Public transport humiliated . . . by a kid's trike!

I love this report in the New York Daily News.

The M42 bus is so slow, a grown man on a child's Big Wheel-like trike can beat it across midtown.

Mark Malkoff, 35, challenged one of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's notoriously sluggish buses in a mile race on 42nd St. from 10th Ave. to Madison Ave. and won by two minutes and 38 seconds.

"The race made me feel like I was part Evil Knievel, part Lance Armstrong and part Steve-O from the 'Jackass' movies," Malkoff told the Daily News yesterday.

. . .

Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign said Malkoff's feat is less surprising than it is aggravating: "It's a fact of New York life, but it's awful," he said. "That bus is actually slower than a running chicken."

The 5-foot-7, 131-pound Malkoff set out at 1:18 p.m on Feb. 17 to test his pedal power against the MTA behemoth. Riding a Razor Rip Rider 360 he ordered off Amazon for $80, Malkoff waited for his unsuspecting opponent at the traffic light at 10th Ave. and 42nd St.

"Once the green light went, the bus was destroying me," Malkoff said. "Then we were neck and neck for a while, and suddenly I was able to propel myself faster."

. . .

Malkoff made it to Madison Ave. in 12 minutes and 42 seconds. The bus took 15 minutes and 20 seconds to cover the same distance at an average of 3.9 mph.

There's more at the link. Here's a video of Mr. Malkoff's "race" with the bus.

No word on whether the NYC MTA will challenge him to a return bout - this time mounted on a tortoise . . .





Peter