The M86 is being transformed into a Select Bus Service route, where passengers pay beforehand at special kiosks at bus stations. By changing the payment system, the MTA hopes to speed the M86, which is the second-busiest bus line in the city and one of the slowest. The Straphangers Campaign clocked it at 4.6 miles per hour in a survey last year (the M79 was the slowest in the city, but the MTA is not currently expected to add Select Bus Service on that line).
The new plan will cost the city an additional $1.6 million a year, and bus service won’t get more frequent — just faster, hopefully. On average, select bus service tends to improve bus speeds by about 20% and increase ridership by 10%, according to the MTA.
The Eastbound M86 starts at Broadway and ends at First Avenue, while the Westbound M86 starts at York Avenue and ends at West End Avenue. At three spots, the bus will travel on a dedicated bus lane, which should further speed the route.
While some Select Bus Service routes decrease the number of stops, the M86 will continue to make all stops that are currently on the route. People will buy tickets at fare boxes at each station and then simply walk onto the bus. Fare inspectors will randomly check thee tickets. Learn more about the process here.
An MTA spokesman said the service will start this Spring, but did not specify a date. The buses have already been branded with SBS posters, as seen below.
The route will also be one of several on the Upper West Side to get countdown clocks.
Photo by Kate Hinds.
Despite the MTA “statistics,” I don’t think the Select buses are, in most cases, worth the trouble.
Only rarely, on long north-south trips with light traffic, are they actually faster than regular buses. On crosstown routes, they can, in my opinion, actually slow your trip down.
I’ve been riding buses all over Manhattan for the last 40 years. For every ten trips I take, only about one is by train. I sometimes make long trips, all the way down to the batter or to 1st Ave. and 23rd St. for two examples.
I wasn’t thrilled when the MTA introduced Select buses a few years back, and my skepticism of their value is even greater now.
If the Select bus is crowded and many people are waiting to get on, as well as get off, you’ve got big human traffic jams through all the doors and it takes time to get on.
Should you just get to the stop when the bus is about to leave, you might be tempted just to hop on rather than fiddle with the ticket machine (especially when the weather is bad or it’s dark). That’s a risky choice because when you get off, you just might run into a “fare inspector.” (Is West Sider just being polite? Has anyone without a proper receipt been hauled off to jail yet, or put into a choke hold?)
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Now, completely OT: I was surprised there was no open thread on Wednesday.
I was hoping to put in a plug, in time for Mothers’ Day, for one of the nicest, hardest-working vendedors de flores north of 96th St!
I would have told everyone that his name is José, and he works almost every night from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. at the flower stand in front of Heath Nuts (on the east side of Broadway between 98th-99th St.).
He always has a smile for everyone, the flowers are very fresh, and the prices very reasonable.
Hopefully the moderator here will let this stay posted, or put it in a better place to spread the word!
The M60 SBS has been fantastic for getting to LGA. Though, in that case they also reduced the number of stops. Still, not having to wait for a long line of people all to swipe their cards makes a huge difference. It operates more like a subway with people getting on and off though all the doors. Just think how much worse “human traffic jams” you’re referring to would be without SBS.
I’ve had good experience with it too getting back and forth from Laguardia. By far the least expensive and quickest way from the UWS.
The solution to all slow cross town bus routes is
“no double parking or standing” during rush hours.
Tangentially related, I can’t stand how the drivers on the M86 REFUSE to go to the last stop (West End Ave). There was a physically-handicapped woman on the bus last week, and the driver stopped abruptly on Bway and said, “last stop!” This happens whenever I take the route, but it was particularly cringeworthy to the passenger with mobility issues.
On the M86 going west the last stop is now Broadway. The drivers make us all get off there and this will continue as long as there is the construction on W 86 st between WEA and Bway. My complaint is that the drivers don’t treat the stop on WEA @ 87 st as the first stop. It is now officially the first stop. They usually won’t pick you up there…they say the supervisors tell them not to
The MTA should really consider on trying express buses along the cross town routes. The major delay is that some of their current stops are at the subway exit. Once the train arrives, the conga line starts! This happens at B’way, CPW, and Lexington Avenue. My improvement suggestion? Create 5 express stops, and away from the subways. On the West Side, the first stop should be West End and 87 street followed by Columbus Avenue. On the East side, the stops could be Madison; 2nd Avenue, followed by 91/92 and York Avenue.
The remaining buses could remain local. This would alleviate the congestion, which is the primary source of the tardiness.
Ps: I am familiar with this bus route since the late 70’s, when I use to commute to the east side for school.
Recently, a neighbor of mine unknowingly boarded a Select Bus without the slightest clue that she needed a pre paid receipt. When she saw the taped over metro card slot she figured that it was just another broken reader. Worst of all, the bus driver waved her through without telling her that it was a Select Bus. She really just didn’t know.
A couple of stops into her ride, two “Metrocard police” officers …as she describes them, boarded the bus and proceeded to issue her a $100 summons!
This, without having been warned by the driver.
So, riders be forewarned ..your “speedy Select ride” may also be your most expensive one!
The MTA is really screwed. Damned if they do and damned if they don’t!
I like how the MTA calls it Select Bus Service but then insists on assigning it the BRT acronym. Why not SBS? #keepitsimple
“BRT” stands for “Bus Runs Terribly”. The MTA is working on moving *all* buses into that category, but is not quite there yet. Hence the designation of M-86 line as “BRT” when others have not yet earned that status.
“SBS” actually stands for “Some Buses [are] Slow”. Lines are assigned to that category when only *some*, but not all, buses deserve the description as “slow”. Ultimately, once *all* buses on an SBS line have been slowed down to an unfathomable crawl, the MTA will award the line “BRT” designation.
The technical differences between SBS and BRT elude me but what I’ve seen is that if you want a true bus system to work effectively you have to follow the example of the TransMilenia in Bogota, Colombia.
https://www.streetfilms.org/bus-rapid-transit-bogota/
What would really speed up the M86 is to require all drivers waiting to start their route to sit at 86th and Broadway with their door open if they are early. The driver can be taking a break if they want, but this allows people to board the bus so it is ready to go, rather than having a long line. This would be particularly helpful in the winter so people aren’t standing in the cold. Many drivers already do this, but some sit parked with their doors closed.
Eddie, sounds easy, but there are Union issues involved with your suggestion. When on break, the driver is to have no interaction with a paying customer. Should a passenger fall or get ill on the bus, the driver is responsible for attending to the matter. MTA Union is pretty strong and they have some clout.
A question: How may I get a refund for my paid-in-advance fare when, after waiting 25 minutes for a bus which never comes and time is running out, I have to take a taxi?
You can use the ticket that you buy at the kiosk to get on a regular bus. This happens on 2nd Avenue all the time. The Select bus doesn’t show up and the regular buses stop just a few feet away from the Select bus stop. Of course this might not apply for crosstown (assuming that they’re eliminating the regular buses).
Great! So the M-86 bus will now be totally, absolutely FREE!
In my experience on eastside buses and the M-60 to and from LaGuardia airport, no one has ever checked whether any passenger has a paid receipt.
Perhaps readers can use the Comments as a poll — has any reader ever been asked to show a receipt on a Select Bus line?
Or is the SBS system really just a “hop on, hop off” freebie, come one come all??
I’ve been on two Select Buses (M60) where the bus was stopped and people’s tickets were checked. Unfortunately, that only adds to the time delays. There always seems to be a logjam of people waiting to board at CPW and 86th, Bway and 86th, etc. Maybe the Select bus kiosks will help – who knows? I don’t even know how to get a transfer out of that machine……What doesn’t help is seeing 3 M86 buses in a row traveling together, instead of being spaced out.
The one time I’ve taken the M60 since it changed to SBS the inspectors came through to inspect the tickets. I had waited several minutes for the bus to arrive before I realized that I had to buy a ticket first. Thank goodness it was delayed or I would have boarded without paying and been ticketed.
good point… my first time i had no way of knowing either. luckily a passenger told me what to do.
The inspectors on the 2nd Avenue line are out of control…they behave like they’re part of a SWAT team. I’ve seen dozens of people pulled aside at the 79th street stop. A lot of students, seniors, non-English speaking nannies…they don’t discriminate when handing out fines.
Good. No one should get a free pass and fines should be distributed to each and every person caught cheating the system.
Almost every time I’ve taken the m34 sbs I’ve seen fare inspectors working and issuing fines. I’ve seen it once on the M60. People who cheat the system (or attempt to) will hopefully feel guilty but I have little faith in that. I did see two passengers confront a non-payer on a sbs once which was kind of hilarious.
I’ve also seen people get caught by fare inspectors on the M60. Although I felt bad for the people who got caught, I did find it very satisfying to see that rules were actually being enforced, for once.
i think i have been checked at for receipt at least once on the M60.
of course if you have a monthly metrocard, it is free anyhow. but they should do a better job of checking.
The bus going West does not end at West End Avenue. It stops at Broadway because the drivers can’t wait on 86th Street near West when they turn around to head East again. And it is awful. Don’t quite understand what that has to do with the last stop being 87th Street and WEA. Perhaps you can find out!
Received and paid a ticket given to me despite the fact that the Select Bus ticket dispenser at the stop I boarded was broken. This is institutional theft and fines to our citizens at its worst. Additionally the ticketing officer injured me slightly (rough handling of my wrists)
I took a picture of the broken ticket dispenser with my phone and showed to the Inspector. She let me go, and thanked me. She does not like to hand out tickets if she does not have to.
Does anyone know how we can get the M86 to make West End and 87th its last stop again, as it once was? Who is it we need to contact? Many elderly people live on West End and on Riverside and now need to walk from the east side of Broadway, Not easy, especially in cold and inclement weather. This is not the case for other Westside crosstown routes. Please, everyone, let’s get this done!
Thanks.
i suggest writing a formal (hard copy) letter to Gale Brewer (Borough President) and Helen Rosenthal (City Council). Also Linda Rosenthal (State Assembly) is also a good recipient. You can write it as one letter with three recipients.
it helps if you have multiple signatories, district residents who would like to see this service and can benefit from it. it doesn’t have to be a huge number.
be as specific as possible in what you are requesting.
I have found hard copy letters to be incredibly effective. more so than a phone call.
Not faster and definitely not a fair fare. Just fine if you don’t have a metrocard. But if you do, totally unfair.
Let’s say you are at Broadway and 86th and want to go to Fifth and 34th? Well if you wait on the corner with your Metrocard you can take the 104 down Broadway to 34th and transfer to a crosstown – also unfair bus – if it comes before the 86 Crosstown. Or take the 86 Cross if it comes first and then take any number of buses down Fifth to 34th.
But woe if you pick getting your Metrocard punched for the 86th and the 104 comes along.
Hateful, unfair system. Costing a lot is it? Wonder what company is getting that money. Oh could it be the company who makes the machines.
Absolutely idea and better warm anyone, you could be fined, about $100 if you haven’t gotten your ticket first.
It is just a terrible system. Instead how about machines that read your Metrocard by placing it on them? Or machines outside and at bus stops that sell Metrocards.
No this system is awful.
I didn’t fully understand how traumatizing it could be to navigate and use NY’s relatively simple bus system lol. If you’re this worried use the MTA bus finder app/website which should make it clear to any literate person which bus is closest and then choose your route/get the appropriate ticket. OR grab a subway and make it down to the Empire State building even faster!! 🙂
Will the buses still run 3 at a time ?
The M86 bus going east goes to York Avenue, which is the last stop!
Consistently I have been refused by drivers on this route, due west, to let me out at West End instead of Broadway. Always rude. A point straphangers should address with MTA