Several companies, most prominently the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), operate a number of bus routes in Manhattan, New York, United States. Many of them are the direct descendants of streetcar lines (see list of streetcar lines in Manhattan).
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Companies Presently, the New York City Transit Authority and its subsidiary Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority operate most local buses in Manhattan. The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation operates the Roosevelt Island Red Bus Service.
The first bus company in Manhattan was the Fifth Avenue Coach Company, which began operating the Fifth Avenue Line (now the M1 route) in 1886. When New York Railways began abandoning several streetcar lines in 1919, the replacement bus routes (including the current M21 and M22 routes) were picked up by the New York City Department of Plant and Structures (DP&S). The DP&S began operating several other buses (including the current M79 and M96 routes) in 1921. All of these but the M21 were acquired by Green Bus Lines in 1933; Green transferred several of these to the Comprehensive Omnibus Corporation in 1935.
The New York City Omnibus Corporation began operating replacement routes for New York Railways lines abandoned in 1936, and acquired the remaining Green routes. They also acquired the Madison Avenue Coach Company (former New York and Harlem Railroad lines), Eighth Avenue Coach Corporation (former Eighth and Ninth Avenue Railways lines), and in 1942 the Triangle Bus Corporation (current M21 route).
In 1936, the NYCO and Fifth Avenue were placed under common ownership. The two were merged directly by 1956, when the NYCO acquired the Surface Transportation Corporation (which had operated former Third Avenue Railway routes since 1941), and changed its name to Fifth Avenue Coach Lines. After a strike, the entire Fifth Avenue system was transferred to the newly formed Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority on March 22, 1962.
In 1933, two related companies began to operate routes: the Comprehensive Omnibus Corporation gained several Green Bus Lines routes (including the current M22, M27, and M50 routes), and the East Side Omnibus Corporation started operating former Second Avenue Railroad routes (including the current M15 and M31 routes). The Comprehensive also started the current M66 route that year, and in 1948 the New York City Board of Transportation acquired the Comprehensive and East Side routes, transferred to the New York City Transit Authority in 1953. The M9 route came from the Avenue B and East Broadway Transit Company in 1980, which had begun operating replacement routes for the Dry Dock, East Broadway and Battery Railroad lines in 1932.
Routes This table gives details for the routes prefixed with "M"—in other words, those considered to run primarily in Manhattan by the MTA. For details on routes with other prefixes, see the following articles: List of bus routes in the Bronx: , Bx92, T102 List of bus routes in Brooklyn: , B106, T432 List of bus routes in Queens: List of express bus routes in New York City: all routes List of bus routes in Westchester County: List of bus routes in New Jersey: 100-199
Connections to New York City Subway stations at the bus routes' terminals are also listed where applicable.
New York City Bus Most bus routes do not operate overnight, usually defined as midnight to 5:00 AM. Routes that do provide overnight service are noted below with an asterisk (*).
The Manhattan bus routes should not be confused with Megabus routes originating from Manhattan. Like the Manhattan bus routes, Megabus route designations consist of the letter "M" followed by a number.
All routes in operate local service; additional limited-stop or Select Bus Service routes are noted below.
M1 to M23
RouteTerminals Primary streets traveled Service notesM1Local ServiceLimited-Stop Service (Weekday Rush Hours; Peak Direction) HarlemWest 147th Street and Powell Boulevard ↔SoHoCentre Street and Grand StreetAll trips: Fifth Avenue/Madison Avenue SoHo trips: Broadway/Lafayette Street Limited-Stop Service operates AM hours to SoHo and PM hours to Harlem only. Weekday trips operate to either SoHo or East Village terminals. All Weekend trips operate to SoHo. Some trips originating in Harlem may terminate at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. ↔East VillageEast 8th Street and Fourth Avenueat Astor Place ()M2*Local Service (Evenings, Late Nights, and Early Weekend Mornings)Limited-Stop Service Washington HeightsWest 168th Street and Broadwayat 168th Street () ↔ East VillageEast 8th Street and Fourth Avenueat Astor Place () Central Park North, Powell Boulevard, Fifth Avenue/Madison Avenue Limited-Stop Service operates all times except early morning and overnight hours. Local service only operates during overnight and early morning hours. Some Washington Heights-bound buses may terminate at 7th Avenue and 145th Street. Limited AM trips originate at Central Park North-5th Avenue towards Washington Heights.M3Fort GeorgeWest 193rd Street and St. Nicholas Avenue ↔Central Park North, St. Nicholas Avenue, Fifth Avenue/Fourth and Madison Avenues After 10:30 PM, Fort George service terminates at 125th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue. Limited AM trips towards Fort George originate at Central Park North-5th Avenue.M4Local ServiceLimited-Stop Service (Weekday Rush Hours; Peak Direction)The Cloisters MuseumCabrini Boulevard andFort Washington Avenueat 190th Street () ↔MidtownEast 32nd Street and Fifth AvenueCentral Park North, Broadway, Fort Washington Avenue, Fifth Avenue/Madison Avenue Limited-Stop Service operates AM hours to Midtown-32nd Street, PM hours to Cabrini Boulevard. When the Cloisters Museum is open, Cloisters-bound buses enter Fort Tryon Park and make one stop near the museum before looping around back to Fort Washington Av, terminating at Cabrini Boulevard. When the Cloisters Museum is closed, buses terminate at the entrance to Fort Tryon Park at Cabrini Boulevard. Some Cloisters-bound buses may terminate at Broadway and 135th Street. The majority of AM local trips originate at Broadway-135th Street towards Cabrini Boulevard. Limited AM local trips originate at Central Park North-5th Avenue towards Cabrini Boulevard.M5Local Service (Weekday Early Mornings/Evenings and Weekends)Limited-Stop Service (Weekdays)Washington HeightsWest 178th Street and Broadway ↔Greeley SquareWest 31st Street and Sixth AvenueBroadway, Riverside Drive, Central Park South, Fifth Avenue/Sixth Avenue Limited-Stop Service operates during weekdays. Local service only operates during weekday early mornings/evenings and weekends.M7*HarlemWest 147th Street and Powell Boulevard ↔Chelsea14th Street and Sixth Avenueat 14th Street/Sixth Avenue ()Lenox Avenue, Manhattan Avenue, Columbus Avenue/Amsterdam Avenue, Seventh Avenue/Sixth AvenueM8West VillageWest Street and Christopher Street ↔East VillageAvenue D and East 10th StreetWest 10th Street/Christopher Street, East 8th Street and St. Marks Place/East 9th Street, East 10th StreetM9Battery Park CitySouth End Avenue and Liberty Street ↔Kips BayEast 29th Street and First Avenueat Bellevue HospitalEast Broadway, Essex Street, Avenue CM10HarlemDouglass Boulevard and West 159th Street ↔Columbus CircleBroadway and West 57th StreetFrederick Douglass Boulevard, Central Park WestM11West VillageBethune Street and Hudson Streetat Abingdon Square ↔Riverbank State ParkAmsterdam Avenue (Tenth Avenue), Columbus Avenue (Ninth Avenue) Operates to Riverbank State Park except late evenings.HarlemWest 133rd Street and BroadwayM12West VillageEighth Avenue and Jane Streetat Abingdon Square ↔Columbus CircleBroadway and West 58th Street West 14th Street/West 18th Street, Twelfth Avenue/Eleventh Avenue Some Columbus Circle-bound buses may terminate at 57th Street and 11th Avenue. M14A*Select Bus ServiceWest VillageEighth Avenue andAbingdon Square ↔Lower East SideGrand Street and FDR Drive14th Street, Avenue A Short turns run to First Avenue L.E.S.-bound and West Village-bound to Union Square or Eighth Avenue and may use the generic “M14” label on signage.M14D*Select Bus ServiceChelsea PiersWest 18th Street and Tenth Avenue ↔Lower East SideDelancey Street and Columbia Street14th Street, Avenue D Short turns run to First Avenue L.E.S.-bound and Chelsea Piers-bound to Union Square or Eighth Avenue and may use the generic “M14” label on signage.M15*Local ServiceSelect Bus Service (All Day) East HarlemEast 126th Street and Second Avenue ↔South FerryWhitehall Street and South Street at South Ferry/Whitehall Street ()Second Avenue/First Avenue, Allen Street, Water Street Select Bus Service trips terminate at the South Ferry bus loop at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. Local service operates to either South Ferry or Pike Street terminals days and evenings. During AM rush hours, many M15 Select Bus Service trips will terminate/originate at Houston Street. Overnight service is provided by local buses only, serving Whitehall Street-South Ferry, these local buses do not serve the South Ferry Bus Loop. ↔Lower East SideSouth Street and Pike StreetM20South FerryWhitehall Street and South Streetat South Ferry/Whitehall Street () ↔Lincoln CenterWest 66th Street and BroadwaySouth End Avenue, North End Avenue, Hudson Street/Varick Street, Eighth Avenue, Seventh AvenueM21West VillageWashington Street and Spring Street ↔Lower East SideGrand Street and FDR Drive Houston Street Afternoon rush hour trips short-turn at Varick Street.M22Battery Park CityNorth End Avenue and Vesey Street ↔Chambers Street, Park Row/Worth Street, Frankfort Street/East Broadway, Madison StreetM23*Select Bus ServiceChelsea PiersTwelfth Avenue near West 23rd Street ↔Peter Cooper Village—Stuyvesant TownAvenue C and East 20th Street 23rd Street
M31 to M79 RouteTerminals Primary streets traveled Service notesM31ClintonWest 54th Street and Eleventh Avenue ↔YorkvilleEast 92nd Street and York Avenue 57th Street, York AvenueM34Select Bus Service (All Day) ChelseaTwelfth Avenue and West 34th Street ↔East Side Ferry TerminalFDR Drive and East 34th Street34th StreetAlternate trips to/from Waterside Plaza. ↔ Waterside Plaza M34ASelect Bus Service (All Day) Port Authority Bus TerminalWest 42nd Street and Ninth Avenue ↔ Waterside Plaza Eighth/Ninth Avenues, 34th StreetM35HarlemEast 125th Street and Lexington Avenueat 125th Street () ↔Randall's Island and Wards IslandEast 124th/126th Streets, Central Road, Hell Gate CircleTravels between Harlem and Randall’s/Wards Islands via the RFK Bridge.M42*United NationsFirst Avenue and East 42nd Street ↔ Circle Line Sightseeing CruisesTwelfth Avenue at Pier 83 42nd StreetSome Pier 83-bound buses may terminate at Eighth Avenue and U.N.-bound buses at Grand Central Terminal.M50East MidtownEast 49th Street and First Avenue ↔49th/50th StreetsM55MidtownWest 44th Street and Sixth Avenue ↔South FerryWhitehall Street and South Streetat South Ferry/Whitehall Street () Fifth/Sixth Avenues, Broadway/Church StreetSome South Ferry-bound buses may terminate at Chambers Street and Broadway.M57Upper West SideWest 72nd Street and Broadwayat 72nd Street () ↔East MidtownFirst Avenue and East 55th Street West End Avenue, 57th StreetM60*Select Bus ServiceMorningside HeightsWest 106th Street and Broadway ↔LaGuardia Airport, QueensAll terminalsBroadway, 125th Street, Astoria Boulevard Some Airport-bound buses may terminate at East 125th Street and Lexington Avenue.