The reporters were waiting, and the bus was late.
As he has campaigned to be New York City’s next mayor, Zohran Mamdani’s proposal to make city buses “fast and free” has been among his splashiest. But while his push to eliminate fares has garnered the most attention, the other half of his plan would address an issue that governors, transit advocates and everyday New Yorkers have bemoaned for many years: the bus is too slow.
So on Wednesday, Mr. Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, rode the full route of the M57, a crosstown bus that traverses Midtown Manhattan and is one of the city’s slowest, to remind New Yorkers that he wanted to speed up their commutes. Awaiting him at the end of the line was a news conference with his supporters, two allied lawmakers and a host of journalists.
Perhaps fittingly, Mr. Mamdani arrived 25 minutes behind schedule.
“What good is a free bus if it’s a slow bus?” Mr. Mamdani said. “That’s why we are also fighting to make these buses fast.”
New York City’s bus system is a vital lifeline, particularly in parts of boroughs outside Manhattan that the city’s arterial subway system does not reach. Buses generally serve New Yorkers who are older and poorer than those riding the subway. And because most subway stations lack elevators and are not fully accessible, buses provide valuable connections for many New Yorkers with mobility issues.
Those riders are increasingly frustrated. New York has some of the slowest buses in the nation, with a citywide average speed of about 8 miles per hour. Though both Mayor Eric Adams and his predecessor, Bill de Blasio, vowed to speed them up, progress, like many of the buses, has been behind schedule.
Mr. Adams, in particular, pledged to create 150 miles of bus lanes in four years, and has fallen far short. His administration has also stalled projects meant to help boost transit use, notably rolling back a plan to address bus infrastructure on Fordham Road in the Bronx.
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The post On One of New York’s Slowest Buses, Mamdani Pushes Plan to Speed Them Up appeared first on New York Times.
