The borough's S78, which travels along Hylan Boulevard, between the ferry and Bricktown Mall, received strong consideration for "The Schleppie Award," a separate distinction which measures the city's most unreliable routes.STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Oh, the disgrace!
Buses plying some borough routes have received "awards" of dubious distinction for being among the most unreliable and slowest in the city.
The dishonors are doled out annually by the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign and Transportation Alternatives, two city transit advocacy groups.
The Schleppie Award -- designating the most unreliable route -- goes to Manhattan's M101/102/103. Unreliable 27.3 percent of the time, it connects Washington Heights and the East Village.
But hot on its heels is the S78 (St. George to Charleston, via Hylan Boulevard), which rates as fifth-least-reliable, at 24 percent, followed by the S74 (Tompkinsville to Charleston, via Richmond and Arthur Kill roads), which takes 10th place at 22.1 percent. The S44 (St. George to New Springville, via Richmond Avenue) places 16th, with a reliability rating of 20.1 percent.
Schleppie Awards are based on the percentages of buses departing significantly off schedule, based on MTA New York City Transit data, according to the advocacy groups.
And then there are the slowest bus routes, designated by the Pokey Award, a golden snail on a pedestal trophy.
The S48 (St. George to Mariners Harbor, via Forest Avenue), the S53 (Bay Ridge to Port Richmond, via Clove Road) and the S79 (Bay Ridge to New Springville, via Hylan Boulevard) rank 30th, 34th and 35th, respectively, on the dilatory list, but they are lightning-fast compared to this year's Pokey winner.
The S48 clocked in at an astounding 8.8 miles per hour, compared to Manhattan's M50 crosstown bus -- the slowest in the city -- which moves at an average speed of 3.5 mph at noon on a weekday, the groups found.
"You can push a lawnmower faster crosstown than it takes the M50 to go from First to 12th Avenue," said Gene Russianoff, attorney for NYPIRG's Straphangers Campaign.
The routes were evaluated by volunteers and staff from the groups between May 31 and Sept. 1.