. 1 and June 1, 2025, reliability scores for buses operating in the Central Business District improved by 9.2%. Express buses had a higher average speed but a much lower on-time rate than the overall bus system.

To address the issue of bunching, reducing the rate on high-frequency bus routes from 10.6% to 5% will help improve bus service significantly. Borough President Mark Levine suggested improving bus service in Manhattan by fully funding and implementing the Streets Master Plan, improving bus lanes citywide, and implementing all-door boarding on all buses.

NYC commuters can see the grades of each NYC bus line using a search tool on the comptroller's website at comptroller.nyc.gov. The report card serves as a call to action for city and state officials to prioritise and invest in improving New York City's bus service.

Sluggish Performance: Lander's School Bus Report Shows Inferior Service on Over Half of Bus Routes