Select Bus Service (SBS) will replace local service on the extremely busy M79 crosstown corridor that links Manhattan’s Upper East Side to the Upper West Side along 79^th Street starting this spring.

SBS will improve the reliability and speed of bus service along the corridor, which serves more than 14,500 daily customers who will benefit from all-door boarding. SBS buses will be specially branded and all SBS stops also have special signage and fare collection machines that allow customers to purchase tickets before boarding and then board at any door. The New York City Department of Transportation will also install wayfinding signage and real-time bus arrival information at most stops.

The new M79 SBS will serve the same route as the existing local service on the M79, which connects densely populated neighborhoods in upper Manhattan to three busy subway stations, north-south bus routes and two major cultural institutions: the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History.  In recent years, traffic and other road conditions have slowed service and decreased reliability of the route, leading to an ongoing drop in ridership. The replacement of slower local service with Select Bus Service is expected to increase bus speeds by up to 20 percent to help attract new ridership.

“The implementation of Select Bus Service on 79^th Street will improve every aspect of crosstown travel in that area of Upper Manhattan. Customers, particularly elderly or mobility impaired residents, will be able to get to work, school and the museums quicker and more easily. It also gives us an opportunity to look thoughtfully at 79^th Street and figure out traffic solutions that can improve bus service and benefit motorists and pedestrians,” said MTA New York City Transit Acting President Darryl Irick.

"We are proud to once again partner with the MTA on another great Select Bus Service route," said NYC DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. “With our seventh Manhattan SBS route coming to the M79 this spring, East Siders and West Siders will both discover that with dedicated bus lanes, curbside fare collection and all-door boarding, Select Bus Service is a faster and more reliable way to get across town, to Zabar's, to the Metropolitan Museum and beyond."

"Making the M79 a Select Bus Service route is a great win for the Upper West and Upper East Sides, which will soon benefit from faster, more reliable buses and a stronger crosstown connection,” said John Raskin, Executive Director of the Riders Alliance. “SBS has an excellent track record of improving bus service, which is why the community has pushed successfully to upgrade the M79.  We applaud the MTA and NYC DOT for moving forward with this helpful and popular plan, and we congratulate the local community on both sides of the park for raising their voices to advocate for better buses."

NYC Transit and NYC DOT engaged communities along the route and received insightful feedback on elements of SBS such as off-board fare collection, bus lane segments and bus stop placement. NYC DOT also plans to work with local community boards to address the possibilities of bus-only lanes in areas with excessive traffic congestion and turn bays at key intersections to improve traffic flow.

The M79 SBS route along 79^th Street from East End Avenue to Riverside Drive will be unchanged from the local route, providing subway transfers to 79 St , 81 St  and 77 St  stations. One eastbound stop on 81 Street at Amsterdam Avenue will be eliminated due to low ridership and proximity to nearby stops with higher ridership. Service frequencies will also remain unchanged, although schedules may be adjusted in the future to accommodate ridership changes.

 Implementation of the latest SBS route will cost approximately $1.7 million annually. These costs have been included in the approved MTA operating budget.