The First and Second Avenues Line, also known as the Second Avenue Line, is a bus route in Manhattan, New York City, running mostly along Second Avenue (and northbound on First Avenue since 1951) from Lower Manhattan to East Harlem. Originally a streetcar line along Second Avenue, it is now the M15 bus route, the busiest bus route in the city and United States, carrying 16.4 million riders annually.[5] MTA Regional Bus Operations, under the New York City Bus and Select Bus Service brands, operates the local out of the Tuskegee Airmen Bus Depot and the SBS from the Mother Clara Hale Bus Depot. Service is operated with articulated buses, unless supplemental service is needed.
History
editThe Second Avenue Railroad opened the line in 1853 and 1854, from Peck Slip on the East River north along Pearl Street, Bowery (shared with the Third Avenue Line), Grand Street, Chrystie Street, and Second Avenue to East Harlem. A short branch was later built along Stuyvesant Street and Astor Place to end at Broadway in NoHo. The Metropolitan Street Railway leased the line in January 1898, and on April 3 the line from Astor Place to Manhattan was electrified. The original line was later electrified to the Bowery, where streetcars used the Third Avenue Line to City Hall, and the line to Peck Slip was abandoned.
Buses were substituted for streetcars by the East Side Omnibus Corporation on June 25, 1933. The New York City Board of Transportation took over operations in 1948, with the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) replacing it in 1953.
Limited-stop service began on September 13, 1976, with buses making only 15 stops, spaced every eight blocks, between 126th Street and Houston Street, saving riders up to 23 minutes. Limited-stop service ran every six minutes on weekdays, heading southbound in the morning, between 7:12 and 9:21 a.m., and northbound in the afternoon, between 4:12 and 6:11 p.m.[6] These buses were identified by signs on the lower right side of the windshield.[7] As part of the project, new dedicated bus lanes were installed.
On September 7, 1987, a public hearing was held to discuss the NYCTA's plan to reduce the span of weekend evening M15 service to City Hall and Park Row from ending at 12:40 a.m. to ending at 8:10 p.m.. In addition, the hours of weekday service were to be lengthened slightly. The changes were to be made to provide a more uniform service frequency and service pattern.[8]
On January 13, 1997, 108 more limited-stop trips were added on weekdays.[9] In June 2002 as part of an outside study, the First/Second Avenues corridor was identified for the implementation of bus rapid transit (BRT) service, due to heavy ridership and slow travel speeds on the corridor.[10][11] In November 2002, the MTA Board voted to lengthen the span of weekday evening southbound service by one hour to 7:50 p.m., weekday northbound service by 1.5 hours to 9:45 p.m., the span of northbound evening Saturday service by one hour to 8:25 p.m., and the span of northbound Sunday service to 8:10 p.m.. The service increase was expected to result in no change in costs initially. Though the change was initially expected to take effect in March 2003,[12] it was implemented on April 14, 2003.[13]
In late 2004, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and the New York City Department of Transportation selected the route as one of the candidates for bus rapid transit service, along with Fordham Road (since implemented), Nostrand Avenue, Merrick Boulevard, and Hylan Boulevard. This evolved into Phase I of the Select Bus Service (SBS) program in 2006.[10][14][15][16] On October 10, 2010, service began on the M15 Select Bus Service, replacing limited stop service.[16][17][18][19] Due to the construction of the Second Avenue Subway, the M15 SBS initially had no stop at 72nd Street, even though that was a major street that had been served by limited-stop buses.[20] Both the M15 local and M15 SBS were previously assigned to the 126th Street Depot until January 4, 2015.[21]
Route description
editThe M15 runs between South Ferry in the Financial District and 126th Street in East Harlem. [22] Southbound service uses Second Avenue from East 125th to Houston Streets, then uses First Avenue, Madison Street, Water Street and South Ferry. Limited buses made all stops south of Houston Street. Prior to the implementation of the M15 SBS, previous M15 Limited stops were eliminated at St Mark's Place and East 72nd Street north of Houston Street. Several stops south of Houston Street were also eliminated.[23] [24]During the daytime and evening hours, local service alternates between Whitehall Street and Pike Street / Cherry Street. During AM Rush Hour, some Select Bus Service trips terminate/originate at Houston St.[25] Overnight service is provided by local buses only, serving Whitehall Street-South Ferry. Select Bus Service trips terminate at the South Ferry bus loop. By then, the MTA had discontinued service to City Hall due to budget cuts.[26]
Select Bus Service Stops
editStation Street traveled |
Direction | Connections |
---|---|---|
126th Street | Northbound terminus, southbound station |
NYC Bus: M15 Local |
125th Street | Bidirectional | |
115th / 116th Streets |
NYC Bus: M15 Local, M116 (at 116th Street) | |
106th Street |
NYC Bus: M15 Local, M106 | |
95th / 97th Streets Metropolitan Hospital |
NYC Bus: M15 Local, M96 | |
86th Street |
NYC Bus: M15 Local, M86 SBS | |
79th Street |
NYC Bus: M15 Local, M79 SBS | |
67th / 68th Streets |
NYC Bus: M15 Local, M66 | |
57th / 58th Streets | ||
50th Street |
NYC Bus: M15 Local, M50 | |
42nd / 44th Streets United Nations |
NYC Bus: M15 Local, M42 | |
34th Street NYU Langone Medical Center |
NYC Bus: M15 Local, M34/M34A SBS (M34A westbound only on First Avenue) | |
28th / 29th Streets Bellevue Hospital |
NYC Bus: M15 Local, M9, M34A SBS | |
23rd / 25th Streets VA Hospital |
||
14th Street |
NYC Bus: M14A SBS, M14D SBS, M15 Local | |
First Street | Northbound only |
NYC Bus: M15 Local, M21 |
Northbound service uses First Avenue, southbound service uses Second Avenue | ||
Houston Street | Southbound only |
NYC Bus: M15 Local, M21 |
Hester / Grand Streets | Bidirectional |
NYC Bus: M15 Local |
Catherine Street Madison Street |
NYC Bus: M15 Local, M22 (eastbound only | |
Fulton Street South Street Seaport |
NYC Bus: M15 Local | |
Wall Street Water Street | ||
South Ferry Whitehall Terminal |
Southbound terminal, northbound station |
NYC Bus: M15 Local, M20, M55 |
References
edit- ^ Google (May 8, 2017). "M15" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
- ^ MTA Regional Bus Operations. "M15 bus schedule".
- ^ MTA Regional Bus Operations. "M15 SBS bus schedule" (PDF).
- ^ "Subway and bus ridership for 2023". mta.info. April 29, 2024. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
- ^ "MTA By the Numbers in 2023". MTA. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
- ^ "To Speed You On Your Way..." Flickr. New York City Transit Authority. 1976. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
- ^ "Metropolitan Briefs". The New York Times. September 13, 1976. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
- ^ "M15 Public Hearing Handout on Span of Service to City Hall" (PDF). www.laguardiawagnerarchive.lagcc.cuny.edu. New York City Transit Authority. August 27, 1987. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
- ^ "Bus Service Notices". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. June 24, 1997. Archived from the original on July 4, 1997. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
- ^ a b "First Avenue/Second Avenue SBS Community Advisory Committee Meeting" (PDF). nyc.gov. Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York City Department of Transportation. September 23, 2009. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
- ^ "Bus Rapid Transit For New York City" (PDF). Schaller Consulting, Transportation Alternatives, New York Public Interest Research Group. June 2002. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
- ^ November 2002 NYC Transit Committee Agenda. New York City Transit Authority. November 19, 2002. pp. 97, 98, 99-100.
- ^ "Bus Service Notice". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on April 16, 2003. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
- ^ "Bus Rapid Transit: NYCBRT Study" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York City Department of Transportation, New York State Department of Transportation. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 12, 2005. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
- ^ "Select Bus Service on the Bx12: A BRT Partnership Between the New York City DOT and MTA New York City Transit" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York City Department of Transportation. January 12, 2009. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
- ^ a b "+selectbusservice M15 on First and Second Avenues: Progress Report" (PDF). nyc.gov. Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York City Department of Transportation. November 2011. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
- ^ "MTA Bus Company Committee Meeting Materials, July 2010" (PDF). p. 76. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 25, 2010. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
- ^ "Select Bus Service - First Avenue/Second Avenue" (PDF). New York City Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 21, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
- ^ Grynbaum, Michael M. (October 10, 2010). "Rolling Out Speedier Bus System, to Glitches and Grumbles". The New York Times. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
- ^ Chen, Jackson (January 12, 2017). "Seniors Demand Second Ave Select Bus Service at East 72nd". amNewYork. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
- ^ Gartland, Michael (June 22, 2014). "Bus depot to become memorial for slaves found buried there". New York Post.
- ^ Hobbs, Allegra (February 15, 2017). "Lower East Side Needs More Select Bus Service, Locals and Officials Say". DNAinfo.
- ^ Krueger, Liz; Maloney, Carolyn; Quart, Dan; Seawright, Rebecca; Menin, Julie; Powers, Keith (February 16, 2022). "We write to urge the MTA to restore M15 Select Bus Service at 72nd Street" (PDF). Letter to Janno Lieber.
- ^ Kattalia, Kathryn (February 7, 2011). "Riders Question Number Of M15 Stops". The Local East Village.
- ^ "Select Bus Service In-Depth: M15".
- ^ "Arriving into the Chatham Square stop along the City Hall Branch of the M15 MTA New York City Bus 2010 NovaBus LFS Articulated 1243".
External links
editExternal videos | |
---|---|
Media related to M15 (New York City bus) at Wikimedia Commons
- M15 First/Second Avenues SBS − mta.info
- First Avenue And Second Avenue Select Bus Service − NYCDOT