Региональные автобусные перевозки MTA

Региональные автобусные перевозки MTA

Родитель	Столичное транспортное управление
Основан	7 мая 2008 г.
Штаб-квартира	2 Бродвей Нью-Йорк, Нью-Йорк
Местный	Агломерация Нью-Йорка
Зона обслуживания	Нью-Йорк
Тип услуги	Местные автобусы с ограниченным количеством остановок, скоростные автобусы и экспресс-автобусы.
Маршруты	325 всего: 234 местных маршрута 71 экспресс-маршрут 20 SBS routes
Fleet	5,840
Daily ridership	2,427,700 (weekdays, Q1 2024)
Annual ridership	730,924,600 (2023)
Fuel type	CNG, Diesel, electric, hybrid electric
Operator	New York City Transit Authority, MTA Bus Company
President	Craig Cipriano (acting)
Website	new.mta.info/agency/new-york-city-transit

Региональное автобусное управление MTA ( RBO ) — это подразделение наземного транспорта Управления городского транспорта (MTA). Он был создан в 2008 году для консолидации всех автобусных операций в Нью-Йорке, которыми управляет MTA. По состоянию на февраль 2018 г. Компания MTA Regional Bus Operations обслуживает 234 местных маршрута, 71 экспресс-маршрут и 20 маршрутов избранных автобусных маршрутов. Его парк из 5840 автобусов является крупнейшим муниципальным автобусным парком в США и работает круглосуточно и без выходных. В 2023 году количество пассажиров в системе составило 730 924 600 человек, или около 2 427 700 пассажиров в будние дни по состоянию на первый квартал 2024 года.

В состав подразделения входят два бренда: MTA Bus и MTA New York City Bus . В то время как MTA Bus представляет собой объединение маршрутов бывших частных компаний, MTA New York City Bus состоит из общественных маршрутов, которые были переданы городу до 2005 года. MTA также предоставляет услуги паратранзита и ранее управляла автобусами Long Island Bus . По состоянию на 2018 год Бюджетное бремя расходов MTA Regional Bus Operations составило 773 миллиона долларов.

Brands and service area

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.

History

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. 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. Both NYCT and MaBSTOA operate service pursuant to a lease agreement with the City of New York.

MTA New York City Bus

An early livery for the NYC Transit Authority

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. Many routes were soon added, replacing lines such as the Brooklyn and North River Line (trolleys) and Queens Bus Lines (buses), and the DP&S also began operating trolleys in Staten Island to replace the Staten Island Midland Railway's system.

Another city acquisition was the Bridge Operating Company, which ran the Williamsburg Bridge Local trolley, acquired in 1921 by the DP&S. Unlike the other lines, 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.

With the city takeover of the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation's surface subsidiary, the Brooklyn and Queens Transit Corporation, on June 2, 1940, the city gained a large network of trolley and bus lines, covering all of Brooklyn and portions of Queens. On February 23, 1947, the Board of Transportation took over the Staten Island bus network of the Isle Transportation Company. Further acquisitions were made on March 30, 1947, with the North Shore Bus Company in Queens, and September 24, 1948, with the East Side Omnibus Corporation and Comprehensive Omnibus Corporation in Manhattan. The final Brooklyn trolleys were the Church Avenue Line and McDonald Avenue Line, discontinued on October 31, 1956, though the privately operated (by the Queensboro Bridge Railway) Queensboro Bridge Local remained until 1957.

The early 1970s livery, using a blue base. This bus, a Flxible New Look, 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).

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. 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.

MTA Bus

A typical vehicle, a 2007 MCI 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.

A MTA Bus Orion VII 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.

Currently, the only NYCDOT-subsidized lines not consolidated into MTA Bus are 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. 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. Recently, 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.

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.

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, MTA New York City Transit Bus assumed control over the SIM23 and SIM24 routes formerly run by Academy. As a result of the takeover, the MTA modified the schedule and added two new trips in both directions for both routes.

Merger

An MTA articulated Nova Bus LFS articulated bus 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.

After the bus mergers were completed in 2006, 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. 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 brand continues to be used. This brand, and the New York City Bus brand, was removed from buses delivered from 2016 on, and the blue-stripe livery was replaced with a new blue-and-yellow livery. 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, 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".

Operations

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, and 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 Q5 and Q85 routes cross the Nassau County border to go to the Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream. The Q2 and Q110 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 Q46 local and QM6 express buses run along Lakeville Road in Lake Success, Nassau County upon entering Long Island Jewish Medical Center and North Shore Towers. The Q113 and Q114 cross into Nassau County between Southeast Queens and Far Rockaway. During peak hours, select Q111 buses run to Cedarhurst in Nassau County.

The Bx16 route runs into Westchester County for two blocks in Mount Vernon. The Bx7, Bx9, Bx10, Bx31 and Bx34 buses make their last stops at the Bronx–Westchester border. BxM3 express buses leave the city as they operate to Getty Square in Yonkers. The Q4, Q12, Q30, Q36, Q43 and Q111 buses make their last stops at the Queens-Nassau border. The 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). 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). Exceptions to this rule are seven Brooklyn and Queens express routes operated by New York City Transit, which use an X prefix. Lettered suffixes can be used to designate branches or variants. The two-letter prefixed express system (BM, BxM and QM) was used by the former private carriers.

As of 2018, MTA Regional Bus Operations' budgetary burden for expenditures was $773 million, which it supports through the collection of taxes and fees.

Local and limited-stop service

A former Bee-Line Bus System Orion V on the 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, with local variants that make 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.

Most Limited-Stop buses flash "LIMITED" or "LIMITED STOPS" 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. Dark navy blue "LOCAL" and red "Express" signs also exist.

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):

Borough	Routes	Ref.
The Bronx	Bx1, Bx15, Bx36
Brooklyn	B6, B35, B38, B41, B49, B103
Manhattan	M1, M2, M4, M5, M98, M101
Queens	Q4, Q5, Q6, Q10, Q17, Q25, Q27, Q36, Q43, Q46, Q50, Q58, Q65, Q83, Q85, Q100, Q113, Q114
Staten Island	S81, S84, S86, S89, S90, S91, S92, S93, S94, S96, S98

Select Bus Service

A Select Bus Service fare payment center.

Select Bus Service bus #6098 operating on the M60 SBS service through Morningside Heights

Main article: 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.

The first Select Bus Service corridor, on the Bx12 along 207th Street, Fordham Road, and Pelham Parkway, was placed into service on June 29, 2008. The next line, the M15, saw Select Service begin on October 10, 2010 after the delivery of new low-floor buses. The M34/M34A line was started on November 13, 2011. Initially, a 34th Street busway was planned that would require eliminating 34th Street as a through street, but it was dropped in favor of the standard SBS model.

The B44 Rogers/Bedford/Nostrand Avenues bus route, the fifth Select Bus Service corridor in the city, was implemented on November 17, 2013 after the arrival of new fare machines. The S79 Hylan Boulevard/Richmond Avenue route, initially slated to be converted to SBS in 2013, was moved up to September 2, 2012; the local equivalents of the S79 route are the S78 and S59 buses.

A sixth corridor, the second for the Bronx, began service on the Bx41 Webster Avenue route on June 30, 2013; this route was the first "Phase II" SBS route to begin service (the existing corridors plus the B44 comprise Phase I). Another Select Bus Service route on Webster Avenue, which will be extended to run between LaGuardia Airport and Fordham Plaza alongside the local Bx41 route, is proposed for later implementation.

A seventh corridor, and the third for Manhattan, the M60 125th Street–Triborough Bridge–Astoria Boulevard bus route to LaGuardia Airport, was converted to SBS on May 25, 2014; local service was replaced by other routes running alongside the route of the M60 (the M100, M101, Bx15, and Q19). An eighth Select Bus Service route was planned in the 2014–2017 Financial Plan. The eighth Select Bus Service corridor (ninth route overall), and the fourth in Manhattan, was for the M86 running on 86th Street, which was originally scheduled to start running on June 28, 2015, but pushed back to July 13, 2015; it did not include a major change in stops.

The ninth corridor, and the second for Brooklyn, is the B46 on Utica Avenue. When implemented, the local and Select Bus Service route of the B46 changed northern terminals to improve reliability. Originally planned for implementation in fall 2015, it was instituted on July 3, 2016. The tenth corridor, and the first for Queens, is the Q44 limited bus route running on East 177th Street (the Cross Bronx Expressway service road) and Main Street, which began on November 29, 2015. Selected stops in the Bronx were combined into much busier stops for faster service, and some stops in Queens have been replaced by the Q20A/B local routes. As both the Q20 branches do not enter the Bronx and the Q44 ran local late nights only, the Q44 gained 24/7 SBS service between the Bronx Zoo and Jamaica. The Q20A replaced the Q44 local in Queens late nights.

In September 2016, the eleventh corridor (twelfth route overall) and the second for Queens, the Q70, was rebranded as the "LaGuardia Link" and became a SBS route. As opposed to other SBS routes, the Q70 is wrapped in a light blue scheme with clouds and airplanes in order to encourage more people to use public transportation when using the airport. This marked MTA Bus's first SBS route, as well as the second for Queens and the eleventh overall. The M23, the twelfth corridor (thirteenth route) and the fifth in Manhattan, became a Select Bus Service route on November 6, 2016 with dedicated bus lanes and countdown clocks at some stops, replacing M23 local service at the cost of $1.7 million.

The M79 became an SBS route in May 2017, with the installation of bus lanes along its route. The Bx6, after the completion of bus lanes and widened sidewalks, became an SBS route in September 2017. It supplements the local service by stopping at high ridership stops. This is the third route for the Bronx. Select Bus Service along Woodhaven and Cross Bay Boulevards was implemented on the Q52 and Q53 routes in November 2017.

Select Bus Service along Kings Highway was implemented on the B82, which replaced the former Limited-Stop route, on October 1, 2018. The city subsequently announced that following the implementation of the B82 SBS, it would halt the implementation of Select Bus Service in the outer boroughs until 2021 as a result of budget cuts, and an upcoming redesign of the city's bus network.

A temporary M14 Select Bus Service route was proposed for implementation in early 2019, in preparation for the 14th Street Tunnel shutdown. This route would have run between Tenth Avenue and Stuyvesant Cove Ferry, with local service on the M14A and M14D. Five additional temporary routes would have been implemented for the shutdown in April 2019. However, on January 3, 2019, the shutdown plan was altered by Governor Andrew Cuomo and the proposed SBS routes were put on hold. In February 2019, the MTA announced plans to implement SBS on the M14A and M14D, and has since been implemented on July 1, 2019.

All current SBS corridors are enforced by cameras restricting non-buses in these lanes on weekdays where the bus lane is curbside, with the bus lanes marked by red paint. Where the bus lane is an offset lane (that is, one lane away from the curb), non-bus traffic is restricted at all times except for emergencies.

Buses used in this service are identifiable with "stations" equipped with ticket machines, and 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.

Express service

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 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.

Access-A-Ride

An MV-1 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. The Access-A-Ride paratransit services are provided by various independent contractors, mostly using vehicles owned by the MTA, with some exceptions. 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.

Bus stops

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 750 feet (230 m). 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.

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

Signage

B44 Select Bus Service bus stop in Brooklyn

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 (Q36, Q46, QM6) or within Nassau County (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. 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 12 feet (3.7 m) to 20 feet (6.1 m) high, versus the old 6-to-9-foot-high (1.8 to 2.7 m) 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. Implementation on MTA Bus Company routes took place in the 2000s for express buses, and in 2012–2014 for local bus routes.

Older signs

A Q19 bus at an old-style bus stop, showing only the routes served, in Downtown Flushing, Queens.

The first metal signs in the city to feature a pictograph of a bus were installed by the Transit Authority in the 1960s. 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, and fully implemented in the 1980s.

A Q66 bus at an updated old-style bus stop with the timetable box, in Woodside, Queens

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. 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.

Newer signs

A newer bus stop at Flatbush Avenue and Utica Avenue in Brooklyn, showing both the routes served and the destination

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. They were designed by W.S. Sign Design Corporation. The signs were created following two federal grants given to the MTA and DOT in 1994 totaling $1.5 million, 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.

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.

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.

Electronic countdown clocks

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".

Some bus stops, produced by Data Display and STV Incorporated, 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. 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. As of 2016, a total of 32 bus stops had one of the two countdown clocks installed. 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.

Sign colors

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

Sign color	Type of service
Blue	MTA local bus service. Bee-Line local bus stops Pick-up only except along Broadway above West 242nd Street, White Plains Rd Between E. 241st Street and W. 1st Street (Mt. Vernon City Line), Boston Road, Fordham Road, Mundy Lane, and through Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx, where there are pickup and drop-off. NICE local bus stops within New York City limits Pick-up only outbound, drop-off only inbound in Queens, except in Far Rockaway, Queens, along Jamaica Avenue west of 239th Street and Hook Creek Boulevard. Some MTA Bus-operated local bus stops are   light blue.
Purple	MTA Limited-Stop bus service. Some MTA Bus-operated limited bus stops are   light purple.
Green	MTA express bus service, (pick-up only to Manhattan, drop-off only from Manhattan). B110 express service in Brooklyn (privately operated). Some MTA Bus-operated express bus stops are   light green.
Turquoise	MTA Select Bus Service. Bus stops generally have several individual light blue and dark blue wavy stripes, juxtaposed with the background gradient. Newer routes have yellow stripes as well.
Turquoise & blue
Black	Service operates late nights only.
Yellow	Special school service (stopping at that stop only when New York City public schools are in session).
White	Private, tour, commuter and long-distance bus company bus stop.

Shelters

An old-style, black-frame bus shelter in the Bronx.

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. 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. They replaced the simple old-style shelters, consisting of black-painted metal with glass. The first 24 shelters were installed by December 2006 in Queens.

A newer, steel-and-glass-frame Cemusa shelter on the 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.

The shelters come in five sizes (Regular: 5 by 14 feet (1.5 m × 4.3 m); Narrow: 3.5 by 14 feet (1.1 m × 4.3 m); Short: 5 by 10 feet (1.5 m × 3.0 m); Little: 3.5 by 10 feet (1.1 m × 3.0 m); and Double: 5 by 26 feet (1.5 m × 7.9 m)). All the modern shelters feature benches (many of the old ones did not), and were praised for environmentally friendly construction during their introduction. 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. Following the acquisition of Cemusa by French advertising firm JCDecaux in 2015, bus shelters are now maintained by JCDecaux.

Late-night Request-A-Stop

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. 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.

Fleet

A Q25 CNG bus outside Jamaica Center – Parsons/Archer

A USB charging port in a bus introduced in 2016.

Main article: MTA Regional Bus Operations bus fleet

See also: Bus depots of MTA Regional Bus Operations

The fleet consists of over 5,700 buses of various types and models for fixed-route service, making MTA RBO's fleet the largest public bus fleet in the United States. 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. Fixed-route buses are dispatched from 28 garages (20 New York City Bus and 8 MTA Bus) and one annex in New York City.

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. 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. Articulated buses were introduced in 1996, and have since become prominent in the Bronx and Manhattan.

Low-floor buses, designed to speed boarding and alighting and improve riding conditions for elderly and disabled passengers, were first tested in 1997 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. 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. 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.

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, and mass-ordered beginning in 1999. Hybrid-electric buses, operating with a combination of diesel and electric power, were introduced in September 1998, 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. This is the largest fleet of either kind in the United States.

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. 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. The first two buses (New Flyer Xcelsior CHARGE H2) will be launched in The Bronx by late 2024. 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.

Fares

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. Starting in September 2023, five additional routes—one in each borough, namely the Bx18, B60, M116, Q4 and S46/S96—will not charge any fares as part of a pilot program.

Local, Limited-Stop, and Select Bus Service (transfer available upon request)		Express Bus Service (New York City Bus and MTA Bus)		Student fare		Access-A-Ride (New York City paratransit)
Full fare	Reduced fare	Full fare	Reduced-fare (off-peak only)	Student Free MetroCard (City of New York only)	Student Half Fare MetroCard (City of New York only)
$2.90 ($3.25 for a Single-Ride ticket)	$1.45	$7.00	$3.45	Free	$1.45	$2.90
Transfer rules: All transfers are good for 2 hours . EXCEPTION: A three-hour transfer window applies from transfers from any subway station to the Q22, Q113, and Q114 routes of MTA Bus, and the n31, n32 and n33 routes of the Nassau Inter-County Express. MetroCard transfers are good for one connecting trip on any other local or express bus service, New York City Subway, or Bee-Line buses (restrictions apply). EXCEPTIONS: Two transfers are available with MetroCard for the following transfers. The transfers must be made in order or in reverse order, and the 2-hour rule applies. Between bus routes crossing the Staten Island Railway south of the Staten Island Expressway, the Staten Island Railway through St. George Ferry Terminal, and then any MTA local bus or subway service below Chambers Street in lower Manhattan. Between the B61, B62, and any bus route connecting with either the B61 or the B62. Between the B70, S53, and any bus route connecting with the S53. Between the Q22, Q35, and the 2 and ​5 trains at the Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College station. Between the Q22, Q52 Select Bus Service or Q53 Select Bus Service, and the A train at the Rockaway Boulevard station. Between the Q29, Q33, and Q72. Transfers with coins are good for use on one connecting local bus route. Other notes: Peak travel periods for express buses are 6:00 AM–10:00 AM and 3:00 PM–7:00 PM, Monday through Friday when buses are on a weekday schedule.

Fare collection

Main articles: MetroCard and OMNY

In November 1993, 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. 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. 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. Unlimited-ride MetroCards are available for 7-day and 30-day periods. One-day "Fun Pass" and 14-day cards were also introduced, but have since been discontinued.

In April 2016, MTA solicited proposals for a contactless "New Fare Payment System" to replace the MetroCard by 2022. 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. 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.

Quality of service

Частота

Два встречных автобуса на маршруте M15 Select Bus Service.

По состоянию на ноябрь 2017 г. Три четверти автобусных маршрутов обеспечивают высокочастотное движение как минимум в одном направлении в часы пик, при этом автобусы прибывают не реже, чем каждые десять минут. Из этих маршрутов 54% обеспечивают высокочастотное обслуживание в обоих направлениях, а 21% - только в пиковом направлении (в сторону транзитных узлов утром и в сторону от этих узлов вечером). Четверть маршрутов курсирует с интервалом более 10 минут в часы пик.

Из пяти районов в Бронксе наибольшая доля автобусных маршрутов с высокой частотой движения в обоих направлениях: по состоянию на ноябрь 2017 года 65% маршрутов курсируют с такой частотой. . На Манхэттене самое высокое соотношение маршрутов с высокой частотой хотя бы в одном направлении — 85%. С другой стороны, более 60% маршрутов в Статен-Айленде, наименее густонаселенном районе города, курсируют с низкой частотой движения в часы пик, что является самым высоким показателем такого показателя в городе. Примерно в 28% районов города менее половины маршрутов работают с высокой частотой в обоих направлениях. Районы за пределами центральных деловых районов каждого района, а также в непиковое время, с большей вероятностью будут подвержены низкочастотному автобусному сообщению, несмотря на значительный спрос в непиковое время в таких районах, как Форест-Хиллз, Квинс и Сансет-Парк, Бруклин . Автобусы MTA и New York City Bus также имеют самые высокие в США показатели рейсов без пассажиров или рейсов без пассажиров, при этом 19% и 14% поездок приходится на тупики соответственно.

Автобусы, курсирующие вне расписания, также часто встречаются в системе региональных автобусов MTA: почти каждый четвертый автобус отправляется либо слишком рано, либо слишком поздно, чтобы поддерживать постоянное расстояние между автобусами. Это распространено даже на маршрутах скоростного автобусного транспорта Select Bus Service, где 20% автобусных поездок не следуют расписанию. Некоторые маршруты страдают от скопления автобусов . На маршрутах, затронутых группировкой автобусов, может не быть автобусов в определенном направлении в течение длительного периода времени, а затем в течение короткого периода времени появится несколько автобусов. В 2017 году почти двенадцать процентов маршрутов группировались на регулярной основе по сравнению с 9,4% в 2015 году. Это явление больше всего затрагивает автобусные маршруты в Бруклинском общественном совете 5 в Восточном Бруклине, где 15% автобусов собираются в группы.

Скорость

Автобус на маршруте М79, когда-то считавшийся одним из самых медленных в системе.

По состоянию на 2017 год Автобусы MTA на местных автобусах движутся со средней скоростью от 7 до 8 миль в час (от 11 до 13 км/ч), самая медленная из всех крупных автобусных систем страны. На маршрутах MTA Select Bus Service скорость была немного выше: в среднем 8,7 миль в час (14,0 км/ч). Средняя скорость варьируется в зависимости от района: на Манхэттене самая низкая средняя скорость местных автобусов (6 миль в час [9,7 км/ч]), а на Статен-Айленде — самая высокая (11 миль в час [18 км/ч]). В 2017 году шестнадцать из семнадцати автобусных маршрутов со средней скоростью менее 5 миль в час (8,0 км/ч) проходили на Манхэттене. И наоборот, восемь из одиннадцати маршрутов со средней скоростью более 15 миль в час (24 км/ч) располагались на Статен-Айленде. В среднем автобусы обычно проводят в движении чуть больше половины поездки (54%), при этом 22% поездки приходится на остановки и 21% — на холостом ходу на красный свет светофора.

Кампания Straphangers , еще одна группа по защите прав пассажиров, каждый год вручает награду Pokey Awards самым медленным автобусным маршрутам. Самыми медленными автобусными маршрутами обычно являются маршруты между городами Манхэттена, причем 14 самых медленных автобусных маршрутов в 2017 году были маршрутами между городами. В 2017 году самым медленным автобусным маршрутом был городской автобус M42 на 42-й улице, средняя скорость которого составляла 3,9 мили в час (6,3 км/ч), что примерно соответствует темпу пешехода. За этим следовали городские автобусы M31 / M57 , M50 и M66 на 57-й, 49/50-й и 65/66-й улицах соответственно, средняя скорость каждого из которых составляла менее 5 миль в час (8,0 км/ч). Среди других «лауреатов» премии Pokey Award — M79 на 79-й улице. и М23 на 23-й улице, оба из которых теперь преобразованы в маршруты Select Bus Service. Однако по состоянию на 2016 год маршруты Select Bus Service обслуживают только 12% всех пассажиров автобусов. , а средний автобусный маршрут на 10% медленнее, чем в середине 1990-х годов.

Исследование 2015 года показало, что на 35 маршрутах MTA со значительным количеством пассажиров средняя скорость составляла менее 15 миль в час (24 км/ч), а средняя скорость городского автобуса M66 составляла 3,1 мили в час (5,0 км/ч). . Медленные поездки на автобусах не ограничивались маршрутами Манхэттена; Автобус Bx2 в Бронксе и автобус B35 в Бруклине двигались со скоростью менее 6 миль в час (9,7 км/ч). В 2018 году группа по защите прав пассажиров Bus Turnaround Campaign оценила каждый автобусный маршрут по скорости и надежности и присвоила 75% городских автобусных маршрутов оценку «D» или «F». В результате в начале января 2019 года бывший мэр Билл де Блазио пообещал к следующему году повысить скорость автобусов на 25%.

В результате таких низких средних скоростей у компании MTA Regional Bus Operations самые высокие эксплуатационные расходы на милю среди всех городских автобусных систем в США: стоимость мили составляет 30,40 доллара. Если бы эксплуатационные расходы были ближе к средним показателям по США, автобусы MTA имели бы самый высокий коэффициент возмещения платы за проезд среди автобусных систем городов США.

Длина и извилистые маршруты

Многие местные маршруты нью-йоркских городских автобусов и автобусов MTA занимают длинные и извилистые маршруты, прохождение которых в самых крайних случаях занимает более двух часов от одного конца до другого. Некоторые из самых длинных маршрутов проходят на Статен-Айленде, где средняя длина автобусной линии составляет 10,6 миль (17,1 км). Самый длинный местный автобусный маршрут в городе, S78 , имеет длину 20,8 миль (33,5 км) и охватывает всю длину Статен-Айленда. В Бруклине также есть несколько длинных автобусных маршрутов, и в этом районе проходят три из десяти самых длинных маршрутов города.

Некоторые местные маршруты направляются в районы и идут в обход подъездных дорог, а не идут по более прямому пути. Затем эти маршруты сливаются в сильно перегруженные основные коридоры. Отчет за 2017 год показал, что почти половина автобусных маршрутов имела как минимум 10 поворотов. Самым извилистым маршрутом оказался автобус Bx8 в Бронксе с 29 поворотами.

Начиная с 2015 года MTA исследовало маршруты экспресс-автобусов на Статен-Айленде, которые были окольными, дублирующими и редкими. MTA предложило заменить все существующие маршруты экспресс-автобусов более простыми и короткими вариантами, и это предложение поддержали 76% жителей Статен-Айленда, которые узнали об исследовании. После проведения нескольких встреч с жителями Статен-Айленда MTA объявило, что в августе 2018 года ожидается полная реорганизация экспресс-автобусного сообщения до Статен-Айленда. В рамках редизайна все существующие автобусные маршруты были прекращены и заменены 21 новым маршрутом с префикс «SIM». За этим последовал редизайн местных и экспресс-маршрутов Бронкса, который вступил в силу 26 июня 2022 года. Модернизация автобусных сетей Бруклина и Квинса, первоначально запланированная на начало 2021 года, была отложена из-за пандемии COVID-19 в Нью-Йорке .

Пассажиропоток

По состоянию на декабрь 2017 г. В 2017 году количество пассажиров автобусов в будние дни составило в среднем 1,9 миллиона человек, а общее количество пассажиров в выходные дни составило в среднем 2,1 миллиона человек. Автобусы-экспрессы посещали в среднем 40 200 человек в будние дни, а паратранзитом пользовались в среднем 27 900 человек каждый будний день.

Количество пассажиров автобусов неуклонно снижалось на протяжении 2000-х и 2010-х годов. С 2008 по 2017 год количество пассажиров автобусов сократилось более чем на 100 миллионов человек. С 2016 по 2017 год средняя посещаемость автобусов в будние дни снизилась на 5,7%, а средняя посещаемость автобусов в выходные дни упала на 4%. Наибольшее снижение пассажиропотока произошло на Манхэттене, где количество пассажиров автобусов снизилось более чем на 15% в период с 2011 по 2016 год. Менее резко сократилось количество пассажиров в Бруклине и некоторых частях Квинса и Стейтен-Айленда, в то время как количество пассажиров немного увеличилось в Бронксе, юго-западном Бруклине, центральном Квинсе и большая часть Статен-Айленда. Автобусные линии, идущие параллельно маршрутам метро, ​​также столкнулись с сокращением пассажиропотока. По состоянию на 2017 год существовало тринадцать автобусных маршрутов с не менее 20 остановками в пределах 0,1 мили (0,16 км) от станции метро; на всех маршрутах наблюдалось снижение пассажиропотока, при этом на каждом маршруте потери составляли в среднем 20%.

Улучшения сервиса

Автобусные полосы

Автобусные полосы на маршруте B44 в Бруклине

Основная статья: Автобусные полосы в Нью-Йорке

Чтобы ускорить автобусное сообщение, в 1963 году город начал прокладывать автобусные полосы в центре Бруклина и Сент-Джордже на Статен-Айленде . Вскоре вдоль Хиллсайд-авеню в Квинсе была проложена еще одна автобусная полоса. В 1969 году часть 42-й улицы в центре Манхэттена также получила автобусную полосу. Дополнительные автобусные полосы были добавлены в 1970-х и 1980-х годах. Автобусные полосы теперь существуют на основных коридорах во всех пяти районах, и особенно распространены в коридорах с высокой интенсивностью движения и в коридорах избранных автобусных маршрутов. На нескольких автомагистралях, ведущих в Манхэттен, также есть автобусные полосы. По состоянию на ноябрь 2017 года длина городской автобусной сети составляет около 104 миль (167 км). , что составляет почти два процента улиц города протяженностью 6 000 миль (9 700 км).

Правила движения по полосам для автобусов контролируются камерами дорожного движения на порталах над полосами движения; Машины, нарушающие правила, фотографируются, а затем этих автомобилистов штрафуют. Автобусные полосы, как правило, увеличивают среднюю скорость автобусов и сокращают время в пути там, где они установлены. Однако двойная припарковка транспортных средств и другие препятствия часто вынуждают автобусы выезжать с этих полос.

Сигналы приоритета шины

По состоянию на июль 2017 г. используется Преимущество светофора на пяти автобусных коридорах Нью-Йорка. Сигналы светофора с приоритетом автобуса позволяют светофорам отображать зеленый сигнал в течение более длительного, чем обычно, периода времени, когда автобус приближается к перекрестку. Первым коридором, получившим приоритет светофора, стал коридор бульвара Победы на Статен-Айленде в 2006 году, где использовалась технология инфракрасного обнаружения, позволяющая сигналам светофора связываться с транспондерами в автобусах. Хотя сама система оказалась успешной, автобусы с транспондерами были переназначены на автобусные маршруты в Бруклине и Квинсе, что сделало устройства бесполезными. Более того, администраторы MTA не увидели никакой экономии средств от программы, а у сотрудников вообще не было мотивации поддерживать систему. В 2008 году за установкой бульвара Победы последовал коридор Фордхэм-роуд и Пелхэм-Паркуэй (автобус Bx12) в Бронксе, где использовались GPS- на борту автобусов транспондеры. Из-за высокой стоимости обеих систем в конечном итоге их удалили из обоих коридоров.

В 2011 году мэр Майкл Блумберг предложил установить приоритет светофоров на 11 автобусных маршрутах в течение следующих двух лет. MTA начало тестирование приоритета сигнала на трассе M15 в Нижнем Манхэттене в 2012 году. С 2014 по 2016 год пять маршрутов Select Bus Service получили приоритет светофоров на основе GPS на 260 перекрестках. Это были М15 на Манхэттене; B44 в вдоль Ностранд-авеню Бруклине; S79 ; вдоль бульвара Хилан на Статен-Айленде Bx41 в вдоль Вебстер-авеню Бронксе; и B46 вдоль Ютика-авеню в Бруклине. Правительство города Нью-Йорка впоследствии изучило четыре из этих маршрутов и обнаружило, что на всех маршрутах наблюдалось увеличение средней скорости автобусов на участках, где были установлены сигналы приоритета автобусов. Скорость на этих маршрутах выросла в среднем на 18%.

К июлю 2017 года еще одиннадцать коридоров получат приоритет светофора. Количество оборудованных перекрестков выросло до 500 к марту 2018 года и должно было увеличиться до 1000 перекрестков к 2020 году. Однако на тот момент приоритет светофора все еще находился на стадии тестирования. а упреждающие сигналы светофора в Нью-Йорке использовались гораздо реже, чем в других крупных городах. Расширение приоритета светофоров запланировано в рамках Плана действий в области автобусов. В январе 2019 года де Блазио заявил, что программа приоритета светофоров будет расширена до 1200 перекрестков. По состоянию на июнь 2021 г. Приоритет светофора действовал на 1700 перекрестках, а транспондеры были установлены на 2700 транспортных средствах, курсирующих по семи маршрутам.

План действий автобуса

области автобусов Двухэтажный автобус Alexander Dennis Enviro500 представлен в рамках Плана действий в

В апреле 2018 года в ответ на общегородской транзитный кризис и жалобы на общее качество автобусного обслуживания MTA MTA опубликовало План действий в области автобусного транспорта, в котором подробно описаны 28 предложений по улучшению автобусной системы. В течение двенадцати месяцев должны были быть реализованы целевые улучшения коридоров, некоторые автобусные остановки будут удалены для ускорения обслуживания, а автобусное сообщение в непиковое время будет расширено на стратегических маршрутах. В рамках плана к 2021 году будет проведена общесистемная реконструкция автобусной сети, чтобы улучшить сообщение и обеспечить более прямое обслуживание.

Расширение приоритета автобусов также является частью плана. Приоритет светофора будет реализован на дополнительных маршрутах, а также будут созданы новые полосы для автобусов и полосы для перехода в очередь. Кроме того, MTA изучит способы создания выделенных полос для автобусов и автобусных полос на приоритетных коридорах. Чтобы гарантировать, что автобусные полосы не перекрываются, в 2019 году при полиции Нью-Йорка будут созданы специальные группы по обеспечению приоритета общественного транспорта. К концу 2020 года будут установлены считыватели сигналов, а с введением системы контроля доступа будут установлены все двери. новая система бесконтактных платежей , которая планируется заменить MetroCard . На автобусных маршрутах будет регулярно взиматься плата за проезд, чтобы сократить случаи уклонения от платы за проезд .

План также включал некоторые улучшения для пассажиров автобусов. Все автобусы, поставленные после апреля 2018 года, а также 1000 существующих автобусов также получат цифровые информационные экраны с автоматическими объявлениями. Кроме того, к концу 2018 года будут разработаны новые карты автобусных маршрутов, которые облегчат понимание автобусной сети и предоставят карты с указанием местоположения для районов в каждом районе. Хотя MTA уже начало устанавливать знаки автобусных остановок с информацией в режиме реального времени, План действий предусматривал оснащение этими знаками большего количества автобусных остановок. Начиная с 2019 года мобильное приложение MTA будет предоставлять информацию о наличии мест на выбранных автобусных маршрутах в режиме реального времени. Чтобы сократить выбросы парниковых газов и улучшить качество воздуха, агентство объявило о переходе на парк электрических автобусов с нулевым уровнем выбросов . В 2018 году MTA также проведет испытания двухэтажного автобуса на обновленных автобусных маршрутах Статен-Айленда.

Функции безопасности и удобства для клиентов были установлены на новых и существующих автобусах в рамках Плана действий в области автобусов. К январю 2019 года системы звукового оповещения о повороте пешеходов были установлены на 617 автобусах, а камеры были установлены внутри 3469 автобусов и снаружи 319 автобусов. На большинстве новых автобусов были установлены перенесенные стойки или стойки меньшего размера, чтобы улучшить видимость для водителей. Такие удобства, как USB-порты для зарядки, Wi-Fi и цифровые информационные экраны, были установлены на тысячах существующих автобусов, а также во всех новых автобусах. Системы приоритета светофоров и автоматические счетчики пассажиров были установлены более чем на тысяче автобусов. Кроме того, MTA планировало закупить 248 автобусов, работающих на сжатом природном газе, 285 дизель-электрических гибридных автобусов и 60 электрических автобусов, чтобы сократить выбросы энергии в новом автобусном парке. В 2018 году прошли испытания десять гибридных и десять электробусов.

По состоянию на июнь 2021 г. , на 4200 автобусах имелись внутренние и наружные камеры, а также камеры заднего вида на 120 автобусах. Кроме того, 1300 автобусов имели систему предупреждения о повороте пешеходов, а 1800 автобусов имели окна повышенной видимости. На 2800 автобусах установлены цифровые информационные экраны, на 2500 автобусах установлены автоматические пассажирские камеры с информацией о пассажирской загрузке. Кроме того, начиная с 2021 года новые автобусы стали оснащаться более широкими задними дверями и пандусами для инвалидных колясок. MTA отключило бесплатный Wi-Fi в автобусах в январе 2023 года, сославшись на тот факт, что только два процента пассажиров использовали Wi-Fi; По оценкам агентства, это позволит сэкономить 3,3 миллиона долларов в год. В рамках пилотной программы в начале 2024 года на 100 автобусах должны были быть установлены экраны видеонаблюдения, чтобы препятствовать уклонению от оплаты проезда и нападениям на персонал.

См. также

• Транспорт в Нью-Йорке

Внешние ссылки

• СМИ, связанные с региональными автобусными операциями MTA, на Викискладе?
• Столичное транспортное управление