Get
On The Bus
Bus Routes
Bus
fare is two-dollars; payable with a Metro Card
or coins (no pennies). People 65 years or older
and people with qualifying disabilities who show
proper forms of identification (including Reduced-Fare
MetroCard or a Medicare card) are eligible for
reduced fare.
Bus stops are located at street corners and have
a tall, round signs with a bus emblem and route
number. Some stops have bus shelters. Most stops
also include a "Guide-A-Ride," which is a rectangular
box attached to the bus sign pole that displays
a route map and bus schedule.
All NYC Transit buses are accessible to customers
who use wheelchairs. These customers pay their
fare by sending it to NYC Transit in a postage-paid
envelope that the bus operator gives them. Certain
bus seats are reserved for people who use wheelchairs
and must be relinquished upon the bus operator's
request. These seats are clearly marked. Although
some seats near the front do not have to be given
to elderly persons, it's considerate to do so.
Please keep your feet, packages and personal belongings
out of the aisles. Please do not put your personal
belongings on a seat that can be occupied, especially
when the bus is crowded.
Buses stop about every two or three blocks. Buses
marked "Limited" make fewer stops. Push one of
the tape strips located between the windows or
stop buttons on the grab bars of the newest buses
in order to signal the driver to stop. Try to
stay in your seat until the bus stops. You should
exit at the rear door to keep out of the way of
people trying to board the bus.
Do not stand in the stairwell while the bus is
in motion. Once the bus has stopped, you'll see
a green light over the rear door to indicate that
it can be opened. In some buses these doors swing
open automatically once you press the yellow tape
strip on the doors.
If you pay your fare with a MetroCard, you may
transfer free from bus to subway, subway to bus
or bus to bus within two hours of the time you
pay your fare. Unlimited Ride MetroCard includes
all transfers, at no charge.
If you pay your fare with coins, you may transfer
free between buses with intersecting routes. You
must ask the bus driver for a transfer when you
pay your fare. The transfer is a single-use MetroCard
with a black strip along the bottom. When you
catch your connecting bus, insert the transfer
into the bus fare box - black stripe to the right
side. Transfers are good for two hours from the
time you pay your fare.
For your late night safety and convenience: Request-A-Stop
bus service allows you to request to be let off
at a location that is not a bus stop and is available
from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., seven days a week. Simply
inform the bus operator where you want to get
off. As long as the operator considers the requested
stop safe you will be let off. Otherwise, the
bus driver will let you off at the closet corner
deemed safe.
The MTA Bus Company was created in September 2004
to assume the operations of seven bus companies
that operated under franchises granted by the
New York City Department of Transportation. The
merging of the companies into the MTA Bus began
in January 2005 and was completed in February
2006.
MTA Bus is responsible for both the local and
express bus operations of the seven companies
by consolidating their operations, maintaining
current buses, purchasing new buses to replace
the aging fleet currently in service, adjusting
schedules and route paths to better match travel
demand. The seven companies operate more than
forty local bus routes in the Bronx, Brooklyn,
and Queens and more than thirty express bus routes
between Manhattan and the Bronx, Brooklyn, or
Queens. Together the seven companies have more
than one-thousand buses, which makes MTA Bus the
10th largest bus fleet in the United States and
Canada, serving 368,000 riders daily.
Between 2005 and 2007, MTA Bus purchased 475 new
high capacity, high customer amenity express buses
and 284 new environmentally friendly hybrid electric
local buses. MTA Bus has ordered an additional
105 low-floor hybrid electric buses for delivery
in 2009.
