M42 Bus: Riders, Speed & Reliability
United Nations - W 42 St Pier · Local · Report card from MTA open data, October 2025 – September 2026 · Not affiliated with the MTA · Live bus times on MTA Bus Time →
How busy is the M42?
Average riders per hour on weekdays, Aug 26, 2026 – Oct 20, 2026. Riders are paid entries (OMNY taps and MetroCard swipes), so people who board without paying aren't counted; riders a day covers October 2025 – September 2026.
The M42 carries about 5,908 riders a day (October 2025 – September 2026), #56 of 339 NYC bus routes. On weekdays it is busiest around 8 AM, with about 895 riders that hour.
Busiest stops
MTA estimates for September 2026 from passenger counters on the buses, both directions. They count everyone who boards, so they can run higher than fare-based ridership.
| Stop | Boardings on an average weekday |
|---|---|
| W 42 St/8 Av | 1,417 |
| W 42 St/11 Av | 1,016 |
| W 42 St/10 Av | 847 |
| W 42 St/7 Av | 800 |
| W 42 St/8 Av | 671 |
Speed and reliability
October 2025 – September 2026. Speed includes time at stops and lights. "Spacing" is the MTA's wait assessment: the gap between buses stays within a few minutes of schedule.
It averages 4.9 mph on weekdays, #260 fastest of 262 local and Select Bus routes, down from 5 mph the year before. 74.1% of its trips kept to their scheduled spacing (the MTA's "wait assessment"; local routes overall: 72.1%), and 92.4% of scheduled buses actually ran.
| M42 | All local and SBS routes | |
|---|---|---|
| Average weekday speed | 4.9 mph | 7.5 mph |
| Trips that kept their scheduled spacing | 74.1% | 72.1% |
| Scheduled buses that actually ran | 92.4% | 94% |
| Extra time at stops vs schedule | 2 min | – |
| Extra time on board vs schedule | 1.1 min | – |
| Bus-lane camera violations (12 months) | 20,289 | 2,864,642 |
Bus cameras on the M42 issued about 20,289 violations to vehicles blocking its bus lanes or stops in the last 12 months.
Other Manhattan routes
All routes M15-SBS M15 M86-SBS M101 M14D-SBS M4 M96 M3 M11 M60-SBS M79-SBS M1 M31 M102 M23-SBS M7 M103 M2 M104 M14A-SBS M66 M57 M5 M100 M34-SBS M34A-SBS M116 M125 M9 M72 M10 M50 M55 M20 M22 M106 M12 M21 M8 M98 M35
Questions
How many people ride the M42 bus?
The M42 carries about 5,908 riders a day (October 2025 – September 2026), #56 of 339 NYC bus routes.
When is the M42 busiest?
On weekdays it is busiest around 8 AM, with about 895 riders that hour.
How fast is the M42 bus?
It averages 4.9 mph on weekdays, #260 fastest of 262 local and Select Bus routes, down from 5 mph the year before.
Is the M42 bus reliable?
74.1% of its trips kept to their scheduled spacing (the MTA's "wait assessment"; local routes overall: 72.1%), and 92.4% of scheduled buses actually ran.
How many bus-lane tickets are issued on the M42?
Bus cameras on the M42 issued about 20,289 violations to vehicles blocking its bus lanes or stops in the last 12 months.
More NYC transit data
- NYC subway ridership: Busiest stations, find your station and an animated subway map, updated daily.
- NYC congestion pricing: Zone map, hours, cost and daily data on whether it's working.
- Every subway line ranked: Which line is the worst? On-time rates, delays and a report card for each line.
Let's talk about transit data
Found something surprising about your station? Have a question the data could answer, or an idea for what to dig into next (congestion pricing, a train line, an event)? I'd love to hear it, and I'm always up for talking about transit data.
Data (data.ny.gov): Bus Hourly Ridership, Bus Speeds, Wait Assessment, Service Delivered, Customer Journey Metrics, Stop Ridership Estimates, Camera Enforcement Violations. Updated Oct 28, 2026. The MTA's own charts: metrics.mta.info.
Source code: github.com/MantieReid/mta-data-analysis · Analysis by Mantie Reid II (CC BY 4.0).