Misplaced Pages

m79
79th Street Crosstown Line
A 2019 XD60 (6231) on the Riverside Drive-bound M79 SBS near the junction with Madison Avenue in June 2024.
Overview
System	MTA Regional Bus Operations
Operator	Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority
Garage	Michael J. Quill Depot
Vehicle	Nova Bus LFS articulated New Flyer Xcelsior XD60 New Flyer Xcelsior XE60 (main vehicles) New Flyer Xcelsior XD40 New Flyer Xcelsior XE40 Nova Bus LFS HEV (supplemental service)
Livery	Select Bus Service
Began service	1936
Route
Locale	Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Communities served	Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Yorkville
Landmarks served	Central Park, Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Natural History Museum
Start	Upper West Side – Riverside Drive and West 79th Street
Via	79th Street, 81st Street
End	Yorkville – East End Avenue and East 79th Street
Length	2.3 miles (3.7 km)
Service
Operates	All times.
Annual patronage	2,513,796 (2023)
Transfers	Yes
Timetable	M79 SBS
Route map Legend West Side – Riverside Drive  M79  Broadway Amsterdam Avenue Columbus Avenue / 80th Street Columbus Avenue / 81st Street Central Park West / 81st Street ​ 79th Street Transverse 5th Avenue Madison Avenue Lexington Avenue ​ 3rd Avenue 2nd Avenue 1st Avenue York Avenue East End Avenue / 79th Street Yorkville – East End Avenue (80th Street)  M79  Legend Two-way stop Two-way stop without machines One-way stop  M79  Terminal Subway connection ← M72  {{{system_nav}}}  M86 SBS →

The M79 Select Bus Service, formerly the 79th Street Crosstown Line, is a bus line in Manhattan, New York City, running mostly along 79th Street on the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. The route was previously owned by the private Green Bus Lines, and is now part of MTA Regional Bus Operations, operated by the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority under the New York City Transit brand.

The route was renumbered from the M17 to the M79 in 1987, and was converted into a Select Bus Service route in 2017.

Route description

The M79 bus runs crosstown along 79th Street in Upper Manhattan. The route begins at West 79th Street and Riverside Drive in the Upper West Side. It proceeds east along 79th Street to Amsterdam Avenue, where the eastbound bus then follows 79th Street to Amsterdam Avenue and uses Amsterdam Avenue to get to 81st Street, and the westbound bus uses 81st Street to get to Columbus Avenue and then take that down to 79th Street. After Central Park West, the bus then crosses the 79th Street Transverse through the park, stopping about halfway through the transverse. The M79 exits the transverse at East 79th Street and Fifth Avenue, continuing on East 79th Street through the Upper East Side until turning left onto York Avenue and then right again onto 80th Street before arriving to its terminus at 80th Street. The bus then turns right on East End Avenue and then right onto 79th Street to start its westbound route.

The westbound bus then continues on 79th Street to Fifth Avenue. After this, the bus keeps straight and merges onto the 79th Street Transverse. It then leaves the Transverse on the intersection of Central Park West and 81st Street and continues along 81st Street to Columbus Avenue and then turns left onto it and then turns right onto 79th Street two blocks later. It continues along 79th Street to its westbound terminus at Riverside Drive.

Unlike other SBS routes and most bus rapid transit lines, the M79 SBS does not have long bus lanes, but rather employs short queue jump lanes, which give buses priority at intersections.

History

Early history

On November 30, 1921, the New York City Department of Plants and Structures began operating the 79th Street Crosstown M17 bus route. From 1933 to 1936 the bus line was operated by Green Bus Lines. On June 22, 1936, the New York City Omnibus Corporation took over operation of the route.

On September 27, 1987, the M17 was renumbered the M79, and some minor changes were made at the route's western terminal to eliminate having the route turn around on residential streets. The route's terminal was moved from West End Avenue and 81st Street to 79th Street and Riverside Drive. Westbound buses would continue west on 79th Street past Broadway to Riverside Drive to the terminal and then loop around the traffic circle to return in eastbound service. Previously, buses had a terminal loop of Broadway, 81st Street, West End Avenue, and 79th Street.

Select Bus Service

The M79 was identified as a potential bus rapid transit corridor in 2009, under Phase II of the city's Select Bus Service program, and in a December 2013 study by the Pratt Center for Community Development of Brooklyn.

To accommodate the Select Bus Service conversion, 79th Street was to be renovated with plants and trees, and new benches.

The M79 SBS route debuted on May 21, 2017. It is currently based out of the Michael J. Quill Depot.

In popular culture

• The route is mentioned in a Vampire Weekend song of the same name on their self-titled debut album.

References

1. ^ MTA Regional Bus Operations. "M79 bus schedule" (PDF).
2. "Subway and bus ridership for 2023". mta.info. April 29, 2024. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
3. ^ "Manhattan Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. July 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
4. ^ "MTA Bus Time: M79-SBS Yorkville - West Side". mta.info. MTA Bus Time. Archived from the original on November 7, 2015. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
5. "M86 and M79 Select Bus Service Manhattan Community Board 8 | October 5, 2016". Scribd. New York City Department of Transportation. October 5, 2016. Archived from the original on May 30, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
6. "United Bus System Ready Tomorrow; Opening of 3 New Crosstown Routes to Complete Network of 16 in Manhattan". The New York Times. June 21, 1936. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 27, 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
7. "We're Changing! M17 Bus Service". Flickr.com. New York City Transit Authority. 1987. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
8. "79th Street Select Bus Service". nyc.gov. Archived from the original on June 13, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
9. "Select Bus Service" (PDF). New York City Department of Transportation, MTA New York City Transit Authority. November 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
10. "Introduction to BUS RAPID TRANSIT PHASE II" (PDF). New York City Department of Transportation, Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2016.
11. "Transit & Bus Committee Meeting April 2015" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. April 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
12. Weaver, Shaye (October 7, 2016). "Select Bus Service Coming to 'City's Slowest' M79 Bus Next Year: Officials". DNAinfo New York. Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2021.

External links

• M79 Select Bus Service − mta.info
• 79th Street Select Bus Service − NYCDOT

v t e Select Bus Service
Current routes	B44 B46 B82 Bx6 Bx12 Bx41 M14 M15 M23 M34 M34A M60 M79 M86 Q44 Q52 Q53 Q70 S79
Future routes	B41 B55 Q25

v t e Bus routes in Manhattan
Current routes	M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12 M14A M14D M15 M20 M21 M22 M23 M31 M34 M34A M35 M42 M50 M55 M57 M60 M66 M72 M79 M86 M96 M98 M100 M101 M102 M103 M104 M106 M116 M125
Former local routes	M6 M18 M27 M30 M41 M58
Former express routes	X25 X26 X90 X92

• MTA Regional Bus routes
• Bus routes in Manhattan