:MTA Regional Bus Operations

MTA Regional Bus Operations provides bus service in southeast state of New York under the public brands.

Regional Bus Operations is currently only used in official documentation, and not publicly as a brand. The current public brands are listed below:

• MTA New York City Bus – most routes within the City of New York, operated by the New York City Transit Authority (NYCT) and subsidiary Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority (MaBSTOA).
• MTA Bus – service previously administered by the New York City Department of Transportation and operated by seven companies at the time of the takeover, mostly concentrated in Queens, with some routes in the Bronx and Brooklyn, and most express service from Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx to Manhattan. The seven former companies were, Command Bus Company, Inc.; Green Bus Lines, Inc.; Jamaica Buses, Inc., Liberty Lines Express, Inc.; New York Bus Service, Inc.; Queens Surface Corp.; and Triboro Coach Corp.

The most common scheme today is a straight blue stripe across the sides of the bus against a white base, with no colors on the front or back, and black window trim. From 1977 until late 2007, the livery was a full all-around stripe with a black rear, and until late 2010 (and still present on buses repainted during this time), the scheme was a stripe with a white rear and no rear stripe. Buses operated in Select Bus Service bus rapid transit service are wrapped with a light blue-and-white wrap below the windows. In spring 2016, a new livery was introduced based on navy blue, light blue, and yellow, with a mostly blue front and sides, a light blue and yellow wave, and a yellow back. This new livery will gradually replace the blue stripe on a white base livery. The livery is commonly known as the MTA's Andrew Cuomo Scheme or Excelsior Scheme (after the state motto for New York).

Currently, many RBO's operational changes have been at the management level, with the creation of a unified command center and consolidation of management for all bus operations, with the aim of reducing redundancies in the agency. Other changes have included eliminating the MTA Bus call center, folding it into that of MTA New York City Transit, and the unification of the fare policy for all of the MTA's services.

The history of the MTA's bus operations generally follows the history of the New York City Transit Authority, also known as MTA New York City Transit (NYCT), which was created on June 15, 1953, by the State of New York to take over operations then operated by the New York City Board of Transportation.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oktGCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA111|title=From a Nickel to a Token: The Journey from Board of Transportation to MTA|last=Sparberg|first=Andrew J.|date=October 1, 2014|publisher=Fordham University Press|isbn=978-0-8232-6190-1}}{{Rp|133}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qfZ0VxuLoc0C&pg=PA416|title=The Wheels That Drove New York: A History of the New York City Transit System|author1=Roger P. Roess|author2=Gene Sansone|date=August 23, 2012|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-3-642-30484-2}}{{Rp|302}} In 1962 the State established the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority (MaBSTOA) as a subsidiary of NYCT to take over operations then operated by two private companies, Fifth Avenue Coach Lines, Inc. and Surface Transit, Inc.{{Rp|133}}{{Rp|268}} Both NYCT and MaBSTOA operate service pursuant to a lease agreement with the City of New York.{{Rp|81}}{{Rp|133}}

File:NYC Transit Authority Mack C-49 6259.jpg

City involvement with surface transit in the city began in September 1919, when Mayor John Francis Hylan, through the New York City Department of Plant and Structures (DP&S), organized private entrepreneurs to operate "emergency" buses to replace four abandoned storage battery streetcar lines: the Madison Street Line, Spring and Delancey Streets Line, Avenue C Line, and Sixth Avenue Ferry Line.New York Times, [https://www.nytimes.com/1919/09/19/archives/east-side-bus-line-gets-city-permit-board-of-estimate-contracts-for.html East Side Bus Line Gets City Permit] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723003706/https://www.nytimes.com/1919/09/19/archives/east-side-bus-line-gets-city-permit-board-of-estimate-contracts-for.html |date=July 23, 2018 }}, September 19, 1919, page 6 Many routes were soon added, replacing lines such as the Brooklyn and North River Line (trolleys)New York Times, [https://www.nytimes.com/1919/10/06/archives/brooklyn-bus-line-starts-twentytwo-vehicles-run-from-desbrosses.html Brooklyn Bus Line Starts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722223250/https://www.nytimes.com/1919/10/06/archives/brooklyn-bus-line-starts-twentytwo-vehicles-run-from-desbrosses.html |date=July 22, 2018 }}, October 6, 1919, page 36 and Queens Bus Lines (buses),New York Times, [https://www.nytimes.com/1926/09/19/archives/queens-bus-routes-taken-over-by-city-twenty-vehicles-put-in.html Queens Bus Routes Taken Over by City] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614050647/https://www.nytimes.com/1926/09/19/archives/queens-bus-routes-taken-over-by-city-twenty-vehicles-put-in.html |date=June 14, 2018 }}, September 19, 1926, page 24 and the DP&S also began operating trolleys in Staten Island to replace the Staten Island Midland Railway's system.New York Times, [https://www.nytimes.com/1921/07/18/archives/says-city-cleared-4359-on-car-line-whalen-submits-report-on-seven.html Says City Cleared $4,359 on Car Line] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722214849/https://www.nytimes.com/1921/07/18/archives/says-city-cleared-4359-on-car-line-whalen-submits-report-on-seven.html |date=July 22, 2018 }}, July 18, 1921, page 14Zachary M. Schrag, {{cite web |url= http://www.schrag.info/research/41.1schrag.pdf |title= The Bus Is Young and Honest |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070226203421/http://www.schrag.info/research/41.1schrag.pdf |archive-date= February 26, 2007 |df= mdy-all }} {{small|(2.86 MiB)}}

Another city acquisition was the Bridge Operating Company, which ran the Williamsburg Bridge Local trolley, acquired in 1921 by the DP&S.New York Times, [https://www.nytimes.com/1921/02/05/archives/city-to-run-bridge-line-brt-subsidiary-will-quit-willlamsburg.html City to Run Bridge Line] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722214454/https://www.nytimes.com/1921/02/05/archives/city-to-run-bridge-line-brt-subsidiary-will-quit-willlamsburg.html |date=July 22, 2018 }}, February 5, 1921, page 22 Unlike the other lines,{{Citation needed|date=March 2007}} this one remained city-operated, and was replaced by the B39 bus route on December 5, 1948, by then transferred to the New York City Board of Transportation.[https://www.nytimes.com/1948/12/02/archives/bridge-cars-of-04-yielding-to-buses-williamsburg-span-will-carry.html Bridge Cars of '04 Yielding to Buses] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211222825/https://www.nytimes.com/1948/12/02/archives/bridge-cars-of-04-yielding-to-buses-williamsburg-span-will-carry.html |date=February 11, 2024 }}, December 2, 1948, page 58

With the city takeover of the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation's surface subsidiary, the Brooklyn and Queens Transit Corporation, on June 2, 1940,New York Times, [https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0A16F73A54107A93C0A9178DD85F448485F9 B.M.T. Lines Pass to City Ownership] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107171801/https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0A16F73A54107A93C0A9178DD85F448485F9 |date=November 7, 2012 }}, June 2, 1940, page 1 the city gained a large network of trolley and bus lines, covering all of Brooklyn and portions of Queens.Railway Directory and Yearbook, 1967 On February 23, 1947, the Board of Transportation took over the Staten Island bus network of the Isle Transportation Company.{{cite news|title=Staten Island Buses Taken Over By City|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1947/02/23/171348212.pdf|access-date=March 27, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=February 23, 1947|archive-date=February 11, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211222828/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1947/02/23/171348212.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status=live}} Further acquisitions were made on March 30, 1947, with the North Shore Bus Company in Queens,{{cite news|title=CITY TAKES OVER BUS LINE: O'Connor Selected to Operate North Shore System|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1947/03/30/99268704.pdf|access-date=March 27, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=March 30, 1947|archive-date=December 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215061514/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1947/03/30/99268704.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status=live}} and September 24, 1948, with the East Side Omnibus Corporation and Comprehensive Omnibus Corporation in Manhattan.{{cite news|last1=Crowell|first1=Paul|title=2 BUS COMPANIES OPERATING 6 LINES ARE BOUGHT BY CITY; Transportation Board Begins Operation at 12:01 A.M. Today on 7-Cent Fare|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1948/09/24/94951092.pdf|access-date=March 27, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=September 24, 1948|page=1}} The final Brooklyn trolleys were the Church Avenue Line and McDonald Avenue Line, discontinued on October 31, 1956,New York Times, [https://www.nytimes.com/1956/10/31/archives/trolley-era-ends-today-on-cityoperated-lines.html Trolley Era Ends Today On City-Operated Lines] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722213654/https://www.nytimes.com/1956/10/31/archives/trolley-era-ends-today-on-cityoperated-lines.html |date=July 22, 2018 }}, October 31, 1956, page 35 though the privately operated (by the Queensboro Bridge Railway) Queensboro Bridge Local remained until 1957.New York Times, [https://www.nytimes.com/1948/12/02/archives/bridge-cars-of-04-yielding-to-buses-williamsburg-span-will-carry.html End Soon of Two Brooklyn Trolley Lines Will Leave City With but One Short Route] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615135511/https://www.nytimes.com/1948/12/02/archives/bridge-cars-of-04-yielding-to-buses-williamsburg-span-will-carry.html |date=June 15, 2018 }}, December 30, 1955, page 15New York Times, [https://www.nytimes.com/1957/03/20/archives/queensboro-bridge-trolley-line-last-one-here-appears-doomed-last.html Queensboro Bridge Trolley Line, Last One Here, Appears Doomed] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722220833/https://www.nytimes.com/1957/03/20/archives/queensboro-bridge-trolley-line-last-one-here-appears-doomed-last.html |date=July 22, 2018 }}, March 20, 1957New York Times, [https://www.nytimes.com/1957/04/07/archives/citys-last-trolley-at-end-of-line-buses-will-replace-49year-route.html City's Last Trolley at End of Line] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825225857/http://www.nytimes.com/1957/04/07/archives/citys-last-trolley-at-end-of-line-buses-will-replace-49year-route.html |date=August 25, 2017 }}, April 7, 1957, page 1

File:NYC Transit Authority Flxible 53102-6-1 7340.jpg, is operating in special holiday service in 2008.]]

By the late 1950s, the city operated all local service in Staten Island and Brooklyn, approximately half of the local Queens service, and several Manhattan routes. Several private companies operated buses in Queens, and the Avenue B and East Broadway Transit Company operated a small Manhattan system. The largest system was the Fifth Avenue Coach Company and Surface Transit, which operated almost all Manhattan routes and all Bronx routes, plus two into Queens (15 Fifth Avenue – Jackson Heights and TB Triborough Bridge) and one within Queens (16 Elmhurst Crosstown). After a strike in 1962, the city condemned the assets of the bus companies.

To facilitate the anticipated sale of the bus service back to private ownership, a new agency, the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority (MaBSTOA) was formed as a subsidiary of the New York City Transit Authority to operate the former Fifth Avenue Coach Lines, Inc. and Surface Transit, Inc. routes under lease from the city. The final acquisition was in 1980, when MaBSTOA took over operations of the Avenue B & East Broadway Transit Co. Inc.'s routes, using MaBSTOA equipment with Avenue B red route roll signs (NYCTA acquired the 13 Grumman Flxibles that had been assigned to Avenue B and placed them in NYCTA service).{{Citation needed|date=March 2007}}

In late 1981 the MTA merged the New York City Transit Authority's Surface Division (aka NYCTA Civil Service) with the Manhattan & Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority (aka MaBSTOA Non Civil Service) into one single entity using the MTA New York City Transit Authority (or MTA – New York City Bus

) moniker instead of the former.

Public takeover of the remaining Queens buses, as well as most express routes, was implemented in 2005 and 2006 when the city purchased the assets of seven private bus companies, and entered into an agreement with the new MTA Bus Company for their operation and funding.{{Cite web | url=http://web.mta.info/mta/news/public/somta.html | title=State of the MTA Address | access-date=July 14, 2016 | archive-date=May 30, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530134629/http://web.mta.info/mta/news/public/somta.html | url-status=live }} In 2008, the bus operations of New York City Transit and MTA Bus Company (as well as the now former Long Island Bus division) were merged into a new regional operation, MTA Regional Bus Operations. The New York City Bus and MTA Bus brands continue to be used on all buses, but New York City Transit (NYCT), Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority (MaBSTOA), and MTA Bus Company continue to be the legal entities operating the services.

File:MTA New York City Bus MCI D4500CL (2007).jpg cruiser, used in express bus service. This example wears the livery used from 1977 until 2016.]]

MTA Bus Company was established in late 2004 to operate bus services resulting from the city's takeover of the privately operated bus route operations previously administered and subsidized by the NYCDOT.{{cite web|last1=Silverman|first1=Norman|title=The Merger of 7 Private Bus Companies into MTA Bus|url=http://www.apta.com/mc/multimodal/previous/2010/Presentations/The-Merger-of-Seven-Private-Companies-into-One-MTA-Company.pdf|website=apta.com|publisher=American Public Transportation Association, Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=October 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016062828/http://www.apta.com/mc/multimodal/previous/2010/Presentations/The-Merger-of-Seven-Private-Companies-into-One-MTA-Company.pdf|archive-date=October 16, 2015|url-status=dead|date=July 26, 2010}}{{cite news |title=New Buses To Improve Private Line Service |first=John |last=Toscano |url=http://www.qgazette.com/news/2004-12-02/Front_Page/ |newspaper=Queens Gazette |date=December 2, 2004 |access-date=July 2, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831174818/http://www.qgazette.com/news/2004-12-02/Front_Page/ |archive-date=August 31, 2018 |url-status=dead }}

File:2006 Orion VII on Q100 LTD.jpg Old Gen on the Q100 Limited, this route used to be part of Queens Surface Corporation as the Q101R, till MTA takeover in 2005]]

The routes were taken over on a staggered schedule, beginning with the former Liberty Lines Express bus routes on January 3, 2005, Queens Surface Corporation bus routes on February 27, 2005, New York Bus Service bus routes on July 1, 2005, Command Bus Company bus routes on December 5, 2005, Green Bus Lines bus routes on January 9, 2006, and Jamaica Buses bus routes on January 30, 2006. Triboro Coach Corporation, the final remaining company, ceased operating on February 20, 2006.{{cite web|last1=Lueck|first1=Thomas J.|title=City to Buy Private Bus Company for Service in Three Boroughs|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/23/nyregion/city-to-buy-private-bus-company-for-service-in-three-boroughs.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 13, 2015|date=April 23, 2005|archive-date=May 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529192802/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/23/nyregion/city-to-buy-private-bus-company-for-service-in-three-boroughs.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Woodberry|first1=Warren Jr.|title=MAJOR BUS CO. TO JOIN MTA|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/boroughs/major-bus-join-mta-article-1.554973|work=Daily News (New York)|access-date=January 4, 2016|date=February 24, 2005|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530134706/https://www.nydailynews.com/archives/boroughs/major-bus-join-mta-article-1.554973|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Rutenberg|first1=Jim|last2=Ramirez|first2=Anthony|title=Metro Briefing New York: Bronx: City To Take Over Another Bus Line|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980DEFDD163FF930A15750C0A9639C8B63|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 31, 2015|date=March 23, 2005|archive-date=March 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180302103924/https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980DEFDD163FF930A15750C0A9639C8B63|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=The MTA Newsroom: MTA Bus Service Begins|url=http://www.mta.info/mta/news/newsroom/mtabus.htm|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=October 31, 2015|date=January 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050121063350/http://www.mta.info/mta/news/newsroom/mtabus.htm|archive-date=January 21, 2005|url-status=dead}}

Up until January 3, 2022, the only NYCDOT-subsidized lines not consolidated into MTA Bus were those run by Academy Bus and formerly by Atlantic Express until their bankruptcy in 2013. Academy Bus previously operated those routes and others until 2001, when Atlantic Express and NYCT took them over.https://web.archive.org/web/20110707183208/http://www.atlanticexpress.com/SouthShore.htm EMERGENCY INTERIM COMMUTER SERVICE For the South Shore Community of Staten Island Although the X23, and X24 routes were absorbed by Atlantic Express, the X17J, X21, X22, and X30 routes were absorbed by the New York City Transit Authority. NYCT discontinued service on the X21 months after the takeover.{{cite news |title=Staten Island pols call on MTA to take over 2 privately operated bus routes |url=http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/09/staten_island_pols_call_on_mta.html |newspaper=Staten Island Advance |date=September 29, 2009 |access-date=July 2, 2011 |archive-date=November 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120100733/https://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/09/staten_island_pols_call_on_mta.html |url-status=live }} At the time, NYS Assemblyman Lou Tobacco and NYS Senator Andrew Lanza, along with U.S. Congressman Michael E. McMahon and NYC Councilmen Vincent Ignizio and James Oddo have asked the MTA to look into the possible consolidation of the remainder of the NYCDOT routes.http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?ad=062&sh=story&story=33897 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605024836/http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?ad=062&sh=story&story=33897 |date=June 5, 2011 }} Staten Island Officials Call on MTA to Take over Bus Routes and Expand South Shore Express Bus Service

In Brooklyn, a company called Private Transportation operates the B110 route. This is franchised but not subsidized by NYCDOT. Atlantic Express also ran the AE7 express route from the Tottenville and Travis neighborhoods of Staten Island in the same manner as the Private Transportation B110 local route. Citing low ridership and increased costs, Atlantic Express canceled the AE7 service on December 31, 2010. Councilmen Ignizio and Oddo as well as Congressman Michael G. Grimm have called on the MTA to revamp that route also.{{cite news |title=Pols make pitch to MTA to fill void for South Shore park-and-riders after Atlantic Express cancels route |first=Maura |last=Yates |url=http://www.silive.com/southshore/index.ssf/2010/11/pols_make_pitch_to_mta_to_fill.html |newspaper=Staten Island Advance |date=November 24, 2010 |access-date=July 2, 2011 |archive-date=May 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150509191518/http://www.silive.com/southshore/index.ssf/2010/11/pols_make_pitch_to_mta_to_fill.html |url-status=live }}

During late 2021, due to an external lawsuit with the garage that operated the SIM23 and SIM24, the MTA announced the takeover of the two lines was imminent. On January 3, 2022, the MTA assumed control over the SIM23 and SIM24 routes formerly run by Academy. These routes are operated by New York City Transit out of the Charleston Depot. As a result of the takeover, the MTA modified the schedule and added two new trips in both directions for both routes.

File:MTA New York City Bus Nova Bus LFS articulated 5439 on the Bx1 (blue yellow livery).jpg in the current livery, introduced in spring 2016]]

The current system came into being in the mid-2000s following the MTA's assumption, through its subsidiary MTA Bus Company (MTABC), of services previously operated by private carriers under operating authority agreements administered by the New York City Department of Transportation, the successor to the New York City Bureau of Franchises. MTABC operates service pursuant to an agreement with the City of New York under which all expenses of MTABC, less operating revenues, are reimbursed. This brought almost all bus transportation in New York City under its control.{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F03E7DA163EF936A15755C0A9649C8B63&scp=4&sq=mta%20takes%20over%20triboro%20coach&st=cse|title=City Seeks M.T.A. Takeover Of 7 Bus Companies' Routes|author=Steinhauer, Jennifer|date=June 25, 2002|access-date=October 6, 2008|work=New York Times|archive-date=October 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018094414/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/25/nyregion/city-seeks-mta-takeover-of-7-bus-companies-routes.html|url-status=live}}

After the bus mergers were completed in 2006,{{cite press release|title=MTA Bus Mergers Completed|url=http://mta.info/mta/news/newsroom/mtabus.htm|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|date=February 20, 2006|access-date=October 6, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916134955/http://www.mta.info/mta/news/newsroom/mtabus.htm|archive-date=September 16, 2008}} the MTA then moved to streamline its operations through consolidation of management function. To that effect, RBO was officially created in May 2008, with the president of what was then MTA New York City Transit's Department of Buses, Joseph J. Smith, named to lead the consolidated bus operations.{{cite press release|title=MTA Moves to Streamline Bus Operations|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/news/releases/?en=080507-HQ15|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|date=May 8, 2008|access-date=October 6, 2008}}{{dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} MTA Regional Bus also included the MTA Long Island Bus division until December 2011, when its services were transferred to the private operator Veolia Transport.

In 2008, the bus operations of MTA Bus Company and New York City Transit (as well as the now former Long Island Bus division) were merged into a new regional operation, MTA Regional Bus Operations. The MTA Bus and the New York City Bus brand continues to be used. This brand, and the New York City Bus brand, was removed from buses delivered from 2016 on, showcasing only the MTA logo, and the blue-stripe livery was replaced with a new blue-and-yellow livery. A few years later, the MTA Bus and New York City Bus brands were put once again, and buses that did not have them got them back. The first order with the new livery, 75 articulated buses for MTA Bus, were delivered in spring and summer 2016.

Until December 31, 2011, MTA Regional Bus Operations also operated Nassau County's bus and paratransit service (Able-Ride), formerly known as Long Island Bus. This service was operated by the MTA under an agreement with Nassau County, who owned its facilities and equipment. In 2011, the MTA asked Nassau County to provide more funding for Long Island Bus than they were at the time. The county refused to provide additional funding, and the MTA voted to end operation of the system at the end of 2011. The county then decided to hire Veolia Transport (now Transdev), a private transportation company, to operate the system in place of the MTA beginning in 2012. The system was then rebranded "Nassau Inter-County Express" on January 1, 2012.{{cite web | last=Castillo | first=Alfonso A. | title=Illinois company to run Long Island Bus | website=Newsday | date=June 10, 2011 | url=https://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/illinois-company-to-run-long-island-bus-1.2947117 | access-date=February 11, 2018 | archive-date=November 24, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124214932/https://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/illinois-company-to-run-long-island-bus-1.2947117 | url-status=live }}

{{See also|List of bus routes in the Bronx|List of bus routes in Brooklyn|List of bus routes in Manhattan|List of bus routes in Queens|List of bus routes in Staten Island|List of express bus routes in New York City}}

MTA Regional Bus routes are spread out across New York City. However, some bus routes may also operate to areas beyond city limits. The {{NYC bus link|Q5|Q85|prose=y}} routes cross the Nassau County border to go to the Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream. The {{NYC bus link|Q2|Q110|prose=y}} routes leave Queens as they run along Hempstead Turnpike and onto the Cross Island Parkway, and Belmont Racetrack in Elmont, where they turn-around and re-enter the city. The {{NYC bus link|Q46}} local and {{NYC bus link|QM6}} express buses run along Lakeville Road in Lake Success, Nassau County, upon entering Long Island Jewish Medical Center and North Shore Towers. The {{NYC bus link|Q113|Q114|prose=y}} cross into Nassau County between Southeast Queens and Far Rockaway. During peak hours, select {{NYC bus link|Q111}} buses run to Cedarhurst in Nassau County.

The {{NYC bus link|Bx16}} route runs into Westchester County for two blocks in Mount Vernon. The {{NYC bus link|Bx7|Bx9|Bx10|Bx31|Bx34|prose=y}} buses make their last stops at the Bronx–Westchester border. {{NYC bus link|BxM3}} express buses leave the city as they operate to Getty Square in Yonkers. The {{NYC bus link|Q4|Q12|Q30|Q36|Q43|Q111|prose=y}} buses make their last stops at the Queens-Nassau border. The {{NYC bus link|S89}} is the only route to have a stop outside state borders, terminating at the 34th Street Hudson-Bergen Light Rail station in Bayonne, New Jersey. Some Staten Island express routes run via New Jersey, but do not stop in the state.

Local bus routes are labeled with a number and a prefix identifying the primary borough of operation (B for Brooklyn, Bx for the Bronx, M for Manhattan, Q for Queens, and S for Staten Island).{{efn|There are some exceptions to this rule, such as the Q35, Q50, M60, or many bus routes operating between Brooklyn and Queens.}} Express bus routes to Manhattan generally use a two-letter prefix with an "M" at the end (e.g. an express route from Brooklyn is prefixed BM; from the Bronx, BxM; from Queens, QM; and from Staten Island, SIM{{cite web | last=Bascome | first=Thomas Erik | title=MTA unveils new express bus routes expected to roll out in August | website=Staten Island Advance | date=March 7, 2018 | url=http://www.silive.com/news/2018/03/mta_unveils_new_express_bus_ro.html | access-date=March 8, 2018 | archive-date=December 3, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203171546/https://www.silive.com/news/2018/03/mta_unveils_new_express_bus_ro.html | url-status=live }}{{cite web | last=Walker | first=Ameena | title=MTA reveals redesigned Staten Island express bus routes | website=Curbed NY | date=March 7, 2018 | url=https://ny.curbed.com/2018/3/7/17093440/mta-staten-island-express-bus-routes-redesigned | access-date=March 8, 2018 | archive-date=October 16, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016154932/https://ny.curbed.com/2018/3/7/17093440/mta-staten-island-express-bus-routes-redesigned | url-status=live }}). Exceptions to this rule are seven Brooklyn and Queens express routes operated by New York City Transit using an X prefix, which will be retired under both borough’s redesigns. Lettered suffixes can be used to designate branches or variants. The two-letter prefixed express system (BM, BxM and QM) was originated by the former private carriers taken over by MTA Bus.{{citation needed|date=March 2018}}

{{As of|2018}}, MTA Regional Bus Operations' budgetary burden for expenditures was $773 million, which it supports through the collection of taxes and fees.{{cite web | last=Rivoli | first=Dan | title=MTA Budget: Where does the money go? | website=NY Daily News | date=February 13, 2018 | url=http://interactive.nydailynews.com/project/mta-spending/ | access-date=November 3, 2018 | archive-date=November 3, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181103091946/http://interactive.nydailynews.com/project/mta-spending/ | url-status=dead }}

File:MTA Bus 1996 Orion V (ex-Bee-Line).jpg Orion V on the {{NYC bus link|Q113}}, displaying "LIMITED" on its route sign, with several "Limited" cards on the operator's dashboard. This particular bus was withdrawn from service and scrapped in 2013.]]

Local and limited-stop buses provide service within a single borough, or in some cases across two. While local buses make all stops along a route, limited-stop buses only make stops at busy transfer points, points of interest, and heavily used roadways. Limited stop service was first attempted with the M4 bus during rush hours in 1973, then expanded to other routes from there. 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 not served by locals, similar to the operation of some subway services and the Staten Island Railway.

There are full-route limited-stop buses that run alongside the local variant, making limited stops along the entire route; limited-only buses with no local variants under the same route number; and limited-zone buses, with a semi-limited section (with smaller distances between stops than on regular limited routes) near the route's tail ends, and a non-stop section in the middle.

Limited-Stop buses flash "LIMITED" on the destination sign. Occasionally, a paper orange and purple "Limited" sign will also be placed at the bottom of the windshield by the bus operator in case of false assumptions. Dark navy blue "LOCAL" and red "Express" signs also exist.{{cite web|title=NEW YORK, NEW YORK: BUS LANES AND LIMITED-STOP SERVICE|url=http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp90v1_cs/NewYork.pdf|publisher=Transportation Research Board|access-date=September 27, 2016|archive-date=January 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115200740/http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp90v1_cs/NewYork.pdf|url-status=live}}

The following MTA Regional Bus routes run limited stop service (for non-Staten Island routes, where there is a route numbering system, bold indicates no corresponding local service on the limited-stop route, and italic indicates no corresponding daytime local service on the limited-stop route):

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File:Select Bus Service bus shelter.jpg

File:6098 M60.jpg]]

{{Main|Select Bus Service}}

Select Bus Service (SBS), the brand name for MTA bus rapid transit service, is a variant of Limited-Stop bus service that requires fare payment to be made before boarding the bus, at fare payment machines in shelters at designated "stations" (such a shelter is shown to the right). Receipts given for payment of fare are "proof-of-payment" that must be shown to the MTA's fare inspectors upon request. In the event of the fare machine failing to issue a receipt, the bus operator must be notified of the problem. The implementation of this new service is paired with new lane markings and traffic signs that reserve a lane for buses only during the daytime.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/nyregion/29bus.html|title=Riders Will Pay Before Boarding, and Save Time, on Revamped Bus Route|date=June 29, 2008|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 10, 2017|archive-date=September 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925045952/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/nyregion/29bus.html|url-status=live}}

{{#section:Select Bus Service|corridors}}

Buses used in this service are identifiable with "stations" equipped with ticket machines, and most of them also have a "+selectbusservice" wrap identifying them as such buses. Locations of stops (and in some cases, the local bus stops) were shifted or eliminated where possible to prevent mixing of local bus customers. SBS is offered in conjunction with the NYC DOT and NYS DOT.{{cite web|url=http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&catID=1194&doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyc.gov%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2F2008a%2Fpr101-08.html&cc=unused1978&rc=1194&ndi=1|title=MAYOR BLOOMBERG, MTA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CEO SANDER, AND DOT COMMISSIONER SADIK-KHAN UNVEIL NEW MTA SELECT BUS SERVICE (SBS) SYSTEM|access-date=June 22, 2008|date=March 25, 2008|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530135111/http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&catID=1194&doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyc.gov%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2F2008a%2Fpr101-08.html&cc=unused1978&rc=1194&ndi=1|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://blog.tstc.org/2008/03/25/nycs-first-and-only-bus-rapid-transit-route/|title=NYC's First — And Only? – Bus Rapid Transit route|date=March 25, 2008|access-date=June 22, 2008|archive-date=July 28, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728134018/http://blog.tstc.org/2008/03/25/nycs-first-and-only-bus-rapid-transit-route/|url-status=live}}

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Express bus service is generally geared towards peak hour commuters from the outer boroughs and neighboring suburbs that lack rail or subway services to and from Midtown Manhattan or Lower Manhattan. Some routes also provide significant off-peak service from early morning to late evening, every day. Routes with daily off-peak service include the BxM1/2, BxM3, BxM4, BxM6, BxM7, BxM8, BxM9, BxM10, BxM11, QM2, QM4, QM5/6, SIM3c, SIM4c, SIM33c, X27 and X28; the SIM1c runs 24 hours a day. 45-foot MCI and Prevost over-the-road coaches are used for express service.

Service originally began on November 3, 1965, on route R8X (later X8, now {{NYC bus link|SIM5}}) traveling from the South Shore of Staten Island, up Hylan Blvd and Father Capodanno Blvd., into Downtown Brooklyn. In the 1980s, the R8X was renumbered and rerouted from Brooklyn to its current terminal in Lower Manhattan.{{cite web|title=New York City Transit – History and Chronology|url=http://web.mta.info/nyct/facts/ffhist.htm|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=March 12, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108233754/http://www.mta.info/nyct/facts/ffhist.htm|archive-date=January 8, 2014|url-status=dead}}{{cite book |author1=Kenneth T. Jackson |author2=Lisa Keller |author3=Nancy Flood |title=The Encyclopedia of New York City: Second Edition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lI5ERUmHf3YC&pg=PT5716 |date=December 1, 2010 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-18257-6}}

File:MTA New York City Transit VPG MV-1 paratransit cab.jpg Access-A-Ride cab]]

In addition to a 100% accessible bus fleet, New York City Transit also provides paratransit services under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 under the Access-A-Ride brand, for customers who cannot use regular bus or subway service. It services all five boroughs of New York City at all times.http://web.mta.info/mta/ada/paratransit.htm{{dead link|date=May 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The Access-A-Ride paratransit services are provided by various independent contractors, mostly using vehicles owned by the MTA, with some exceptions.{{cite web|title=Guide to Access-A-Ride Service|url=http://web.mta.info/nyct/paratran/guide.htm|website=MTA.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=February 7, 2018|archive-date=October 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029211353/https://new.mta.info/accessibility/paratransit|url-status=live}} Although all buses are wheelchair-accessible, these vehicles provide an accessible transport option for MTA riders. The program was created in 1991 after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.{{cite web | last=Sims | first=Calvin | title=Handicapped Find Transit More Accessible | work=The New York Times | date=July 19, 1991 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/19/nyregion/handicapped-find-transit-more-accessible.html | access-date=February 11, 2018 | archive-date=July 6, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706054629/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/19/nyregion/handicapped-find-transit-more-accessible.html | url-status=live }}

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{{Commons category|Bus stops in New York City}}

Within a service area, bus stops are normally located every two to three city blocks apart; specific guidelines dictate that stops should be placed every {{convert|750|ft|m}}.{{cite web|last1=Braziller|first1=Zachary|title=Bus stop removal hardship for seniors|url=http://qns.com/story/2006/10/19/bus-stop-removal-hardship-for-seniors/|website=Qns.com|publisher=Queens Courier|access-date=November 10, 2015|date=October 19, 2006|archive-date=June 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200617233025/https://qns.com/story/2006/10/19/bus-stop-removal-hardship-for-seniors/|url-status=live}} Buses marked Limited-Stop, Select Bus Service, and Express have fewer stops. Stops are located curbside, usually at street intersections, identified by blue signage and shelters. Buses stop either on concrete pads, or designated bus lanes (maroon-red if painted). Some bus stops, particularly along Select Bus Service routes, are designed as bus bulbs.http://web.mta.info/nyct/bus/howto_bus.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713142204/http://web.mta.info/nyct/bus/howto_bus.htm |date=July 13, 2020 }} "How to Ride the Bus" mta.info{{cite web|title=ABOUT SELECT BUS SERVICE: Select Bus Service Features|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/brt/html/about/sbs-features.shtml|website=nyc.gov|access-date=November 9, 2015|archive-date=October 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029111654/https://www1.nyc.gov/html/brt/html/about/sbs-features.shtml|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=ROUTES: Hylan Boulevard Select Bus Service|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/brt/html/routes/hylan_blvd.shtml|website=nyc.gov|access-date=November 9, 2015|archive-date=October 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029201726/https://www1.nyc.gov/html/brt/html/routes/hylan_blvd.shtml|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Neuman|first1=William|title=A Concrete Plan to Speed Up Buses in Traffic|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/27/nyregion/27bus.html?_r=0|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 9, 2015|date=April 27, 2007|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530135133/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/27/nyregion/27bus.html?_r=0|url-status=live}}

All bus stops are in effect at all times unless otherwise indicated by signage.

File:SBS launched on the B44 (10931729196).jpg

Bus stops in New York City are identified by two types of signs:

• An older-style, simple rectangular metal sign, similar to other street signs in the city.
• A newer, color-coded sign showing both route and destination.

Queens buses that run along the border with Nassau County ({{NYC bus link|Q36|Q46|QM6}}) or within Nassau County ({{NYC bus link|Q111|Q113|Q114}}) will sometimes share former MTA Long Island Bus-style signage with Nassau Inter-County Express bus service, though many stops on the Q111, Q113, and Q114 routes in Nassau County are either unsigned, or simply signed as "No Stopping Bus Stop". These signs are also made of metal.

The newer signs, used on all New York City Bus-branded routes, were in place by the mid-2000s, while old-style bus stop signs still exist on many MTA Bus-branded routes, showing only the route and not the destination. All bus stop signs within the city borders are maintained by New York City Department of Transportation.{{cite web|title=Welcome Aboard — Accessibility at the MTA|url=http://www.pcac.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Welcome-Aboard-Accessibility-at-the-MTA.pdf|publisher=The Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA|access-date=November 10, 2015|date=October 2008|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304090521/http://www.pcac.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Welcome-Aboard-Accessibility-at-the-MTA.pdf|url-status=dead}}http://nycmobility.org/bus/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200917224959/http://nycmobility.org/bus/ |date=September 17, 2020 }} NYU Rudin Center for Transportation "The Mobility Factbook – Public Bus" The newer signs are made of recyclable ABS plastic that last up to ten years and are easier to maintain than the old metal signs, which last about three years on average. The green plastic pole stands from {{convert|12|ft|m}} to {{convert|20|ft|m}} high, versus the old {{convert|6|to|9|ft|m|adj=mid|-high}} metal signs. Both old and new-style stops carry a Guide-A-Ride box that is attached to the center of the pole, providing route maps, schedules and other information. Guide-A-Ride boxes were installed on all NYCT routes by the 1980s.{{cite web|last1=Haberman|first1=Clyde|last2=Johnston|first2=Laurie|title=NEW YORK DAY BY DAY|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/30/nyregion/new-york-day-by-day-051709.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 10, 2015|date=July 30, 1982|archive-date=May 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522163203/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/30/nyregion/new-york-day-by-day-051709.html|url-status=live}} Implementation on MTA Bus Company routes took place in the 2000s for express buses, and in 2012–2014 for local bus routes.{{cite web|title=Review of Bus Service & Performance in Co-op City with Recommendations for Service Enhancements|url=http://www.mta.info/sites/default/files/nyct/coop_city_comprehensive_study_january_2014.pdf|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=December 11, 2015|date=January 2014|archive-date=November 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191105012718/http://www.mta.info/sites/default/files/nyct/coop_city_comprehensive_study_january_2014.pdf|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=The MTA 2006 ANNUAL REPORT: Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the Year Ended December 31, 2006 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the Year Ended December 31, 2006|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/investor/pdf/2006_annual_report.pdf|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=December 28, 2015|date=May 1, 2007|archive-date=March 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200318032731/http://web.mta.info/mta/investor/pdf/2006_annual_report.pdf|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Pozarycki|first1=Robert|title=WORK NEEDS A JUMPSTART: Panel Seeks Help To End Project Delays|url=http://www.timesnewsweekly.com/news/2011-11-03/Editorial/WORK_NEEDS_A_JUMPSTART.html|publisher=Times Newsweekly|access-date=November 10, 2015|date=November 3, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222113930/http://www.timesnewsweekly.com/news/2011-11-03/Editorial/WORK_NEEDS_A_JUMPSTART.html|archive-date=December 22, 2015}}

File:NYC MTA Q19.jpg.]]

The first metal signs in the city to feature a pictograph of a bus were installed by the Transit Authority in the 1960s.{{cite web|title=New Signs Vidid In Giving Advice: Bright Colors and Pictures Dot the City's Streets|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1963/12/26/81829940.pdf|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 10, 2015|date=December 26, 1963|archive-date=February 11, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211223333/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1963/12/26/81829940.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status=live}} Metal signs in their current design, which are mainly used on MTA Bus-operated routes and at temporary construction-regulation bus stops, were first used in 1976, as part of a pilot program on Fifth and Sixth Avenues in Midtown Manhattan funded by the Urban Mass Transit Administration,{{cite web|title=The Bus Stops Here|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1976/05/20/75600363.pdf|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 10, 2015|date=May 20, 1976|archive-date=February 11, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211223335/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1976/05/20/75600363.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status=live}} and fully implemented in the 1980s.{{cite web|last1=Goldman|first1=Ari L.|title=BUS-ONLY LANES TO BE INCREASED TO SPEED TRAVEL|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/15/nyregion/bus-only-lanes-to-be-increased-to-speed-travel.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 10, 2015|date=June 15, 1982|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530135213/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/15/nyregion/bus-only-lanes-to-be-increased-to-speed-travel.html|url-status=live}}

File:Q66Bus StopAtWoodside.jpg

In its current iteration, the upper portion of the sign is red, reading "NO STANDING" with an arrow identifying the no standing zone. Below on a blue background is a white circle, with a blue pictograph of a bus and wheelchair from the International Symbol of Access. Routes are identified with color-coded labels (see below), but without destinations. Some signs for express-bus service are colored lime-green and read "EXPRESS" at the top.{{cite web|last1=Sedon|first1=Michael|title=New York City pulls funding, sidelines extra Staten Island express buses|url=http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/12/new_york_city_pulls_funding_si.html|publisher=Staten Island Advance|access-date=November 10, 2015|location=Staten Island, New York|date=December 28, 2012|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304093148/http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/12/new_york_city_pulls_funding_si.html|url-status=live}} Due to MTA Bus Time coming out, most old-style stops received a timetable box indicating the bus route's map, expected time arrivals, and a code to use on the website or app.

File:New York City bus stop signage.jpg

The modern color-coded lollipop-shaped bus stop signs, which are used at all bus stops on New York City Bus-operated routes as well as at bus stops shared with MTA Bus routes and other companies, were first installed in November 1996 in Jamaica, Queens.[https://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/20/nyregion/color-coded-bus-stop-signs-replacing-old-cryptic-ones.html "Color-Coded Bus Stop Signs Replacing Old, Cryptic Ones"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530135226/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/20/nyregion/color-coded-bus-stop-signs-replacing-old-cryptic-ones.html |date=May 30, 2020 }} New York Times November 20, 1996 They were designed by W.S. Sign Design Corporation.{{cite web|url=http://www.wssign-design.com/nycbus.shtml|title=W.S. Sign Design · Transit · NYC Bus Stop|access-date=April 6, 2014|archive-date=December 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222053119/http://www.wssign-design.com/nycbus.shtml|url-status=live}} The signs were created following two federal grants given to the MTA and DOT in 1994 totaling $1.5 million,{{cite web|last1=Doyle|first1=Michael T.|title=New York City Transit Riders Council Bus Stop Signage Survey; DESTINATION: UNKNOWN|url=http://www.pcac.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/1998-Signage-Survey.pdf|publisher=New York City Transit Riders Council|access-date=September 27, 2016|date=November 17, 1998|archive-date=February 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202000853/http://www.pcac.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/1998-Signage-Survey.pdf|url-status=dead}} in response to complaints from bus riders that the previous metal signs lacked basic information about bus routes and schedules, and that some signs were often missing entirely. They were based on signs used in London and Paris that had existed since at least the 1950s.{{cite web|last1=Fehl|first1=Fred|title=Letters to the Times: To Direct Bus Passengers|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1958/11/29/92658142.pdf|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 10, 2015|date=November 29, 1958|archive-date=February 11, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211223335/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1958/11/29/92658142.pdf|url-status=live}}

The initial program called for the installation of 3,000 signs, of which 2,600 would be in Manhattan, and the remainder in the other boroughs. Initially, prototype signs were installed at selected locations, and then 400 signs started to be installed in December 1996, before being completed in April 1997, with the remaining signs installed by the end of 1997. The signs in Manhattan were installed using the $1 million USDOT grant, while the $500,000 from the Congestion Mitigation Air Quality grant was used for signs in the outer boroughs. The signs were placed at high-ridership bus stops that could not have bus shelters and locations where their durability could be properly tested. If the test was successful, it was expected that a full citywide installation would take six years.*{{cite book|title=Union Turnpike|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/48018169006/in/album-72157708972399318/|date=July 18, 1996|publisher=New York City Transit|pages=330|access-date=June 7, 2019|archive-date=April 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406081200/https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/48018169006/in/album-72157708972399318/|url-status=live}}

• {{Cite book|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/48018168416/in/album-72157708972399318/|title=NYC Transit Committee Agenda July 1996|date=July 18, 1996|publisher=New York City Transit|pages=331|access-date=June 7, 2019|archive-date=April 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406004433/https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/48018168416/in/album-72157708972399318/|url-status=live}}
• {{Cite book|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/48018167691/in/album-72157708972399318/|title=NYC Transit Committee Agenda July 1996|date=July 18, 1996|publisher=New York City Transit|pages=332|access-date=June 7, 2019|archive-date=April 10, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410154619/https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/48018167691/in/album-72157708972399318/|url-status=live}}
• {{Cite book|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/48018261352/in/album-72157708972399318/|title=NYC Transit Committee Agenda July 1996|date=July 18, 1996|publisher=New York City Transit|pages=333|access-date=June 7, 2019|archive-date=April 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406081159/https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/48018261352/in/album-72157708972399318/|url-status=live}}

The signs are in violation of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law, Section 1680. The law requires all "traffic control devices" to comply with the U.S. Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) as modified by the NYS Supplement, and mandates that parking signs must be rectangular rather than circular.

The new bus stop sign features a large circle on top and rectangular color-coded bus route information on the bottom. The bus stop circle also has a pictograph of a bus and ADA wheelchair, in white on a blue background. Hanging off the pole below are rectangular bus route signs, color-coded by type of service. Each has a route number and final destination, usually the neighborhood in which it terminates, though a street or landmark is listed for some routes. Westbound Bx12 local signs, for example, read "Sedgwick Avenue" instead of the neighborhood University Heights.

At the bottom of this area is a white rectangle with black text announcing the name of the stop, usually the names of the streets at the intersection. On bus stops that operate at all times of day, an arrow and red text on the bottom of the upper circle indicates the no-standing zone for cars. On stops that only operate part-time, the top route number box will read "NO STANDING", with the top destination box listing the days and/or times of day this is in effect. Some bus routes that run underneath elevated subway lines (such as the Bx9 underneath the Broadway elevated in the Bronx) use metal bus stop signs with a printed image depicting a modern bus sign, affixed to the pillars of the El.

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| footer = A countdown clock for Staten Island express routes near City Hall (left), and for the Q69 and Q100 buses in Astoria, Queens (right). The sign on the left displays "Stops Away", while the one on the right displays "Minutes Away".

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Some bus stops, produced by Data Display and STV Incorporated,{{cite web|title=Wayfinding and Signage Real-Time Passenger Information Signs at New York City Bus Stops (New York, NY)|url=http://www.stvinc.com/project.aspx?id=487&ser=87&i=1|publisher=STV Group (United States)|access-date=November 9, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117015252/http://www.stvinc.com/project.aspx?id=487&ser=87&i=1|archive-date=November 17, 2015}} feature electronic countdown clocks. In addition to the route and destination, an LED readout in between displays how many stops away or minutes away the next bus is using the MTA's "Bus Time" system. The first two signs of this kind, in Stapleton and New Dorp on Staten Island, were installed in 2013. The Stapleton stop is solar-powered. A third stop was installed near City Hall in Manhattan in 2015. An additional 18 stops in Staten Island and Brooklyn were approved for installation in late 2014, 10 for Queens in 2015, and 100 in Staten Island in 2016, as part of the NYCDOT's plan to install around 350 across the city.{{cite web|last1=Sedon|first1=Michael|title=New electronic signs tell bus riders how long they have to wait|url=http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2013/12/new_electronic_signs_tell_bus.html|publisher=Staten Island Advance|access-date=November 8, 2015|location=Staten Island, New York|date=December 9, 2013|archive-date=August 31, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831213402/https://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2013/12/new_electronic_signs_tell_bus.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Barone|first1=Vincent|title=Staten Island to receive additional electronic, real-time bus signage|url=http://www.silive.com/northshore/index.ssf/2014/12/post_115.html|publisher=Staten Island Advance|access-date=November 8, 2015|location=Staten Island, New York|date=December 17, 2014|archive-date=August 31, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831212325/https://www.silive.com/northshore/index.ssf/2014/12/post_115.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Whitford|first1=Emma|title=Bus Countdown Clocks Coming To Every Borough, Eventually|url=http://gothamist.com/2015/07/01/3_2_1_bus.php|publisher=Gothamist|access-date=November 8, 2015|date=July 1, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150811022051/http://gothamist.com/2015/07/01/3_2_1_bus.php|archive-date=August 11, 2015}}{{cite web|title=Staten Island Bus Stops|url=http://www.data-display.com/Staten-Island|publisher=Daktronics|access-date=November 8, 2015|archive-date=February 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228044941/http://data-display.com/Staten-Island|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|last1=Sanders|first1=Anna|title=100 countdown clocks coming to Staten Island bus stops|url=http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/02/staten_island_bus_countdown_clocks.html|access-date=February 11, 2016|work=Staten Island Advance|date=February 4, 2016|location=New York City Hall|archive-date=August 31, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831212412/https://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/02/staten_island_bus_countdown_clocks.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Pozarycki|first1=Robert|title=Countdown clocks on way to Queens|url=http://www.timesnewsweekly.com/news/2015-07-02/Local_News/Countdown_clocks_on_way_to_Queens.html|publisher=TimesNewsweekly|access-date=December 16, 2015|date=July 2, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150728004724/http://www.timesnewsweekly.com/news/2015-07-02/Local_News/Countdown_clocks_on_way_to_Queens.html|archive-date=July 28, 2015}} In 2018, as part of its Bus Action Plan, the MTA announced that more signs would receive electronic countdown clocks.

Several stops along Select Bus Service routes, such as the B44, B46, M34/M34A, M60, M79, M86, and Q44 employ different countdown clocks that are separate from bus stop signage. These clocks are part of wayfinding information kiosks installed in conjunction with the city's WalkNYC project beginning in 2013.{{cite web|title=PEDESTRIANS: WalkNYC|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/pedestrians/walknyc.shtml|website=nyc.gov|publisher=New York City Department of Transportation|access-date=December 26, 2015|archive-date=February 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204170633/https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/pedestrians/walknyc.shtml|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Miller|first1=Stephen|title=DOT Unveils WalkNYC Wayfinding System, Set to Go Citywide Next Year|url=http://www.streetsblog.org/2013/06/24/dot-unveils-walknyc-wayfinding-system-set-to-go-citywide-next-year/|publisher=Streetsblog NYC|access-date=December 26, 2015|date=June 24, 2013|archive-date=October 31, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161031172850/http://www.streetsblog.org/2013/06/24/dot-unveils-walknyc-wayfinding-system-set-to-go-citywide-next-year/|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last1=Harshbarger|first1=Rebecca|title=Select Bus Line starts running on 86th Street in Manhattan|url=http://www.amny.com/transit/select-bus-service-is-now-on-m86-in-manhattan-officials-say-1.10637821|publisher=AM New York|access-date=November 8, 2015|date=July 14, 2015|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530135334/https://www.amny.com/transit/select-bus-service-is-now-on-m86-in-manhattan-officials-say-1.10637821/|url-status=live}} As of 2016, a total of 32 bus stops had one of the two countdown clocks installed.{{cite web|title=ONE NEW YORK: WORKING FOR OUR NEIGHBORHOODS NEW CITYWIDE COUNTDOWN CLOCKS, TRAFFIC-SIGNAL PRIORITY FOR BUSES IN OUTER BOROUGHS, AND NEW BUS-ONLY LANES|url=http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/home/downloads/pdf/reports/2016/stoc-2016-bus_countdown_clocks_fact_sheet.pdf|website=nyc.gov|publisher=One New York|access-date=February 11, 2016|date=February 4, 2016|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530135335/https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/home/downloads/pdf/reports/2016/stoc-2016-bus_countdown_clocks_fact_sheet.pdf|url-status=live}} The current countdown clocks are successors to a pilot program on the M15 in 2007, and another on the M34 and M16 buses between 2009 and 2012.{{cite web|last1=Romero |first1=Katherine |last2=Namako |first2=Tom |title=34TH ST. BUS COUNTDOWN CLOCKS TICKING |url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/08122009/news/regionalnews/34th_st__bus_countdown_clocks_ticking_184108.htm |publisher=New York Post |access-date=November 8, 2015 |date=August 12, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090818143325/http://www.nypost.com/seven/08122009/news/regionalnews/34th_st__bus_countdown_clocks_ticking_184108.htm |archive-date=August 18, 2009 }}{{cite web|last1=Parker|first1=Billy|title=Countdown Clocks Make Their Way Above Ground|url=http://gothamist.com/2009/08/12/countdown_clocks_make_their_way_abo.php|publisher=Gothamist|access-date=November 8, 2015|date=August 12, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090918134539/http://gothamist.com/2009/08/12/countdown_clocks_make_their_way_abo.php|archive-date=September 18, 2009}}{{cite web|last1=Donohue|first1=Pete|title=MTA has given up on bus countdown clocks in favor of Bus Time program|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mta-prefers-bus-time-countdown-clocks-article-1.1217360|work=Daily News (New York)|access-date=November 8, 2015|date=December 10, 2012|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530135350/https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mta-prefers-bus-time-countdown-clocks-article-1.1217360|url-status=live}}

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The signage for routes at bus stops may be given different colors depending on the types of services available at each stop.

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File:Orion VII CNG 7738.jpg

The current bus shelters found at many bus stops were designed by Spain-based advertising company Cemusa, as part of a citywide "street furniture" project that also included newsstands, bike shelters, and public toilets.{{Cite web|url=http://home2.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/nycdot-streetdesignmanual-interior-05-furniture.pdf|title=Furniture|website=New York City Department of Transportation|access-date=September 27, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161001193723/http://home2.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/nycdot-streetdesignmanual-interior-05-furniture.pdf|archive-date=October 1, 2016}} Cemusa was awarded a 20-year contract for 3,300 bus shelters in May 2006, after the project had been receiving design bids going back to the 1990s. As opposed to the city paying Cemusa to install the shelters, the company paid for exclusive rights to advertise on the shelters; in return, the company would share a portion of the ad revenue generated.{{cite web|title=Audit Report on the Cleaning and Maintenance of Bus Stop Shelters by Cemusa NY, LLC in Compliance with Its Franchise Agreement with the Department of Transportation|url=http://comptroller.nyc.gov/wp-content/uploads/documents/MJ11_121A.pdf|publisher=Office of the New York City Comptroller John C. Liu|access-date=November 9, 2015|date=July 10, 2012|archive-date=October 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161001182723/http://comptroller.nyc.gov/wp-content/uploads/documents/MJ11_121A.pdf|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Chan|first1=Sewell|title=A $1.4 Billion Deal for Bus Shelters and Toilets Is Near|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04E2D6173EF931A25756C0A9609C8B63|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 11, 2008|date=May 12, 2006|archive-date=March 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309054636/https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04E2D6173EF931A25756C0A9609C8B63|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Cardwell|first1=Diane|title=Committee Approves Shelter and Toilet Contract|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/16/nyregion/16mbrfs-brief-006.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 9, 2015|date=May 16, 2006|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530135410/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/16/nyregion/16mbrfs-brief-006.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Dunlap|first1=David W.|title=Street Furniture Designs Stuck in Gridlock|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/09/realestate/street-furniture-designs-stuck-in-gridlock.html?pagewanted=all|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 9, 2015|date=August 9, 1998|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530135415/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/09/realestate/street-furniture-designs-stuck-in-gridlock.html?pagewanted=all|url-status=live}} They replaced the simple old-style shelters, consisting of black-painted metal with glass.{{cite web|title=INFRASTRUCTURE: Coordinated Street Furniture|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/infrastructure/streetfurniture.shtml|website=nyc.gov|publisher=New York City Department of Transportation|access-date=November 9, 2015|archive-date=February 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204175352/https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/infrastructure/streetfurniture.shtml|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Barron|first1=James|title=A Nice Place to Stand and Wait for a Bus That Might Stop Coming|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/11/nyregion/11shelters.html?mtrref=query.nytimes.com|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 9, 2015|date=April 10, 2009|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530135429/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/11/nyregion/11shelters.html?mtrref=query.nytimes.com|url-status=live}} The first 24 shelters were installed by December 2006 in Queens.{{cite web|last1=Chan|first1=Sewell|title=Queens: New Bus Shelters Unveiled|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/20/nyregion/20mbrfs-shelters.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 9, 2015|date=December 20, 2006|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530135430/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/20/nyregion/20mbrfs-shelters.html|url-status=live}}

File:Select Bus Service debuts on B44 (10930907283).jpg shelter on the {{NYC bus link|B44 SBS}} route in Brooklyn.]]

Designed by British architect Nicholas Grimshaw and his firm Grimshaw Architects, the shelters are constructed of stainless steel, with glass on three sides including the roof and rear. The fourth side consists of an advertising panel. On the non-advertising panel is an insert listing the streets of the intersection where the stop is located on the outer side, and route maps and information also featured on the Guide-A-Ride on its inner face.{{cite web|title=Cemusa: Prototypes in New York City|url=http://www.cemusa.com/resources/noticias/00002820Noticia.pdf|publisher=Cemusa|access-date=November 9, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316084815/http://www.cemusa.com/resources/noticias/00002820Noticia.pdf|archive-date=March 16, 2012|url-status=dead}}

The shelters come in five sizes (Regular: {{convert|5|x|14|ft}}; Narrow: {{convert|3.5|x|14|ft}}; Short: {{convert|5|x|10|ft}}; Little: {{convert|3.5|x|10|ft}}; and Double: {{convert|5|x|26|ft}}). All the modern shelters feature benches (many of the old ones did not), and were praised for environmentally friendly construction during their introduction.{{cite web|last1=Dunlap|first1=David W.|title=New Bus Shelter Is Vandalized by Acid|url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/new-bus-shelter-is-vandalized-by-acid/?mtrref=query.nytimes.com|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 9, 2015|date=November 6, 2007|archive-date=March 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309120507/https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/new-bus-shelter-is-vandalized-by-acid/?mtrref=query.nytimes.com|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Dunlap|first1=David W.|title=New Bus Shelters Let You Plan Your Shopping and TV-Watching but Not Your Trip|url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/10/new-bus-shelters-let-you-plan-your-shopping-and-tv-watching-but-not-your-trip/|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 9, 2015|date=August 10, 2007|archive-date=November 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126152624/https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/10/new-bus-shelters-let-you-plan-your-shopping-and-tv-watching-but-not-your-trip/|url-status=live}} Several of these shelters, primarily in Manhattan, have since been equipped with LED displays, LCD video advertisement panels, and ad panels with NFC communication technology.{{cite web|last1=Dunlap|first1=David W.|title=Lighting Up at the Bus Stop|url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/31/lighting-up-at-the-bus-stop/?_r=0|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 9, 2015|date=March 31, 2008|archive-date=March 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309120455/https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/31/lighting-up-at-the-bus-stop/?_r=0|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Cemusa's NYC Digital Shelter Network|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSekCU0G4bQ| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314130128/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSekCU0G4bQ| archive-date=March 14, 2016 | url-status=dead|website=YouTube|publisher=Cemusa|access-date=November 9, 2015|date=November 5, 2014}}{{cite web|title=Samsung NFC Ad Campaign – Cemusa NYC Bus Shelters|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrOMrgokmwQ| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031073148/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrOMrgokmwQ| archive-date=October 31, 2013 | url-status=dead|website=YouTube|publisher=Cemusa|access-date=November 9, 2015|date=August 6, 2012}} Following the acquisition of Cemusa by French advertising firm JCDecaux in 2015, bus shelters are now maintained by JCDecaux.

Bus stops with shelters or nearby trees tend to be cooler than bus stops with neither shelters nor trees. A 2024 study found that some of the hottest bus stops in the city, which lacked both shelters and trees, were located in Queens and the Bronx.{{cite web | last=Colon | first=Shayla | title=These Are New York's Hottest Bus Stops. And Not in a Good Way. | website=The New York Times | date=August 12, 2024 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/12/nyregion/street-wars-hot-bus-stops.html | access-date=August 13, 2024}}{{cite web | last=Pflaumer | first=Erin | title=These boroughs have the hottest bus stops in New York City: report | website=PIX11 | date=August 13, 2024 | url=https://pix11.com/news/transit/these-boroughs-have-the-hottest-bus-stops-in-new-york-city-report/amp/ | access-date=August 13, 2024}}

Between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., "Request-a-Stop" service is available as dictated by NYCDOT traffic regulations. If requested by a passenger, the bus operator may discharge passengers at a location along the route that is not a bus stop, as long as it is considered safe. If the location is not "safe" (i.e. it will interfere with traffic flow), the bus operator will discharge passengers at the nearest safe location.{{cite web|title=Title 34 2-15-2012 Department of Transportation Chapter 4: Traffic Rules|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/trafrule.pdf|website=nyc.gov|publisher=New York City Department of Transportation|access-date=November 10, 2015|date=February 15, 2012|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112022439/http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/trafrule.pdf|url-status=live}} Request-A-Stop is not available on Select Bus Service, Express routes, Limited-Stop routes, or overnight bus shuttles. Request-A-Stop was inaugurated on December 5, 1993, in Staten Island, and expanded to other boroughs in 1994.https://web.archive.org/web/19980127010654/http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/Bus/busfacts.htm Department of Buses history NYC Transit

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File:Jamaica Center Parsons Archer 03.JPG CNG bus outside Jamaica Center – Parsons/Archer]]

File:MTA Merrick Archer 02.jpg in a bus introduced in 2016.]]

{{Main|MTA Regional Bus Operations bus fleet}}

{{See also|Bus depots of MTA Regional Bus Operations}}

The fleet consists of over 5,800 buses of various types and models for fixed-route service, making MTA RBO's fleet the largest public bus fleet in the United States.{{Cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/160125_1345_CPOC.pdf |title=MTA Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting: January 2016 |date=January 2016 |access-date=January 23, 2016 |website=mta.info |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129071849/http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/160125_1345_CPOC.pdf |archive-date=January 29, 2016 }} The MTA also has over 2,000 vans and cabs for ADA paratransit service, providing service in New York City, southwestern Nassau County, and the city of Yonkers. All vehicles (except for paratransit cabs) are fully accessible to persons with disabilities.{{cite web |url=http://www.ntdprogram.gov/ntdprogram/pubs/profiles/2008/agency_profiles/2008.pdf |title=MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724180423/http://www.ntdprogram.gov/ntdprogram/pubs/profiles/2008/agency_profiles/2008.pdf |archive-date=July 24, 2011}}{{cite web |url=http://www.ntdprogram.gov/ntdprogram/pubs/profiles/2008/agency_profiles/2188.pdf |title=MTA Bus Company (MTABUS) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724180542/http://www.ntdprogram.gov/ntdprogram/pubs/profiles/2008/agency_profiles/2188.pdf |archive-date=July 24, 2011}} Fixed-route buses are dispatched from 27 garages (19 New York City Bus and 8 MTA Bus).

Several fleet improvements have been introduced over the system's history. The first large order of air conditioned buses began service in 1966. "Kneeling buses" were introduced in 1976, and wheelchair lifts began appearing in 1980.{{cite web|title=New York City Transit Facts & Figures: 1979|url=http://www.laguardiawagnerarchive.lagcc.cuny.edu/FILES_DOC/WAGNER_FILES/06.021.0058.060284.11.PDF#page=74|website=La Guardia and Wagner Archives|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York City Transit Authority|access-date=October 24, 2016|date=1979|archive-date=September 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180929135739/http://www.laguardiawagnerarchive.lagcc.cuny.edu/FILES_DOC/WAGNER_FILES/06.021.0058.060284.11.PDF#page=74|url-status=live}} Also in the 1980s, stop-request cords ("bell cords") were replaced by yellow tape strips. However, buses ordered after 2008 feature cords rather than tape strips due to the latter's higher maintenance cost.{{cite news|last1=Sulzberger|first1=A.J.|title=The Return of the Bus Bell Cord|url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/the-return-of-the-bus-bell-cord/|access-date=April 11, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=May 12, 2009|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530135551/https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/the-return-of-the-bus-bell-cord/|url-status=live}} Articulated buses were introduced in 1996, and have since become prominent in the Bronx and Manhattan.{{cite web|last1=Rein|first1=Lisa|last2=Ratish|first2=Robert|title=NEW BUS A REAL STRRRETCH|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/new-bus-real-strrretch-article-1.743346|work=Daily News (New York)|access-date=December 17, 2015|date=October 3, 1996|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530135535/https://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/new-bus-real-strrretch-article-1.743346|url-status=live}}

Low-floor buses, designed to speed boarding and alighting and improve riding conditions for elderly and disabled passengers, were first tested in 1997{{cite book|author=Rolland D. King|title=New Designs and Operating Experiences with Low-floor Buses|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BVrFQ3_-TTwC&pg=PA65|date=January 1, 1998|publisher=Transportation Research Board |isbn=978-0-309-06308-1}}{{cite web|last1=Kornblut|first1=Anne E.|title=REDESIGNED BUS MAY AID DISABLED|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/redesigned-bus-aid-disabled-article-1.763260|work=Daily News (New York)|access-date=December 24, 2015|date=January 20, 1997|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530135545/https://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/redesigned-bus-aid-disabled-article-1.763260|url-status=live}} and made up most of the new non-express buses ordered since the early 2000s. The last non-express high-floor bus was withdrawn in 2019.{{Cite web |date=6 May 2019 |title=MTA NYC Transit Retires Last of 1980s-Era Buses as Modernization of Fleet Continues, Providing Customers with Better, More Reliable Service |url=http://www.mta.info/press-release/nyc-transit/mta-nyc-transit-retires-last-1980s-era-buses-modernization-fleet-continues |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190715192634/http://www.mta.info/press-release/nyc-transit/mta-nyc-transit-retires-last-1980s-era-buses-modernization-fleet-continues |archive-date=15 July 2019 |access-date=2023-09-18 |website=Metropolitan Transportation Authority}} Most post-2000 orders also feature stop-request buttons located on grab bars. Since 2016, buses built after 2011 have been built or retrofitted with Wi-Fi connectivity and USB charging ports.

Starting in 2016, efforts to bring an audio/visual system to the current and future fleet went underway to improve customer service and ADA accessibility by using next-stop announcements and public service announcements. Though the former Long Island Bus Division (now NICE Bus) had already deployed such a system throughout its fleet since the early-2000s, the MTA had only trialed similar systems alongside GPS tracking between 2007 and 2012 on select routes in the New York City Bus system. Current plans include the installation of digital information screens installed throughout the interior of the bus which will provide real-time information such as time, weather, advertisements, & service advisories.{{Cite web | url=http://www.amny.com/transit/new-sbs-routes-digital-display-screens-for-buses-on-the-way-mta-says-1.11945003 | title=Newsday | Long Island's & NYC's News Source | Newsday | date=June 21, 2016 | access-date=June 24, 2016 | archive-date=May 30, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530135554/https://www.amny.com/transit/new-sbs-routes-digital-display-screens-for-buses-on-the-way-mta-says-1.11945003/ | url-status=live }} The screens are supplied by contract from 3 different vendors and are installed on new bus deliveries starting in 2017 while buses built after 2008 are currently receiving retrofits.

A new livery was also introduced, replacing the blue stripe livery on a white base that had been in use in one variation or another since the late 1970s. The first of these buses entered service in mid-May 2016 on the Q10 route.{{cite news|title=2,042 New Buses to Have Free Wi-Fi and USB Charging Ports by 2020|url=http://www.mta.info/news-governor-cuomo-articulated-buses-buses-wi-fi-new-york-city-transit/2016/03/08/2042-new-buses|access-date=March 9, 2016|work=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|date=March 8, 2016|archive-date=February 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204035108/https://www.mta.info/news-governor-cuomo-articulated-buses-buses-wi-fi-new-york-city-transit/2016/03/08/2042-new-buses|url-status=dead}}

Buses operating on clean or alternative fuels also make up a significant portion of the fleet, particularly since the establishment of the MTA's "Clean Fuel Bus" program in June 2000. Buses running compressed natural gas (CNG) were first tested in the early 1990s,{{cite web|last1=Pierre-Pierre|first1=Garry|title=Buses Using Natural Gas Do Well in Pilot Program|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/16/nyregion/buses-using-natural-gas-do-well-in-pilot-program.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=December 15, 2015|date=January 16, 1996|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530135602/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/16/nyregion/buses-using-natural-gas-do-well-in-pilot-program.html|url-status=live}} and mass-ordered beginning in 1999.{{cite journal|url=http://www.osti.gov/scitech/servlets/purl/829622/|title=Comparison of Clean Diesel Buses to CNG Buses|last1=Lowell|first1=Dana M.|last2=Parsley|first2=William|date=August 24, 2008|website=osti.gov|publisher=MTA New York City Transit Authority|access-date=December 15, 2015|last3=Bush|first3=Christopher|last4=Zupo|first4=Douglas}} Hybrid-electric buses, operating with a combination of diesel and electric power, were introduced in September 1998,{{cite web|url=http://www.mta.info/press-release/mta-headquarters/orion-hybridelectric-buses-are-key-cleaner-air-and-improved-economy|title=Orion Hybrid/Electric Buses Are Key To Cleaner Air And Improved Economy|author1=Press Release|date=November 29, 2005|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=December 24, 2015|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530135610/http://www.mta.info/press-release/mta-headquarters/orion-hybridelectric-buses-are-key-cleaner-air-and-improved-economy|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last1=Wald|first1=Matthew L.|title=Hybrid Bus Is Environmentally Friendly|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/08/us/hybrid-bus-is-environmentally-friendly.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=December 26, 2015|location=Warren, Rhode Island|date=February 8, 1999|archive-date=November 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201105231928/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/08/us/hybrid-bus-is-environmentally-friendly.html|url-status=live}} and mass-ordered beginning in 2004. Within the current fleet are over 1,600 diesel-electric buses and over 700 buses powered by compressed natural gas, which make up over half of the total fleet.{{cite web|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/new-york-city-scrapping-nearly-fourth-its-hybrid-bus-engines-100-diesel-bus-engines-1329977|title=New York City Scrapping Nearly A Fourth Of Its Hybrid Bus Engines For 100% Diesel Bus Engines|last1=Young|first1=Angelo|date=July 1, 2013|website=ibtimes.com|publisher=International Business Times|access-date=December 24, 2015|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530135622/https://www.ibtimes.com/new-york-city-scrapping-nearly-fourth-its-hybrid-bus-engines-100-diesel-bus-engines-1329977|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/180423_1000_Transit.pdf#page=49|title=Transit & Bus Committee Meeting|date=April 23, 2018|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|pages=49–50|access-date=July 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516095104/http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/180423_1000_Transit.pdf#page=49|archive-date=May 16, 2018|url-status=dead}} This is the largest fleet of either kind in the United States.{{cite web|url=http://www.mta.info/press-release/nyc-transit/mta-nyc-transit-introduces-new-generation-hybrid-electric-bus-staten|title=MTA NYC Transit Introduces New Generation Hybrid Electric Bus Into Staten Island Service|author1=Press Release|date=September 5, 2008|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=December 24, 2015|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530135625/http://www.mta.info/press-release/nyc-transit/mta-nyc-transit-introduces-new-generation-hybrid-electric-bus-staten|url-status=dead}}

Between 2017 and 2021, the MTA tested a fleet of battery electric buses – subsequently ordering battery-electric buses in sixty-foot articulated and forty-foot lengths from 2019 onwards.{{Cite web |date=13 October 2023 |title=Transitioning to a zero-emissions bus fleet |url=https://new.mta.info/project/zero-emission-bus-fleet |access-date=13 April 2023 |website=MTA}} In 2022, the MTA announced that they would trial hydrogen fuel cell buses, funded by a grant from New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.{{Cite web |date=16 November 2022 |title=MTA Receives Grant for First Zero-Emission Hydrogen Buses |url=https://new.mta.info/press-release/mta-receives-grant-first-zero-emission-hydrogen-buses |access-date=2024-04-13 |website=MTA |language=en}} The first two buses (New Flyer Xcelsior CHARGE H2) will be launched in The Bronx by late 2024.{{Cite web |last=FuelCellsWorks |date=28 November 2022 |title=MTA To Deploy Hydrogen Fuel Cell Buses In The Bronx |url=https://fuelcellsworks.com/news/mta-to-deploy-hydrogen-fuel-cell-buses-in-the-bronx/ |access-date=2024-04-13 |language=en-US}} The MTA announced that it would only purchase zero-emission buses from 2029, and that the entire bus fleet will be zero-emission by 2040.{{Cite web |title=MTA hosts hydrogen fuel-cell bus informational |url=http://bronx.news12.com/mta-hosts-hydrogen-fuel-cell-bus-informational |access-date=2024-04-13 |website=News 12 - The Bronx |language=en |quote=The MTA says they have committed to a zero-emission bus fleet by 2040.}}

{{See also|New York City transit fares}}

Dollar bills and half-dollar coins are not accepted on fixed-route buses or Select Bus Service payment stations, nor are they accepted on buses of the Bee-Line Bus System (Bee-Line) in Westchester County or the Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) in Nassau County. All fares are in US dollars, and the following fare policy applies to all New York City Transit, MTA Bus, NICE, and Bee-Line (except for the BxM4C) buses. Up to three children who are 5 years old or younger get to ride free provided that they are accompanied by a fare-paying rider.

The Q70 route has not charged a fare since May 2022.{{cite web | title=Q70 Bus to LaGuardia Is Free for All Starting May 1, Hochul Says | website=NBC New York | date=April 27, 2022 | url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/q70-bus-to-laguardia-airport-free-for-all-starting-may-1-hochul-announces/3666084/ | access-date=April 28, 2022 | archive-date=June 11, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220611080228/https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/q70-bus-to-laguardia-airport-free-for-all-starting-may-1-hochul-announces/3666084/ | url-status=live }}{{cite web | last=Izzo | first=Justin | title=Q70 bus to LaGuardia to be free, Hochul says | website=Spectrum News NY1 New York City | date=April 27, 2022 | url=https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/transit/2022/04/27/q70-bus-to-laguardia-to-be-free-while-other-transit-options-studied--hochul-says | access-date=April 28, 2022 | archive-date=August 7, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807172630/https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/transit/2022/04/27/q70-bus-to-laguardia-to-be-free-while-other-transit-options-studied--hochul-says | url-status=live }} From September 2023 to August 31, 2024, five additional routes—one in each borough, namely the {{NYC bus link|Bx18|B60|M116|Q4}} and S46/S96—did not charge any fares as part of a pilot program.{{cite web | last=Brachfeld | first=Ben | title=MTA announces five bus routes for fare-free pilot | website=amNewYork | date=July 17, 2023 | url=https://www.amny.com/transit/mta-five-bus-routes-fare-free-pilot/ | access-date=July 18, 2023 | archive-date=July 18, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230718021326/https://www.amny.com/transit/mta-five-bus-routes-fare-free-pilot/ | url-status=live }}{{cite web | title=Free bus routes will be part of MTA pilot program heading to NYC this fall | website=NBC New York | date=July 17, 2023 | url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/free-bus-routes-will-be-part-of-mta-pilot-program-heading-to-nyc-this-fall/4512524/ | access-date=July 18, 2023 | archive-date=July 18, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230718062124/https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/free-bus-routes-will-be-part-of-mta-pilot-program-heading-to-nyc-this-fall/4512524/ | url-status=live }}{{cite web|url= https://pix11.com/news/transit/free-buses-will-start-charging-again-soon-in-nyc/|title= Free buses start charging again in NYC, routes in all five boroughs|last1=Rahhal|first1=Emily|date=August 29, 2024|work=WPIX|access-date=September 4, 2024}}

{{Main|MetroCard|OMNY}}

In November 1993,{{cite web|url=https://nypost.com/2000/06/15/old-metrocard-can-be-a-fare-ly-profitable-item/|title=Old Metrocard Can Be a Fare-Ly Profitable Item|last=Salkin|first=Allen|website=New York Post|access-date=March 13, 2016|date=June 15, 2000|archive-date=March 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314020403/http://nypost.com/2000/06/15/old-metrocard-can-be-a-fare-ly-profitable-item/|url-status=live}} a fare system called the MetroCard was introduced, which allows riders to use cards that store the value equal to the amount paid to a subway station booth clerk or vending machine.{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE7DC143BF931A35755C0A965958260 |first=Seth |last=Faison |newspaper=The New York Times |title=3,000 Subway Riders, Cards in Hand, Test New Fare System |date=June 2, 1993 |access-date=April 25, 2010 |archive-date=August 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230805203830/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/02/nyregion/3000-subway-riders-cards-in-hand-test-new-fare-system.html |url-status=live }} The MetroCard was enhanced in 1997 to allow passengers to make free transfers between subways and buses within two hours; several MetroCard-only transfers between subway stations were added in 2001.{{Cite news| url = http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/push-free-g-to-j-m-transfer-permanent-article-1.1917910| title = With work on Greenpoint Tube set to end, advocates want free G-to-J/M transfer to be permanent| last = Donohue| first = Pete| date = August 26, 2014| newspaper = New York Daily News| access-date = February 28, 2016| archive-date = January 20, 2022| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220120034410/https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/push-free-g-to-j-m-transfer-permanent-article-1.1917910| url-status = live}}{{cite web| url = http://web.mta.info/nyct/service/G_LineReview_7_10_13.pdf| title = NYC Transit G Line Review| date = July 10, 2013| website = mta.info| publisher = Metropolitan Transportation Authority| access-date = February 28, 2016| archive-date = December 24, 2019| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191224164006/http://web.mta.info/nyct/service/G_LineReview_7_10_13.pdf| url-status = live}} With the addition of unlimited-ride MetroCards in 1998, the New York City Transit system was the last major transit system in the United States with the exception of BART in San Francisco to introduce passes for unlimited bus and rapid transit travel.{{cite news |first=Andy |last=Newman |title=Hop On, Hop Off: The Unlimited Metrocard Arrives |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/03/nyregion/hop-on-hop-off-the-unlimited-metrocard-arrives.html |date=July 3, 1998 |access-date=January 8, 2010 |archive-date=August 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220831233932/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/03/nyregion/hop-on-hop-off-the-unlimited-metrocard-arrives.html |url-status=live }}

Unlimited-ride MetroCards are available for 7-day and 30-day periods.{{cite news |first=Andy |last=Newman |title=Guide to NYC Subway |work=FreshNYC |url=http://freshnyc.com/blog/visitors-guide-ins-and-outs-new-york-city-subway |access-date=February 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180105150656/http://freshnyc.com/blog/visitors-guide-ins-and-outs-new-york-city-subway |archive-date=January 5, 2018 |url-status=dead }} One-day "Fun Pass" and 14-day cards were also introduced, but have since been discontinued.{{cite web |title=MTA: Say Goodbye to Fun Cards |url=http://www.wnyc.org/story/89164-say-goodbye-fun-card-city/ |website=WNYC |access-date=February 9, 2016 |archive-date=March 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220304042247/https://www.wnyc.org/story/89164-say-goodbye-fun-card-city/ |url-status=live }}

In April 2016, MTA solicited proposals for a contactless "New Fare Payment System" to replace the MetroCard by 2022.{{cite news |last1=Rivoli |first1=Dan |last2=Gregorian |first2=Dareh |date=April 12, 2016 |title=MTA to solicit proposals for 'New Fare Payment System,' taking first step in finding MetroCard replacement |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mta-takes-step-replacing-metrocard-article-1.2598346 |newspaper=New York Daily News |access-date=November 30, 2016 |archive-date=December 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201075727/http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mta-takes-step-replacing-metrocard-article-1.2598346 |url-status=live }} On October 23, 2017, it was announced that the MetroCard would be phased out and replaced by OMNY, a contactless fare payment system also by Cubic, with fare payment being made using Apple Pay, Google Pay, debit/credit cards with near-field communication technology, or radio-frequency identification cards.{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mta-approves-plan-scrap-metrocards-tap-payment-system-article-1.3584098|title=MTA approves plan to scrap MetroCards for 'tap' payment system|last=Rivoli|first=Dan|date=October 23, 2017|work=NY Daily News|access-date=October 24, 2017|language=en|archive-date=October 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024051957/http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mta-approves-plan-scrap-metrocards-tap-payment-system-article-1.3584098|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/23/nyregion/metrocard-subway-new-york.html|title=New York to Replace MetroCard With Modern Way to Pay Transit Fares|last=Barron|first=James|date=October 23, 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 24, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023235701/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/23/nyregion/metrocard-subway-new-york.html|url-status=live}} The announcement calls for the expansion of this system to a general-use electronic fare payment system at 500 subway turnstiles and 600 buses by late 2018, with all buses and subway stations using electronic fare collection by 2020. However, support of the MetroCard is slated to remain until 2024.

{{Clear}}

File:MTA NYC Bus M15 Select Bus Service bus at South Ferry.jpg

{{As of|November 2017|alt=As of November 2017}}, three-quarters of bus routes provide high-frequency service in at least one direction during rush hours, with buses arriving at least every ten minutes. Of these routes, 54% provide high-frequency service in both directions, while 21% provide service only in the peak direction (toward transit hubs during the morning, and away from these hubs during the evening). One quarter of routes run with headways of more than 10 minutes during rush hours.{{rp|22}}

Of the five boroughs, the Bronx has the greatest proportion of bus routes with high frequencies in both directions, with 65% of routes running such frequencies {{As of|November 2017|alt=as of November 2017}}. Manhattan has the highest ratio of routes with high frequencies in at least one direction, at 85%. On the other hand, more than 60% of routes on Staten Island, the city's least populous borough, ran with low rush-hour frequencies, marking the highest such ratio in the city. In roughly 28% of the city's neighborhoods, less than half of routes operate at high frequencies in both directions.{{rp|22}} Neighborhoods outside of each borough's central business districts, as well as off-peak service, are more likely to be subject to low-frequency bus service, despite significant off-peak demand in areas like Forest Hills, Queens, and Sunset Park, Brooklyn.{{rp|23}} MTA Bus and New York City Bus also have the U.S.'s highest rates of deadhead runs, or "not-in-service" runs without passengers, with a respective 19% and 14% of trips being deadheads.{{rp|24}}

Buses running off-schedule are also common in the MTA Regional Bus system, with almost one in four buses running either too early or too late to maintain a constant spacing between buses. This is prevalent even on Select Bus Service bus rapid transit routes, where 20% of bus trips do not adhere to their schedules.{{rp|26}} Some routes suffer from bus bunching. Routes affected by bus bunching may not have any buses in a certain direction for prolonged periods of time, and then several buses will show up within a short time period. In 2017, nearly twelve percent of routes were considered to be bunched on a regular basis, compared to 9.4% in 2015. This phenomenon most affects bus routes within Brooklyn Community Board 5 in East Brooklyn, where 15% of buses are subject to bunching.{{cite web|url=https://www.amny.com/transit/bus-turnaround-campaign-gives-mta-tips-to-improve-reliability-speed-1.13496586|title=Study: Here are the neighborhoods with the worst bus service|last=Barone|first=Vincent|date=April 20, 2017|website=am New York|access-date=March 10, 2018|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530135638/https://www.amny.com/transit/bus-turnaround-campaign-gives-mta-tips-to-improve-reliability-speed-1.13496586/|url-status=live}}

File:MTA Bus 5721 on the M79 at Broadway.jpg

{{As of|2017}}, MTA buses on local buses run at average speeds of {{Convert|7|to|8|mph|kph}},{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/27/nyregion/bus-service-new-york.html|title=Bus Service Is in Crisis, City Comptroller's Report Says|last=Wang|first=Vivian|date=November 27, 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 10, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=November 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109013617/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/27/nyregion/bus-service-new-york.html|url-status=live}} the slowest of any major bus system nationwide.{{rp|27}} MTA Select Bus Service routes had marginally faster speeds, averaging {{convert|8.7|mph|kph}}.{{rp|40}} The average speed varies between boroughs, with Manhattan having the lowest average local-bus speed ({{Convert|6|mph|kph|disp=sqbr}}) and Staten Island having the highest ({{Convert|11|mph|kph|disp=sqbr}}).{{rp|27}} In 2017, sixteen of the seventeen bus routes with average speeds of less than {{Convert|5|mph|kph}} were located in Manhattan. Conversely, eight of the eleven routes with average speeds of more than {{Convert|15|mph|kph}} were located on Staten Island.{{rp|28}} On average, buses generally spend a little more than half of the trip (54%) in motion, while 22% of the trip is spent at bus stops and 21% is spent idling at red lights.{{rp|29}}

The Straphangers Campaign, another riders' advocacy group, gives out "Pokey Awards" to the slowest bus routes of each year.{{cite web|url=http://abc7ny.com/431976/|title='Awards' given out for slowest, most unreliable public buses|date=December 11, 2014|website=ABC7 New York|access-date=March 11, 2018|archive-date=August 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806191648/https://abc7ny.com/431976/|url-status=live}} The slowest bus routes are typically crosstown bus routes in Manhattan, with 14 of the slowest bus routes in 2017 being crosstown bus routes.{{rp|28}} In 2017, the slowest bus route was the M42 crosstown bus on 42nd Street, which had an average speed of {{Convert|3.9|mph|kph}}, approximately a walking pace. This was followed by the M31/M57, M50, and M66 crosstown buses on 57th, 49th/50th, and 65th/66th Streets respectively, all of which averaged less than {{Convert|5|mph|kph}}.{{cite web|url=https://nypost.com/2017/12/23/nycs-slowest-bus-route-is-about-as-fast-as-walking/|title=NYC's slowest bus route is about as fast as walking|date=December 23, 2017|website=New York Post|access-date=March 11, 2018|archive-date=November 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109024435/https://nypost.com/2017/12/23/nycs-slowest-bus-route-is-about-as-fast-as-walking/|url-status=live}} Other "winners" of the Pokey Award include the M79 on 79th Street and the M23 on 23rd Street,{{cite web|url=https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/and-the-award-for-slowest-city-bus-goes-to/|title=And the Award for Slowest City Bus Goes to ...|last=Chan|first=Sewell|date=August 9, 2016|website=City Room|access-date=March 11, 2018|archive-date=September 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200916003308/https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/and-the-award-for-slowest-city-bus-goes-to/|url-status=live}} both of which have now been converted to Select Bus Service routes. However, Select Bus Service routes only serve 12% of all bus riders {{As of|2016|lc=y}}, and the average bus route is 10% percent slower than it was in the mid-1990s.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/27/nyregion/why-youre-still-stuck-on-the-bus.html|title=Why You're Still Stuck on the Bus|date=October 27, 2016|website=The New York Times|access-date=March 11, 2018|archive-date=November 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108133101/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/27/nyregion/why-youre-still-stuck-on-the-bus.html|url-status=live}}

A 2015 study found that 35 MTA routes with significant ridership figures had average speeds of less than {{Convert|15|mph|kph}}, and that the M66 crosstown bus had an average speed of {{Convert|3.1|mph|kph}}. Slow bus rides were not limited to Manhattan routes; the Bx2 bus in the Bronx and the B35 bus in Brooklyn both ran at speeds of less than {{Convert|6|mph|kph}}.{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mta-slowest-buses-ranked-35-travel-no-faster-15-mph-article-1.2467128|title=MTA's slowest buses ranked, 35 travel no faster than 15 mph|last=Rivoli|first=Dan|date=December 15, 2015|website=NY Daily News|access-date=March 11, 2018|archive-date=November 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130055359/https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mta-slowest-buses-ranked-35-travel-no-faster-15-mph-article-1.2467128|url-status=live}} In 2018, the riders' advocacy group Bus Turnaround Campaign rated each bus route based on speed and reliability, and gave 75% of city bus routes a "D" or "F" grade.{{cite web|url=https://www.amny.com/transit/mta-bus-service-1.16648452|title=Group gives nearly 75 percent of city bus routes a failing grade|last=Barone|first=Vincent|date=February 8, 2018|website=am New York|access-date=March 11, 2018|archive-date=September 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919194242/https://www.amny.com/transit/mta-bus-service-1.16648452/|url-status=live}} As a result, in early January 2019, former mayor Bill de Blasio promised to raise bus speeds by 25% by the next year.{{cite web|url=https://www.amny.com/transit/bus-service-nyc-1.25750709|title=Mayor vows bus speeds will increase 25% by 2020|date=January 10, 2019|website=am New York|access-date=January 12, 2019|archive-date=January 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190112150259/https://www.amny.com/transit/bus-service-nyc-1.25750709|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://ny.curbed.com/2019/1/11/18178551/nyc-bus-mta-bill-de-blasio-state-of-the-city|title=De Blasio's bus improvement plan calls for 25% increase in speeds by 2020|last=Plitt|first=Amy|date=January 11, 2019|website=Curbed NY|access-date=January 12, 2019|archive-date=January 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190112010824/https://ny.curbed.com/2019/1/11/18178551/nyc-bus-mta-bill-de-blasio-state-of-the-city|url-status=live}}

As a result of these slow average speeds, MTA Regional Bus Operations has the highest per-mile operating cost of all city bus systems in the U.S., with a per-mile cost of $30.40. If the operating costs were closer to the U.S. average, MTA buses would have the highest farebox recovery ratio among U.S. cities' bus systems.{{cite web|url=https://ny.curbed.com/2018/1/30/16946476/mta-new-york-city-bus-operating-costs-analysis|title=Why are New York's bus operating costs so high?|last=Levy|first=Alon|date=January 30, 2018|website=Curbed NY|access-date=March 11, 2018|archive-date=February 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204043551/https://ny.curbed.com/2018/1/30/16946476/mta-new-york-city-bus-operating-costs-analysis|url-status=live}}

Many local New York City Bus and MTA Bus routes take long and winding routes that, in the most extreme cases, take more than two hours to traverse from end to end.{{rp|36}} Some of the longest routes are in Staten Island, where the average bus line is {{Convert|10.6|mi|km}} long. The longest local bus route in the city, the S78, is {{Convert|20.8|mi|km}} long and spans the entire length of Staten Island. Brooklyn also has several long bus routes, and the borough hosts three of the city's ten longest routes.{{rp|37}}

Some local routes divert into neighborhoods and detour down driveways rather than taking a more direct path. These routes then merge onto heavily congested main corridors.{{rp|39}} A 2017 report indicated that nearly half of bus routes had at least 10 turns along their routes. The most winding route was the Bx8 bus in the Bronx, with 29 turns.{{rp|38}}

Starting in 2015, the MTA investigated express bus routes on Staten Island, which were circuitous, duplicative, and infrequent.{{rp|14–16}} The MTA proposed replacing all of the existing express bus routes with simpler and shorter variants, a proposal supported by 76% of Staten Island residents who had learned about the study.{{cite web|title=Staten Island Bus Study: Reimagining Express Buses|url=http://nymta.civicconnect.com/sites/default/files/Final%20Report%20May%2031%202017.pdf|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|date=May 2017|access-date=March 7, 2018|archive-date=June 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170604122215/http://nymta.civicconnect.com/sites/default/files/Final%20Report%20May%2031%202017.pdf|url-status=dead}}{{rp|20, 21, 23}} After hosting several meetings with Staten Island residents, the MTA announced that express bus service to Staten Island was expected to be completely reorganized in August 2018. As part of the redesign, all of the existing bus routes were discontinued and replaced with 21 new routes with a "SIM" prefix. This was followed by the redesign of Bronx local and express routes, which took effect on June 26, 2022.{{cite web|url=https://ny.curbed.com/2019/10/22/20926765/mta-nyc-bus-bronx-redesign-transportation|title=MTA's Bronx bus redesign will chop 400 stops and add new routes|last=Spivack|first=Caroline|date=October 22, 2019|website=Curbed NY|access-date=December 1, 2019|archive-date=November 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191128135053/https://ny.curbed.com/2019/10/22/20926765/mta-nyc-bus-bronx-redesign-transportation|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://abc7ny.com/5638098/|title=MTA releases final Bronx bus system overhaul proposal|date=October 22, 2019|website=ABC7 New York|access-date=December 1, 2019|archive-date=January 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101030034/https://abc7ny.com/5638098/|url-status=live}} The redesigns of the Brooklyn and Queens bus networks, initially scheduled for early 2021, were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City.{{Cite web|last=Duggan|first=Kevin|date=June 29, 2020|title=Brooklyn bus redesign on hold amid COVID-19 constraints: MTA|url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/brooklyn-bus-redesign-on-hold-amid-covid-19/|access-date=July 5, 2020|website=Brooklyn Paper|language=en-US|archive-date=July 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200705152557/https://www.brooklynpaper.com/brooklyn-bus-redesign-on-hold-amid-covid-19/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Queens bus network redesign remains on hold amid COVID-19 pandemic: MTA|url=https://qns.com/story/2020/06/01/queens-bus-network-redesign-remains-on-hold-amid-covid-19-pandemic-mta/|access-date=July 5, 2020|website=QNS.com|language=en-US|archive-date=July 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200705220043/https://qns.com/story/2020/06/01/queens-bus-network-redesign-remains-on-hold-amid-covid-19-pandemic-mta/|url-status=dead}}

{{As of|December 2017}}, weekday bus ridership in 2017 averaged 1.9 million, while total weekend ridership averaged 2.1 million. Express buses had an average weekday ridership of 40,200, while paratransit was used by a mean of 27,900 people each weekday.{{Cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/180220_1000_Transit.pdf|title=NYCT and Bus Committee Meeting|date=February 20, 2018|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|page=96|access-date=March 11, 2018|archive-date=February 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219090440/http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/180220_1000_Transit.pdf|url-status=dead}}{{Rp|94}}

Bus ridership has steadily declined through the 2000s and 2010s. From 2008 to 2017, bus ridership declined by more than 100 million.{{cite web|url=http://www.metro-magazine.com/management-operations/news/726495/ny-mta-buses-lost-100-million-passenger-trips-since-2008-report-says|title=NY MTA buses lost 100 million passenger trips since 2008, report says|date=June 9, 2016|website=Metro Magazine|access-date=March 11, 2018|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530135729/https://www.metro-magazine.com/management-operations/news/726495/ny-mta-buses-lost-100-million-passenger-trips-since-2008-report-says|url-status=live}} Average weekday bus ridership fell 5.7%, and average weekend bus ridership fell 4%, from 2016 to 2017.{{Rp|96}} The greatest ridership decreases were in Manhattan, where bus ridership declined more than 15% from 2011 to 2016. Ridership decreased less dramatically in Brooklyn and parts of Queens and Staten Island, while ridership increased slightly within the Bronx, southwest Brooklyn, central Queens, and most of Staten Island.{{rp|18}} Bus lines that ran parallel to subway routes also saw ridership declines. As of 2017, there were thirteen bus routes with at least 20 stops within {{convert|0.1|mi|km}} of a subway station; all saw ridership declines, with each route averaging a 20% loss.{{rp|42}}

File:SBS launched on the B44 (10931729326).jpg

{{Main|Bus lanes in New York City}}

To speed up bus service, the city started installing bus lanes in Downtown Brooklyn and St. George, Staten Island, in 1963.{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1963/05/05/103000518.pdf|title=Rush-Hour Bus Lanes Assigned In Brooklyn and Staten Island|last=Stengren|first=Bernard|date=May 5, 1963|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 21, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 11, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211223336/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1963/05/05/103000518.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status=live}} Another bus lane was soon installed along Hillside Avenue in Queens.{{Cite web|url=http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp90v1_cs/NewYork.pdf|title=NEW YORK, NEW YORK BUS LANES AND LIMITED-STOP SERVICE|date=2001|website=trb.org|access-date=July 18, 2017|archive-date=January 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115200740/http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp90v1_cs/NewYork.pdf|url-status=live}}{{Rp|1}} In 1969, part of 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan also received a bus lane.{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1969/06/20/78352207.pdf|title=Midtown Bus Lanes Set|date=June 20, 1969|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 21, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 11, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211223337/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1969/06/20/78352207.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status=live}} Additional bus lanes were added in the 1970s and 1980s.{{Rp|1}} Bus lanes now exist on major corridors in all five boroughs, and are especially prevalent on high-volume and Select Bus Service corridors. There are also bus lanes along several highways that lead to Manhattan.{{cite web|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/brt/downloads/pdf/bus_lanes_map.pdf|title=Bus Lanes in New York City|website=nyc.gov|publisher=New York City Department of Transportation|access-date=April 4, 2016|archive-date=February 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215025333/http://www.nyc.gov/html/brt/downloads/pdf/bus_lanes_map.pdf|url-status=dead}} The city's bus lane network is about {{Convert|104|mi|km}} long {{As of|November 2017|alt=as of November 2017}}, representing nearly two percent of the city's {{Convert|6,000|mi|km}} of streets.{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2017/10/20/with-faster-buses-de-blasio-promises-to-ease-life-in-a-tough-city-115177|title=With faster buses, de Blasio promises to ease life in a 'tough city'|last=Rubinstein|first=Dana|date=October 20, 2017|website=Politico PRO|access-date=March 9, 2018|archive-date=August 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811140810/https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2017/10/20/with-faster-buses-de-blasio-promises-to-ease-life-in-a-tough-city-115177|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://comptroller.nyc.gov/wp-content/uploads/documents/The-Other-Transit-Challenge.pdf|title=The Other Transit Crisis: How to Improve the NYC Bus System|last=Stringer|first=Scott M.|website=Office of the New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer|access-date=March 9, 2018|date=November 2017|archive-date=March 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313093640/https://comptroller.nyc.gov/wp-content/uploads/documents/The-Other-Transit-Challenge.pdf|url-status=live}}{{rp|7}}

The bus lane rules are enforced by traffic cameras on gantries above the lanes; photos are taken of vehicles who violate the rules, and these motorists are then fined.{{cite web|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/brt/html/about/bus-lanes.shtml|title=Bus Lane Rules|last1=New York City|website=nyc.gov|publisher=New York City|access-date=March 4, 2015|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112002742/https://www1.nyc.gov/html/brt/html/about/bus-lanes.shtml|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/brt/downloads/pdf/buslane_enforcement_brochure.pdf|title=5 Things You Should Know About New York City Bus Lanes|website=nyc.gov|publisher=New York City Department of Transportation|access-date=April 4, 2016|archive-date=December 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204152332/https://www1.nyc.gov/html/brt/downloads/pdf/buslane_enforcement_brochure.pdf|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/23/nyregion/23lanes.html?_r=0|title=Cameras Monitor Trespassing in Bus Lanes|last1=HUGHES|first1=C. J.|date=November 22, 2010|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 4, 2015|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530135804/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/23/nyregion/23lanes.html?_r=0|url-status=live}} Bus lanes have generally increased average bus speeds and reduced travel times where they are installed. However, double-parked vehicles and other obstructions often force buses to merge out of these lanes.{{rp|40}}

{{As of|July 2017}}, traffic signal preemption is used on five bus corridors in New York City.{{Cite web|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/brt/downloads/pdf/brt-transit-signal-priority-july2017.pdf|title=Green Means Go: Traffic Signal Priority in NYC|date=July 2017|website=nyc.gov|access-date=March 8, 2018|archive-date=December 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201182533/http://www.nyc.gov/html/brt/downloads/pdf/brt-transit-signal-priority-july2017.pdf|url-status=live}}{{Rp|4}} Traffic signals with bus preemption allow traffic lights to display a green signal for a longer-than-normal period of time when a bus approaches the intersection. The first corridor to receive traffic signal priority was the Victory Boulevard corridor on Staten Island in 2006, which used infrared detection technology to allow traffic signals to communicate with transponders on buses.{{Rp|3}} Although the system itself was successful, the buses with transponders were reassigned to bus routes in Brooklyn and Queens, rendering the devices useless. Moreover, MTA administrators did not see any cost savings from the program, and employees generally lacked the motivation to maintain the system.{{rp|30}} In 2008, the Victory Boulevard installation was followed by the Fordham Road and Pelham Parkway corridor (Bx12 bus) in the Bronx, which used GPS transponders aboard buses. Due to both systems' high cost, they were eventually removed from both corridors.{{Rp|3}}

In 2011, Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed that traffic signal priority be installed along 11 bus routes within the following two years.{{cite web|url=https://www.amny.com/transit/new-mta-buses-have-wi-fi-but-lack-technology-to-speed-travel-time-1.12134052|title=New MTA buses have Wi-Fi, but not faster service|last=Barone|first=Vincent|date=August 4, 2016|website=am New York|access-date=March 9, 2018|archive-date=November 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108111438/https://www.amny.com/transit/new-mta-buses-have-wi-fi-but-lack-technology-to-speed-travel-time-1.12134052/|url-status=live}} The MTA started testing signal priority along the M15 in Lower Manhattan in 2012.{{cite web|url=http://www.mta.info/press-release/nyc-transit/mta-new-york-city-transit-set-launch-traffic-signal-priority-pilot-along|title=Press Release – NYC Transit – MTA New York City Transit Set to Launch Traffic Signal Priority Pilot Along M15 SBS|date=September 24, 2012|website=MTA|access-date=March 9, 2018|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530135818/http://www.mta.info/press-release/nyc-transit/mta-new-york-city-transit-set-launch-traffic-signal-priority-pilot-along|url-status=dead}} From 2014 to 2016, five Select Bus Service routes received GPS-based traffic signal priority at 260 intersections. They were the M15 in Manhattan; the B44 along Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn; the S79 along Hylan Boulevard on Staten Island; the Bx41 along Webster Avenue in the Bronx; and the B46 along Utica Avenue in Brooklyn.{{Rp|3}} The New York City government subsequently studied four of these routes, and found that all of the routes saw increases in average bus speeds along the portions that had bus priority signals.{{Rp|5–8}} Speeds on these routes increased by an average of 18%.{{rp|31}} {{Cite news|url=https://www.amny.com/transit/bus-tsp-technology-improves-travel-times-by-18-average-report-says-1.13818883|title=MTA, DOT look to expand bus tech that improves travel times|last=Barone|first=Vincent|date=July 23, 2017|work=am New York|access-date=March 9, 2018|language=en|archive-date=October 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001122321/https://www.amny.com/transit/bus-tsp-technology-improves-travel-times-by-18-average-report-says-1.13818883/|url-status=live}}

Eleven more corridors were set to receive traffic signal priority by July 2017.{{Rp|9}} The number of equipped intersections rose to 500 by March 2018, and was set to increase further to 1,000 intersections by 2020. However, as of that date, traffic signal priority was still in the testing stages,{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/08/nyregion/new-york-city-bus-troubles.html|title=As Subway Crisis Takes Up 'So Much Oxygen,' the Buses Drag Along|last=Nir|first=Sarah Maslin|date=March 8, 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 9, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=November 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109024018/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/08/nyregion/new-york-city-bus-troubles.html|url-status=live}} and preemptive traffic signals in New York City were used in much lower proportions than in other major cities.{{rp|30}} An expansion of traffic signal priority is planned as part of the Bus Action Plan. In January 2019, de Blasio said that the traffic signal priority program would be expanded to 1,200 intersections. {{As of|June 2021}}, traffic signal priority was active at 1,700 intersections, and transponders had been installed in 2,700 vehicles that operated on seven routes.{{Cite web|url=https://new.mta.info/document/42401|title=Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting|date=June 23, 2021|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=January 18, 2019|archive-date=July 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725211730/https://new.mta.info/document/42401|url-status=live}}{{rp|42}}

File:Bus Plan Double-Decker and Electric Buses (40758184045).jpg double-decker bus unveiled as part of the Bus Action Plan]]

In April 2018, in response to a citywide transit crisis and complaints about the general quality of MTA bus service, the MTA published a Bus Action Plan detailing 28 suggestions to improve the bus system. Within twelve months, targeted corridor improvements were to be implemented, some bus stops would be removed to speed up service, and off-peak bus service would be expanded on strategic routes. As part of the plan, there will be a system-wide redesign of the bus network by 2021 to improve connectivity and provide more direct service.

Expanding bus priority is also part of the plan. Traffic Signal Priority would be implemented on additional routes, and new bus lanes and queue jump lanes would be instituted. In addition, the MTA would study ways to implement exclusive bus lanes and busways on priority corridors. To ensure that bus lanes are not blocked, dedicated transit-priority traffic teams would be put into place with the NYPD in 2019. Tap readers would be installed by the end of 2020, and all-door boarding would be installed with the introduction of a new contactless payment system that is planned to replace the MetroCard. There would be regular fare enforcement on bus routes to reduce fare evasion.

The plan also contained some improvements to bus riders' experience. All buses delivered after April 2018, as well as 1,000 existing buses, would also receive digital information screens with automated announcements. In addition, by the end of 2018, new bus maps would be designed to make it easier to comprehend the bus network and to provide location-specific maps for neighborhoods in each neighborhood. Although the MTA had already started installing bus stop signs with real-time information, the Action Plan called for more bus shelters to be equipped with these signs. Starting in 2019, the MTA's mobile app would provide real-time seat availability information on selected bus routes. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality, the agency announced its transition to a zero-emissions electric bus fleet. The MTA would also test out a double-decker bus on the redesigned Staten Island bus routes in 2018.{{cite web|url=http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2018/04/23/mta-bus-overhaul-plan-|title=MTA bus overhaul plan to include double-deckers pilot|last=Martinez|first=Jose|date=April 23, 2018|website=Spectrum News NY1 | New York City|access-date=April 23, 2018|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530135836/https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2018/04/23/mta-bus-overhaul-plan-|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.amny.com/transit/mta-bus-action-plan-1.18210453|title=Bus Action Plan to get system back on track|last=Barone|first=Vincent|date=April 23, 2018|website=am New York|access-date=April 23, 2018|archive-date=November 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109005313/https://www.amny.com/transit/mta-bus-action-plan-1.18210453/|url-status=live}}

Safety features and customer amenities were installed on new and existing buses as part of the Bus Action Plan.{{Cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/190122_1400_CPOC.pdf|title=Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting|date=January 2019|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=January 18, 2019|archive-date=November 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120111307/http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/190122_1400_CPOC.pdf|url-status=live}}{{rp|33}} By January 2019, audible "pedestrian turn warning" announcement systems were installed on 617 buses, while cameras were installed on the inside of 3,469 buses and on the outside of 319 buses.{{rp|34}} Relocated or smaller pillars were installed on most new buses to increase visibility for drivers.{{rp|35}} Amenities such as USB charging ports, Wi-Fi, and digital information screens were installed on thousands of existing buses, as well as in all new buses.{{rp|41}} Traffic signal priority systems and automatic passenger counters were both installed in over a thousand buses.{{rp|42}} In addition, the MTA was planning to buy 248 compressed natural gas buses, 285 diesel-electric hybrid buses, and 60 electric buses in order to reduce energy emissions from the new bus fleet. Ten hybrid and ten electric buses had been tested in 2018.{{rp|36–37}}

{{As of|June 2021}}, there were interior and exterior cameras on 4,200 buses, as well as rearview cameras on 120 buses.{{rp|43}} In addition, 1,300 buses had pedestrian turn warnings and 1,800 buses had high-visibility windows.{{rp|44}} Digital information screens were installed on 2,800 buses, and automatic passenger cameras with information about passenger loads were installed in 2,500 buses.{{rp|45}} Additionally, starting in 2021, newer buses were equipped with wider rear doors and wheelchair ramps.{{rp|46}} The MTA deactivated the buses' free Wi-Fi in January 2023, citing the fact that only two percent of riders used the Wi-Fi; the agency estimated that this would save $3.3 million annually.{{cite web | title=MTA cuts free Wi-Fi from NYC buses | website=Gothamist | date=January 29, 2023 | url=https://gothamist.com/news/mta-cuts-free-wi-fi-from-nyc-buses | access-date=January 30, 2023 | archive-date=January 29, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129225549/https://gothamist.com/news/mta-cuts-free-wi-fi-from-nyc-buses | url-status=live }}{{cite web | title=MTA cuts free WiFi service on city buses, cites lack of use | website=Spectrum News NY1 New York City | date=January 30, 2023 | url=https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2023/01/30/mta-cuts-free-wifi-service-on-city-busses--cites-lack-of-use | access-date=January 30, 2023 | archive-date=January 30, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230130120358/https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2023/01/30/mta-cuts-free-wifi-service-on-city-busses--cites-lack-of-use | url-status=live }} As part of a pilot program in early 2024, CCTV screens were to be installed on 100 buses to discourage fare evasion and assaults against staff.{{cite web | last=Gonella | first=Catalina | title=MTA pilot program will install security camera display screens on NYC buses | website=Gothamist | date=March 25, 2024 | url=https://gothamist.com/news/mta-pilot-program-will-install-security-camera-display-screens-on-nyc-buses | access-date=March 26, 2024}}{{cite web | last=Brachfeld | first=Ben | title=Watch this space: MTA piloting CCTV screens on city buses to deter assaults, fare evasion | website=amNewYork | date=March 25, 2024 | url=https://www.amny.com/transit/mta-piloting-cctv-screens-city-buses/ | access-date=March 26, 2024}}

• Transportation in New York City

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