"I'm sure you'll write a big exposé that it's a total failure, and six months from now, you will never write the story that it's the success that it's going to be."

-- Mayor Bloomburg, on the M15 SBS, as quoted in the Daily News on October 13, 2010, after the debut of the service.

I don't know whether the M15 SBS will or will not ultimately prove itself, but I'm hopeful. It's not unusual for there to be glitches when a new program or service begins, Let's give the MTA some credit for at least trying something innovative to improve travel times for M15 riders.

I rode the M15 SBS on Columbus Day (admittedly not a true test because many people had the day off). I got to the First Avenue and 14th Street bus stop at 11:40 AM, just as an SBS bus was departing. I got my paper receipt at 11:41 AM (took about 30 seconds), and another SBS bus arrived at 11:45 AM. Exactly 20 minutes later, I arrived at 79th Street.