Bus Reliability Rankings 2024-2025: Who Actually Improved?
Bus reliability in the US, 2024-2025
The short answer: the biggest bus reliability problems in the US in 2024 and 2025 were concentrated in large, congestion-heavy cities, with New York City drawing the clearest negative spotlight in recent reporting. A 2025 city comptroller review of MTA data from June 2024 through June 2025 found only 144 of 332 NYC bus routes earned passing grades, while roughly 56% of routes ran at speeds considered substantially below expected levels and more than 70% of Manhattan buses outside the congestion zone received D or F grades.
What the rankings show
There is no single federal "bus reliability ranking" for all US cities, so the most useful 2024-2025 picture comes from city and regional performance reports, rider grades, and route-level data. In the clearest large-city example, New York's bus system was described as having wide reliability gaps, with only a small share of routes reaching top grades and several express and local lines performing especially poorly.
For broader transportation context, 2024 traffic conditions also mattered because road congestion directly affects bus punctuality. A 2025 urban mobility report based on 2024 data found that New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles were among the worst US cities for commute delays overall, which helps explain why bus service in those metros often struggles to stay on schedule.
Worst-performing city
New York City stands out as the most clearly documented major US bus system with poor reliability in the 2024-2025 period. The report cited above said just 8% of NYC bus routes received a B or higher, only seven routes got an A, and the worst local routes were concentrated in the outer boroughs, where cluster delays and slow travel speeds were common.
The most criticized routes in the report included several express lines with on-time performance in the mid-30% range, while multiple local routes were flagged for failing to meet acceptable on-time thresholds. The same reporting also noted that congestion pricing improved bus reliability by 9.2% inside the tolling zone from January to June 2025, showing that policy changes can move the numbers even in a difficult system.
Illustrative ranking table
The table below is a structured, article-friendly summary of how the 2024-2025 US bus reliability picture looked in major markets discussed in reporting, using only the strongest documented signals available from the cited sources.
| City or system | Reliability signal | 2024-2025 takeaway |
|---|---|---|
| New York City | Only 144 of 332 routes passed; 56% of routes were substantially below expected speed | Worst-documented large-city bus reliability problem in the period |
| Chicago | Included among the worst US commuter-delay metros in 2025 reporting | Congestion likely weighed on bus punctuality even where route-level grades were not cited |
| Los Angeles | Ranked worst in total commute-delay hours in 2025 reporting based on 2024 data | Traffic conditions suggest chronic bus unreliability pressures |
| National intercity carriers | Several brands were recognized among the top 10 Best Bus Services in 2025 readers' voting | Intercity service quality can differ sharply from city transit reliability |
Why buses fail on time
The main drivers of poor bus reliability are usually the same across US cities: traffic congestion, inconsistent boarding times, curbside conflicts, long signal delays, and route designs that force buses to share space with cars. In New York, the report explicitly linked poor results to traffic-heavy corridors, especially where buses ran at speeds comparable to walking pace.
Another factor is network design. Routes with too many stops, weak transit priority, and chronic bunching create a domino effect, where one late bus causes the next one to inherit an overloaded stop pattern and a growing delay.
What improved in 2025
Not all the news was bad. The strongest documented improvement in the period came from Manhattan's congestion-priced zone, where bus reliability reportedly improved by 9.2% from January through June 2025. That kind of gain matters because it suggests the worst bus delays are not inevitable; they respond to road management, enforcement, and lane priority.
Still, the improvement was uneven. Even after those gains, more than 70% of Manhattan buses outside the tolling zone were still graded D or F, showing that isolated fixes do not automatically lift a whole citywide network.
Best and worst signals
- Worst documented city: New York City, based on route-grade and on-time data in the 2024-2025 period.
- Worst operating pattern: Routes with chronic bunching, speeds near walking pace, and on-time rates near or below 40%.
- Best sign of progress: Congestion-pricing-related improvement inside Manhattan's tolling zone in 2025.
- National contrast: Some intercity brands received positive public recognition in 2025, showing that "bus reliability" varies widely by market.
How to read rankings
- Check whether the ranking measures route punctuality, average speed, rider satisfaction, or traffic delay, because each metric tells a different story.
- Look for the date range, since 2024 data can look very different from mid-2025 results after policy changes.
- Separate city transit from intercity coach service, because a strong national carrier does not mean a city bus network is reliable.
- Pay attention to geography, since outer-borough and suburban routes often perform differently from central corridors.
Historical context
Bus reliability has been a recurring US transit problem for decades, but the 2024-2025 period sharpened the issue because cities were still dealing with post-pandemic ridership shifts, slow traffic recovery, and major street congestion. In that environment, the difference between a route with transit priority and a route without it became more visible than ever.
That is why many transit advocates treat bus reliability as a street-management problem as much as a transit problem. When buses are slowed by cars, double parking, and long dwell times, the system can look unreliable even when vehicles and staffing are technically available.
"Buses can only be as reliable as the streets they run on," is the practical lesson implied by the 2025 NYC findings, where speed, punctuality, and congestion all moved together.
What riders should watch
If you are comparing bus reliability across US cities, the most useful indicators are on-time rate, average operating speed, route spacing, and whether a system uses bus lanes or signal priority. In the 2024-2025 period, those indicators pointed most strongly to New York City as the most troubled major-market case, while broader commute-delay data suggested Los Angeles and Chicago also faced serious traffic-related headwinds.
The bottom line for searchers is simple: the US did not have one clean national bus ranking in 2024 or 2025, but the available evidence consistently showed that the worst reliability problems clustered in the largest, most congested cities, with New York City most clearly documented as the weakest performer.
Everything you need to know about Bus Reliability Rankings 2024 2025 Who Actually Improved
Which US city had the worst bus reliability in 2025?
New York City had the clearest and most extensively documented bus reliability problems in 2025, with only 144 of 332 routes passing and more than half of routes running substantially below expected speeds.
Are bus reliability rankings the same as ridership rankings?
No. Ridership measures how many people use the system, while reliability measures whether buses arrive on time and move at workable speeds, so a busy system can still perform poorly.
Did congestion pricing help buses?
Yes, at least in Manhattan's tolling zone, where bus reliability improved by 9.2% from January to June 2025, according to the cited reporting.
What should I compare when looking at bus reliability rankings?
Compare on-time performance, average speed, route frequency, crowding, and whether a city has bus lanes or signal priority, because those features heavily shape reliability outcomes.