M15 (New York City bus)

m15 m15
First and Second Avenues Line
Overview
System	MTA Regional Bus Operations
Operator	New York City Transit Authority
Garage	Tuskegee Airmen Depot (local) Mother Clara Hale Depot (SBS)
Vehicle	Nova Bus LFS articulated New Flyer D60 Galaxy (local only)
Livery	Select Bus Service (except local service)
Route
Locale	Manhattan
Start	East Harlem – 126th Street
Via	First Avenue (northbound) Second Avenue (southbound) Allen Street Water Street
End	Pike Street / Cherry Street (local) South Ferry (local and SBS)
Length	8.6 miles (13.8 km)[1] (southbound)
Service
Operates	24 hours; no SBS or Cherry Street service at night[2][3]
Annual patronage	13,610,947 (2017)[4]
Fare	$2.75 (MetroCard or coins)
Cash	Coins only (exact change required)
Transfers	Yes
Timetable	M15 M15 SBS
Route map  M15   M15  East Harlem – 126th Street 125th Street local stops Paladino Avenue 122nd Street 120th Street 119th Street 116th Street 115th Street local stops 113th Street 111th Street 110th Street 108th Street 106th Street local stops 103rd Street 102nd Street 101st Street 99th Street 96th Street local stops 94th Street 93rd Street 92nd Street 89th Street 87th Street 86th Street local stops 84th Street 82nd Street 79th Street local stops 77th Street 75th Street 72nd Street 70th Street 68th Street 67th Street local stops 66th Street 64th Street 62nd Street 61st Street 57th Street local stops 55th Street 54th Street 52nd Street 50th Street local stops 46th Street 45th Street 44th Street 42nd Street local stops 39th Street 36th Street 35th Street 34th Street 31st Street 29th Street 28th Street 27th Street 25th Street 23rd Street local stops 20th Street 17th Street 14th Street local stops 12th Street 11th Street 9th Street St. Marks Place 6th Street 4th Street 3rd Street 1st Street Forsyth Street 2nd | 1st Avenues Houston Street local stops Stanton Street Delancey Street Grand Street Hester Street local stops Canal Street Division Street Madison Street Cherry Street  M15  Market Street Catherine Street local stops St. James Place Pearl Street Frankfort Street Peck Slip Fulton Street local stops John Street Fletcher Street Maiden Lane Wall Street local stops Old Slip Hanover Square Water Street–Broad Streets Whitehall Street  M15  ​ South Ferry  M15  Legend SBS/Local stops Local stops  M15  Local terminal  M15  SBS terminal Subway connection ← M14A/D ← B82 SBS (by borough) ← Bx12 SBS (by route number)  {{{system_nav}}}  M20 → M23 SBS → M23 SBS →

The First and Second Avenues Line, also known as 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 along Second Avenue, it is now 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.^[4] 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 at 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. As part of the project, new dedicated bus lanes were installed.

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.^[5][6] 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.^[5][7][8][9] On October 10, 2010, service began on the M15 Select Bus Service, replacing limited stop service.^{[9][10][11][12]} By then, the MTA had discontinued service to City Hall due to budget cuts.

Select Bus Service stops

References

External links

Route map:

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

• Media related to M15 (New York City bus) at Wikimedia Commons
• M15 First/Second Avenues SBS − mta.info
• First Avenue And Second Avenue Select Bus Service − NYCDOT