New York City Transit buses
© 2004 Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA, publicly known as MTA New York City Transit as part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority) operates roughly 4,784 buses within the 5 boroughs of New York City daily. Service is especially frequent on heavily used routes. For Example, the M15 route which runs North-South on the East Side of Manhattan between South Ferry and Harlem can have headways as little as 2 to 5 minutes, even on a Weekend schedule, because of overcrowding and a lack of a Second Avenue Subway. Service frequencies are usually tweaked to meet passenger demand.
Between 10pm and 5am Request-a-Stop service is available. This means that the Bus operator can drop you off at a safe location along the route that is not a bus stop (i.e; the passenger's home).
MTA Bus was created in early 2005 to take over routes from private bus operators; plans are to eventually merge the MTA New York City Transit buses (as well as MTA Long Island Bus) into MTA Bus.[1]
Recognizing a Bus
Buses are easily noticeable. They all have a white color with a horizontal blue band. The band (usually towards the front) has the MTA logo followed by the text: New York City Bus or MTA Bus and the bus number. Destination signs are located on the top of the front of the bus, the first window on the right side, and the route number only on the back right corner of the exterior.
However on other bus lines, the band may be a different color. Nevertheless, the destination signs are located in the same place.
Service Area
All 5 boroughs are covered by bus service. However, some routes leave city limits, albeit briefly. The Q5, and Q85 crosses the Nassau County border to go the Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream. The Bx16 bus runs in to Westchester County, but only for a block.
Buses are identified by simply putting the first letter of the borough in front of a number. For Example, using the letter “B”, as an abbreviation for Brooklyn, and 25, the number, we'd create the B25. This system extends to all local routes. The abbreviations are:
- B: Brooklyn Bus Routes
- Bx: Bronx Bus Routes
- M: Manhattan Bus Routes
- Q: Queens Bus Routes
- S: Staten Island Bus Routes (formerly known as “R”, as S.I. was Richmond County until the 1970's)
While these are the system, there are cases where buses travel between 2 boroughs. In that case, the borough where the bus operates most, wins the designation. This is the case with the Bx15, while running for it's most portion in The Bronx, a smaller section is serviced along 125th Street in Harlem.
Express services are another story. All express buses carry an “x” designation in front of their number.
Local and Limited stop
Local and Limited stop buses provide local service within the borough. The fare for local service is $2.00 at all times, and is payable with all forms of MetroCard, and exact change. 1/2 fare is valid at all times.
Local stop buses make all stops along a route. Limited-Stop buses however, make stops at busy transfer points, points of interest, and heavy used roadways. The usual setup is that Limited-Stop service runs the full route, while local services run only in the Limited-Stop area, and the Limited Stop buses run local at the tail ends of the route where local service didn't go, similar to the operation of many Subway lines. However, some passengers may need to transfer to the Limited to continue thier trip, hence is where this is one of the few cases where three legged transfers exist on a Metrocard.
The majority of the routes tend to operate daily between 06:00 and 22:00. Many routes however run 24 hours a day, but with considerably longer headways (20 to 70 minutes, most being 60) during the late nights.
MTA Bus routes usually follow the same guidelines. However, two-boro routes may have multiple borough designations. The QBx1 is named so, because it travels between Flushing, Queens and Co-op City, The Bronx.
Express
Express buses usually operate between the outer boroughs and Midtown Manhattan or Lower Manhattan. The fare is $5.00 USD at all times, and $2.50 for Senior Citizens, and 1/2 fare card holders, outside of rush hours. Only Pay-Per Ride MetroCards with a miminum balance of $5.00, 7 Day Express Bus Unlimited MetroCards, and Exact Change (Although may not the be the best idea) are accepted.
More of the express routes tend to operate during the weekday peak hours. Express bus services do have a higher cost, but provide a few extra amenities, like reading lights, plush reclinig seats, and extermely cold Air Conditioning systems. They also use "over the road" MCI D4500, 1021LDW, D4502/New Flyer D45S buses, all resembling buses used for Interstate services.
Fare
The fare for riding any local or limited stop bus route is $2.00 one way ($1.00 for seniors and disabilities), no matter the distance of your journey. An express bus fare is a flat rate of $5.00 one way ($2.50 off-peak hours for seniors and disabilities). Fares are payable in exact change or with a MetroCard. Only the Express Bus Plus MetroCard and Pay-Per-Ride (with at least a $5.00 balance) MetroCards works on express buses. Fares are payable in exact change or with a Day Pass.
Cash is not accepted on any buses.
When paying with change, you automatically receive a Metrocard Bus Transfer. It is valid for two hours and can be used only on Local and Limited Stop buses.
Bus Depots and fleet
NYCTA and MTA Bus operate a very diverse fleet of buses. currently, the fleet is slowing becoming environmentally-friendly as with MTA New York City Transit's counterpart Long Island Bus. Many new Compressed Natural Gas and Hybrid Electric Buses are hitting the streets. All buses in the New York City Transit fleet are wheelchair accessible, as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Buses are run out of Depots located in various areas of the city. However, not all MTA Buses are accessible (and often do not feature working A/C), since these were managed privately by various companies and are only now bring taken under the MTA umbrella.
The MTA bus fleet is covered here.
Depots with their route operations are listed below.
Current Operated Bus Depots
Used by New York City Transit and MTA Bus, and Formerly MaBSTOA
Bronx Division
- Eastchester Bus Depot - MTA Bus Depot; formally New York Bus Service (NYBS) facility
- Gun Hill Bus Depot
- Kingsbridge Bus Depot
- Mother Clara Hale Bus Depot
- West Farms Bus Depot - formally The Coliseum Depot
- Yonkers Bus Depot - MTA Bus Depot; formally Liberty EXPRESS Bus (Liberty Lines Inc) facility
Manhattan Division
- Manhattanville Bus Depot
- Michael J. Quill Bus Depot - formally West Side Depot
- 100 Street Bus Depot
- 126 Street Bus Depot
Brooklyn Division
- East New York Bus Depot
- Flatbush Bus Depot
- Fresh Pond Bus Depot
- Jackie Gleason Bus Depot - formally 5th Avenue Bus Depot
- Ulmer Park Bus Depot
- Spring Creek Bus Depot - proposed MTA Bus name for the depot once taken over; formally Command Bus Inc. facility
Queens Division
- Casey Stengel Bus Depot - formally Flushing Bus Depot
- College Point Bus Depot - MTA Bus Depot; formally Queens Surface Bus Inc. facility
- Jamaica Bus Depot
- Queens Village Bus Depot
Staten Island Division
A third depot is set to be constructed soon on Staten Island. A sixth depot is also currently being constructed in Queens although it is going to be in the Brooklyn Division. The Zerega Avenue Bus Facility in The Bronx, serves as a depot and a registry facility for new buses.