m79
79th Street Crosstown Line
A West Side–Riverside Drive-bound M79 SBS bus pulling up to the stop at 5th Avenue.
Overview
System	MTA New York City Bus
Operator	New York City Transit Authority
Garage	Michael J. Quill Depot
Vehicle	Nova Bus LFS articulated New Flyer Xcelsior XD60 New Flyer Xcelsior XE60
Livery	Select Bus Service
Began service	1936 (M17 bus) 1989 (M79 bus)
Route
Locale	Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Communities served	Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Yorkville
Landmarks served	Central Park, Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Natural History Museum
Start	Upper West Side – Riverside Drive and West 79th Street
Via	79th Street, 81st Street
End	Yorkville – East End Avenue and East 79th Street
Length	2.3 miles (3.7 km)
Service
Operates	All times.[1]
Annual patronage	2,151,915 (2022)[2]
Transfers	Yes
Timetable	M79 SBS
Route map West Side – Riverside Drive  M79  Broadway Amsterdam Avenue Columbus Avenue / 80th Street Columbus Avenue / 81st Street Central Park West / 81st Street ​ 79th Street Transverse 5th Avenue Madison Avenue Lexington Avenue ​ 3rd Avenue 2nd Avenue 1st Avenue York Avenue East End Avenue / 79th Street Yorkville – East End Avenue (80th Street)  M79  Legend Two-way stop Two-way stop without machines One-way stop  M79  Terminal Subway connection ← M72  {{{system_nav}}}  M86 SBS →

The 79th Street Crosstown Line is a bus line in Manhattan, New York City, running mostly along 79th Street on the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. Originally a bus route owned by the private Green Bus Lines, it now comprises the M79 Select Bus Service bus line.

The M79 local bus route was identified as a heavily traveled corridor in a 2009 study by the DOT and NYCTA, and in a December 2013 study by the Pratt Center for Community Development of Brooklyn.^[3][4] It was converted to SBS on May 21, 2017.

Route description

An M79 bus prior to the Select Bus Service implementation.

The M79 bus runs crosstown along 79th Street in Upper Manhattan. The route begins at West 79th Street and Riverside Drive in the Upper West Side. It proceeds east along 79th Street to Amsterdam Avenue, where the eastbound bus then follows 79th Street to Amsterdam Avenue and uses Amsterdam Avenue to get to 81st Street, and the westbound bus uses 81st Street to get to Columbus Avenue and then take that down to 79th Street. After Central Park West, the bus then crosses the 79th Street Transverse through the park, stopping about halfway through the transverse. The M79 exits the transverse at East 79th Street and 5th Avenue, continuing on East 79th Street through the Upper East Side until turning left onto York Avenue and then right again onto 80th Street before arriving to its terminus at 80th Street. The bus then turns right on East End Avenue and then right onto 79th Street to start its westbound route.^[1][5][6]

The westbound bus then continues on 79th Street to Fifth Avenue. After this, the bus keeps straight and merges onto the 79th Street Transverse. It then leaves the Transverse on the intersection of Central Park West and 81st Street and continues along 81st Street to Columbus Avenue and then turns left onto it and then turns right onto 79th Street 2 blocks later. It continues along 79th Street to its westbound terminus at Riverside Drive.^[1][5][6]

Unlike other SBS routes and most bus rapid transit lines, the M79 SBS does not have long bus lanes, but rather employs short queue jump lanes, which give buses priority at intersections.^[7]

History

A westbound M79 bus at Broadway, prior to the Select Bus Service implementation.

Select Bus Service

A Yorkville–East End Avenue-bound M79 SBS bus (signed as bound for the West Side)  79th Street and 5th Avenue, Upper East Side, Manhattan.

The M79 was identified as a potential bus rapid transit corridor in 2009, under Phase II of the city's Select Bus Service program.^[10] To accommodate the Select Bus Service conversion, 79th Street was to be renovated with plants and trees, and new benches.^[11]

The M79 SBS route debuted on May 21, 2017.^[12] The M79 SBS is based at the Michael J. Quill Depot.

In popular culture

• The route is mentioned in a Vampire Weekend song of the same name on their self-titled debut album.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to M79 (New York City bus).

• M79 Select Bus Service − mta.info
• 79th Street Select Bus Service − NYCDOT