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Several companies, most prominently the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), operate a number of bus routes in Manhattan, New York, United States. Many of them are the direct descendants of streetcar lines (see list of streetcar lines in Manhattan).
Contents
Companies
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 on March 22, 1962.
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.
Routes
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:
New York City Bus
The M2, M7, M14, M15, M23 SBS, M42, M60 SBS, M79, M86 SBS, M96, M101, M102, M103 and M104 run all times. Other bus routes do not operate overnight hours, usually defined as midnight to 5AM. The Manhattan bus routes should not be confused with Megabus routes with similar names/numbers originating from Manhattan.
Note: NB: Northbound; SB: Southbound; EB: Eastbound; WB: Westbound
Hudson River
New York Waterway operates shuttle bus routes to/from its West Midtown Ferry Terminal. Service is free.
Peak service
Off-peak service
All routes operate as clockwise loops.
East River
A clockwise "loop" bus via 34th Street, 6th Avenue, 48th Street, and Lexington Avenue operates during peak hours to/from East 34th Street Ferry Landing.
Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation
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. Service is free.
Downtown Connection
In Lower Manhattan area, a shuttle service operates daily from 10:00 AM until 7:30 PM, sponsored by the Lower Manhattan Business Improvement District (BID), using minibuses. Service is free.
Former routes
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 City 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 1, 1974.