The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) operates 80 express bus routes in New York City, United States. Express routes operated by MTA Bus Company are assigned multi-borough (BM, BxM, QM) prefixes. MTA New York City Bus operates seven of the express routes in Brooklyn and Queens, which are prefixed with the letter X, as well as all express routes in Staten Island, which are prefixed with the letters SIM.
The unidirectional fare, payable with MetroCard or OMNY, a contactless payment system which will replace the MetroCard by 2024, is $7. Discount fare media is available. Except for the ad hoc X80 service, coins are not accepted on express buses; only a MetroCard or OMNY is accepted.
Express buses operate using over-the-road diesel-powered, 45-ft-long coaches, from Motor Coach Industries and Prevost Car. See also: MTA Regional Bus Operations Bus Fleet
Manhattan to Staten Island
Most routes travel to and from Staten Island via the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, Gowanus Expressway, and Hugh L. Carey Tunnel into Lower Manhattan. Some routes operate through New Jersey via the Goethals Bridge, New Jersey Turnpike, New Jersey Route 495, and Lincoln Tunnel to directly serve Midtown Manhattan.
On August 19, 2018, all of the Staten Island-Manhattan express bus routes were redesigned to offer simpler and direct routes, fewer stops to speed up the trips, and additional service for off-peak hours and weekends. The new routes originally planned consists of 21 express routes: 11 traveling to Midtown, 8 traveling to Downtown and 2 traveling to Greenwich Village via Battery Park City. The previously used "X" routes have been dropped in favor of "SIM," or Staten Island to Manhattan, routes. This was the result of the two-year Staten Island Bus Study conducted by MTA, launched in 2015, which analyzed trip performance data, ridership profiles and extensive customer input, to determine the most effective way to reconfigure the network.
All routes are operated by New York City Transit. All routes run during rush hours in the peak direction. In addition, the SIM1C, SIM3C, SIM4C and SIM33C provide off-peak weekday and weekend service, and the SIM1C provides overnight service. These four -C routes cover most stops in Manhattan served by other routes during peak hours.
History and notes
Manhattan to Brooklyn
X- routes are operated by New York City Transit, while BM-routes are operated by MTA Bus Company. All routes operate nonstop between Brooklyn and Manhattan via the Gowanus Expressway or Prospect Expressway to the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel, with some routes continuing non-stop via the FDR Drive to reach Midtown. The exception to this is the BM5, which also makes stops in Queens and uses Woodhaven Boulevard, the Long Island Expressway and Queens Midtown Tunnel to reach Midtown.
History and notes
Proposed new bus routes
The MTA released a draft plan for Brooklyn's bus network on December 1, 2022. The new plan retains the "BM" prefix and preserves all existing routes. The BM1, BM2, BM3, BM4, X27/X37, and X28/X38 will each be split into three routes: a rush-hour downtown route, a rush-hour midtown route, and an off-peak downtown and midtown route. In general, the revised plan includes the following changes: All routes with the X prefix will be relabeled with the BM prefix; i.e. the X27, X28, X37, and X38 will become the BM7, BM8, BM37, and BM38 respectively. All peak downtown routes will have a single-digit number (e.g. BM1). All peak midtown routes will have a double-digit number beginning in 3 (e.g. BM31). All off-peak downtown and midtown routes will have a single-digit number and the suffix "C" (e.g. BM1C).
Manhattan to Queens
X- routes are operated by New York City Transit, while QM- routes are operated by MTA Bus Company. All Midtown routes except for the Super Expresses operate nonstop outbound via the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, while Downtown routes operate via the FDR Drive and the Queens Midtown Tunnel. All inbound service operates via the Long Island Expressway and Queens Midtown Tunnel.
History and notes
Proposed new bus routes
In December 2019, the MTA released a draft redesign of the Queens bus network with 77 routes. The routes were given a "QMT" label to avoid confusion with existing routes. The "QMT" prefix was tentative; in the final plan, all bus routes would have been labeled with "QM", similar to the existing routes. The final redesign was initially expected in mid- or late 2020, but the first draft attracted overwhelmingly negative feedback, with 11,000 comments about the plans. The redesign was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. Planning resumed in mid-2021.