M60 (New York City bus)

m60
125th Street−LaGuardia Airport Line

A M60 Nova Bus in Manhattan, during the debut of SBS service in May 2014.
Overview
System MTA Regional Bus Operations
Operator New York City Transit Authority
Garage Michael J. Quill Depot
Vehicle Nova Bus LFS articulated
Livery Select Bus Service
Began service September 13, 1992[1][2]
May 25, 2014 (Select Bus Service)[3]
Route
Locale Manhattan; Queens
Start Upper West Side – Broadway  / 106th Street
Via 125th Street, Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, Astoria Boulevard[4]
End LaGuardia Airport
Length 9.1 miles (14.6 km)[5] (eastbound)
Stations 21[3]
Service
Operates 24 hours[4]
Daily ridership 5,412,070 (2014)[6]
Fare $2.75 (MetroCard or coins)
Cash Coins only (exact change required)
Transfers Yes
Timetable M60 SBS
← M57
← M34/A SBS (by borough)
← B46 SBS (by route number)		  {{{system_nav}}}  M66 →
M86 SBS →
Q70 SBS →

The M60 Select Bus Service is a bus route in New York City, United States. It is part of MTA Regional Bus Operations, operated by the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority (MaBSTOA) under the New York City Transit brand. The M60 provides service between the Upper West Side of Manhattan and LaGuardia Airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, traveling between boroughs via the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge. It is the only direct public transit option between Manhattan and the Airport.[7]

The M60 was introduced in 1992 as an airport connector, and is usually advertised as such.[1][7][8] Much of the M60's passenger load, however, is from its crosstown service along 125th Street in Harlem; the M60 is the busiest of the four bus routes that run along the 125th Street corridor.[9][10] On May 25, 2014, the M60 was converted into a Select Bus Service (SBS) route to improve service to-and-from the airport, and service along 125th Street.[3]

Route description and service

An M60 SBS exiting Interstate 278 in Queens after crossing the Triborough Bridge.

The M60 begins in the Morningside Heights section of the Upper West Side in Manhattan at West 106th and Broadway. It turns east at 120th Street, and north at Amsterdam Avenue, before turning east onto 125th Street in Manhattanville. Along 125th Street in Harlem, the M60 provides limited-stop service, with the M100, M101 and Bx15 providing local service. At the east end of the street, it enters the Triborough Bridge, crossing into Queens. It then travels along Astoria Boulevard (the service road for the Grand Central Parkway) and 23rd Avenue to 94th Street, providing limited-stop service in the neighborhoods of Astoria and East Elmhurst. The Q19 provides local service along Astoria Boulevard, and the Q33 and Q48 along 23rd Avenue. At 94th Street, the M60 turns north and enters the airport, serving Terminals B, D, and C (in that order) before returning to Manhattan.[9][3][4][11] The M60 features the longest distance between two local bus stops in the city; between Second Avenue and 125th Street in East Harlem and the Astoria Boulevard subway station at 31st Avenue in Astoria.[12]

The M60 connects with several subway lines in Manhattan – the IRT West Side Line, IND Eighth Avenue Line, IRT Lenox Avenue Line, and IRT Lexington Avenue Line – as well as the Harlem–125th Street station of the Metro-North Railroad. It also connects with the BMT Astoria Line (leading to the BMT Broadway Line) in Astoria.[4][13]

Originally operating out of the Mother Clara Hale Depot, then the Manhattanville Depot, and finally the 126th Street Depot, all located in Upper Manhattan, since January 2015 the M60 operates out of the Michael J. Quill Depot in Midtown.[14][15][16]

Stops

Station
Street traveled		 Direction Connections
Manhattan
West 106th Street
Broadway		 Eastbound station,
westbound terminal		 NYC Bus: M104, M116
West 116th Street
Columbia University		 Bidirectional NYC Bus: M4, M104
NYC Subway:  1  train at 116th Street–Columbia University
West 120th Street / Broadway Bidirectional NYC Bus: M4, M104
West 120th Street / Amsterdam Avenue Bidirectional NYC Bus: M11
LaSalle Street / Amsterdam Avenue
125th Street		 Bidirectional NYC Bus: Bx15, M11, M100, M101, M104
St. Nicholas Avenue / Douglass Boulevard
125th Street		 Bidirectional NYC Bus: Bx15, M3, M10, M100, M101
NYC Subway:  A   C   B   D  trains at 125th Street
Lenox Avenue
125th Street		 Bidirectional NYC Bus: Bx15, M1 (southbound only at Fifth Avenue), M7, M100, M101, M102
NYC Subway:  2   3  trains at 125th Street
Madison Avenue / Park Avenue
125th Street		 Bidirectional NYC Bus: Bx15, M1 (northbound only; southbound at Fifth Avenue), M98 (southbound only), M100, M101
Metro-North at Harlem–125th Street
Lexington Avenue
125th Street		 Bidirectional NYC Bus: Bx15, M35, M98 (northbound only at Third Avenue), M100, M101, M103
NYC Subway:  4   5   6   <6>  trains at 125th Street
Metro-North at Harlem–125th Street
Second Avenue
125th Street		 Bidirectional NYC Bus: Bx15, M15, M15 SBS, M100
Triborough Bridge
Queens
31st Street
Hoyt Avenue		 Bidirectional MTA Bus: Q19
NYC Subway:  N   W  trains at Astoria Boulevard
Steinway Street
Astoria Boulevard		 Bidirectional MTA Bus: Q19, Q101
77th Street
Astoria Boulevard		 Bidirectional MTA Bus: Q19
82nd Street
23rd Avenue		 Eastbound MTA Bus: Q33, Q47
NYC Bus: Q48
Ditmars Boulevard / 82nd Street §
Grand Central Parkway Service Road North		 Westbound MTA Bus: Q47, Q69
NYC Bus: Q48
87th Street
23rd Avenue		 Eastbound MTA Bus: Q33
NYC Bus: Q48
94th Street
23rd Avenue		 Eastbound MTA Bus: Q33, Q72
NYC Bus: Q48
Terminal B Airport stop MTA Bus: Q70 SBS, Q72
NYC Bus: Q48
LGA Shuttle Bus
Terminal D
Terminal C
Notes:
  1. The route loops around LaGuardia Airport terminal bus stops and continue operate towards westbound terminus. There is no eastbound terminus stand.
  2. Passengers traveling eastbound toward LaGuardia Airport must be off the bus by the Terminal C stop, or purchase a westbound fare at fare payment machines at LaGuardia Airport stops.
  3. Bus stops marked with an (§) are not served between midnight and 6 AM, when the 82nd Street exit (and the airport in general) is closed.

History

A standard-length Orion VII bus on the M60 in 2007, prior to Select Bus Service implementation.

In 1991, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) held a public hearing to discuss a bus route between Manhattan and LaGuardia Airport.[17] The M60 was approved for implementation in mid-1992,[18] and began service on September 13, 1992 between Lenox Avenue−125th Street and the airport.[1][2][7][8][19] In 1994, it was extended west and south to Claremont Avenue and 118th Street near Columbia University and the 116th Street subway station.[20][21] The route was shifted onto Broadway in 1995.[22] Between 1997 and 2004, the bus route had an increase in ridership of 237%,[23] leading to a decrease in trip headways from 20 minutes[13] to 15 minutes in 1998,[24] and under 10 minutes by the 2000s.[7] On October 12, 2009, the first luggage rack-equipped bus in the city debuted on the M60, as part of a ten-bus pilot program on airport bus services to improve passenger flow.[25][26][27] In 2012, 60-foot (18 m) articulated buses began replacing the standard 40-foot (12 m) buses on the route.[28][29]

In 2009, the MTA and the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) identified the M60 as a potential corridor for Phase II of Select Bus Service (SBS), the city's bus rapid transit service. The M60 was identified under studies to improve crosstown service on 125th Street (which like other crosstown bus corridors was noted for slow travel speeds), and under the LaGuardia Airport Access Alternatives Analysis conducted with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to improve bus service to LaGuardia Airport.[30][31][32] A separate outside study in 2011 by the Regional Plan Association proposed creating dedicated busways along the Grand Central Parkway to speed up M60 service.[33] That year, studies and community outreach were conducted, and plans to implement the M60 SBS were announced on October 11, 2012.[34] At the time, the M60 was the heaviest used of the four 125th Street crosstown buses. The plan would turn the M60 local into a limited-stop service along 125th Street, with the number of stops along the corridor reduced from eleven to six. It would add dedicated MTA bus laness and other improvements to speed travel times, and make the fleet entirely articulated and fully equipped with luggage racks.[9][11]

Plans for the SBS route were scrapped in July 2013 after opposition from the Harlem community and state senator Bill Perkins, over the potential loss of parking space on 125th Street, and due to a lack of collaboration by the DOT with the community.[10][35][36] In October 2013, the plan was reinstated after the proposed bus lanes along 125th Street between Morningside Avenue on the West Side and Lenox Avenue in central Harlem were eliminated.[11] The M60 SBS began service on May 25, 2014.[3][9][11] An inauguration ceremony was held two days later.[37]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "New York City Transit - History and Chronology". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on 2014-01-08. Retrieved 12 March 2007.
  2. 1 2 https://web.archive.org/web/19980127010654/http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/Bus/busfacts.htm Department of Buses history NYC Transit
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "+selectbusservice 125th Street: Sunday, May 25, 2014 M60 Select Bus Service is coming!" (PDF). nyc.gov. Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York City Department of Transportation. 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 MTA Regional Bus Operations. "M60 SBS bus schedule" (PDF).
  5. ↑ Google (May 8, 2017). "M60" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Facts and Figures". mta.info. 2011-08-28. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Hughes, C.J. (December 25, 2008). "Catching a Full-Up Plane? Take This Overstuffed Bus". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  8. 1 2 Lorch, Donatella (August 6, 1992). "More Buses and Trains Planned to Lure Riders". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Transit & Bus Committee Meeting February 2014" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. February 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-02-24. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  10. 1 2 Hinds, Kate (July 16, 2013). "NYC Kills Fast Bus to LGA". WNYC. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Solmonow, Seth. "NYC DOT, MTA and State Sen. Perkins Announce 125th St. Select Bus Service to Start in April 2014, Streetscape Improvements to be Installed Along the Entire Corridor". nyc.gov. New York City Department of Transportation. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  12. ↑ Pollak, Michael (October 17, 2008). "F.Y.I.: A Broadway Splash". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  13. 1 2 Tauranac, John (July 13, 1997). "$1.50 to La Guardia? Take the M-60". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  14. ↑ Press Release (November 20, 2014). "MTA Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony Marks the Re-Opening of the New Mother Clara Hale Bus Depot in Harlem". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  15. ↑ Bernstein, Emily M. (October 24, 1993). "Neighborhood Report: Harlem; Bus Drivers Pay Tribute to the Memory of Mother Hale". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  16. ↑ Our Green Harlem (July 2010). "Manhattanville Bus Depot". Green Map. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  17. ↑ Flegenheimer, Matt (January 23, 2013). "An M.T.A. Hearing Asks: Is Everyone O.K. With This Service Increase?". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  18. ↑ Lorch, Donatella (August 6, 1992). "More Buses and Trains Planned to Lure Riders". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  19. ↑ Wade, Betsy (December 20, 1992). "TRAVEL ADVISORY; A Cheap Ride From La Guardia". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  20. ↑ "TRAVEL ADVISORY; Airport Bus Service Extended to Broadway". The New York Times. August 21, 1994. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  21. ↑ Kennedy, Randy (October 16, 1994). "NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: UPPER WEST SIDE; Bus Route Stirs an Elegant Street's Ire". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  22. ↑ Kingson Bloom, Jennifer (January 22, 1995). "NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: WEST SIDE UPDATE; Victory for Claremont: Bus Shift to Broadway". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  23. ↑ Son, Hugh (May 10, 2004). "STANDING ROOM ONLY Uneasy riders filling city buses, report finds". Daily News (New York). Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  24. ↑ Rutenberg, James (July 18, 1998). "INCREASE IN BUS, SUBWAY SERVICE". Daily News (New York). Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  25. ↑ Donohue, Pete (October 12, 2009). "MTA to give buses to LaGuardia Airports and John F. Kennedy Airport luggage racks". Daily News (New York). Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  26. ↑ Hirshon, Nicholas (October 13, 2009). "Travelers' delight: Luggage racks on airport bus routes off to a flying start". Daily News (New York). Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  27. ↑ Grynbaum, Michael M. (October 12, 2009). "Bringing Storage, and Comfort, to a La Guardia-Bound Bus". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  28. ↑ "MTA Bus Operations Committee Meeting July 2012" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. July 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  29. ↑ Frost, Emily (September 25, 2012). "M60 Bus Layover Spot Moves to Quiet West End Ave". Upper West Side: DNAinfo.com. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  30. ↑ "Introduction to BUS RAPID TRANSIT PHASE II" (PDF). New York City Department of Transportation, Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2009.
  31. ↑ "LaGuardia Airport Access Alternatives Analysis Public Meeting #1" (PDF). nyc.gov. Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York City Department of Transportation, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. June 22, 2011. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  32. ↑ "LaGuardia Airport Access: Improvement Summary" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York City Department of Transportation, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  33. ↑ Zupan, Jeffrey M.; Barone, Richard E.; Lee, Matthew H. (January 2011). "Upgrading to World Class: The Future of the New York Region's Airports" (PDF). Regional Plan Association. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  34. ↑ Newman, Andy (October 11, 2012). "Flights Won’t Change, but Bus to La Guardia Will Get Easier". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  35. ↑ Ranson, Jan (October 18, 2013). "Harlem bus commuters hail Select Bus Service on the M60 route". Daily News (New York). Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  36. ↑ "Letter to Janette Sadik-Khan, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Transportation" (PDF). streetsblog.org. Office of State Senator Bill Perkins. March 20, 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  37. ↑ Hinds, Kate (May 27, 2014). "Select Bus Service Comes to 125th Street — Sort of". WNYC. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
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