New York City transit fares

The fares for services operated under the brands of MTA Regional Bus Operations (Regional Bus) (NYC Bus, MTA Bus) and the suburban bus operators Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) and Westchester County Bee-Line System (Bee-Line) are listed below.

Current fares

Dollar bills and half-dollar coins are not accepted for fare payment on any Regional Bus (or contractor to Regional Bus) or Bee-Line System buses, or in fare payment stations for Select Bus Service buses. All fare payments must be made using MetroCard or coins (excluding half-dollars).^[1]

Base fares

All fares are in US dollars.

Unlimited ride MetroCard fares

Fares on the New York City Subway can only be paid with a MetroCard. Regional Bus and Bee-Line buses accept MetroCard or exact fare in change. Paper currency is not accepted on Regional Bus or Bee-Line buses.^[1]

All fares are in US dollars.

Transfers

All transfers with MetroCard are free from bus to subway, local bus to local bus, and subway to local bus. For transfers to express buses from local buses (except for the BxM4C), an additional US$3.25 is deducted from a Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard. With coins, transfers are available to different local buses only, with some restrictions. All transfers are good for two hours. Transfers are available upon request when boarding only.

There are no transfers to the BxM4C.

SingleRide tickets are valid for one ride within two hours after purchase on local buses and the subway. There are no transfer privileges with a SingleRide ticket.

On the Bx12 and M15 Select Bus Services, customers paying with coins requiring a transfer must board via the front door and request a transfer from the operator. All other customers may board via any of the three doors on Select Bus Service buses only.

Bee-Line customers needing to transfer to Connecticut Transit, Transport of Rockland, Putnam Transit, or Housatonic Area Regional Transit services must ask for a transfer, even if paying with MetroCard. The BxM4C does not accept paper or MetroCard transfers, but it does issue transfers to/from other buses and the subway.

NICE customers needing to transfer to transfer to City of Long Beach N69, Suffolk County Transit, or Huntington Area Rapid Transit services must ask for a transfer, even if paying with MetroCard.

Transfer restrictions

There are restrictions on transfers, as noted below:

Subway

There are no out-of-system subway-to-subway transfers (i.e. exiting the turnstile and entering again), with one MetroCard exception:

• Between Lexington Avenue / 59th Street (4 5 6 <6> N Q R trains) and Lexington Avenue – 63rd Street (F train)

Additional exceptions may be added on a case by case basis, usually due to construction making a regular transfer unavailable.

Bus

For Pay-per-Ride customers, there is no free transfer back onto the same route on which you paid your fare, or between the following buses:^[3]

• Manhattan:
  • M1, M2, M3, M4: No transfer between uptown Madison Avenue and downtown 5 Avenue buses.
  • M31 and M57: No transfer between eastbound and westbound buses along 57 Street.
  • M96 and M106: No transfer between eastbound and westbound buses along 96 Street.
  • M101, M102, M103: No transfer between uptown 3rd Avenue and downtown Lexington Avenue buses.

• The Bronx:
  • Bx1 and Bx2: No transfer between southbound and northbound buses on the Grand Concourse.
  • Bx40 and Bx42: No transfer between eastbound and westbound buses along Tremont Avenue.

• Nassau:
  • No transfers between bus routes that aren't listed on the timetable of the route on which you paid your fare. In essence, this restriction means that one can't transfer between bus routes that don't intersect.

• Express:
  • No transfers from any route to the BxM4C, even with a Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard. Transfers are valid, however, from the BxM4C.

Subway-to-bus

There are no subway-to-bus or bus-to-subway transfers without a MetroCard, with one exception:

• B42 customers traveling from south of Flatlands Avenue in Brooklyn to the Rockaway Parkway subway station are transported directly into the subway system without having to pass through turnstiles (as the former trolley line had a loop installed within fare control). Likewise, the B42 Rockaway Parkway Line departs the Rockaway Parkway subway station within subway fare control.

In addition, there is no transfer from the New York City Subway to the BxM4C express bus route.

Fare history

Below are the fares charged for single boardings on the transit lines and predecessors of the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA). Different combinations of transfer privileges have altered these fares from time to time. Since 1997, massively increased transfer privileges and pass discounts have lowered the average real fare significantly. According to MTA figures, only 2.1% of rides are single-ride fares.^[4]

On November 23, 2005, a US$1.00 holiday fare promotion was instituted by the MTA on behalf of all riders until January 2, 2006. Express Buses continued to require the regular fare. On Christmas Day and New Year's Day, the local bus rides were free.

• $0.05 (1904 – 1948)
• $0.10 (1948 – 1953)
• $0.15 (1953 – 1966)
• $0.20 (1966 – December 31, 1969)
• $0.30 (January 1, 1970 – December 31, 1971)
• $0.35 (January 1, 1972 – August 31, 1975) (MSBA/Long Island Bus from 1973)
• $0.50 (September 1, 1975 – June 28, 1980)
• $0.60 (June 29, 1980 – July 3, 1981)
• $0.75 (July 4, 1981 – December 31, 1983)
• $0.90 (January 1, 1984 – December 31, 1985)
• $1.00 (January 1, 1986 – December 31, 1989)
• $1.15 (January 1, 1990 – December 31, 1991)
• $1.25 (January 1, 1992 – November 11, 1995)
• $1.50 (November 12, 1995 – May 3, 2003)
• $2.00 (May 4, 2003 – June 27, 2009)
• $2.25 (June 28, 2009 – December 29, 2010)
• $2.25 (base fare), $2.50 (SingleRide ticket) (December 30,2010 –)

For the history of the various multiple-ride Metrocard fares, see Metrocard.

See also

• MetroCard (New York City)
• New York City Transit Authority
• MTA Regional Bus Operations
• Bee-Line Bus System

References