The Straphangers Campaign presented its awards Tuesday for the two slowest bus routes in New York CityThe "Schleppie" award, given to the least reliable bus service, went to the M-1 bus that runs on Fifth, Madison and Park avenues in Manhattan.Nearly one in three of its buses have big gaps in service or are off schedule, according to the Campaign, which gives it the worst record for the 42 key local routes for which MTA New York City Transit calculates reliability measures.The "Pokey" award, as in slow-poke, was given to the M-23 cross-town bus.The M-23 averaged just 4 miles an hour at noon on weekdays.That's not much faster than the 3 miles an hour clocked by the average person on foot.Last year's winner was the M14A crosstown.Weekday noontime speeds for the Pokey were found by volunteers riding 23 of the city's slowest bus routes. Reliability was measured for the Schleppie by using measures kept by MTA New York City Transit on how well buses kept to scheduled times and intervals."Our awards highlight what bus riders know from bitter daily experience: New York City has the pokiest and schleppiest buses in the nation," said Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign, who wore a tuxedo in presenting the Schleppie award."But help is on the way," tuxedo-clad executive director of Tranportation Alternatives Paul Steely White said. "Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing will yield faster and more reliable bus service if it is allowed to move forward."White and Russianoff noted that under a system of "congestion pricing," in which motorists pay an $8 daily fee for driving in Manhattan's Central Business District during weekday rush hours,New York City is slated to buy 367 new buses and have new express bus and "Bus Rapid Transit" (BRT) routes.Among possible "Bus Rapid Transit" strategies being considered are:# Wider bus lanes with expanded hours and physical means to discourage cars from entering# Pre-boarding fare payment at high-volume times and places to reduce dwell time at stops# Reconfigured bus stops to speed boarding and satellite dispatching of buses# Bus priority signals to help buses stick to schedule.According to the groups, the slowest bus routes in each borough are:# Brooklyn: B63 - 4.9 mph, Between Bay Ridge and Cobble Hill# Bronx: Bx19 - 5.0 mph, Between Fordham in the Bronx and Upper Manhattan# Manhattan: M23 - 4.0 mph, Crosstown on 23rd Street# Queens: Q56 - 6.1 mph, Between Jamaica, Queens to East New York, Brooklyn# Staten Island: S61 - 11.7 mph, Between Staten Island Mall and St. George Ferry TerminalBus routes that vary most widely from scheduled times or intervals in four boroughs - and as a result have the most bunching together or big gaps in service - are, according to the groups:# Brooklyn: B15 - 26.4 percent unreliable, Between Bedford-Stuyvesant and JFK# Bronx: Bx41 - 26.1 percent unreliable, Between Wakefield and to Hub on White Plains Road# Manhattan: M1 - 32.8 percent unreliable, Between Harlem and East Village# Staten Island: S78 - 24.4 percent unreliable, Between St. George Ferry Terminal and TottenvilleSchleppies went to any route with an average of unreliability greater than 20 percent. As a result, no Queens bus route received a Schleppie.In the 2002 Pokey Awards, the groups found that the city's slowest bus route was the M96. In 2003, the groups awarded the Pokey to the M23, in 2004 and 2005 to the M34, and in 2006 to the M14A, which travels crosstown in Manhattan along 14th Street.However, the groups cautioned that comparisons with some past findings were difficult due to changes in methodology over the years. In addition, changes in bus speeds since 2004 have generally been too minor to demonstrate significant trends.