86th Street Crosstown Line

m86
86th Street Crosstown Line
An M86 bus during the debut of SBS service in July 2015.
Overview
System	MTA Regional Bus Operations
Operator	New York City Transit Authority
Garage	Tuskegee Airmen Depot
Vehicle	Nova Bus LFS articulated
Livery	Select Bus Service
Route
Locale	Manhattan
Communities served	Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Yorkville
Landmarks served	Central Park, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Asphalt Green
Start	Upper West Side – West End Avenue and West 86th Street
Via	86th Street, York Avenue
End	Yorkville – East 92nd Street and York Avenue
Service
Operates	5 a.m. (weekdays) or 6:30 a.m. (weekends) to 12:30 a.m.[1]
Daily ridership	7,640,401 (2016)[2]
Fare	$2.75 (MetroCard or coins)
Cash	Coins only (exact change required)
Transfers	Yes
Timetable	M86 SBS
Route map M86 Select Bus Service Yorkville – York Ave / 92nd St First Ave / 91st–92nd Sts York Ave / 91st St York Ave / 88th–89th Sts York Ave / 86th St 1st Ave 2nd Ave 3rd Ave Lexington Ave   Madison Ave 5th Ave / 86th St 5th Ave / 84th St 85th Street Transverse Central Park West Columbus Ave Amsterdam Ave West Side – Broadway ← M79 ← M79 SBS (by borough) ← S79 SBS] (by route number)  {{{system_nav}}}  M96 → Q44 SBS →  →

The 86th Street Crosstown Line is a bus line in Manhattan, New York City, United States, running mostly along 86th Street on the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. Originally a streetcar line, it now comprises both directions of the M86 bus line.

The M86 has the highest "per-mile ridership" of all bus routes in the city, and the second highest ridership of all Manhattan crosstown routes after the M14A/D routes along 14th Street.^[3] Because of this, the M86 became a Select Bus Service route in July 2015.

Route description

Streetcar service

The 86th Street Crosstown Line was originally a streetcar line operated by the New York Railways Company. The route originally ran between Central Park West (Eighth Avenue) and the 92nd Street ferry terminal in Yorkville. At the terminal, passengers connected to ferries traveling across the East River to Astoria, Queens.^[4][5][6] It was the last of the company's lines to begin operation. It was also the only line in Manhattan to cross Central Park.^[4]

Current bus service

The M86 bus runs crosstown along 86th Street in Upper Manhattan. The route begins at West 86th Street and Broadway in the Upper West Side. It proceeds east along 86th Street to Central Park West then crosses the 86th Street Transverse through the park, stopping about halfway through the transverse at the NYPD Central Park Precinct. The M86 exits the transverse at East 84th Street and 5th Avenue, turning north onto Madison Avenue, then east back onto 86th Street. The M86 continues on East 86th Street through the Upper East Side until York Avenue, where it turns north and runs through Yorkville. At East 91st Street, the route turns west and terminates at First Avenue.^[1][7][8]

Westbound buses begin service at East 92nd Street and York Avenue, at the Asphalt Green fitness center, and run essentially the same route along York Avenue and 86th Street. At West 86th Street and Broadway, the route turns north then west onto West 87th Street, terminating at West End Avenue.^[1][7][8]

Unlike other SBS routes and most bus rapid transit lines, the M86 SBS does not have long bus lanes, but rather employs short queue jump lanes, which give buses priority at intersections.^[3][9]

A geographically correct map of the M86 Select Bus Service route, showing all stations and connections. The route is in light blue.

History

A 1920 map of the 86th Street Line (far right), and the competing public bus route known as "Route D".

An M86 bus in 2007, prior to the implementation of SBS service.

In April and May 1872, two separate streetcar franchises along 86th Street were granted to the Second Avenue Railroad Company and the New York and Harlem Railroad, respectively. The Second Avenue Railroad received the rights to build a line east of Second Avenue, then north along York Avenue (then called Avenue A) to 92nd Street. The New York and Harlem Railroad, meanwhile, were permitted to construct a line west of Second Avenue, connecting with their Madison Avenue Line.^[6] On April 30, 1890, the two companies agreed to give each other rights to operate on the trackage of the 86th Street Line.^[6] Around this time, the City of New York constructed trolley tracks on the 85th/86th Street Transverse Road crossing Central Park.^[6][10][11] On May 11, 1893, the New York and Harlem received the rights to operate on the Transverse Road tracks.^[6] On June 11, 1896, the New York and Harlem Railroad leased its streetcar lines to the Metropolitan Street Railway.^[6]

On November 12, 1908, the 86th Street Line was temporarily truncated to Second Avenue. This occurred when the Metropolitan Street Railway, a subsidiary of New York Railways, was turned over to creditors when New York Railways went into receivership; the portion of the 86th Street Line east of Second Avenue also went to the receivers, due to the original 1872 franchises. Travel to the 92nd Street Ferry required transferring between trolleys and paying additional fare.^[6]

The line was turned over once again to the New York and Harlem Railroad, now a subsidiary of New York Railways, from February 1, 1920 to December 17, 1932. Afterwards, it returned to New York Railways.^[4][12][13]

On November 3, 1919, the City of New York began operating municipal bus service to replace abandoned New York Railways lines, including the Delancey−Spring Streets Line. At this time, the city also began operating competing bus service along the 86th Street route, called "Route D".^[14][15]

New York City Omnibus Corporation replaced New York Railways's streetcars with the M5–18 bus on June 8, 1936.^[4][12][16]

The M18 was renumbered the M86 in 1989 to match the number of the crosstown street that it runs on.^[17][18]

60-foot (18 m)-long articulated buses were added to the M86 and M79 routes in 2000. Bus stops were lengthened along the routes to accommodate the new buses, while some closely spaced stops were eliminated.^[19][20]

Beginning on June 1, 2010, the M86 was part of a six-month trial testing MasterCard PayPass as a tap-and-go smart card payment system. The trial included seven other MTA bus routes, three NJ Transit bus routes, as well as the IRT Lexington Avenue Line and PATH subway routes.^[21][22]

Select Bus Service

An M86 SBS during the debut of SBS service in 2015.

The M86 was identified as a potential bus rapid transit corridor in 2009, under Phase II of the city's Select Bus Service program.^[23] To accommodate the Select Bus Service conversion, 86th Street was to be renovated with pedestrian sidewalk extensions at intersections; bus bulbs, or pedestrian sidewalk extensions at bus stops; plants and trees; and new benches.^[24][25]

The M86 SBS route debuted on July 13, 2015.^[26][27] It was the fourth corridor in Manhattan and the fifth Manhattan bus line to have Select Bus Service.^[28] The M86 SBS is based at the Tuskegee Airmen Depot.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to M86 (New York City bus).

• M86 Select Bus Service − mta.info
• 86th Street Select Bus Service − NYCDOT

Select Bus Service
Current routes	B44 SBS B46 SBS Bx12 SBS Bx41 SBS M15 SBS M23 SBS M34 SBS M34A SBS M60 SBS M79 SBS M86 SBS Q44 SBS Q70 SBS S79 SBS
Future routes	B82 Bx6 Q25 LTD Q52 LTD, Q53 LTD

Bus routes in Manhattan
Current routes	M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12 M14A M14D M15 M20 M22 M23 M31 M34 M34A M35 M42 M50 M55 M57 M60 M66 M72 M79 M86 M96 M98 M100 M101 M102 M103 M104 M106 M116
Former routes	M6 M18 M21 M27 M30

New York metropolitan area streetcar transit
Former streetcar operators	New York BRT/BQT LICEC LIRR IRT Second Avenue Railroad Third Avenue Railway Fifth Avenue Transportation Company Fifth Avenue Coach Company Sixth Avenue Railroad Broadway and Seventh Avenue Railway Eighth and Ninth Avenues Railway Central Crosstown (17th & 18th Street Lines) 23rd Street 42nd Street & Grand Street Ferry 86th Street Babylon Railroad Bleecker Street & Fulton Ferry Bridge Operating Company (BHRR • NYR) Brooklyn & North River Brooklyn, Queens County & Suburban Danbury & Harlem Fort George & Eleventh Avenue Grand Street and Newtown Greenpoint and Williamsburgh Hudson Avenue Houston, West Street & Pavonia Ferry Huntington Railroad/Traction Company Jamaica Central Railways Lenox Avenue Long Island Electric Railway Long Island Traction Company Manhattan Bridge 3¢ Manhattan & Queens Traction Nassau Railroad Nassau Electric Railroad New York Railways Company New York & Harlem Railroad New York & Long Island Traction New York & North Shore Traction New York and Queens County Railway New York and Queens Transit Corporation New York Interborough (IRT) Northport Traction Company Ocean Electric Railway Oscar City Railway Ossining Electric Railway Peekskill Lighting and Railroad Pelham Park and City Island Railway Putnam & Westchester Richmond Light & Railroad Staten Island Electric Railroad Staten Island Horse Railroad Staten Island Midland Railway/Railroad Staten Island Traction Company Steinway Railway Suffolk Traction Union Railway (Bronx) Union Railroad (Brooklyn) West Farms & Westchester Westchester Electric Railroad Westchester Street Yonkers Railroad New Jersey North Hudson County Railway Public Service Railway Public Service Coordinated Transport/Transport of New Jersey Connecticut Connecticut Company Consolidated Railway Bridgeport Traction Connecticut Railway & Lighting Danbury and Bethel Street Railway Greenwich Tramway Company New York and Stamford Railway
Current operations	New Jersey Hudson–Bergen Light Rail Newark Light Rail River Line
Proposed operations	New York Red Hook Staten Island 42nd Street Brooklyn–Queens Waterfront New Jersey HBLR Northern Branch Connecticut New Haven
Streetcar lists	New York Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island Long Island Westchester Nearby states New Jersey (PSR lines) Connecticut
Other	Carhouses New York City Bus garages MTA Bus garages Long Island Bus garages Other Other New York City transit