Second Avenue Line (surface)

M15 / M15 Select Bus Service
First and Second Avenues Second Avenue Line
Overview
System	MTA Regional Bus Operations
Operator	Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority (MaBSTOA) New York City Transit Authority (NYCT)
Garage	Tuskegee Airmen Depot (M15) Mother Clara Hale Depot (M15 SBS)
Vehicle	M15: New Flyer D60 Galaxy Nova Bus LFS articulated M15 SBS: Nova Bus LFS articulated
Livery	M15 SBS: Select Bus Service
Route
Locale	Manhattan
Start	East Harlem – 126th Street
Via	First Avenue (northbound) / Second Avenue (southbound), Allen Street, Water Street
End	Lower East Side – Cherry Street and Pike Street (local service only) South Ferry – Whitehall Terminal / South Ferry – Whitehall Street station (full route)
Length	8.5 miles (13.7 km)[1][2]
Service
Operates	24 hours (M15 Local)[note 1][note 2][3][4]
Daily ridership	53,000 [5][6]
Fare	$2.75 (MetroCard or coins)
Cash	Coins only (exact change required)
Transfers	Yes
Timetable	M15 M15 SBS
Route map Legend 126th Street  M15  SBS  northern terminus 125th Street 122nd Street 119th Street 116th Street 3 local stops 113th Street 110th Street 108th Street 106th Street 4 local stops 103rd Street 101st Street 100th Street 99th Street 96th Street 94th Street 91st Street 89th Street 88th Street 86th Street 84th Street 82nd Street 79th Street 4 local stops 75th Street 72nd Street 71st Street 68th Street 67th Street 3 local stops 66th Street 64th Street 61st Street 57th Street 54th Street 50th Street 46th Street 42nd Street 39th Street 36th Street 34th Street 31st Street 28th Street / 29th Street 25th Street 23rd Street 20th Street 17th Street 14th Street 4 local stops 12th Street 9th Street 6th Street 3rd Street 1st Street–1st Avenue Chrystie Street–Houston Street Houston Street–Allen Street Delancey Street Grand Street / Hester Street 4 local stops Canal Street Madison Street Cherry Street  M15  southern short turn Market Street Catherine Street 4 local stops St James Pl Pearl St Frankfort Street Peck Slip Fulton Street John Street Maiden Lane Wall Street 4 local stops Gouverneur Lane Hanover Square Water/Broad Streets Whitehall Street South Ferry  M15  SBS  southern terminus ← M14A/D ← B46 SBS (by borough) ← Bx12 SBS (by route number)  {{{system_nav}}}  M20 → M23 SBS → M23 SBS →

The Second Avenue Line is a bus line in Manhattan, New York City, United States, running mostly along Second Avenue (and northbound on First Avenue since 1951) from Lower Manhattan to East Harlem. Originally a streetcar line, it is now the southbound direction of the M15 bus route, the second busiest bus route in the city (behind the Bx12) and the busiest in Manhattan, with an annual ridership of over 15.5 million.^[6] (However, the M15 is the only route on First and Second Avenues, while the one-way pair of Madison and Fifth Avenues has a higher frequency of local buses past Central Park, split among four routes (M1/M2/M3/M4).^[7] MTA Regional Bus Operations, under the New York City Bus and Select Bus Service brands, operates the local out of the Tuskegee Airmen Bus Depot and the SBS is operated from the Mother Clara Hale Bus Depot. Service is operated exclusively with articulated buses.

History

An M15 local bus stops by the VA Hospital, heading uptown.

The Second Avenue Railroad opened the line in 1853 and 1854, from Peck Slip on the East River north along Pearl Street, Bowery (shared with the Third Avenue Line), Grand Street, Chrystie Street, and Second Avenue to East Harlem. A short branch was later built along Stuyvesant Street and Astor Place to end at Broadway in NoHo. The Metropolitan Street Railway leased the line in January 1898, and on April 3 the line from Astor Place to Manhattan was electrified. The original line was later electrified to the Bowery, where streetcars used the Third Avenue Line to City Hall, and the line to Peck Slip was abandoned. Buses were substituted for streetcars by the East Side Omnibus Corporation on June 25, 1933. The New York City Board of Transportation took over operations in 1948, with the New York City Transit Authority replacing it in 1953. In 1974, the M15 was chosen to be one of the first routes to operate Limited stop service. The new service would act as an express version of the M15, only stopping at major attractions and transfer points north of Houston Street.

In June 2002 as part of an outside study, the First/Second Avenues corridor was identified for the implementation of bus rapid transit (BRT) service, due to heavy ridership and slow travel speeds on the corridor.^[2][8] In late 2004, the MTA and the New York City Department of Transportation selected the route as one of the candidates for bus rapid transit service, along with Fordham Road (since implemented), Nostrand Avenue, Merrick Boulevard, and Hylan Boulevard. This evolved into Phase I of the Select Bus Service (SBS) program in 2006.^{[2][9][10][11]} On October 10, 2010, service began on the M15 Select Bus Service, replacing limited stop service.^{[11][12][13][14]} By then, the MTA had discontinued service to City Hall due to budget cuts.

Select Bus Service stops

Station	Direction	Connections
South Ferry Whitehall Terminal	Southbound terminal, northbound station	NYC Bus: M5, M20 NYC Subway:  1   N   R   W  trains at South Ferry–Whitehall Street Staten Island Ferry
Wall Street Water Street	Bidirectional	Downtown Connection: Downtown Loop
Fulton Street South Street Seaport	Bidirectional	Downtown Connection: Downtown Loop
Catherine Street Madison Street	Bidirectional	NYC Bus: M22 (eastbound only)
Hester / Grand Streets	Bidirectional	NYC Subway:  B   D  trains at Grand Street
Houston Street	Southbound only	NYC Bus: M21 NYC Subway:  F  train at Second Avenue
North of Houston Street, southbound service uses Second Avenue and northbound service uses First Avenue
First Street	Northbound only	NYC Subway:  F  train at Second Avenue
14th Street	Bidirectional	NYC Bus: M14A, M14D NYC Subway:  L  train at First Avenue (northbound only)
23rd / 25th Streets VA Hospital	Bidirectional	NYC Bus: M9, M23 SBS, M34A SBS
28th / 29th Streets Bellevue Hospital	Bidirectional	NYC Bus: M9, M34A SBS
34th Street NYU Langone Medical Center	Bidirectional	NYC Bus: M34 / 34A SBS (M34A westbound only on First Avenue)
42nd / 44th Streets United Nations	Bidirectional	NYC Bus: M42
50th Street	Bidirectional	NYC Bus: M50
57th / 58th Streets	Bidirectional	NYC Bus and MTA Bus: M31, M57, Q32, Q60, Q101
67th Street	Bidirectional	NYC Bus: M66 (Eastbound on 68th Street, westbound on 67th Street)
79th Street	Bidirectional	NYC Bus: M79
86th Street	Northbound only	NYC Bus: M86 SBS
89th Street	Southbound only	NYC Bus: M86 SBS (at 86th Street)
97th Street Metropolitan Hospital	Northbound only	NYC Bus: M96
100th Street	Southbound only	NYC Bus: M96 (at 96th Street)
106th Street	Bidirectional	NYC Bus: M106
115th / 116th Streets	Bidirectional	NYC Bus: M116 (at 116th Street)
125th Street	Bidirectional	NYC Bus: M35, M60 SBS, M100, Bx15
126th Street	Northbound terminus, southbound station

Notes

1. "Overnights, no service operates to Cherry Street and Pike Street".
2. "M15 SBS does not operate overnights".

References

1. "M15 First/Second Avenues SBS". Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
2. "First Avenue/Second Avenue SBS Community Advisory Committee Meeting" (PDF). nyc.gov. Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York City Department of Transportation. September 23, 2009. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
3. M15 bus schedule MTA Regional Bus Operations.
4. M15 SBS bus schedule MTA Regional Bus Operations.
5. Kabak, Benjamin. "Transit ramps up M15 SBS fare inspection efforts". Second Avenue Sagas.
6. "Facts and Figures". mta.info. 2011-08-28. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
7. 2000 figures from the Second Avenue Subway SDEIS, Appendix D.2, page 3
8. "Bus Rapid Transit For New York City" (PDF). Schaller Consulting, Transportation Alternatives, New York Public Interest Research Group. June 2002. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
9. "Bus Rapid Transit: NYCBRT Study" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York City Department of Transportation, New York State Department of Transportation. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-05-12. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
10. "Select Bus Service on the Bx12: A BRT Partnership Between the New York City DOT and MTA New York City Transit" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York City Department of Transportation. January 12, 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
11. "+selectbusservice M15 on First and Second Avenues: Progress Report" (PDF). nyc.gov. Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York City Department of Transportation. November 2011. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
12. "MTA Bus Company Committee Meeting Materials, July 2010" (PDF). p. 76. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
13. "Select Bus Service - First Avenue/Second Avenue" (PDF). New York City Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
14. Grynbaum, Michael M. (October 10, 2010). "Rolling Out Speedier Bus System, to Glitches and Grumbles". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-07-20.

External links

External video

SBS Bus Wrapping, Metropolitan Transportation Authority; October 12, 2010; 1:48 YouTube video clip

How to Ride the M15 Select Bus Service, Metropolitan Transportation Authority; October 20, 2010; 2:10 YouTube video clip

• M15 First/Second Avenues SBS − mta.info
• First Avenue And Second Avenue Select Bus Service − NYCDOT