MTA Regional Bus Operations
Bus operator in New York City
Follow MTA Regional Bus Operations on Notably News to receive short updates to your email — rarely!
| 2024 | Initiated a pilot program to install CCTV screens on 100 buses to discourage fare evasion and staff assaults. |
| 2024 | First two hydrogen fuel cell buses (New Flyer Xcelsior CHARGE H2) are planned to be launched in The Bronx. |
| 2024 | A study was conducted examining the temperature differences between bus stops with and without shelters and trees, finding the hottest bus stops in Queens and the Bronx. |
| September 2023 | Five additional bus routes began operating with no fare as part of a pilot program, set to continue until August 31, 2024. |
| January 2023 | Deactivated free Wi-Fi on buses, estimating $3.3 million annual savings due to low usage by riders. |
| 2022 | MTA announced a trial of hydrogen fuel cell buses, funded by a New York State Energy Research and Development Authority grant. |
| 2022 | MTA Bus took over additional routes from the former private companies, specifically the Staten Island routes. |
| June 26 2022 | Redesign of Bronx local and express bus routes took effect, simplifying and restructuring the network. |
| May 2022 | Q70 route began operating with no fare charged. |
| January 3 2022 | MTA assumed control over the SIM23 and SIM24 routes formerly run by Academy, operating them out of the Charleston Depot and modifying the schedule to add two new trips in both directions. |
| 2021 | Completed system-wide bus network redesign to improve connectivity and provide more direct service. Newer buses equipped with wider rear doors and wheelchair ramps. |
| 2020 | Planned to install tap readers and prepare for a new contactless payment system to replace MetroCard. |
| 2019 | Dedicated transit-priority traffic teams established with NYPD to ensure bus lanes remain unblocked. |
| 2019 | MTA began ordering battery-electric buses in sixty-foot articulated and forty-foot lengths. The last non-express high-floor bus was withdrawn from service. |
| January 2019 | Installed audible 'pedestrian turn warning' announcement systems on 617 buses and cameras on 3,469 bus interiors and 319 bus exteriors. |
| January 2019 | Mayor de Blasio announced expansion of traffic signal priority program to 1,200 intersections. |
| January 2019 | Former Mayor Bill de Blasio promised to raise bus speeds by 25% in the coming year in response to poor performance ratings. |
| 2018 | MTA tested ten hybrid and ten electric buses as part of fleet modernization efforts. |
| 2018 | The Bus Turnaround Campaign rated city bus routes, giving 75% of routes a 'D' or 'F' grade for speed and reliability. |
| 2018 | As part of its Bus Action Plan, MTA announced plans to expand electronic countdown clock installations across more bus stops. |
| August 2018 | MTA completely reorganized Staten Island express bus service, discontinuing existing routes and replacing them with 21 new 'SIM' prefix routes. |
| April 2018 | MTA published the Bus Action Plan with 28 suggestions to improve bus service, including network redesign, bus priority measures, and enhanced rider experience. |
| March 2018 | Number of equipped intersections increased to 500, with plans to expand to 1,000 intersections by 2020. |
| 2017 | Average weekday bus ridership reached 1.9 million, with express buses averaging 40,200 riders and paratransit serving 27,900 people daily. |
| 2017 | A report was released indicating nearly half of bus routes had at least 10 turns, with the Bx8 bus in the Bronx having the most turns at 29. |
| 2017 | The Straphangers Campaign issued 'Pokey Awards' highlighting the slowest bus routes, with 14 of the slowest routes being Manhattan crosstown buses. |
| 2017 | The M42 crosstown bus on 42nd Street was named the slowest bus route, operating at approximately walking pace. |
| 2017 | Bus bunching increased to nearly 12% of routes being regularly bunched, with Brooklyn Community Board 5 in East Brooklyn experiencing 15% bus bunching. |
| 2017 | MTA began testing a fleet of battery electric buses. |
| October 23 2017 | Announcement made to phase out MetroCard and replace it with OMNY, a contactless fare payment system using Apple Pay, Google Pay, and contactless cards. |
| July 2017 | Eleven additional corridors were set to receive traffic signal priority. |
| 2016 | Weekday bus ridership fell 5.7% and weekend bus ridership declined 4% compared to the previous year. |
| 2016 | MTA approved installation of 100 electronic countdown clock stops in Staten Island, furthering the city's plan to install approximately 350 electronic bus stop signs. |
| 2016 | A new bus livery is introduced, based on navy blue, light blue, and yellow colors, featuring a mostly blue front and sides, a light blue and yellow wave, and a yellow back. Also known as the Andrew Cuomo Scheme or Excelsior Scheme. |
| May 2016 | A new bus livery was introduced, replacing the blue stripe design that had been in use since the late 1970s. The first buses with the new design entered service on the Q10 route. |
| April 2016 | MTA solicited proposals for a contactless 'New Fare Payment System' to replace the MetroCard by 2022. |
| 2015 | MTA began investigating express bus routes on Staten Island, focusing on their circuitous, duplicative, and infrequent nature. |
| 2015 | A study revealed that 35 MTA routes with significant ridership had average speeds of less than the system's typical rate. |
| 2015 | Initial bus bunching measurement showed 9.4% of routes experiencing regular bus bunching. |
| 2015 | French advertising firm JCDecaux acquired Cemusa, taking over maintenance of the bus shelters. |
| 2015 | Third electronic countdown clock bus stop installed near City Hall in Manhattan. An additional 10 countdown clock stops were approved for Queens. |
| 2014 | First five Select Bus Service routes received GPS-based traffic signal priority at 260 intersections, including routes in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and the Bronx. |
| 2014 | MTA approved installation of an additional 18 electronic countdown clock stops in Staten Island and Brooklyn. |
| 2013 | First two electronic countdown clock bus stops installed in Stapleton and New Dorp on Staten Island, featuring solar-powered signage and using the MTA's 'Bus Time' system to display route, destination, and bus arrival information. |
| 2012 | MTA began testing signal priority along the M15 route in Lower Manhattan. |
| 2012 | Implementation of Guide-A-Ride information boxes began on MTA Bus Company local bus routes, continuing through 2014. |
| January 1 2012 | Nassau County bus system was rebranded as 'Nassau Inter-County Express' and transferred to Veolia Transport (now Transdev). |
| 2011 | Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed installing traffic signal priority on 11 bus routes within two years. |
| 2011 | Beginning of substantial ridership decline in Manhattan, with bus ridership dropping more than 15% by 2016. |
| December 31 2011 | MTA Regional Bus Operations ceased operating Nassau County's bus and paratransit service (Able-Ride). |
|
We are only showing the most recent entries for this topic. |
|
This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia article MTA Regional Bus Operations, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.