New York Bus

Taking a New York bus is safe and easy, although it is not suitable for those in a hurry. If you no longer want to walk, then riding the bus is a great way to see New York. The buses are blue and white, and all have a number and a sign on them digitally displaying the destination. There are several types of buses in New York. I’ll tell you more about how to take the bus in New York and how to pay for the bus.

Eric's Index

1 How to take the bus in New York
2 How to pay for the bus in New York
3 Bus Types in New York
4 FAQ

How to take the bus in New York

If you want to take the bus in New York, you need to know which bus to board and where to get off. You can do so by downloading the free bus map of New York bus here.

Get on the bus and ride it wherever you need to go.
When your stop is approaching, you can pull the yellow cord along the window or press one of the red stop buttons.
You can exit the bus through the rear doors.

Buses only stop at designated stops during the day. Between 22:00 and 05:00, you can ask the driver to stop anywhere along the designated route. All buses are equipped with wheelchair lifts. At night, the bus is a safe alternative to the subway.

Eric’s Tip: “Trying to find your way around New York? Download my free Eric’s New York App. It shows you exactly where you are and what’s nearby, and it works offline. You’ll also find the bus map in there.”

How to pay for the bus in New York

A bus ride costs just $3, which you can pay for using the same OMNY card that you use for the subway. You can also pay with a physical or digital credit card.

When paying with an OMNY card or credit card, there is a weekly fare cap: you pay for a maximum of 12 bus, subway and/or tram rides within a 7-day period. After this, you can travel for free for the rest of the week. Note: this only applies to local, Limited and SBS buses, not to the Express buses.

With your OMNY card or credit card, you can automatically switch to another bus or ride the subway.

Bus Types in New York

There are a few different types of buses used for public transport in New York:

Local buses and Limited (LTD) buses

The local buses can be seen as regular buses that stop at every bus stop.

For a faster ride, you can take the Limited (LTD) buses. These buses look like the local buses, but they make fewer stops. You can recognise them by the “LTD” on the front of the bus, and the purple signage at the bus stops.

On these buses, you can pay with your OMNY card or credit card.

Select Bus Service (SBS)

The Select Bus Service (SBS) works in a slightly different manner than the local and limited buses. The SBS buses make fewer stops, are only found on priority routes, and can be boarded at any door.

You can tap to pay with your OMNY card or credit card when you enter the bus.

Express buses

The Express buses run between boroughs and mainly operate during rush hours. It costs $7.25 to ride one of the express buses.

You can pay with your OMNY card or credit card. These rides do not count towards the 12 rides needed for unlimited travel. If you use your OMNY card on Express buses, please ensure that you have sufficient credit on your card.

FAQ

A bus ride in New York costs $3, and you can use either a n OMNY card or credit card. Buy your New York OMNY card here.

New York has four types of bus: local buses, Limited buses, which make fewer stops; Select Bus Service, which is only available on priority routes; and express buses, which run between boroughs.

While the subway isn’t necessarily unsafe, at specific moments, like later at night, the bus can indeed be a safer alternative to the subway.

On the MTA website, you can find the timetables of all New York buses. Just look up the line you want to take, and you can check the arrival times per stop.