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m86
86th Street Crosstown Line
A 2019 XE60 (4961) on the M86 SBS on East 86th Street 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	1872 (streetcar) 1936 (M18 bus) 1989 (M86 bus)
Route
Locale	Manhattan, New York, U.S.
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
Length	2.3 miles (3.7 km)
Service
Operates	All times
Annual patronage	4,051,779 (2023)
Transfers	Yes
Timetable	M86 SBS
Route map Legend West Side – Broadway  M86  Amsterdam Avenue Columbus Avenue Central Park West ​ 85th Street Transverse 5th Avenue / 86th Street 5th Avenue / 84th Street Madison Avenue Lexington Avenue ​​ 3rd Avenue 2nd Avenue 1st Avenue York Avenue / 88th Street York Avenue / 91st Street 1st Avenue / 91st Street Yorkville – York Avenue (92nd Street)  M86  Legend Two-way stop Two-way stop without machines One-way stop  M86  Terminal Subway connection ← M79 SBS ← M79 SBS (by borough) ← B82 SBS (by route number)  {{{system_nav}}}  M96 → Q44 SBS →

The 86th Street Crosstown Line is a bus line in Manhattan, New York City, running mostly along 86th Street on the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. Originally a streetcar line, it now comprises the M86 Select Bus Service 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. 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. It was the last of the company's lines to begin operation. It was also the only line in Manhattan to cross Central Park.

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.

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.

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.

History

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. On April 30, 1890, the two companies agreed to give each other rights to operate on the trackage of the 86th Street Line. Around this time, the City of New York constructed trolley tracks on the 85th/86th Street Transverse Road crossing Central Park. On May 11, 1893, the New York and Harlem received the rights to operate on the Transverse Road tracks. On June 11, 1896, the New York and Harlem Railroad leased its streetcar lines to the Metropolitan Street Railway.

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.

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.

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".

New York City Omnibus Corporation replaced New York Railways's streetcars with the M5–18 bus on June 8, 1936.

The M18 was renumbered the M86 in 1989 to match the number of the crosstown street that it runs on.

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.

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.

Select Bus Service

The M86 was identified as a potential bus rapid transit corridor in 2009, under Phase II of the city's Select Bus Service program. 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.

The M86 SBS route debuted on July 13, 2015. It was the fourth corridor in Manhattan and the fifth Manhattan bus line to have Select Bus Service. It was based out of the Tuskegee Airmen Depot until January 2018, when it moved to the Michael J. Quill Depot.

In January 2023, the MTA released a strategic action plan called "Extending Transit's Reach". As part of this plan, the M86 SBS fleet was scheduled to receive bike racks.

References

1. ^ MTA Regional Bus Operations. "M86 bus schedule" (PDF).
2. "Subway and bus ridership for 2023". mta.info. April 29, 2024. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
3. ^ "M86 Select Bus Service Progress Report" (PDF). New York City Department of Transportation. April 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
4. ^ Stephen L. Meyers (2005). Manhattan's Lost Streetcars. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-3884-6.
5. "Astorians Badly Hit: Eighty-Sixth Street Transfers Not Good Beyond Second Avenue". Greenpoint Daily Star. Fultonhistory.com. 1908. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
6. ^ "Case No. 1065: Through Routes–Transfers at Intersecting Point–Compliance with Franchise Requirements as Condition of Retention of Grant". Reports of Decisions of the Public Service Commission, First District, of the State of New York. 1. New York Public Service Commission: 502–512. 1912. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
7. ^ "Manhattan Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. July 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
8. ^ "MTA Bus Time: M86-SBS Yorkville - West Side". mta.info. MTA Bus Time.
9. "M86 and M79 Select Bus Service Manhattan Community Board 8 | October 5, 2016". Scribd. New York City Department of Transportation. October 5, 2016. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
10. "Mr. Robb Speaks His Mind". The New York Times. March 7, 1890. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
11. "More Delay By Park Commissioners". The New York Times. November 13, 1890. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
12. ^ Linder, Bernard (June 2016). "NEW YORK RAILWAYS' STREET CARS QUIT 80 YEARS AGO" (PDF). New York Division Bulletin. 59 (6). Electric Railroaders Association: 1, 4–6. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
13. "LEASE IS APPROVED FOR NEW BUS ROUTES; Transit Commission, With Fullen Opposed, Votes on New York Railways Application". The New York Times. November 17, 1932. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
14. "Horse Cars on W. 86th Street" (PDF). New York Division Bulletin. 45 (12). Electric Railroaders Association: 3–4. December 2002. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
15. Jackson, Walter (May 29, 1920). "The Place of the Bus–IV". Electric Railway Journal. 55 (22). McGraw Hill Publishing Company: 1088–1093. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
16. "New York Railways Cars Quit 70 Years Ago" (PDF). New York Division Bulletin. 49 (5). Electric Railroaders Association: 1, 3, 5, 16. May 2006. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
17. "NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT ROUTES". www.chicagorailfan.com. Archived from the original on September 23, 2016. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
18. "Manhattan Bus Map 1989". New York City Transit Authority. 1989. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
19. Wong, Edward (October 24, 1999). "Neighborhood Report: Upper East Side; Larger Buses, Fewer Stops: Riders Feel Left at Curb". The New York Times. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
20. Kennedy, Randy (July 19, 2001). "Study Shows Extra-Long Buses Have More Mishaps Than Others". The New York Times. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
21. "news – MTA Launches Smart Card Pilot Program". MTA. May 28, 2010. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
22. Kaminer, Ariel (June 11, 2010). "Testing PayPass on New York's Buses and Trains". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
23. "86th Street Select Bus Service". nyc.gov.
24. "Transit & Bus Committee Meeting April 2015" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. April 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
25. Holland, Heather (February 5, 2015). "Select Bus Service Coming to Speed M86 on Upper East Side". DNAinfo New York. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
26. Frost, Emily (October 15, 2014). "M86 Crosstown Line to Get Select Bus Service". DNAinfo New York. Archived from the original on 2015-01-22.
27. "NYC Department of Transportation, NYC Transit and Elected Officials Announce Launch of Select Bus Service on 86th Street". mta.info. Archived from the original on 2018-08-22. Retrieved 2017-06-15.
28. "M86 86th Street Manhattan Crosstown". mta.info.
29. "MTA Releases Extending Transit's Reach, a Landmark Plan to Enhance Access to MTA Facilities". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. January 11, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
30. Lazar, David (January 11, 2023). "MTA to install more bike racks across city". Spectrum News NY1. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
31. Rahmanan, Anna (January 17, 2023). "The MTA is installing a bunch of bike racks all across the city". Time Out New York. Retrieved November 25, 2024.

External links

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

v t e New York metropolitan area streetcar transit
Former streetcar operators	New York BRT/BQT LICEC LIRR IRT Second Avenue Railroad Third Avenue Railway Sixth Avenue Railroad Broadway and Seventh Avenue Railway Eighth and Ninth Avenues Railway 14th Street Central Crosstown (17th & 18th Street Lines) 23rd Street 34th Street Crosstown 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 Queensboro Bridge 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 Westchester Street Yonkers Railroad New Jersey North Hudson County 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 Lower Montauk 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

• MTA Regional Bus routes
• Bus routes in Manhattan