Millions of New Yorkers ride MTA buses every day, but many Bronx riders say the system is anything but reliable — and the Bx32 is their proof.
Karen Washington says it’s no surprise the Bx32 is one of two Bronx routes given an “F” rating by the city comptroller. With an average speed under 6 mph, the route ranks as the third-slowest bus in New York City.
“It always comes late or early. Never on time,” Washington said.
Other riders share the frustration. Abdul, who takes the Bx32 regularly, says it often crawls along the route.
“It seems like it’s hardly moving,” he said. “It might take you an hour to get from Kingsbridge to here.”
Many riders say the MTA’s transit app makes things worse. They rely on arrival times that often change without warning.
“You’ll see the bus says two minutes away, and then suddenly it’s nowhere to be found,” said one rider who’s been left waiting more than once.
A student who takes the route home says cars parked in bus lanes make delays even longer.
“It’s supposed to be a 20-minute ride, but sometimes it’s 30 or 40 because the lanes aren’t big enough for the cars and the buses,” the student said.
The MTA has been expanding its Automated Camera Enforcement (ACE) program, which tickets drivers blocking bus lanes. The agency says 51 routes now use bus-mounted cameras — speeding up travel times on those lines by an average of 5% and serving more than 800,000 riders a week.
But the Bx32 isn’t one of them.
Riders say that means the delays — and the consequences — keep piling up.
“It’s frustrating when you gotta go to work and your boss gets mad at you for being late every other day,” Abdul said.
The MTA says it will work with the city Department of Transportation to evaluate all routes, including in the Bronx, for future ACE expansion. But that process would not begin until at least next year.
For Bx32 riders, that means more waiting — on the sidewalk and for a faster ride that still hasn’t come.