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Unlike adults, NYC kids love the MTA's buses. Why?

By

James Ramsay

Published Nov 22, 2024

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a kid on a bus

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By

James Ramsay

Published Nov 22, 2024

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This column originally appeared in On The Way, a weekly newsletter covering everything you need to know about NYC-area transportation.

Sign up to get the full version, which includes answers to reader questions, trivia, service changes and more, in your inbox every Thursday.

If you’re reading this (because you’re an adult with an email address), it’s very possible you abhor the MTA’s sluggish bus service.

They’re often stuck behind double-parked cars. Nearly half of riders don’t bother paying the fare. The MTA’s buses are the slowest in the nation. Average bus speeds rarely exceed a laughable 9 mph, and can actually be as low as 4 mph, which is comparable to a person traveling on foot.

For years, I had the same general impression. Then my oldest daughter learned how to talk — and started begging to ride the bus, anywhere, for no particular reason.

I don’t have hard stats or polling data, but I think it’s a universal truth that buses excite children. (Even at Disneyworld!) So, during a recent visit to the New York Transit Museum in Downtown Brooklyn, we asked kids a simple question: Why do you all love the bus so much?

Here are some of their responses:

“I like the bus because the train sometimes goes too fast. I like taking the bus because it’s at a decent pace,” said 9-year-old Maya.

“The train is kind of smelly — I think buses are more exciting because you’re out in the open air,” said 10-year-old Naomi.

“I feel a lot cooler [than in a car] because I’m on a big old bus,” said 5-year-old Lazlo.

“I always take the seat in the back where it’s high up. You can see better, it gives me a little lift, and I like to touch…the yellow string,” said 9-year-old Polina.

“You could go through and see all over the place, and have fun while doing it,” said 7-year-old Anthony.

Decent pace! Not-as-bad smells! Yellow cords to pull!

Amy Boyle, the museum’s Director of Education, said children’s fondness for buses also likely stems from the song “Wheels on the Bus,” interacting with other passengers and the magic of getting picked up by a massive vehicle and transported to a different part of the city.

“It can feel like time travel,” said Boyle. “You’re traveling between different worlds.”

At a certain age, when bus service becomes an obstacle for commuters, does that enthusiasm die?

Boyle said the transit museum’s annual bus festival in Brooklyn not only draws kids clamoring to check out vintage New York City buses — but also attracts adults lighting up at the sight of buses from their childhood.

“They’re able to divorce themselves from the experiences they have in the day-to-day that are frustrating with buses, and get back to that magic,” she said.

Have a question about subway cars (or literally anything else NYC-transit related)? Use this form to submit yours and we may answer it in a future newsletter!

But note that Curious Commuter questions are exclusive for On The Way newsletter subscribers. Sign up for free here.

Question from Peter in Brooklyn

The Q trains used to use the R160 model trains before it was switched to the older R46 during the height of the pandemic. These trains are old, loud and cause a lot of vibrations. When will Q trains go back to the R160 models or ones that don’t feel like an earthquake each time it's driving by?

Answer

The MTA swapped out the newer trains on the Q line with older models that used to run on the G line three years ago. The move was in part due to the MTA’s plans to upgrade the signal system on the G line. The older train cars — called R46s and R68s — date back to the 1970s and 1980s, respectively, and aren’t able to run new technology that uses computer systems to direct trains along the tracks. The MTA spent the summer shutting down entire stretches of the G line to modernize the signal system — but that tech won’t go online for another few years. Still, there is some hope for the return of new trains to the Q line. The MTA plans to modernize the signals on the Broadway Line, which carries the N, Q, R and W trains, through its next capital plan. That plan faces a $33 billion funding hole — but if the agency finds a way to pay for those signal upgrades, Peter will once again be riding in style.

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