Just because they call it “express” doesn’t mean it will get you to work on time.
The MTA’s “fast” buses run behind schedule about a third of the time, according to a new city comptroller audit.
“This is more than just a statistic,” said Comptroller Scott Stringer. “A missed bus could mean a missed opportunity, lost wages or missed time with children. MTA management needs to wake up and work with drivers and riders so that these buses are more reliable.”
Express buses missed the mark 31.3 percent of the time, even though the MTA gives them a 5-minute cushion before deeming them late.
The Comptroller’s Office studied 12 express routes and found that Staten Island’s X1 and X17 buses ran the latest. They were behind schedule about 36 percent of the time.
Other buses were too early. Over a two-month period, 19 express buses left before the scheduled departure time.
Express buses typically did worse in the evening commute when riders make their way home, the audit found — more than half of all late buses were during that rush period.
Waits for late buses ranged from six minutes to as long as 28 minutes.
The audit also said the MTA received over 650 complaints from riders about late express buses in five months in 2014.
The MTA claimed that the best measure of customer experience is not whether an express bus is on time, but whether service is evenly spaced.
It has made a similar claim about the subway, arguing that riders don’t usually know what time their train is scheduled to leave. But express buses don’t come as often as the subway does.
“It’s totally different than the trains,” said Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign, who said the MTA needs to be more creative with using new high-tech bus software to improve service and look at tools like off-board fare collection.
“That’s not how buses work. The riders have a totally different expectation.”
The MTA also said that it has no control over traffic and road conditions, but noted that it has overhauled how it tracks complaints and is using BusTime to quickly give riders real-time information.