M98 Bus: Riders, Speed & Reliability
Washington Heights - Upper East Side LTD · Limited · 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 M98?
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 M98 carries about 722 riders a day (October 2025 – September 2026), #253 of 339 NYC bus routes. On weekdays it is busiest around 7 AM, with about 253 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 178 St/Broadway | 177 |
| 3 Av/E 106 St | 155 |
| 3 Av/E 116 St | 116 |
| W 178 St/St Nicholas Av | 116 |
| 3 Av/E 86 St | 115 |
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 8.9 mph on weekdays, #79 fastest of 262 local and Select Bus routes, up from 8.8 mph the year before. 72.2% of its trips kept to their scheduled spacing (the MTA's "wait assessment"; local routes overall: 72.1%), and 98.6% of scheduled buses actually ran.
| M98 | All local and SBS routes | |
|---|---|---|
| Average weekday speed | 8.9 mph | 7.5 mph |
| Trips that kept their scheduled spacing | 72.2% | 72.1% |
| Scheduled buses that actually ran | 98.6% | 94% |
| Extra time at stops vs schedule | 2.8 min | – |
| Extra time on board vs schedule | -0 min | – |
| Bus-lane camera violations (12 months) | – | 2,864,642 |
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 M42 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 M35
Questions
How many people ride the M98 bus?
The M98 carries about 722 riders a day (October 2025 – September 2026), #253 of 339 NYC bus routes.
When is the M98 busiest?
On weekdays it is busiest around 7 AM, with about 253 riders that hour.
How fast is the M98 bus?
It averages 8.9 mph on weekdays, #79 fastest of 262 local and Select Bus routes, up from 8.8 mph the year before.
Is the M98 bus reliable?
72.2% of its trips kept to their scheduled spacing (the MTA's "wait assessment"; local routes overall: 72.1%), and 98.6% of scheduled buses actually ran.
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).