The Port Authority Bus Terminal (colloquially known as the Port Authority and by its acronym PABT) is a

bus terminal A bus station or a bus interchange is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. While the term bus depot can also be used to refer to a bus station, it generally refers to a bus garage. A bus station is ...

located in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. It is the busiest bus terminal in the world by volume of traffic, serving about 8,000 buses and 225,000 people on an average weekday and more than 65 million people a year. The terminal is located in

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildi ...

at 625 Eighth Avenue between 40th Street and 42nd Street, one block east of the

Lincoln Tunnel The Lincoln Tunnel is an approximately tunnel under the Hudson River, connecting Weehawken, New Jersey, to the west with Midtown Manhattan in New York City to the east. It carries New Jersey Route 495 on the New Jersey side and unsigned Ne ...

and one block west of

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

. It is one of three bus terminals operated by the

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorize ...

(PANYNJ); the other two are

George Washington Bridge Bus Station The George Washington Bridge Bus Station is a commuter bus terminal located at the east end of the George Washington Bridge in the Washington Heights area of Manhattan in New York City. The bus station is owned and operated by the Port Authori ...

Upper Manhattan Upper Manhattan is the most northern region of the New York City borough of Manhattan. Its southern boundary has been variously defined, but some of the most common usages are 96th Street, the northern boundary of Central Park (110th Street), ...

and

Journal Square Transportation Center The Journal Square Transportation Center is a multi-modal transportation hub located on Magnolia Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard at Journal Square in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States. Owned and operated by the Port Authority of New York and ...

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.commuter routes as well as for long-distance intercity bus service and is a major transit hub for residents of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

. It has 223 departure gates and 1,250 car parking spaces, as well as commercial and retail space. In 2011, there were more than 2.263 million bus departures from the terminal. PABT opened in 1950. It was built to consolidate several private terminals spread across

. A second wing, extending to 42nd Street, was added in 1979. Since then, the terminal has reached peak hour capacity, leading to congestion and overflow on local streets. It does not allow for

layover 250px, Layover for buses at LACMTA's Warner Center Transit Hub, Los Angeles ">Los_Angeles.html" ;"title="Warner Center Transit Hub, Los Angeles">Warner Center Transit Hub, Los Angeles In scheduled transportation, a layover (also waypoint, way ...

parking; which requires that buses use local streets or lots, or return through the tunnel empty. PANYNJ has been unsuccessful in its attempts to expand passenger facilities through public private partnership, and in 2011 it delayed construction of a

bus depot A bus garage, also known as a bus depot, bus base or bus barn, is a facility where buses are stored and maintained. In many conurbations, bus garages are on the site of former car barns or tram sheds, where trams (streetcars) were stored, and ...

annex, citing budgetary constraints. In June 2013, it commissioned an 18-month study that considered options for the terminal's reconfiguration, expansion, or replacement.

History

Site

Before PABT was constructed, there were several terminals scattered throughout Midtown Manhattan, some of which were part of hotels. The

Federal Writers Project The Federal Writers' Project (FWP) was a federal government project in the United States created to provide jobs for out-of-work writers during the Great Depression. It was part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a New Deal program. It wa ...

's 1940 publication of ''New York: A Guide to the Empire State'' lists the All American Bus Depot on West 42nd, the Consolidated Bus Terminal on West 41st, and the

Hotel Astor Hotel Astor was a hotel on Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Built in 1905 and expanded in 1909–1910 for the Astor family, the hotel occupied a site bounded by Broadway, Shubert Alley, and 44th and 45th ...

Bus Terminal on West 45th. The

Dixie Bus Center Dixie, also known as Dixieland or Dixie's Land, is a nickname for all or part of the Southern United States. While there is no official definition of this region (and the included areas shift over the years), or the extent of the area it cover ...

on 42nd Street, located on the ground floor of the hotel of the same name, opened in 1930 and operated until 1959. The

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

had coach service aboard a

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water ta ...

Communipaw Terminal The Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal, also known as Communipaw Terminal and Jersey City Terminal, was the Central Railroad of New Jersey's waterfront passenger terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey. The terminal was built in 1889, replacing ...

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Chanin Building Chanin is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alabama Chanin, American fashion designer *Irwin Chanin (1891–1988), American architect *Jack Chanin (1907–1997), US-based Ukrainian magician *Jim Chanin (born 1947), American attor ...

at 42nd and Lexington.

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and ...

had its own facility adjacent to

Pennsylvania Station Pennsylvania Station (often abbreviated Penn Station) is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) to several of its grand passenger terminals. Several are still in active use by Amtrak and other transportation services; others have been ...

and did not move into PABT until 1963, at which time all long-distance bus service to the city was consolidated at the terminal. The

between Manhattan and New Jersey had opened in 1937. Within a year and a half of the tunnel's opening, five companies were operating 600 interstate bus trips through the tunnel every day. The city opposed letting buses go through Midtown Manhattan because they caused congestion. A large bus terminal near the mouth of the Lincoln Tunnel was first mandated in December 1939, after the city announced that it would ban commuter buses from driving into congested parts of Midtown. The ban was supposed to go into effect in January 1941. In July 1940, at the request of New York City mayor

Fiorello H. La Guardia Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (; born Fiorello Enrico LaGuardia, ; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the House of Representatives and served as the 99th Mayor of New York City fr ...

, the Port Authority started conducting a survey into the causes and effects of intercity and commuter bus traffic in Manhattan. That December, Times Square Terminal Inc. filed an application to build and operate a commuter bus terminal from 41st to 42nd Streets between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, adjacent to the McGraw-Hill Building on land owned by the

McGraw-Hill Publishing Company McGraw Hill is an American educational publishing company and one of the "big three" educational publishers that publishes educational content, software, and services for pre-K through postgraduate education. The company also publishes referen ...

. According to projections at the time, the $4 million terminal could be completed within nine months. Manhattan Borough President Stanley M. Isaacs proposed building a short $600,000 tube between the Lincoln Tunnel and the new terminal. The city approved the construction of the new terminal and connecting tunnel in January 1941. Meanwhile, New York Supreme Court Justice John E. McGeehan blocked La Guardia's proposed bus ban on the grounds that it was unreasonable. Plans for a bus terminal were delayed because of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, which used the resources intended for most projects that were not directly involved in the war effort. In June 1944, the New York state government allocated $180,000 to the Port Authority for studying the feasibility of constructing a bus terminal in Midtown Manhattan. Early the next year, plans for a mid-Manhattan bus terminal were presented to the different bus companies. While most major bus lines agreed to the plan, Greyhound did not, for it was already planning on expanding its then terminal near Penn Station. The

New York City Board of Estimate The New York City Board of Estimate was a governmental body in New York City responsible for numerous areas of municipal policy and decisions, including the city budget, land-use, contracts, franchises, and water rates. Under the amendments effec ...

approved the construction of the new terminal in January 1947. It was to be built one block south of the aborted Times Square Terminal Inc. site, on the block bounded by 40th and 41st Streets and Eighth and Ninth Avenues. Plans for the structural design were revised substantially in March 1948, when the Port Authority added a 500-spot parking lot for cars atop the terminal's roof, to be accessed via a series of ramps. The last industrial tenant on the future terminal's site moved away the following month, and the Port Authority hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the terminal in January 1949.

Original construction and additions

The original Mid-Manhattan Bus Terminal (now PABT's South Wing), built in the International Style, was opened on December 15, 1950, as a generic "Port Authority bus terminal". A vertical addition of three parking levels, able to accommodate 1,000 cars, was completed in 1963. In 2007, the South Wing underwent a

seismic retrofit Seismic retrofitting is the modification of existing structures to make them more resistant to seismic activity, ground motion, or soil failure due to earthquakes. With better understanding of seismic demand on structures and with our recent exp ...

in a $52 million

building code A building code (also building control or building regulations) is a set of rules that specify the standards for constructed objects such as buildings and non-building structures. Buildings must conform to the code to obtain planning permissi ...

-compliance project to reinforce and stabilize it against earthquakes. Plans to expand the bus station to 42nd Street were floated as early as 1965. The North Wing was opened in 1979. This expansion increased capacity by 50 percent, and created a new facade comprising 27 steel X-shaped trusses. Assessing this facade design, Virtualtourist listed PABT in 2008 as one of the "World's Top 10 Ugliest Buildings and Monuments". In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the area in and around PABT was considered dangerous by police, tourists, and commuters due to high crime, prostitution, vagrant behavior, and inadequate upkeep and law enforcement in the building and nearby

, especially after dark, but this is no longer the case. During 1997, the terminal was the subject of a study, coordinated by Professor Marcus Felson of

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

, which identified strategic changes to the building's design and area supervision with a view to reducing crime and other problems.

Expansion proposals

Air rights

The PANYNJ has attempted to further expand the terminal through

public–private partnership A public–private partnership (PPP, 3P, or P3) is a long-term arrangement between a government and private sector institutions.Hodge, G. A and Greve, C. (2007), Public–Private Partnerships: An International Performance Review, Public Adminis ...

s by leasing

air rights Air rights are the property interest in the "space" above the earth's surface. Generally speaking, owning, or renting, land or a building includes the right to use and build in the space above the land without interference by others. This lega ...

over the North Wing. In 1999, a 35-story building, to be known as 7 Times Square, was proposed to be constructed over the North Wing and a golf

driving range A driving range is a facility or area where golfers can practice their golf swing. It can also be a recreational activity itself for amateur golfers or when enough time for a full game is not available. Many golf courses have a driving range att ...

was to be constructed over the South Wing. However, the project was put on hold in 2001 due to a decline in the economy following the

dot com bust The dot-com bubble (dot-com boom, tech bubble, or the Internet bubble) was a stock market bubble in the late 1990s, a period of massive growth in the use and adoption of the Internet. Between 1995 and its peak in March 2000, the Nasdaq Com ...

. Between 2000 and 2011, the PANYNJ worked with

Vornado Realty Trust Vornado Realty Trust is a real estate investment trust formed in Maryland in 1982, with its primary office in New York City. The company invests in office buildings and street retail in Manhattan. Investments Notable properties owned by the ...

, which had partnered with the Lawrence Ruben Company. In November 2007, the PANYNJ announced the terms of an agreement in which it would receive nearly $500 million in a lease arrangement for a new office tower that would also provide funds for additional terminal facilities. It would include of commercial space in a new office tower, which was to use the vanity address

20 Times Square 20 Times Square is a 39-story mixed-use development at 701 Seventh Avenue, on the northeast corner with West 47th Street at the northern end of Times Square, Manhattan, New York City. (May 21, 2014) The development includes one of Ian Schrager ...

, the addition of of new retail space in the bus terminal, as well as 18 additional departure gates, accommodating 70 additional buses carrying up to 3,000 passengers per hour. New escalators would be installed to help move passengers more quickly between the gate area and the ground floor. Construction was expected to begin in 2009 or 2010, and take four years to complete. After an architectural competition, the PANYNJ selected the design by

Pritzker Prize The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international architecture award presented annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produ ...

-winning architect

Richard Rogers Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside (23 July 1933 – 18 December 2021) was a British architect noted for his modernist and Functionalism (architecture), functionalist designs in high-tech architecture. He was a senior partner a ...

from

Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners Rogers may refer to: Places Canada *Rogers Pass (British Columbia) * Rogers Island (Nunavut) United States * Rogers, Arkansas, a city * Rogers, alternate name of Muroc, California, a former settlement * Rogers, Indiana, an unincorporated communit ...

for a 45-story office tower with an overall height of . The agreement expired in August 2009, and in May 2010, Vornado was given a retroactive extension on the deadline to August 2011. In July 2011, Vornado announced they had found a new partner to partially finance the tower, but in November 2011, the new backers pulled out of the project. In June 2014, the PANYNJ received a higher price than anticipated for the sale of nearby property, $115 million versus $100 million. The value of air rights above the terminal would be higher than previously appraised, thanks to rising property values in the area surrounding the terminal and an indication of the rising value air rights above the terminal. The agency had intentions to release a request for proposals for air-rights development in 2014–2015.

West Side bus depot

The Port Authority allows for limited

s of buses, thus requiring companies to make other arrangements during off-peak hours and between trips. Many park on local streets or parking lots during the day, while others make a round-trip without passengers through the Lincoln Tunnel to use layover facilities in New Jersey. Bus layover parking on city streets is regulated by the NYDOT, which assigns locations throughout the city. In the vicinity of PABT, these are concentrated on the side streets between Ninth and Twelfth Avenues from 30th Street to 60th Street. Various studies and news reports have concluded that there is a need for a new bus depot in Midtown. In a joint study by New York City and PANYNJ, it was determined that a preferred location for a bus depot was at Galvin Plaza located on 39th to 40th Streets between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues. However, this proposed location for commuter buses would not have capacity for

charter bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

es and tour buses. The PANYNJ announced considerable toll increases on its crossings between New York and New Jersey in August 2011, citing as one of their reasons the construction of an $800 million "new bus garage connected to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, which will serve as a traffic reliever to the Lincoln Tunnel and midtown Manhattan streets, saving two-thirds of the empty bus trips that must make two extra trips through the tunnel each day." Originally included in the PANYNJ 2007–2016 Capital Plan, construction of the garage was scrapped by the agency in October 2011, after it cited budgetary constraints due to an arrangement whereby the toll increases would be incrementally implemented. In April 2012, the director of the PANYNJ reported that a proposal had been made by developer

Larry Silverstein Larry A. Silverstein (born May 30, 1931) is an American businessman. Among his real estate projects, he is the developer of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City, as well as one of New York's tallest resident ...

, who has a memorandum of understanding to develop a property at 39th Street and

Dyer Avenue Dyer Avenue is a short, north-south thoroughfare in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, located between Ninth Avenue and Tenth Avenue. It is primarily used by traffic exiting the Lincoln Tunnel. Dyer Avenue runs bet ...

near the ramps between the tunnel and the terminal, to construct a bus garage with a residential tower above it. This parcel is not large enough to accommodate bus ramps and would require the use of elevators, which seemed to be a new type of application for bus storage. The proposal has not progressed any further. In 2014, the PANYNJ made an application for a $230 million grant to the

Federal Transit Administration The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transportation systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administratio ...

for development of the garage.

Replacement proposals

In June 2013, the PANYNJ commissioned an 18-month study that was to consider reconfiguration, expansion, and replacement options for PABT and new bus staging and storage facilities on Manhattan's West Side. The $5.5 million contract awarded to

Kohn Pedersen Fox Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) is an American architecture firm that provides architecture, interior, programming and master planning services for clients in both the public and private sectors. KPF is one of the largest architecture firms in ...

and

Parsons Brinkerhoff WSP USA, formerly WSP, Parsons Brinckerhoff and Parsons Brinckerhoff, is a multinational engineering and design firm with approximately 14,000 employees. WSP stands for Williams Sale Partnership. The firm operates in the fields of strategic con ...

would look into potential public-private financing, including the sale of

and cost-sharing with private bus carriers. In 2016, the PANYNJ invited a number of development teams to propose ideas for replacement of the existing bus terminal. Subsequently, in May 2019, the PANYNJ commenced the environmental review process for PABT's replacement. The PANYNJ planned to host four public hearings, two each in New York and New Jersey, in July and September 2019. Three plans were considered: building a new terminal on the site, building a new terminal elsewhere, or moving intercity buses elsewhere while renovations took place in the existing terminal. In anticipation of opportunities that reconstruction of the bus terminal will portend, the Hell's Kitchen South Coalition produced its own plan for the area. In January 2021, the Port Authority released plans for reconstructing the terminal on the same site, with expansion of bus layover facilities. The PANYNJ hired British architects

Foster + Partners Foster + Partners is a British architectural, engineering, and integrated design practice founded in 1967 as Foster Associates by Norman Foster. It is the largest architectural firm in the UK with over 1,500 employees in 13 studios worldwide. ...

and Chicago-based design and engineering firm Epstein Global in August 2022 to design the new terminal.

Art and advertising

''The Commuters'', a sculpture of three weary bus passengers and a clock salvaged from the original terminal by

George Segal George Segal Jr. (February 13, 1934 – March 23, 2021) was an American actor. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s for playing both dramatic and comedic roles. After first rising to prominence with roles in acclaimed films such as ''Ship o ...

, was unveiled in the main ticket area in 1982. ''42nd Street Ballroom'', a

rolling ball sculpture A rolling ball sculpture (sometimes referred to as a marble run, ball run, gravitram, ''kugelbahn'' (German: 'ball track'), or rolling ball machine) is a form of kinetic art – an art form that contains moving pieces – that specific ...

George Rhoads George Rhoads (January 27, 1926 – July 9, 2021) was a contemporary American painter, sculptor, and origami master. He was best known for his whimsical audiokinetic sculptures in airports, science museums, shopping malls, children's hospitals, ...

on the main floor of the North Wing, was installed in 1983. A statue of

Jackie Gleason John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...

in the guise of one of his most famous characters, the bus driver

Ralph Kramden ''The Honeymooners'' is an American television sitcom which originally aired from 1955 to 1956, created by and starring Jackie Gleason, and based on a recurring comedy sketch of the same name that had been part of Gleason's variety show. It fo ...

, stands in front of the main entrance to the original South Wing. The plaque reads, "Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden - Bus Driver - Raccoon Lodge Treasurer - Dreamer - Presented by the People of

TV Land TV Land is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its networks division. Originally a spinoff of Nick at Nite consisting exclusively of classic television shows, the channel now airs a combination of recent and cl ...

". ''Triple Bridge Gateway'', completed in 2009, is an

art installation Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called ...

by Leni Schwendinger Light Projects, underneath the ramps connecting the tunnel and the terminal; it is part of the transformation of the Ninth Avenue entrance of the South Wing. In July 2011, PABT became home to the world's largest mediamesh, a stainless steel fabric embedded with

light-emitting diode A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...

s (LEDs) for various types of media, art, and advertising imagery. The LED imagery façade covers 6,000 square feet, and wraps around the corner of 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue.

Configuration

Information and ticketing

For many years there was no timetable board displaying departures at PABT; passengers were required to inquire at information booths or ticket counters for schedules and departure gates. In 2015, both the Port Authority and NJ Transit installed screens listing upcoming scheduled departures, though buses are not tracked so delays are not communicated via this method. Tickets can be purchased on the main level (ground floor) of the South Wing at the main ticket plaza;

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgenc ...

, Trailways and Short Line have additional ticket counters in the terminal.

New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

(NJT) maintains a customer service counter at the terminal on the south wing main level (open weekdays). NJT has

ticket vending machine A ticket machine, also known as a ticket vending machine (TVM), is a vending machine that produces paper or electronic tickets, or recharges a stored-value card or smart card or the user's mobile wallet, typically on a smartphone. For instanc ...

s (TVM) throughout the terminal. Effective in 2009, passengers boarding NJT buses are required to purchase a ticket before boarding. In April 2012, NJT began re-equipping machines that would give change for those paying cash with bills rather than $1 coins. NJT also accepts

contactless payment Contactless payment systems are credit cards and debit cards, key fobs, smart cards, or other devices, including smartphones and other mobile devices, that use radio-frequency identification (RFID) or near-field communication (NFC, e.g. Samsung ...

systems (such as

Apple Pay Apple Pay is a mobile payment service by Apple Inc. that allows users to make payments in person, in iOS apps, and on the web. It is supported on these Apple devices: iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, and Mac. It digitizes and can replace a cred ...

and Google Pay) at TVMs, NJT's mobile app, and ticket windows.

Gates

There are 223 departure gates of either

saw-tooth The sawtooth wave (or saw wave) is a kind of non-sinusoidal waveform. It is so named based on its resemblance to the teeth of a plain-toothed saw with a zero rake angle. A single sawtooth, or an intermittently triggered sawtooth, is called a ...

(pull-in) or

island platform An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular o ...

(pull-through) design at PABT. At the Subway Level, or lower level of both wings, Gates 1-85 are predominantly used for long-distance travel, including buses to Canada, and jitneys, and during overnight hours (1 a.m. to 6 a.m.) for commuter lines. From 6 a.m. to 1 a.m., during the hours of normal operation, Gates 200–425, numbered to indicate the different boarding areas (100, 200, 300, etc.) within the complex are accessible from the 2nd floor and serve short-haul commuter lines. Most NJ Transit routes and New Jersey private carrier commuter routes are on the 200, 300, and 400 levels.

Retail and entertainment

Like other transit hubs, PABT has undergone a series of renovations to create a mall-like sphere to promote its retail, food, entertainment, and services spaces. There are numerous franchise stores, such as Heartland Brewery,

Au Bon Pain Au Bon Pain (, meaning "at (or 'to') the Good Bread") is an American fast casual restaurant, bakery, and café chain headquartered in Richardson, Texas and operates 175 locations in the United States, and Thailand. The company is currently ow ...

Jamba Juice Jamba Juice, doing business as Jamba, is an American company that produces blended fruit and vegetable juices, smoothies and similar products. The company is co-owned—with Moe's Southwest Grill, Schlotzsky's, Carvel, Cinnabon, McAlister's Del ...

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 cou ...

, Hudson News,

Duane Reade Duane Reade Inc. ( ) is a chain of pharmacy and convenience stores owned by Walgreens Boots Alliance. Its stores are primarily located in New York City, and known for high-volume, small store layouts in densely populated Manhattan locations. In 2 ...

, GNC, plus a

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the ...

branch station, as well as a variety of restaurants and bars throughout the terminal. Frames, a

bowling alley A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a clubhouse or dwelling ...

(previously long known as Leisure Time Bowling) occupies a large space on the 2nd floor.

Restrooms

Men's and women's restrooms in the bus terminal have been the subject of media attention; the women's restroom on the second floor is the terminal's busiest. It acts as a makeup counter, frequented by crowds daily due to its lighting, large mirrors, and cleanliness, a noted contrast to the rest of the unpopular terminal. The men's restrooms are the subject of an ongoing lawsuit against the Port Authority's police department. The lawsuit exposed a trend of plainclothes officers targeting homosexual or effeminate men at the bus terminal's restrooms. Five officers, of about 1,700 in the department, were responsible for 70 percent of public lewdness arrests in 2014, the year the lawsuit was filed. Most of the arrests have been for masturbation; the lawsuit alleged most of the arrests are targeted at LGBT men who have not performed any wrongful acts. The Port Authority Police Department ended the practice in 2022.

Companies

The Port Authority Bus Terminal is served by the following lines:

Commuter lines

Academy Bus Academy Bus Lines is a bus company in New Jersey providing local bus services in northern New Jersey, line-run services to/from New York City from points in southern and central New Jersey, and contract and charter service in the eastern United ...

Coach USA Coach USA, LLC is a holding company for various American transportation service providers providing scheduled intercity bus service, local and commuter bus transit, city sightseeing, tour, yellow school bus, and charter bus service across the ...

Community Coach Community Coach is a bus operator in northern New Jersey owned by Coach USA, operating fixed route and charter service. Routes Directly controlled Community Coach, as Community Transit Lines, operates a single line run from the Port Authority Bu ...

** Rockland Coaches ** Short Line ** Suburban Trails *Community Lines * DeCamp Bus Lines * Lakeland Bus Lines *

Martz Trailways Martz Group is a bus company headquartered in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, operating intercity commuter buses, charter buses, and tours. The company operates Martz Trailways, which is a part of the Trailways Transportation System. Martz Trailways ...

( Routes 107-199) * OurBus *

Spanish Transportation Spanish Transportation, officially Spanish Transportation Service Corporation, and operating under the name Express Service, is a privately operated bus company, which leases minibuses to individual operators, who provide service in and between var ...

Trans-Bridge Lines Trans-Bridge Lines is an interstate bus transportation company operating based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It operates in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania and offers daily service from the Lehigh Valley to both New York City and Philadelphia. ...

Airport buses

Olympia Trails Olympia Trails, also doing business under the brands ONE/Independent Bus for local bus service in Essex and Union counties in New Jersey and Megabus Northeast, LLC for the Megabus service that it directly operates, is a bus operator serving nort ...

Newark Airport Newark Liberty International Airport , originally Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport straddling the boundary between the cities of Newark in Essex County and Elizabeth in Union Co ...

Intercity operators

Adirondack Trailways Trailways of New York is one of the largest privately held transportation companies based in New York State. It employs over 450 people and carries passengers more than 80 million miles annually. TrailwaysNY, as it is known, operates over 150 tr ...

*C&J *Coach Company ( OurBus) *

Fullington Trailways The Trailways Transportation System is an American network of approximately 70 independent bus companies that have entered into a brand licensing agreement. The company is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia. History The predecessor to Trailwa ...

Megabus Megabus may refer to: * Megabus (Europe), a low-cost coach service with services in Europe owned by ComfortDelGro. * Megabus (North America), a low-cost bus service in the United States and Canada owned by Variant Equity Advisors. * Megabús, a ...

* OurBus Prime *

Peter Pan Bus Lines Peter Pan Bus Lines operates an intercity bus service in the Northeastern United States. It is headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts. It operates service to/from to Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hamps ...

* Short Line

Sightseeing

* Gray Line New York *The RIDE, nearby on the north side of 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue

Connecting transport

Direct underground passageways connect the terminal with the of the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October ...

at the

Times Square–42nd Street/Port Authority Bus Terminal station The Times Square–42nd Street/Port Authority Bus Terminal station is a major New York City Subway station complex located under Times Square and the Port Authority Bus Terminal, at the intersection of 42nd Street, Seventh and Eighth Avenues ...

complex. Several bus routes operated by

New York City Bus MTA Regional Bus Operations (RBO) is the surface transit division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). It was created in 2008 to consolidate all bus operations in New York City operated by the MTA. , MTA Regional Bus Operations ru ...

, including the local buses and the Staten Island express buses, stop immediately outside the terminal. In the last decade, numerous jitney routes serving Hudson and

Passaic Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69, ...

counties in

northern New Jersey North Jersey comprises the northern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the upper Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation of northern New Jersey with a distinct toponym is a colloquial one rather than an administrati ...

pick up passengers inside the bus terminal or on the street outside the terminal. Dollar vans operated by

to Paterson and Community Lines jitneys to

Journal Square Journal Square is a business district, residential area, and transportation hub in Jersey City, New Jersey, which takes its name from the newspaper ''Jersey Journal'' whose headquarters were located there from 1911 to 2013. The "square" itself is ...

use platforms on the lower level. Routes to

Bergenline Avenue Bergenline Avenue is a major commercial district in the North Hudson section of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. The north–south streets passes through Union City, West New York, Guttenberg, North Bergen. Its southern end is at Un ...

/ GWB Plaza, and

Boulevard East Boulevard East (officially John F. Kennedy Boulevard East, and sometimes referred to as JFK Boulevard East) is a two-way, mostly two lane, scenic county road in the North Hudson, New Jersey municipalities of Weehawken, West New York, Guttenberg ...

depart from 42nd Street outside the bus terminal's North Wing. In 2011, a controversy arose when

, a long-distance carrier using double-decker buses, with the permission of the

New York City Department of Transportation The New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) is the agency of the government of New York City responsible for the management of much of New York City's transportation infrastructure. Ydanis Rodriguez is the Commissioner of the Depart ...

, began to use the streets and

sidewalk A sidewalk (North American English), pavement (British English), footpath in Australia, India, New Zealand and Ireland, or footway, is a path along the side of a street, highway, terminals. Usually constructed of concrete, pavers, brick, stone ...

at the terminal. The director of the PANYNJ, citing safety, as well as other long-haul companies (which paid rent to use the terminal) citing unfair competitive advantage, were opposed to the permission to allow the company use of 41st Street directly beneath the connection between the two wings of the Port Authority. Despite these concerns and complaints,

was initially permitted to stay. However, the permission was withdrawn later that year. Megabus now largely uses street-side stops near the

Javits Center The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, commonly known as the Javits Center, is a large convention center on Eleventh Avenue between 34th Street and 38th Street in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City. It was designed by architect James ...

(for pickup) and Penn Station (for drop-off), except for a limited number of routes which use PABT.

Capacity and overflow

PABT is the gateway for most bus and jitney traffic entering Manhattan with more than 190,000 passengers on 6,000 bus trips made through the

and terminal daily. The

Lincoln Tunnel Approach and Helix Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

(Route 495) in

Hudson County, New Jersey Hudson County is the most densely populated county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It lies west of the lower Hudson River, which was named for Henry Hudson, the sea captain who explored the area in 1609. Part of New Jersey's Gateway Region in ...

passes through a cut and descends the

Hudson Palisades The Palisades, also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson River Palisades, are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in Northeastern New Jersey and Southeastern New York in the United States. The cliffs s ...

to the Lincoln Tunnel; PABT is located at the other end. Starting in 1964, studies were conducted to address the feasibility of an exclusive bus lane (XBL) during the weekday morning peak period. The XBL, first implemented in 1970, serves weekday eastbound bus traffic between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. The lane is fed by the

New Jersey Turnpike The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access highways in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA).The Garden State Parkway, although maintained by NJTA, is not cons ...

at Exits 16E and 17 and

New Jersey Route 3 Route 3 is a major state highway in the northeastern part of New Jersey. The route runs from U.S. Route 46 (US 46) in Clifton, Passaic County to US 1/9 in North Bergen, Hudson County. The route is a divided highway for i ...

. The helix, tunnel, and terminal are owned and operated by the

(PANYNJ), the bi-state agency that also implements the contraflow express bus left lane in three westbound lanes. The XBL serves over 1,800 buses and 65,000 bus commuters on regular weekday mornings and is a major component of the morning "inbound" commutation crossing the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...

. Over 100 bus carriers utilize the Exclusive Bus Lane. As of 2013,

operates fifty-seven interstate bus routes through the Lincoln Tunnel, as do numerous regional and long-distance companies. Despite the XBL to the tunnel, there are often long delays due to congestion caused by the limited capacity of

bus lanes A bus lane or bus-only lane is a lane restricted to buses, often on certain days and times, and generally used to speed up public transport that would be otherwise held up by traffic congestion. The related term busway describes a roadway c ...

for deboarding passengers at the

, which has reached its capacity. leading to re-routing and overflow on local streets In December 2011, the

New Jersey Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...

passed a resolution calling upon the PANYNJ to address the issue of congestion. Congestion contributed to a decline of the on-time performance of buses, which was 92 percent in 2012 and 85 percent in the first quarter of 2014.

Thomas Duane Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

, representing New York's 29th Senate District which includes the area around PABT, has also called for reduced congestion in the

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

. A consortium of regional transportation advocates, the

Tri-State Transportation Campaign The Tri-State Transportation Campaign (TSTC) is a non-profit advocacy and policy organization dedicated to reducing car and truck dependency and promoting a "more balanced, environmentally sound and equitable transportation network" in downstate ...

, have proposed a reconfiguration and expansion of the terminal, a PM westbound XBL, bus stops at other Manhattan locations, and a new bus storage depot. A proposed bus garage in Midtown, so that daytime turnover buses could avoid unnecessarily traveling through the tunnel without passengers, was scrapped by the agency in October 2011. In May 2012, the commissioner of NJDOT suggested that some

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

routes could originate/terminate at other Manhattan locations, notably the East Side; an arrangement requiring approval of the NYC Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) to use bus stops.

Notes

References

External links

Port Authority Bus Terminal WebsiteNew Jersey Transit station detailsCompetition for a Bus Terminal Replacement
{{New Jersey Transit Bus Operations 1950 establishments in New York City 42nd Street (Manhattan) Bus stations in New York City Eighth Avenue (Manhattan) Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan Lincoln Tunnel NJ Transit Bus Operations NJ Transit bus stations Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Transit hubs serving New Jersey Transportation buildings and structures in Manhattan