Many more will come when the new unlimited-ride monthly, weekly and daily passes start next July. More riders bring greater public interest and have already generated modest increases in service this year. But it is also the worst of times, with poor quality and inadequate levels of scheduled service. Buses crawl both because of traffic congestion and the city's failure to give adequate street space priority to buses. The Straphangers Campaign believes that now is the best time in many years to build public awareness and support for a better bus system.
Many bus routes are unreliable, plagued with disruptions, bunching and gaps in service.
The amount of scheduled service is grossly inadequate. Riders often do not get basic information about stops, with decent announcements few and far between. Nearly a third of buses coming out of some of the worst depots have illegible or incorrect bus maps. Many bus windows are scratched. On some routes, almost a third of the buses are dirty and have damage to their exterior panels.