NYC bus riders lost 7.5 million
hours this summer
Extra waiting at bus stops accounted for 84% of the time riders lost. An analysis of MTA passenger estimates adds up the extra minutes spent waiting and riding beyond what the bus schedule called for.
Compare total hours lost to see where delays cost riders the most time collectively. Compare minutes per ride to see the average loss on an individual bus ride.
Ten routes where riders lost the most time
Ten routes ranked by total hours lost. Select a route to see its monthly results.
Find your route
Where the MTA and city should focus
Riders on the Tremont Avenue route lost 143,667 hours over the summer, the largest total among the 268 routes studied. Extra waiting averaged 3.26 minutes per ride.
The Tremont busway opened September 23. The summer results give the MTA and NYC DOT a starting point: track whether riders wait less and their trips become more dependable after the opening.
Church Avenue’s B35 riders averaged 3.98 extra minutes waiting for each ride, compared with about six extra seconds onboard. Together, those delays cost riders 119,855 hours.
Bus-priority work on Church Avenue needs a target for reducing that extra wait. The MTA should pair that work with a review of how regularly buses arrive.
On Flatbush Avenue, 61% of B41 rides finished within five minutes of their scheduled travel time, compared with 71% citywide. Riders lost 122,726 hours over the summer.
NYC DOT began rebuilding Flatbush Avenue in April, with construction scheduled into the fall. The MTA and city should report whether riders wait less and trips become more dependable after construction ends.
The MTA and NYC DOT should set targets for shorter waits and more dependable trips, then publish the results after each major bus-priority project opens. Riders should be able to see how much time they get back.
How the numbers were calculated
MTA’s Bus Customer Journey-Focused Metrics estimate how much longer riders wait and travel than the schedule calls for. The analysis adds up that extra time across all estimated rides on 268 Local/Limited and Select Bus Service routes in June–August 2026. The figures include rush-hour and other trips whose wait begins between 4 AM and 11 PM. Express service and the source’s combined ALL records are excluded.
An hour lost is an hour of passenger time: ten riders each waiting six extra minutes add up to one hour. The calculation multiplies each record’s extra waiting and onboard minutes by its estimated rides, adds the results, and divides by 60. Minutes per ride use the same ride counts. The share finishing within five minutes of schedule is also weighted by rides.
MTA estimates each bus boarding as one ride; a bus transfer creates another ride. Negative time means a shorter wait or ride than scheduled. Those time gains are included in the totals. The 84% figure compares extra waiting with the combined extra waiting and onboard time after those gains are included.
Route names come from the MTA route catalog. Dated city announcements document the Tremont opening and Flatbush construction. The summer results precede the Tremont opening and overlap Flatbush construction. The calculation record provides exact values behind rounded figures.
Route results (CSV)Calculation record (JSON)Calculation record (CSV)MTA source recordsAgency definitions and source archive