The Metropolitan Transportation Authority operates a number of bus routes in Manhattan, New York, United States; one minor route is privately-operated by Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation. Many of them are the direct descendants of streetcar lines (see list of streetcar lines in Manhattan).
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Presently, the New York City Transit Authority and its subsidiary Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority operate most local buses in Manhattan. The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation operates the Roosevelt Island Red Bus Service on Roosevelt Island.
The first bus company in Manhattan was the Fifth Avenue Coach Company, which began operating the Fifth Avenue Line (now the M1 route) in 1886. When New York Railways began abandoning several streetcar lines in 1919, the replacement bus routes (including the current M21 and M22 routes) were picked up by the New York City Department of Plant and Structures (DP&S). The DP&S began operating several other buses (including the current M79 and M96 routes) in 1921. All of these but the M21 were acquired by Green Bus Lines in 1933; Green transferred several of these to the Comprehensive Omnibus Corporation in 1935.
The New York City Omnibus Corporation began operating replacement routes for New York Railways lines abandoned in 1936, and acquired the remaining Green routes. They also acquired the Madison Avenue Coach Company (former New York and Harlem Railroad lines), Eighth Avenue Coach Corporation (former Eighth and Ninth Avenue Railways lines), and in 1942 the Triangle Bus Corporation (current M21 route).
In 1936, the NYCO and Fifth Avenue were placed under common ownership. The two were merged directly by 1956, when the NYCO acquired the Surface Transportation Corporation (operated former Third Avenue Railway routes since 1941), and changed its name to Fifth Avenue Coach Lines. After a strike in 1962, the entire Fifth Avenue system was transferred to the newly-formed Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority.
In 1933, two related companies began to operate routes: the Comprehensive Omnibus Corporation gained several Green Bus Lines routes (including the current M22, M27, and M50 routes), and the East Side Omnibus Corporation started operating former Second Avenue Railroad routes (including the current M15 and M31 routes). The Comprehensive also started the current M66 route that year, and in 1948 the New York City Board of Transportation acquired the Comprehensive and East Side routes, transferred to the New York City Transit Authority in 1953. The M9 route came from the Avenue B and East Broadway Transit Company in 1980, which had begun operating replacement routes for the Dry Dock, East Broadway and Battery Railroad lines in 1932.
This table gives details for the routes prefixed with "M" - in other words, those considered to run primarily in Manhattan by the MTA. For details on routes with other prefixes, see the following articles:
Routes marked with an asterisk (*) run 24 hours a day. Some bus routes do not operate overnight hours from midnight til 5:00 am. The Manhattan bus routes should not be confused with Megabus routes with similar names originating from Manhattan.
| Route | Terminals | Streets traveled | Service notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
M1*
[1] |
|||||
| Local service | |||||
| Harlem West 147th St and Adam Clayton Powell Blvd |
↔ | East Village East Eighth St and Fourth Av at Cooper Union |
|
Full time terminus. | |
| ↔ | South
Ferry Whitehall St and South St |
|
Full route, part time terminus, weekdays only |
||
| Limited-stop service | |||||
| Harlem West 147th St and Adam Clayton Powell Blvd |
→ AM ← PM |
South
Ferry Whitehall St and South St |
(See M1 Local service Harlem ↔ South Ferry above) | Limited stops service operates in AM hours to South Ferry and PM hours to Harlem only. |
|
|
M2*
[2] |
|||||
| Local service | |||||
| Washington
Heights West 168th St and Broadway |
↔ | East Village East Eight St and Forth Av at Cooper Union |
Edgecombe Av, West 155th St,
|
Local buses operates only in overnight and early morning hours and do not operate while limited-stop buses run. |
|
| Limited-stop service | |||||
| Washington
Heights West 168th St and Broadway |
↔ | East Village East Eight St and Forth Av at Cooper Union |
(See M2 Local routing above) | Limited stops runs daily except early morning and overnight hours. |
|
|
[3] Local |
Fort
George West 193rd St and Saint Nicholas Av |
↔ | East Village East Eight St and Forth Av at Cooper Union |
Saint Nicholas Av, Manhattan Av, Central Park North, ...
|
No overnight service. |
| [4] | |||||
| Local service | |||||
| Penn
Station West 32nd St and Seventh Av |
↔ | The Cloisters Museum |
Fort Washington Av, Broadway, 110th St, ...
|
Full route, runs daily except overnights | |
| ↔ | Fort Tryon
Park West 193rd St and Fort Washington Av |
Part time terminus | |||
| Limited-stop service | |||||
| Penn
Station West 32nd St and Seventh Av |
↔ | The Cloisters Museum | (See M4 Local routing above) | Weekday rush hour limited-stop service. | |
| [5] | |||||
| Local service | |||||
| Washington
Heights West 178th St and Broadway |
↔ | Greenwich
Village Houston St and West Broadway |
Broadway, Riverside Drive, 72nd St, Central Park South, ...
|
|
|
| Limited-stop service | |||||
| Washington
Heights West 178th St and Broadway |
↔ | Greenwich
Village Houston St and West Broadway |
(See M5 Local routing above) | Weekday limited stop service. | |
|
[6] Local |
Midtown Central Park South and Av of the Americas (Sixth Av) |
↔ | South
Ferry Whitehall St and South St |
|
No overnight service. |
|
M7*
[7]Local |
Harlem West 147th St and Adam Clayton Powell Blvd |
↔ | Chelsea 14th St and 6th Av |
Malcolm X Blvd (Lenox Av), West 116th St, Manhattan Av, Duke Ellington Blvd, ...
|
|
|
M8*
[8]Local |
West
Village West St and Christopher St |
↔ | East Village Avenue D and Tenth St |
|
|
|
[9] Local |
Battery
Park City South End Av and Albany St |
↔ | Union
Square 14th St and Broadway |
South End Av, Battery Place, State St, Water St, Saint
James Place, East Broadway, Essex St, Avenue B, East 14th St. |
No overnight service. |
|
[10] Local |
Harlem West 159th St and Fredrick Douglass Blvd |
↔ | Penn
Station West 32nd St and Seventh Av |
Fredrick Douglass Blvd / Central Park West (Eighth Av), ...
|
No overnight service. |
|
[11] Local |
West
Village Bethune St and Hudson St at Abingdon Square |
↔ | Riverbank State
Park West 145 St and Riverside Drive |
|
Full route, full time terminus except early morning and overnight hours. |
| ↔ | Harlem West 133rd St and Broadway |
Early morning and overnight hours part time terminus. |
|||
|
M14A*
[12]Local |
Lower East
Side Grand St and FDR Drive |
↔ | West
Village Bethune St and Hudson St at Abingdon Square |
14th St, Avenue A, Essex Street, and Grand St | Full time terminus except overnights. |
| ↔ | Chelsea
Piers West 18th St and West St |
Overnight service only. | |||
|
M14D*
[13]Local |
Lower East
Side Delancy St and Columbia St |
↔ | 14th St, Avenue C, East 10 St, Avenue D, Houston St, Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive | ||
|
M15*
[14] |
|||||
| Local service | |||||
| East
Harlem East 126th St and Second Av |
↔ | South
Ferry Whitehall St and South St |
Water St, Saint James Place, Madison St, Allen St, First Av (NB) / Second Av (SB) |
Full route, full time terminus | |
| ↔ | City
Hall Park Row and Broadway |
Park Row, East Broadway, Allen St, First Av (NB) / Second Av (SB) |
Part time terminus, weekdays only | ||
| Limited-stop service | |||||
| East
Harlem East 126th St and Second Av |
↔ | South
Ferry Whitehall St and South St ------ or ------ City Hall Park Row and Broadway |
(See M15 Local routing above) |
|
|
|
M16*
[15]Local |
Port Authority Bus
Terminal West 42nd St and Ninth Av |
↔ | Waterside Plaza East 24th St and FDR Drive |
|
|
|
[16] Local |
Washington
Heights West 168th St and Broadway |
↔ | Harlem Central Park North and Fifth Av |
116th St, Convent Av, and St. Nicholas Av | No overnight service. |
|
[17] Local |
Battery
Park City Battery Place and West St |
↔ | Lincoln Center West 63rd St and Broadway |
|
No overnight service. |
| Notes: | NB: Northbound; SB: Southbound; EB: Eastbound; WB: Westbound; Av: Avenue; Blvd: Boulevard; St: Street | ||||
All routes in this section are local service.
| Route | Terminals | Streets traveled | Service notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [18] | West
Village Washington St and Spring St |
↔ | Kips
Bay First Av and East 26th St at Bellevue Hospital |
Houston St and Avenue C. | No overnight service. |
|
M22*
[19] |
Battery
Park City North End St and Vesey St |
↔ | Lower East
Side Grand St and FDR Drive |
|
|
|
M23*
[20] |
Chelsea
Piers 12th Av and West 23rd St |
↔ | Peter Cooper
Village— Stuyvesant Town Av C and East 20th St |
23rd St. | |
| [21] | Port Authority Bus
Terminal Eight Av and West 42nd St |
↔ | United
Nations First Av and East 42nd St |
|
No overnight service. |
| [22] | Midtown West 57th St and Broadway |
↔ | Upper East
Side East 72nd St and York Av |
|
Weekday rush hours service only. |
| [23] | Clinton West 54th St and 11th Av |
↔ | Yorkville East 92nd St and York Av |
57th St and York Av. | No overnight service. |
| [24] | Chelsea 12th Av and West 34th St |
↔ | East
Side FDR Drive and East 34th St |
34th St. | No overnight service. |
| [25] | Harlem East 125th St and Lexington Av |
↔ | Randall's Island and Ward's Island | 125th St, Robert F. Kennedy Bridge. | No overnight service. |
|
M42*
[26] |
United Nations First Av and East 42nd St |
↔ | Circle Line Sightseeing
Cruises 12th Av and West 42nd St |
42nd St. | Full time terminus. |
|
|
Jacob K. Javits
Convention Center 11th Av and West 34th St |
|
Full route, operates all days except overnights. |
||
| [27] | Circle Line Sightseeing
Cruises 12th Av and West 42nd St |
↔ | United
Nations East 42nd St and First Av |
|
|
|
M57*
[28] |
Upper West
Side West 72nd St and Broadway |
↔ | East
Midtown York Av and East 60th St |
West End Av and 57 St. | No overnight service. |
|
M60*
[29] |
Morningside Heights West 106th St and Broadway |
↔ | LaGuardia Airport,
Queens (Serving all terminals) |
|
|
|
M66*
[30] |
Upper West
Side West End Av and West 66th St |
↔ | Upper East
Side York Av and East 67th St |
|
|
| [31] | Upper West
Side Freedom Place and West 68th St |
↔ | Upper East
Side York Av and East 72nd St |
|
No overnight service. |
|
M79*
[32] |
Upper West
Side Riverside Drive and West 79th St |
↔ | Upper East
Side East End Av and East 79th St |
79th St. | |
| Notes: | NB: Northbound; SB: Southbound; EB: Eastbound; WB: Westbound; Av: Avenue; Blvd: Boulevard; St: Street | ||||
| Route | Terminals | Streets traveled | Service notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
M86*
[33]Local |
Upper West
Side West End Av and West 86th St |
↔ | Yorkville East 92nd St and York Av |
86th St, York Av | |
|
M96*
[34]Local |
Upper West
Side West End Av and West 96th St |
↔ | Yorkville First Av and East 97nd St |
96th St | |
| [35] | |||||
| Limited-stop service | |||||
| Murray Hill East 34th St and Lexington Av |
↔ | Washington
Heights West 193rd St and Fort Washington Av at Fort Tryon Park |
Fort Washington Av, West 178th St (towards
south),
|
Weekday rush hour service only. | |
|
[36] Local |
Inwood West 220th St and Broadway |
↔ | East
Harlem East 125th St and Second Av |
Broadway, Amsterdam Av, 125th Street | No overnight service. |
|
M101*
[37] |
|||||
| Local service | |||||
| Washington
Heights West 193rd St and Amsterdam Av |
↔ | East Village East 8th St and Third Av at Cooper Union |
|
Local buses do not operate while limited-stop service runs. |
|
| Limited-stop service | |||||
| Washington
Heights West 193rd St and Amsterdam Av |
↔ | East Village East 8th St and Third Av at Cooper Union |
(See M101 Local routing above) | Limited stops runs daily except overnights. |
|
|
M102*
[38]Local |
Harlem West 147th St and Adam Clayton Powell Blvd |
↔ | East Village East 8th St and Third Av at Cooper Union |
|
|
|
M103*
[39]Local |
East
Harlem East 125th St and Lexington Av |
↔ | City
Hall Park Row and Broadway |
|
|
|
M104*
[40]Local |
Harlem West 129th St and Amsterdam Av |
↔ | United
Nations First Av and East 42nd St |
|
|
|
[41] Local |
East
Harlem East 106th St and FDR Drive |
↔ | Upper West
Side West 96th St and West End Av |
West 96th St, Madison Av (NB), Fifth Av (SB), East 106th St. | No overnight service. |
|
[42] Local |
East
Harlem East 120th St and Pleasant Av |
↔ | Upper West
Side West 106th St and Broadway |
106th St, Manhattan Av, and 116th St | No overnight service. |
| Notes: | NB: Northbound; SB: Southbound; EB: Eastbound; WB: Westbound; Av: Avenue; Blvd: Boulevard; St: Street | ||||
This route is operated by Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) and is the lone unsubsidized route operating in Manhattan. The Red Bus route operates an on-island shuttle bus service from apartment buildings to the subway and tramway lines.
MetroCard is not accepted for payment of fare on this line, which has a one-way cash fare of 25¢, and 10¢ for seniors and disabilities.[43]
| Route | Terminals | Streets traveled | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red bus | Octagon Apartments | ↔ | Roosevelt Island Tramway station | Main Street, East and West Service Drive |
In Lower Manhattan area, a free shuttle service operates daily from 10:00 AM until 7:00 PM, sponsored by the Lower Manhattan Business Improvement District (BID), using minibuses. [44]
| Route | Terminals | Streets traveled | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downtown Connection |
City Hall Broadway and Murray Street |
↔ | South Street
Seaport Water Street and Fulton Street |
Warren/Murray Streets, South End Avenue, Battery Place, Water Street |
| Route | History |
|---|---|
| M1 |
|
| M2 |
|
| M3 |
|
| M4 |
|
| M5 |
|
| M6 |
|
| M7 |
|
| M8 |
|
| M9 |
|
| M10 |
|
| M11 |
|
| M14A M14D |
|
| M15 |
|
| M16 |
|
| M18 |
|
| M20 |
|
| Route | History |
|---|---|
| M21 |
|
| M22 |
|
| M23 |
|
| M27 |
|
| M30 |
|
| M31 |
|
| M34 |
|
| M35 |
|
| M42 |
|
| M50 |
|
| M57 |
|
| M60 | |
| M66 | |
| M72 | 2.05 million annual ridership in 2008. Rank 122nd out of 194 New York City Transit local bus routes.[45] |
| M79 |
|
| Route | History |
|---|---|
| M86 |
|
| M96 |
|
| M98 | 0.93 million annual ridership in 2008. Rank 160th out of 194 New York City Transit local bus routes.[45] |
| M100 |
|
| M101 |
|
| M102 |
|
| M103 |
|
| M104 |
|
| M106 |
|
| M116 |
|
Except for early Fifth Avenue Coach Company routes, which were approved by the New York Legislature, all routes were assigned a franchise by the city, numbered in order from M1 to at least M47 and M100 to M106. Most companies used these numbers, but the New York Omnibus Corporation gave its routes numbers from 1 to 22, and the Fifth Avenue Coach Company used numbers from 1 to 20. The public designations were not changed to avoid conflicts until July 1974.
| Designation | Route | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Public | 1974 | Current | |
| 1[51] | M1[52] | Fifth Avenue | |
| 2[51] | M2[52] | Fifth and Seventh Avenues | |
| 3[51] | M3[52] | Fifth, St. Nicholas, and Convent Avenues | |
| 4[51] | M4[52] | Fifth Avenue and Fort Washington Avenues | |
| 5[51] | M5[52] | Fifth Avenue, Riverside Drive, and Broadway | |
| 6[51] | M30[52] | M30/M72 | 72nd Street Crosstown |
| 15[51] | M32[52] | Q32 | Fifth Avenue-Queensboro Bridge-Jackson Heights |
| 16[51] | Q89 | N/A | Elmhurst Crosstown |
| 19[51] | M5[52] | Fifth Avenue and Riverside Drive | |
| 20[51] | M28[52] | M57 | 57th Street Crosstown |
| Designation | Route | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise | Public | 1974 | Current | |
| M25[53] | 1/2[54] | M1[52] | Fourth and Madison Avenues | |
| M21[53] | 3/4[54] | (M101)[52] | Lexington and Lenox Avenues | |
| M23[53] | 5[54] | (M6/M7)[52] | Sixth Avenue | |
| M22[53] | 6/7[54] | M6/M7[52] | Broadway and Columbus and Lenox Avenues | |
| M24 | 8/9[54] | (M10)[52] | Seventh Avenue | |
| M41[53] | 10[54] | M10[52] | M10/M20 | Eighth Avenue and Central Park West |
| M42[53] | 11[54] | M11[52] | Ninth and Amsterdam Avenues | |
| M2[53] | 12[54] | M12[52] | N/A | Spring and Delancey Streets Crosstown |
| M16[53] | 13[54] | M13[52] | M8 | Eighth Street Crosstown |
| M17[53] | 14[54] | M14[52] | 14th Street Crosstown | |
| M18[53] | 15[54] | M26[52] | M23 | 23rd Street Crosstown |
| M19[53] | 16[54] | M16[52] | M16/M34 | 34th Street Crosstown |
| M4[53] | 17[54] | M17[52] | M79 | 79th Street Crosstown |
| M5[53] | 18[54] | M18[52] | M86 | 86th Street Crosstown |
| M6[53] | 19[54] | M19[52] | M96 | 96th Street Crosstown |
| M20[53] | 20[54] | M20[52] | M116 | 116th Street Crosstown |
| M40[53] | 21[54] | M21[52] | Houston Street and Avenue C Crosstown | |
| M45[53] | 22[54] | N/A | Pitt and Ridge Streets | |
| M62[53] | TB[54] | M34[52] | M35 | Manhattan-Wards Island via Robert F. Kennedy Bridge |
| MQ25[53] | TB[54] | M35[52] | N/A | Manhattan-Queens via Robert F. Kennedy Bridge |
| BxQ19[53] | TB[54] | Bx21 | N/A | Bronx-Queens via Robert F. Kennedy Bridge |
| Designation | Company | Route | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise | Public | 1974 | Current | |||
| M1[55] | M22[52] | M22 | Comprehensive | Madison and Chambers Streets Crosstown | ||
| M3[55] | M27[52] | M50 | Comprehensive | 49th and 50th Streets Crosstown | ||
| M7[55] | M29[52] | M66 | Comprehensive | 65th Street Crosstown | ||
| M8[55] | N/A | East Broadway | Grand Street Crosstown | |||
| M9[55] | East Broadway | Avenue B | ||||
| M10 | see M40 | Hamilton Bus Corporation | Houston Street and Avenue C | |||
| M11[55] | M31[52] | East Side | York Avenue | |||
| M12 | N/A | East Side | 86th Street and York Avenue | |||
| M13[54] | N/A | East Side | First Avenue | |||
| M14 | N/A | East Side | First and Second Avenues | |||
| M15[55][52] | East Side | First and Second Avenues | ||||
| M100[51][52] | Surface | Broadway-Kingsbridge | ||||
| M101[51][52] | Surface | Third Avenue-Amsterdam Avenue | ||||
| M102 | N/A | Surface | 125th Street Crosstown | Only operated from June 29 to July 1, 1947 (125th Street is still served by the M60 and Bx15) |
||
| M103[51][52] | N/A | Surface | 59th Street Crosstown | |||
| M104[51][52] | Surface | Broadway | ||||
| M105[51] | N/A | Surface | Tenth Avenue | |||
| M106[51][52] | M42 | Surface | 42nd Street Crosstown | |||
| Route | Major streets | History |
|---|---|---|
| M8 | Grand Street and Broome Street | |
| M12 | Spring Street, Prince Street, Delancey Street, and Williamsburg Bridge to Williamsburg, Brooklyn | |
| M13 | see M8 | |
| M14C | 14 Street and Avenue C | Eliminated in 2002. |
| M17 | see M79 | |
| M18 | see M86 | |
| M19 | see M96 and M106 | |
| M20 | see M116 | |
| M26 | see M23 | |
| M28 | see M57 | |
| M29 | see M66 | |
| M32 | see Q32 | |
| M34 | see M35 | |
| M41 | "Culture Bus Loop I" [56] | |
| M58 | 57th Street | Replaced the M103 on September 1, 1989; merged with the M31 in 1994. |
| M101A | see M102 | |
| M103 | West End Avenue and 59th Street |
|
| M105 | Tenth Avenue and Broadway |
|
| M106 | see M42 | |
| M107 | see M96 and M106 | |
| Grand Street Shuttle bus |
Service between Canal Street and Grand Street subway stations |
|
|
3 train shuttle bus |
Service between 135th Street
and Harlem–148th Street subway stations. |
|
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