Bx1 and Bx2 buses

bx1
bx1, bx2
Grand Concourse
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A Bx1 Limited (top) and Bx2 (bottom) at Fordham Road.
Overview
System MTA Regional Bus Operations
Operator Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority (MaBSTOA)
New York City Transit Authority (NYCT)
Garage Kingsbridge Depot
Vehicle
Began service 1921
Route
Locale The Bronx
Start Bx1: Riverdale – 231st Street
Bx2: Kingsbridge Heights – Fort Independence Street
Via Sedgwick Avenue, Grand Concourse
End Mott Haven – 138th Street
Service
Operates All times except late nights
Annual patronage 10,362,871 (2017)[1]
Fare $2.75 (MetroCard or coins)
Cash Coins only (exact change required)
Transfers Yes
Timetable Bx1/Bx2
← S98 (Staten Island)  {{{system_nav}}}  Bx3 →

The Bx1 and Bx2 are two bus routes that run on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx, New York City, United States. The routes, which are operated by the MTA Regional Bus Operations, also follow Sedgwick Avenue and Mosholu Parkway for a short distance at their northern end. As the numbers suggest, these were the first two bus franchises in the Bronx.

Route description and service

Except at their extreme northern and southern ends, the Bx1 and Bx2 share the same aligmnent. The only differences are:

  • In Mott Haven (southern end), the Bx2 turns east at Hostos Community College and then runs along 149th Street to serve the shopping district between there and Third Avenue, then operating down Third Avenue, while the Bx1 continues down the Grand Concourse.
  • In Kingsbridge Heights (northern end), only the Bx1 (except for some early morning Bx2 cut-ins and early Sunday AM service) continues down into Riverdale along 231 Street.

The Bx1 and Bx2 bus routes share the majority of their alignment from the Grand Concourse and 149th Street north along the Concourse and Mosholu Parkway and west along Sedgwick Avenue to Heath Avenue on the west side of the Jerome Park Reservoir. At their ends, a divergence occurs as noted above.[2]

Until August 2008, when permanent traffic reconfigurations were done in Mott Haven at 149th Street, Melrose/Willis Avenues, and Third Avenue, the Bx2 turned east off of the Grand Concourse at 165th Street and ran down Melrose Avenue to 149th Street.

Along the way, connections to the subway can be made at Third Avenue–138th Street, 138th Street–Grand Concourse (Bx1 only), 149th Street–Grand Concourse, Third Avenue–149th Street (Bx2 only), 161st Street–Yankee Stadium, Bedford Park Boulevard, Mosholu Parkway, and 231st Street (Bx1 all times, Bx2 Weekday [S/B only] and Sunday mornings only). As of September 2010, the Bx1 operates as a limited-stop service during the daytime on weekdays and Saturdays, while the Bx2 serves as the local. Before September 2010, both routes had a limited-stop variant.[2]

History

Concourse Bus Line, Inc. was incorporated in early July 1921 by Major Emit Leindorf,[3] deputy police commissioner in charge of motor transport under Mayor Hylan.[4] The company soon began operating on the Grand Concourse as part of Hylan's "emergency bus lines". The Third Avenue Railway obtained an injunction against the operation on early March 1923,[5] leading the city to assign two franchises to the company in mid-April, from Grand Concourse and Mosholu Parkway south to Fifth Avenue (Harlem, Manhattan) and Melrose Avenue and 150th Street (The Hub, Bronx).[6] Along with a route to the Rockaways, the Concourse service was one of only two of Hylan's lines unaffected by a July 1923 injunction, since they had franchises,[7] but were discontinued anyway by September 1924[8] due to the failure of the five-cent fare to pay the costs.[9]

The franchises were reassigned to the Fifth Avenue Coach Company, which began operating the routes on October 11, 1924, for ten cents. (The Manhattan line had been truncated to 138th Street in the Bronx.)[10][11][12] On September 14, 1927, the routes (Bx1 and Bx2 respectively) were again reassigned to the Surface Transportation Corporation, the bus subsidiary of the Third Avenue Railway, as two of its initial twelve routes.[10][13] The bankrupt Surface Transportation Corporation's routes were taken over by Fifth Avenue Coach Lines in 1956,[14] and the New York City Transit Authority subsidiary Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority acquired all of the Fifth Avenue Coach routes in 1962.[15]

In January 1993, limited-stop service was implemented on the Bx1.[16]

On September 12, 2010, the Bx2 limited-stop service was eliminated, with all Bx2 buses running as locals. In addition, all Bx1s on weekdays between 6 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. and on Saturdays between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. began operating as limiteds.[17]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Facts and Figures". mta.info. August 28, 2011. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  2. 1 2 MTA Regional Bus Operations. "Bx1/Bx2 bus schedule" (PDF).
  3. ↑ The New York Times, New Incorporations, July 7, 1921, page 32
  4. ↑ The New York Times, Hylan Ex-Aide Sues Fifth Av. Bus Line, October 17, 1931, page 13
  5. ↑ The New York Times, Bronx Bus Line Must Stop, March 4, 1923, page H8
  6. ↑ The New York Times, Concourse Bus Line Gets Its Franchise, April 21, 1923, page 19
  7. ↑ The New York Times, City's Bus Appeal is Denied by Court, July 15, 1923, page 1
  8. ↑ The New York Times, Interboro Offers Plan to Run Buses, September 17, 1924, page 25
  9. ↑ Zachary M. Schrag, The Bus Is Young and Honest Archived February 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine., page 21, accessed April 1, 2007
  10. 1 2 Sparberg, Andrew J. (October 1, 2014). From a Nickel to a Token: The Journey from Board of Transportation to MTA. Fordham University Press. ISBN 978-0-8232-6190-1.
  11. ↑ The New York Times, Hylan Gives Way to 10-Cent Buses for a Bronx Need, October 11, 1924, page 1
  12. ↑ The New York Times, Ovation Welcomes Buses on Concourse, October 12, 1924, page 26
  13. ↑ The New York Times, Bronx Bus Routes Approved by Board, September 15, 1927, page 10
  14. ↑ The New York Times, Court Completes City Bus Merger, December 18, 1956, page 1
  15. ↑ The New York Times, Profit for Seized Bus Routes Foreseen by Transit Chairman, April 11, 1962, page 31
  16. ↑ Lorch, Donatella (August 6, 1992). "More Buses and Trains Planned to Lure Riders". The New York Times. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Introducing Bx1 Limited-Stop and Bx2 Local-Only Service". web.mta.info. Metropolitan Transporation Authority. September 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
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