image101 MTA Bus Page

 

The MTA Bus Company was formed in 2004 to assume the bus routes privately operated under contract to the NYCDOT.  Between January 2005 and February 2006, MTA Bus took over the operations of Liberty Lines Express, Queens Surface Corporation, New York Bus Service, Command Bus Company, Green Bus Lines, Jamaica Buses, and Triboro Coach Corporation.  MTA Bus route operate mainly in Queens with some routes in Brooklyn and the Bronx, and all buses are in the same blue-stripe livery as New York City Bus, with the only distinction between the two agencies being the branding on the buses themselves and on the route timetables.  Today, MTA Bus has a fleet of 1260 buses, including NovaBus RTS, Orion V and VII, New Flyer D40LF buses along with MCI highway coaches for express service.  Like New York City Bus, letters indicate the primary borough of local routes—B for Brooklyn and Q for Queens—while express routes use double letter combinations to indicate service to Manhattan—BM, BxM or QM for Brooklyn, Bronx or Queens, respectively.  One route, QBx1, is a local route running from Queens to the Bronx.

 

All photos are by Oren Hirsch and are featured on Oren's Transit Page unless note otherwise.

 

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This New York Bus Service bus is a 1982 GMC T8H-5308A, seen on 3rd Street at Lexington Avenue, November 7, 2004.  New York Bus Service was the last transit agency in New York City to use these buses, and they were retired immediately following the MTA takeover in July 2005.

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New York Bus Service 1481 is a preserved 1982 GM New Look, shown in Pelham Bay Park on January 21, 2007. (Photo by Thedarkliberator)

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New York Bus Service 1606 is a 1988 MCI Classic, seen on 5th Avenue at East 82nd Street on June 27, 2003.

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Liberty Lines 3067 is a 1988 MCI Classic, spotted on 3rd Avenue at East 79th Street on February 15, 2004.

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New York Bus Service 1630 is another 1988 MCI Classic 1630, seen on 5th Avenue at 23rd Street on July 13, 2004.

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Queens Surface Corporation 473 is a 1999 Orion 05.501 CNG, shown on Roosevelt Island on July 15, 2004.

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Queens Surface Corporation 576 is another 1999 Orion V CNG, spotted on East 35th Street at Lexington Avenue on July 13, 2004.

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MTA Bus 3325 is a 2006 MCI D4500CL, shown on 3rd Avenue at East 85th Street on June 19, 2009.  The MTA began purchasing MCI coaches in 1998 to use on its express routes running from the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island to Manhattan.

 

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