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Riding the bus

Updated Mar 12, 2024
Find out how to board and ride New York City buses, what the fare is, how to find schedules and routes, and more.

About New York City buses

There are several kinds of buses in New York City, including:

  • Local buses
  • Select Bus Service (SBS) buses, which make fewer stops, travel on priority routes, and board at all doors.
  • Limited (LTD) buses, which look like local buses but make fewer stops. Look for "LTD" on the front of the bus, and purple signage at bus stops.
  • Express buses, which look like coach buses and run between boroughs. Many operate only during weekday rush hours.

All MTA buses are accessible for riders who use a wheelchair. See our guide to accessible bus travel for more details.

Here are schedules and maps for bus routes.

For real-time service information, maps, schedules, and more, download the MTA app.

 

Tips for riding

  • Don’t block seats or aisles.
  • When your stop is approaching, push one of the mounted yellow tape strips, pull a yellow cord along the windows, or press a red stop button on one of the grab bars.
  • Exit through the rear doors.
  • Keep seats at the front available for people who need them. It is required to surrender accessible seats upon request.
  • Don’t stand in the stairwell or doorway while the bus is moving.
  • For help planning a trip, call 511. You can also use your preferred relay service provider, or the free 711 relay.

About bus fares

OMNY is accepted on all New York City buses. Fares can also be paid with a MetroCard, coins, or SingleRide ticket.

  • Local, SBS, and Limited buses: $2.90 for most riders
  • Express buses: $7 for most riders

Some buses are fare-free: 

  • Q70-LaGuardia Link to and from LaGuardia Airport
  • Starting September 24, 2023, we will pilot fare-free service on the Bx18A/B, B60, M116, Q4 (Local & Limited), and S46/S96. Read more about the fare-free bus pilot.
  • People who are 65 or older, or who have a qualifying disability, are eligible for reduced fare.
  • The OMNY fare-capping program does not apply for express buses.
  • You can’t use a regular Unlimited Ride MetroCard on express buses. You can only use a 7-Day Unlimited Express Bus Plus MetroCard.
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See details about fares.
A bus approaching a stop on a busy street

Ways you can pay the fare

Local and limited buses

With OMNY 

  1. Board through the front doors and tap your contactless credit or debit card, smartphone, or wearable device at the OMNY reader, a rectangular screen near the driver.

With a MetroCard

  1. Board via the front door.
  2. Insert your MetroCard into the farebox near the driver, with the front of the card facing you and the black strip on the right.

With exact change in coins

  1. Board via the front door.
  2. Insert exact change into the farebox.

Express buses

With OMNY 

  1. Board through the front doors and tap your contactless credit or debit card, smartphone, or wearable device at the OMNY reader, a rectangular screen near the driver.

With a MetroCard

  1. Board via the front door.
  2. Insert your MetroCard into the farebox near the driver, with the front of the card facing you and the black strip on the right.

 

SBS buses

With OMNY

  1. Skip the sidewalk kiosks and board through any door.
  2. Tap your contactless credit or debit card, smartphone, or wearable device at the OMNY reader as you enter.

With a MetroCard

  1. Look for ticket kiosks on the sidewalk, near the bus stop.
  2. Press the start button.
  3. Insert your MetroCard as shown on the kiosk.
  4. Take the paper SBS ticket that the machine prints.
  5. Keep the ticket with you through your trip.

With exact change in coins

  1. Look for a sidewalk kiosk that has a slot for coins instead of a MetroCard.
  2. Insert exact change. (Maximum 25 coins. No change provided.)
  3. Take the paper SBS ticket that the machine prints.
  4. Keep the ticket with you through your trip.

If the SBS MetroCard Fare Collector machines at a stop are out of service, please board the bus and get a ticket at a MetroCard Fare Collector machine with your MetroCard when you exit the bus.

Bus stops

Most bus stops are marked with a tall, round sign with a bus symbol and route number. (MTA lingo for these signs is “lollipops.”) Some stops also have bus shelters. Some bus stops are marked with a blue, rectangular sign with a bus symbol and route number (some older express bus stop signs are green).

How to board the bus

Stay on the curb until the bus stops and the doors open.

Some buses “kneel,” or tilt down toward the curb, so passengers can board more easily.

Requesting a stop during late nights

From 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., you can ask your bus operator to let you off at locations that aren't bus stops. They'll find a safe place along the route to stop the bus.

You can only request stops on local bus routes and express bus routes in their non-express segments.

This service is not available on SBS or LTD buses, the nonstop segments of express bus service, or shuttle buses.

A blue, white, and red sign with a white icon on top and the "S53" down below.
Bus stop signs have route numbers printed on them, with a bus icon printed in a circle on top.
People line up to board a bus at a bus stop in the Bronx. The blue and white bus stop sign is visible in the foreground, with a bus shelter visible in the background.
Look for bus stop signs to know where to board. Some stops have bus shelters and some don’t.

How to use OMNY on a bus

  • Tap your contactless credit or debit card, smartphone, or wearable device at the OMNY reader as you enter.
  • On local, limited, and express buses, you must enter and use the reader at the front door. On SBS buses, enter at any door and use the reader there.
  • If you are using a phone or other mobile device, you may need to open your "wallet" app, depending on your device.
  • Express Mode on Apple phones does work with OMNY. Just tap and go.
An M60 Bus heading out of Queens on the RFK Triboro Bridge
OMNY lets you pay your MTA bus fare with your phone, credit or debit card, or other wearable device.
An OMNY reader device on a bus in Staten Island
The OMNY reader can be found immediately after entering the bus.

How to use a MetroCard on a bus

  • Hold your MetroCard with the logo on the front facing you, with the black magnetic strip on the right side.
  • Insert your card into the farebox. Your fare will be deducted automatically and your card will pop back out.
A MetroCard being inserted into a bus farebox, with the magnetic strip visible on the right side of the card.
Insert your MetroCard with the logo facing you and the magnetic strip on the front right side of the card.
A woman wearing a coat and hat smiles at a bus operator as she inserts her MetroCard into the farebox at the front of a bus.
The farebox is directly in front of you as you board.

How to transfer

Using OMNY

You don’t need a paper ticket to transfer to another bus. Use the same card or device throughout your journey and transfers will be applied automatically. OMNY is available on all MTA-operated local, limited, and Select Bus Service routes in New York City, as well as express buses.

With a MetroCard

You can transfer for free from one local bus route to another local bus route or any subway train. (The transfer gets encoded on your MetroCard. You’ll swipe it again, but you won’t be charged.) Transfers are good within two hours of when you paid the fare.

With exact change

If you paid in coins, you can transfer from a local bus on one route to a local bus on another route, if the routes intersect, within two hours of paying the fare. You do this by showing a printed transfer. Ask the bus operator for a transfer if you need one.

Other tips

  • Transferring to an express bus from a local bus or the subway just costs the fare difference.
  • If you transfer from a local to a Select Bus Service bus, make sure to get an SBS ticket from a sidewalk kiosk before you board.
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  • Some buses have Designated Open Stroller Areas. If your bus does not, you must fold strollers before you board and keep them folded during your ride.
  • Bus drivers can help you, but please stand back and do not talk to them while the bus is in motion, and be mindful of other passengers.

Related resources

Bus schedules
Bus maps
How to ride the subway