B48 (New York City bus)

b48
Lorimer Street
Overview
System	MTA Regional Bus Operations
Operator	New York City Transit Authority
Garage	Grand Avenue Depot
Vehicle	Orion VII Orion VII Next Generation Nova Bus RTS-06 New Flyer Industries Xcelsior XD40
Began service	November 6, 1884 (streetcar service) December 14, 1947 (bus service)
Route
Locale	Brooklyn
Communities served	Greenpoint, Williamsburg, Bedford–Stuyvesant, Clinton Hill, Prospect Lefferts Gardens
Landmarks served	Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Prospect Park
Start	Prospect Lefferts Gardens – Ocean Avenue and Flatbush Avenue / Prospect Park
Via	Classon/Franklin Avenues, Lorimer Street, Nassau Avenue
End	Greenpoint – Meeker Avenue and Gardner Avenue
Service
Operates	24 hours[1]
Annual patronage	1,117,264 (2017)[2]
Fare	$2.75 (MetroCard or coins)
Cash	Coins only (exact change required)
Transfers	Yes
Timetable	B48
Route map ← B47  {{{system_nav}}}  B49 →

The B48 bus route constitutes a public transit line in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, running along Lorimer Street, Franklin Avenue, and Classon Avenue between Flatbush and Greenpoint. Originally the Lorimer Street streetcar line, it is now a bus route operated by MTA New York City Bus' Grand Avenue Depot in Maspeth, Queens.

Route description and service

The B48 bus route starts at Lincoln Road and Flatbush Avenue in Flatbush, near Prospect Park Station. From there, buses head north on Classon Avenue and South on Franklin Avenue through Flatbush, Crown Heights, and Bedford-Stuyvesant to Flushing Avenue. Once it reaches Flushing Avenue, the B48 turns onto Wallabout Street and Flushing Avenue and then heads north on Lorimer Street. From there, buses run along the length of Lorimer Street until Nassau Avenue. The route then shifts onto Nassau Avenue, and heads east on that street until it ends at Meeker Avenue and Stewart Avenue in Greenpoint, near the Newtown Creek.^[3]

The route serves The Quadrangles, Lafayette Gardens, the Pratt Institute, Willoughby Walk, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the Lindsay Park Houses, McCarren Park, and McGolrick Park. It also connects with the B16, B24, B25, B26, B38, B41, B43, B44, B46, B49, B52, B54, B57, B60, B62, B65, Q54 and Q59 bus routes and the following subway stations:

• Prospect Park on the BMT Franklin Avenue Line and BMT Brighton Line (B, ​Q, and ​S trains)
• Franklin Avenue/Botanic Garden on the BMT Franklin Avenue Line and IRT Eastern Parkway Line (2, ​3, ​4, ​5​, and S trains)
• Franklin Avenue on the BMT Franklin Avenue Line and IND Fulton Street Line (A, ​C​, and S trains)
• Classon Avenue on the IND Crosstown Line (G train)
• Bedford–Nostrand Avenues on the IND Crosstown Line (G train)
• Lorimer Street on the BMT Jamaica Line (J and ​M trains)
• Broadway on the IND Crosstown Line (G train)
• Lorimer Street-Metropolitan Avenue on the BMT Canarsie Line and IND Crosstown Line (G​ and L trains)
• Nassau Avenue on the IND Crosstown Line (G train)

History

The Greenpoint and Lorimer Street Railroad was incorporated on November 6, 1884^[4] to operate along the New Williamsburgh and Flatbush Railroad (Nostrand Avenue Line) from the Broadway Ferry in Williamsburg southeast to Lorimer Street, and then north on Lorimer Street, east on Driggs Avenue, north on Manhattan Avenue, west on Meserole Avenue, north on Franklin Street, and west on Greenpoint Avenue to the Greenpoint Ferry; southbound cars would use Nassau Avenue to Lorimer Street.^[5] In addition to the NW&F, this route used the tracks of several other companies: the Brooklyn Crosstown Railroad's Crosstown Line on Driggs Avenue and Manhattan Avenue, the Brooklyn City Rail Road's Greenpoint Line on Franklin Street, and the Bushwick Railroad's Bushwick Avenue Line on Greenpoint Avenue. The franchise was approved on February 26, 1885,^[6] and the line was opened by August.^[7] The NW&F soon leased the G&LS, and Lorimer Street cars were sent south on the Nostrand Avenue Line to Prospect Park. In July 1889 the Brooklyn City Rail Road leased them both, and rerouted all cars but one per day (to preserve the charter) from Meserole Avenue to Greenpoint Avenue.^[8]

Beginning May 30, 1896, the Lorimer Street Line was extended southeast from Prospect Park along the Flatbush Avenue Line and new Bergen Beach Line to Bergen Beach during the summer season.^[9][10] At some point, the line was extended to Park Circle via Ocean Avenue and Parkside Avenue. When the Franklin Avenue Line was discontinued on October 28, 1945, Lorimer Street cars were rerouted to cut west on the Flushing Avenue Line and south on Franklin Avenue to Prospect Park. The north end was rerouted to absorb the Nassau Avenue Line east of Manhattan Avenue, ending near Newtown Creek, when that line was discontinued the same day.

References