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Bus Service Reliability in NYC
Percentage of bus lines experiencing delays vs on-time performance
Primary Sources
What NYC bus riders really want from Mamdani
Your browser does not support the video element. Stephen Yang for BI What NYC bus riders really want from Mamdani The mayor promised fast and free buses. New Yorkers just hope they arrive on time. Your browser does not support the video element. Stephen Yang for BI By Allie Kelly You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email. 2026-05-17T09:04:01.258Z Read in app Ana Terrones sat in a window seat of the M15 Select bus, brushing raindrops off her jacket and scrolling through her phone. The glow of incoming text messages bounced off her glasses.The 34-year-old mom of three was en route from the Bronx to the Upper East Side, where she's a housekeeper at a luxury apartment. At 8:13 a.m., she was praying the bus would arrive in time for her to pick up a light cappuccino from her usual bodega before clocking in to work by 9. Ana Terrones, 34, and her husband live in the Bronx with their daughters. Stephen Yang for BI New York City's rent and grocery prices "get worse every year," she said, but she rarely notices small line items like a $3 bus fare. Saving minutes is more valuable than a few dollars.On a Wednesday morning in May, a dozen commuters on the city's busiest bus route had strikingly similar views about Mayor Zohran Mamdani's fast-and-free bus pitch, one of his most highly publicized affordability promises. Riders told me how they make ends meet in one of America's most expensive cities. They mentioned groceries, housing, and childcare — and needing to get to work on time. The crowd was less enthused about the "free" part. The M15 was full of students, parents with children in strollers, and people on their way to work. It smelled like coffee, rain, and dust. Stephen Yang for BI One-third of buses fail to show up at their scheduled stops on time, and the majority of lines with frequent service experience delays. Stephen Yang for BI "I often have to run and race for the bus, and it's not reliable," one rider told me. "Then, sometimes on the weekends, I have to wait nearly 20 minutes." By the end of his term, Mamdani hopes to eliminate fares on the city's more than 300 bus routes, an undertaking that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars and require significant support from both local and state lawmakers.The administration also aims to take on the less expensive task of making the bus system faster and more reliable. While Mamdani's camp says they can achieve both goals, I wanted to k...
Mamdani wants free buses. Here's what New Yorkers really think.
Fri, May 15, 2026 at 8:59 PM UTC0AdvertisementMayor Zohran Mamdani has made a huge promise to New Yorkers: make buses free and faster. Business Insider's Allie Kelly rode on one of the busiest bus routes in New York City to ask commuters what they thought.AdvertisementFrom Our Partners
Neither fast nor free: MTA fare crackdown slows some buses
17 hours ago ... Mayor Zohran Mamdani's promise to make the city's buses "fast and free" is on a collision course with the MTA's push to crack down on fare evasion.
"We both have free things for public transportation." A ... - Facebook
Never in my wildest dreams did I think; I'd be rooting for Spencer Pratt. 1d · 14 likes.
