M15 (New York City bus)

For additional information on the current bus services, see [[:List of bus routes in Manhattan and Select Bus Service]].

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 XD60 Xcelsior
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) (southbound)
Service
Operates	24 hours; no SBS or Cherry Street service at night
Annual patronage	13,610,947 (2017)
Transfers	Yes
Timetable	M15 M15 SBS
Route map East Harlem – 126th Street  M15   M15  125th Street Paladino Avenue 122nd Street 120th Street 119th Street 116th Street 115th Street 113th Street 111th Street 108th Street 106th Street 103rd Street 102nd Street 101st Street 99th Street 96th Street 94th Street 93rd Street 92nd Street 89th Street 87th Street 86th Street 84th Street 82nd Street 79th Street 77th Street 75th Street 72nd Street 70th Street 68th Street 67th Street 66th Street 64th Street 62nd Street 61st Street 57th Street 55th Street 54th Street 52nd Street 50th Street 46th Street 45th Street 44th Street 42nd Street 39th Street 36th Street 35th Street 34th Street 31st Street 29th Street 28th Street 27th Street 25th Street 23rd Street 20th Street 17th Street 14th Street 12th Street 11th Street 9th Street St. Marks Place 6th Street 4th Street 3rd Street 1st Street Forsyth Street 2nd | 1st Avenues Houston Street ​ Stanton Street Delancey Street Grand Street Hester Street Canal Street Division Street Madison Street Pike Street  M15  southern short turn Market Street Catherine Street St. James Place Pearl Street Frankfort Street Peck Slip Fulton Street John Street Wall Street Old Slip Hanover Square Water Street–Broad Streets South Ferry ​  M15   M15  Legend SBS & Local stops Local stops  M15  Local terminal  M15  SBS terminal Subway connection ← M14A/D SBS ← 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, 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. 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 (NYCTA) replacing it in 1953.

Limited-stop service began on September 13, 1976, with buses making only 15 stops, spaced every eight blocks, between 126th Street and Houston Street, saving riders up to 23 minutes. Limited-stop service ran every six minutes on weekdays, heading southbound in the morning, between 7:12 and 9:21 a.m., and northbound in the afternoon, between 4:12 and 6:11 p.m. These buses were identified by signs on the lower right side of the windshield. As part of the project, new dedicated bus lanes were installed.

On September 7, 1987, a public hearing was held to discuss the NYCTA's plan to reduce the span of weekend evening M15 service to City Hall and Park Row from ending at 12:40 a.m. to ending at 8:10 P.M.. In addition, the hours of weekday service were to be lengthened slightly. The changes were to be made to provide more uniform service frequency and service pattern.

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. 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. On October 10, 2010, service began on the M15 Select Bus Service, replacing limited stop service. By then, the MTA had discontinued service to City Hall due to budget cuts.

Select Bus Service stops

Station Street traveled	Direction	Connections
126th Street	Northbound terminus, southbound station	NYC Bus: M15 Local
125th Street	Bidirectional	NYC Bus: M15 Local, M35, M60 SBS, M125
115th / 116th Streets		NYC Bus: M15 Local, M116 (at 116th Street)
106th Street		NYC Bus: M15 Local, M106
95th / 97th Streets Metropolitan Hospital		NYC Bus: M15 Local, M96 NYC Subway: ​​ at 96th Street
86th Street		NYC Bus: M15 Local, M86 SBS NYC Subway: ​​ at 86th Street
79th Street		NYC Bus: M15 Local, M79 SBS
67th / 68th Streets		NYC Bus: M15 Local, M66
57th / 58th Streets		NYC Bus M15 Local, and MTA Bus: M31, M57, Q32, Q60, Q101
50th Street		NYC Bus: M15 Local, M50
42nd / 44th Streets United Nations		NYC Bus: M15 Local, M42
34th Street NYU Langone Medical Center		NYC Bus: M15 Local, M34/M34A SBS (M34A westbound only on First Avenue)
28th / 29th Streets Bellevue Hospital		NYC Bus: M15 Local, M9, M34A SBS
23rd / 25th Streets VA Hospital		NYC Bus: M15 Local, M9, M23 SBS, M34A SBS
14th Street		NYC Bus: M14A SBS, M14D SBS, M15 Local NYC Subway: train at First Avenue (northbound only)
First Street	Northbound only	NYC Bus: M15 Local, M21 NYC Subway: ​ trains at Second Avenue
Northbound service uses First Avenue, southbound service uses Second Avenue
Houston Street	Southbound only	NYC Bus: M15 Local, M21 NYC Subway: ​ trains at Second Avenue
Hester / Grand Streets	Bidirectional	NYC Bus: M15 Local NYC Subway: ​ trains at Grand Street
Catherine Street Madison Street		NYC Bus: M15 Local, M22 (eastbound only
Fulton Street South Street Seaport		NYC Bus: M15 Local Downtown Connection: Downtown Loop
Wall Street Water Street
South Ferry Whitehall Terminal	Southbound terminal, northbound station	NYC Bus: M15 Local, M20, M55 NYC Subway: ​​​ trains at South Ferry/Whitehall Street Staten Island Ferry

External links

Template:Attached KML/M15 (New York City bus)

KML is not from Wikidata

External videos
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