207th Street Crosstown Line

For additional information on the current bus services, see List of bus routes in Queens and Select Bus Service.
Bx12 / Bx12 Select Bus Service
Fordham Road−Pelham Parkway
207th Street Crosstown Line
Overview
System MTA Regional Bus Operations
Operator Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority (MaBSTOA)
New York City Transit Authority (NYCT)
Garage Gun Hill Depot
Vehicle

Bx12:

Bx12 SBS:

Livery Bx12 SBS: Select Bus Service
Route
Locale The Bronx; Manhattan
Start Inwood, Manhattan – Broadway and Isham Street / 207th Street IND subway (full route)
University Heights, Bronx – Sedgwick Avenue (daytime local terminus)
Via 207th Street (Manhattan), Fordham Road, Pelham Parkway
End

Pelham Bay Park, Bronx – Pelham Bay Park station (daytime local terminus)
Orchard Beach, Bronx (summertime local terminus)
Co-op City, Bronx

Length 9 miles (14 km)[2]
Service
Operates 24 hours (Bx12 Local)[note 1][note 2][1][3]
Daily ridership 15,812,906 (2014)[4]
Fare $2.75 (MetroCard or coins)
Cash Coins only (exact change required)
Transfers Yes
Timetable Bx12 Bx12 SBS
← Bx11
← S79 SBS		 Bx13 →
Bx41 SBS →

The 207th Street Crosstown Line, also called the Fordham Road−207th Street Crosstown Line[5] or Fordham Road Crosstown Line,[6] is a public transit line in New York City serving the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. The line runs along 207th Street in upper Manahttan, and along the continuous Fordham Road and Pelham Parkway in the Bronx. Originally a streetcar line between Inwood in Manhattan and Belmont in the Bronx from the early 1900s to 1948,[5][7] the line is now the Bx12 bus route operated by the New York City Transit Authority under the subsidiary Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority (MaBSTOA). The bus line became the first bus rapid transit route to enter service in the city in 2008, when the Bx12 Limited became the Bx12 Select Bus Service (SBS). Both the Bx12 local and SBS carry over 45,000 riders each weekday. The total ridership in 2014 was 15,812,906, making the route the busiest citywide.[4]

Route description and service

Current bus service

A Bx12 Select Bus Service bus (special livery not yet applied, but since applied) picks up customers at the Eastchester Road stop along Pelham Parkway.

The current form of the Bx12 runs crosstown from Inwood to various areas in the northeastern Bronx. The line, eastward, begins at the Inwood – 207th Street subway station (A trains) on Broadway and West 207th Street. The Bx12 then loops around via Isham Street and Sherman Avenue and rejoins West 207th Street, continuing across the University Heights Bridge into University Heights. The route runs along Fordham Road through Fordham Center, Fordham Plaza, and Belmont until the road becomes Pelham Parkway near the Bronx Zoo and New York Botanical Garden in Bronx Park. The route then runs along Pelham Parkway's main roadway to Pelham Bay, where it takes a somewhat circuitous route. The line turns off Pelham Parkway onto Burr Avenue stopping at the Pelham Bay Park subway station. From here, the Bx12 services that do not terminate here make a u-turn and join the New England Thruway to Bay Plaza or veer east along Shore Road to Orchard Beach.[1][3][8]

In a somewhat confusing fashion, at the Pelham Bay Park station, Manhattan-bound buses use stops directly adjacent to where Bay Plaza and Orchard Beach-bound buses pick up passengers – on the southbound Amendola Place – resulting in passengers sometimes boarding buses going in the wrong direction. Inwood and Sedwick Avenue-bound buses use the southernmost two stops, while terminating eastbound locals and buses towards Bay Plaza and Orchard Beach use the northernmost two stops closest to the subway. The setup requires westbound service to u-turn onto the New England Thruway before heading onto Pelham Parkway.[9][10]

During the daytime and evening hours, local service runs between Sedgwick Avenue in University Heights and the Pelham Bay Park subway station (6 <6> trains). Most service between Manhattan and Bay Plaza is served by Bx12 Select buses during that time, although some local buses continue to Bay Plaza. During the summer, Bx12 local buses are extended to Orchard Beach, with all weekend service operating to/from Inwood during the summer.[1][3][8]

During the overnight hours, all service runs local, serving the entire route with the exception of Bay Plaza. Buses instead terminate on Edson Avenue, in front of the Gun Hill Bus Depot, as the shopping center is closed during these times.[1][3]

Select Bus Service

Main article: Select Bus Service

The Bx12 is New York City's first bus rapid transit service, marketed as Select Bus Service, which began on June 29, 2008. Selected as the Bronx corridor for the pilot project in 2004, the MTA, New York City Department of Transportation and the New York State Department of Transportation drew up plans to convert the Bx12's limited service to BRT. The route was selected for the project mainly because of its mostly straight crosstown route through the Bronx, intersecting with seven different subway lines and all Metro-North lines. Buses are outfitted with special identification (including a special blue wrap and blue route signs) and traffic signal prioritization was enacted along the route, timing traffic signals in favor of the bus. The DOT also added dedicated bus lanes painted in maroon-red along Pelham Parkway and Fordham Road, with signs indicating that the lanes are bus-only from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm on weekdays, along with additional police enforcement. Off-board fare collection, via modified MetroCard Vending Machines and parking Muni Meters, allows passengers with proof of payment to board through any door. Bx12 Select service operates daily, from around 6am to 10pm weekdays, 7am-11pm weekends.[2][3][11][12][13]

Some previous Bx12 Limited stops are no longer served by Bx12 Select buses and are now served by local buses, most notably Jacobi Medical Center.

The Bx12 route (in light blue), as of Summer 2012

History

Streetcar service

The streetcar line was operated by the Union Railway Company, a subsidiary of the Third Avenue Railway.[5][14] In February 1903, the company announced plans to construct a two-track line along Pelham Avenue (the former name of Fordham Road and Pelham Parkway) between Bronx Park and Pelham Bay Park, running through largely undeveloped land and parkland. Called the Pelham Avenue Line, its western terminus would be at Third Avenue in modern Fordham Plaza, at the Fordham station of the then-New York and New Haven Railroad (now the Metro-North Railroad Harlem Line) and the entrance of what was then St. John's College (now Fordham University's Rose Hill campus). Its eastern end would be at the Pelham Bridge in Pelham Bay. This was the last Union Railway franchise to be constructed.[15][16]

By 1904, the line was running along Fordham Avenue and Pelham Avenue (today's Fordham Road) between Sedgwick Avenue in University Heights and Third Avenue in Fordham.[17] That year, the company released plans to extend the line west across the yet-to-be-constructed University Heights Bridge to Broadway and 207th Street in Inwood, Manhattan.[17][18] By fall 1908, after the opening of the bridge, the Union Railway petitioned for an extension west to Manhattan, and east to Pelham Bay Park.[19] By 1909, the planned eastern extension was truncated to Southern Boulevard, with both extension plans delayed due to deadlock in negotiations with the city.[20] In 1910, the company once again petitioned the New York City Board of Estimate and Public Service Commission for a western extension to Manhattan, and for an eastern extension from Southern Boulevard to the eastern edge of Bronx Park (at about Boston Road, White Plains Road, and Bronx Park East).[21][22] The Manhattan extension was finally granted in June 1910.[23][24] Service across the bridge to Inwood began on November 29, 1910.[23]

In late 1916, the railway petitioned for another extension along either Vermilyea Avenue or Nagle Avenue, and Dyckman Street west to the ferry terminal at the end of Dyckman Street, to connect with ferries to New Jersey and upstate New York, particularly the Palisades region and Palisades Interstate Park.[5][25][26][27] The franchise was granted in December of that year.[25][28] The extension was initially opposed due to many narrow streets in the area.[25] Later, the Union Railway sought to annul the franchise agreement, which was opposed by the local Dyckman (Inwood/Washington Heights) community due to growing business interests created by the line.[26][27] The extension was never implemented.[29]

Conversion to bus service

A New Flyer D60 high-floor bus on the Bx12 SBS at Orchard Beach in 2008. High-floor buses are no longer present in SBS service, which no longer serves Orchard Beach.

Beginning in the 1920s, many streetcar lines in the Bronx, Manhattan, and the rest of the city began to be replaced by buses, particularly after the unification of city's three primary transit companies in June 1940.[30][31][32] That year, the railroad company began relinquishing its trolley franchises with the city, to be replaced by buses operated by the subsidiary Surface Transportation Corporation.[14][33] The 207th Street Crosstown Line was replaced with the then-Bx19 bus service operating between Broadway-207th Street and Southern Bouelvard on January 25, 1948, the same date as the motorization of the Bronx and Van Cortlandt Parks Crosstown Line (today's Bx9).[29] The route would be operated by Surface Transit until 1956, and by the New York City Omnibus Corporation (later under the brand Fifth Avenue Coach Lines) until 1962. That year the New York City Transit Authority began operating the line under the subsidiary Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority (MaBSTOA), which continues to operate the route under the MTA.[34]

As the years progressed, service was eventually consolidated from multiple routes, and was given a single label, the Bx12. The route saw extensions east to City Island, seasonal service to Orchard Beach, and a branch to the Bartow-Pell Mansion in the Pelham Bay Park Golf Course.[35][36] along with the introduction of limited-stop service on weekdays. In the early 1980s the Bay Plaza Shopping Center was constructed in Co-op City and the Bx12 was extended there from Pelham Bay. Service to City Island remained until around 1990, when through service was discontinued and replaced with a dedicated route from City Island to Pelham Bay, the current Bx29. Service to the Bartow-Pell Mansion was discontinued due to low ridership and is now served by Bee-Line's 45 (or W45) bus.[37] The resulting service pattern remains in effect today, with some minor adjustments.

In 2004, the MTA in conjunction with the New York City Department of Transportation and New York State Department of Transportation, performed an initial study on bus rapid transit, with 80 corridors studied citywide. Five routes were prioritized, including the Bx12 route.[2][38][39][40][41] On June 29, 2008, the Bx12 Limited was converted into the Bx12 Select Bus Service.[2][11][12][13] Initially, during summer months Bx12 SBSs alternated between Bay Plaza and Orchard Beach. In 2009, Bx12 locals were extended to Orchard Beach during summer months, with all SBSs terminating at Bay Plaza. Summer local service to Inwood was also added at this time.[8] The total ridership in 2009 was 14,736,515, ranking the route third in ridership citywide and the busiest in the Bronx.[42] In March 2013, the high-floor articulated buses on the route were replaced with low-floor articulated buses with three sets of doors to improve boarding and alighting of passengers.[43]

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Overnights, no service operates to Bay Plaza".
  2. ↑ "Bx12 SBS does not operate overnights".

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Bx12 bus schedule MTA Regional Bus Operations.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Select Bus Service on the Bx12: A BRT Partnership Between the New York City DOT and MTA New York City Transit" (PDF). Metropolitan Transit Authority (New York), New York City Department of Transportation. January 12, 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Bx12 SBS bus schedule MTA Regional Bus Operations.
  4. 1 2 "Facts and Figures". mta.info. 2011-08-28. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Railway Review 62. 1918. p. 489. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  6. ↑ New York (State). Legislature (1920). New York Legislative Documents. p. 115. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  7. ↑ "The Real Estate Field" (PDF). New York Times. 1914-10-27. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
  8. 1 2 3 "Bx12 Local to Orchard Beach Will Start from Inwood on Weekends". Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York). July 2, 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  9. ↑ "MTA Bus Time: Bx12 Pelham Pkwy - Fordham Rd via Pelham Pkwy / Fordham Rd". mta.info. MTA Bus Time.
  10. ↑ "MTA Bus Time: Bx12-SBS Pelham Pkwy - Fordham Rd Select Bus Service via Pelham Pkwy / Fordham Rd / Bay Plaza Shop Ctr". mta.info. MTA Bus Time.
  11. 1 2 Neuman, William (2008-06-29). "Riders Will Pay Before Boarding, and Save Time, on Revamped Bus Route". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
  12. 1 2 "Bx12 Select Bus Service One Year Report" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York). October 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  13. 1 2 "A Bronx Tale: Bus Rapid Transit in New York City". Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York), New York City Department of Transportation. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  14. 1 2 "Third Avenue Line Must Run Buses: Last Hearing on Contract Set for September 12." (PDF). The Sun (New York). Fultonhistory.com. July 26, 1940. p. 10. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  15. ↑ "Bronx and Pelham Parks Will Be United by a New Trolley Line: Union Railway to Excercise Its Last Unused Franchise in the Construction of This Route-Consents of Property Owners Now Being Sought" (PDF). New York Herald. Fultonhistory.com. February 8, 1903. p. 2. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  16. ↑ "For New Trolley In The Bronx: Interurban Intends to Connect Bronx and Pelham Parks with Electric Line" (PDF). New York Press (historical). Fultonhistory.com. February 9, 1903. p. 8. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  17. 1 2 "Union Railway Plans To Enter Manhattan: Petitions for Franchises to Effect Thirteen Connections.". The New York Times. February 24, 1904. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  18. ↑ "Huckleberry Asks To Extend: Franchises for 13 New York Lines Applied For-Crossing Four Harlem River Bridges and Linking Upper Borough Surface Roads With Subway and Metropolitan Lines-Ready to Share Bridge Tracks" (PDF). The New Rochelle Press. Fultonhistory.com. February 27, 1904. p. 7. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  19. ↑ "Cars Across New Bridger: Third Avenue Line Allowed to Ask For Franchises" (PDF). The Sun (New York). Fultonhistory.com. September 16, 1908. p. 13. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  20. ↑ "Board Holds Up Pelham Franchise". The New York Times. April 5, 1909. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  21. ↑ "Public Notices; City of New York; Board of Estimate and Apportionment" (PDF). The Sun (New York). Fultonhistory.com. March 17, 1910. p. 12. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  22. ↑ "Union Trolley Extension.". The New York Times. July 24, 1910. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  23. 1 2 "UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS BRIDGE" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. NY-199. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  24. ↑ Moses, Charles Griffith (July 24, 1910). "Possibilities of the Dyckman Section of Manhattan Island" (PDF). New York Herald. Fultonhistory.com. p. 2. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  25. 1 2 3 "Dyckman Against Trolley" (PDF). The Sun (New York). Fultonhistory.com. October 15, 1916. p. 15. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  26. 1 2 "Dyckman Trolley Fight: Upper City Interests Oppose Union Railway's Effort Not to Build Extension to Ferry" (PDF). New York Evening Post. Fultonhistory.com. June 8, 1918. p. 11. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  27. 1 2 "Want Dyckman Line: Washington Heights Protests Against Canceling Car Franchise". The New York Times. June 2, 1918. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  28. ↑ "Trolley for the Dyckman" (PDF). The Sun (New York). Fultonhistory.com. December 24, 1916. p. 11. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  29. 1 2 "Buses To Replace 2 Trolley Lines: The Bronx-Van Courtland Park and 207th St. Crosstown to Shift on Jan. 25". The New York Times. January 8, 1948. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  30. ↑ Sparberg, Andrew J. (1 October 2014). From a Nickel to a Token: The Journey from Board of Transportation to MTA. Fordham University Press. ISBN 978-0-8232-6190-1.
  31. ↑ Seyfried, Vincent F. (1961). "Full text of "Story of the Long Island Electric Railway and the Jamaica Central Railways, 1894-1933 /"". archive.org. F. E. Reifschneider. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  32. ↑ "Trolley Cars Here On Way To Oblivion By Next Year's End: 700 New Buses to Assume Travel Burden on Lines in Manhattan and Bronx". The New York Times. September 15, 1945. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  33. ↑ "Record Bus Grant Signed By Mayor: Motor Transit Will Replace Street Cars on Routes in Manhattan and Bronx". ]]The New York Times]]. November 10, 1940. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  34. ↑ Kenneth T. Jackson; Lisa Keller; Nancy Flood (December 1, 2010). The Encyclopedia of New York City: Second Edition. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-18257-6.
  35. ↑ "1974 Bronx Bus Map". wardmaps.com. New York City Transit Authority. 1974. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  36. ↑ Re: Is there a Bee-Line drop-off policy in the Bronx similar to LIB? (123461)
  37. ↑ "Bronx Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York).
  38. ↑ "Bus Rapid Transit: NYCBRT Study" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York), New York City Department of Transportation, New York State Department of Transportation. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-05-12. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  39. ↑ Aaron, Brad (April 17, 2008). "A Transit Miracle on 34th Street". Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  40. ↑ "Map of BRT ideas in New York City". Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  41. ↑ "MTA Planning – NYC Select Bus Service". Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  42. ↑ 2009 Bus Ridership: MTA New York City Transit
  43. ↑ "MTA NYC Transit Introduces New Articulated Bus into SBS service; Three Doors – Less Waiting". Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York). March 14, 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2016.

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