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Read the press release here.

M66 Bus Snags 'Pokey Award' For Slowest Service in City

By Alexandra Talty | December 15, 2015 6:47pm
 The Straphangers Campaign crowned the M66 the city's slowest bus route Tuesday.
The Straphangers Campaign crowned the M66 the city's slowest bus route Tuesday.
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MANHATTAN — You might want to rethink your commute if you take the M66 crosstown bus. 

The line was awarded the 14th annual "Pokey Award," given to the city's slowest bus line according to the Straphangers Campaign.

The route, which runs along 67th and 68th streets between West End and York avenues, clocked in at 3.1 miles per hour at noon on a weekday. The group claims that with an average speed of 4 miles per hour, the average turtle moves faster. 

Bus speeds were collected by Straphangers Campaign staff and volunteers on 35 routes. The group selected lines that had high riderships or were historically slow, like Manhattan's crosstown routes. 

This was actually the second year the M66 earned its title and trophy — a golden snail on a pedestal. Although comparing winners year to year is difficult because methodology and bus lines change, the M66 also was crowned before in 2012

The 10th annual 'Schleppie Award' for the least reliable bus route was also given out Tuesday. It was a tie between the M1 and combined M101, M102 and M103 buses. Official transit statistics showed that 37 percent of buses on those routes arrived with gaps in service or bunched together. 

“In the realm of unreliable bus service, the M1 is the king, and the local M101/102/103 is the queen," said Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives, in a release. 

The M1, which runs from the East Village to Harlem on Fifth and Madison Avenues, moves 12,210 riders on an average weekday.

The M101, M102 and M103 operate from Lower to Upper Manhattan along Third, Lexington, Lenox and Amsterdam avenues, moving 52,311 riders on an average weekday.