Nostrand Avenue Line (surface)

This article is about the BMT streetcar line. For the IRT Subway line in Brooklyn, see IRT Nostrand Avenue Line. For additional information on the current bus service, see List of bus routes in Brooklyn.
B44 / B44 Select Bus Service
Nostrand Avenue Line
A bus on the B44 Select Bus Service route in Brooklyn
Overview
System MTA Regional Bus Operations
Operator New York City Transit Authority
Garage Flatbush Depot
Vehicle

B44:

B44 SBS:

Livery B44 SBS: Select Bus Service
Route
Locale Brooklyn
Start Williamsburg Bridge Plaza Bus Terminal (full route)
Williamsburg – Flushing Avenue (daytime local terminus; short runs)
Via Nostrand Avenue, Bedford Avenue / Rogers Avenue or New York Avenue (southbound only)
End

Sheepshead Bay:

  • Avenue U and Nostrand Avenue (short runs)
  • Emmons Avenue and Nostrand Avenue (late night terminus)[note 1]
  • Knapp Street and Emmons Avenue (full route)
Length 9.3 miles (15.0 km)[1]
Service
Operates 24 hours (B44 Local)[note 1][note 2][2][3]
Daily ridership 11,581,754 (2014)[4]
Fare $2.75 (MetroCard or coins)
Cash Coins only (exact change required)
Transfers Yes
Timetable B44 B44 SBS
← B43
← Bx41 SBS		 B45 →
M15 SBS →

The Nostrand Avenue Line is a public transit line in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, running mostly along Nostrand Avenue, as well as northbound on Rogers Avenue or New York Avenue and Bedford Avenue (as part of a one-way pair), between Sheepshead Bay and Williamsburg. Originally a streetcar line, it is now the B44 bus route, operated by the New York City Transit Authority.

History

The Williamsburgh and Flatbush Railroad was chartered in 1868,[5] and opened in 1870 from the Broadway Ferry in Williamsburg south over the Brooklyn City Rail Road's Greenpoint Line on Kent Avenue and Classon Avenue, east on its Flushing Avenue Line on Flushing Avenue, and south on Nostrand Avenue to Flatbush. The charter allowed them to use Lee Avenue instead from Williamsburg, but residents along that street opposed its use.[6] Tracks were however placed in Lee Avenue in early 1873,[7] and opened soon after, running from the Broadway Ferry east over the Broadway Railroad's Broadway Line on Broadway and south on Driggs Avenue and Lee Avenue.

An extension from Empire Boulevard south to the Flatbush Avenue Line opened on July 15, 1895, after some delay, and the Holy Cross Cemetery Line was moved to a branch of the line along Tilden Avenue.[8][9][10] The line eventually reached Avenue U in Sheepshead Bay.[11]

Effective 5 am, December 5, 1948, the line was cut back from Essex Street on the Manhattan side of the Williamsburg Bridge to the Williamsburg Bridge Plaza in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Service across the bridge was replaced with a transfer to the new B39 bus route.[12][13][14] Buses were substituted for streetcars on April 1, 1951;[11] the B44 bus now continues south past Avenue U into Sheepshead Bay, some B44 buses now go as far as Emmons Avenue and Knapp Street near the foot of Sheepshead Bay.[15][16]

Effective November 17, 2013, the B44 Limited service was converted to Select Bus Service (SBS), joining other SBS routes in New York City: the M15 and M34 in Manhattan and the Bx12 and Bx41 in the Bronx. The construction of the designated bus lanes for the service required the removal of the surface line's rails, which had been previously paved over.[16] The service continues to operate between Williamsburg Bridge Plaza (also known as Washington Plaza) and Sheepshead Bay. Southbound SBS service operates on Nostrand Avenue and northbound on Rogers Avenue, north of Flatbush Avenue. Local B44 service continues on Nostrand Avenue and New York Avenue.[15][16][17] The B44 and the B44 Select Bus Service are based out of Flatbush Bus Depot near Marine Park and Kings Plaza.

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Overnights, no service operates to Knapp Street".
  2. ↑ "B44 SBS does not operate overnights".

References

  1. ↑ "Nostrand Avenue-Rogers Avenue Select Bus Service". nyc.gov. New York City Department of Transportation. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  2. ↑ B44 bus schedule MTA Regional Bus Operations.
  3. ↑ B44 SBS bus schedule MTA Regional Bus Operations.
  4. ↑ "Facts and Figures". mta.info. 2011-08-28. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  5. ↑ Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Proposed Communication, August 19, 1870, page 4
  6. ↑ Brooklyn Daily Eagle, A Railroad for Lee Avenue, August 5, 1872, page 2
  7. ↑ Brooklyn Daily Eagle, City Hall Notes, May 24, 1873, page 4
  8. ↑ Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Nostrand Avenue Railroad, October 9, 1894, page 1
  9. ↑ Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Suburban News, June 26, 1895, page 4
  10. ↑ Brooklyn Daily Eagle, To Flatbush for Two Fares, July 15, 1895, page 4
  11. 1 2 "Buses Replacing Nostrand Ave. Trolleys; Horsecars Opened Flatbush Line in 1882". nytimes.com. The New York Times. March 31, 1951. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  12. ↑ New York Times, Bridge Cars of '04 Yielding to Buses, December 2, 1948, business section, page 58
  13. ↑ New York Times, Buses Take Over Williamsburg Run, December 6, 1948, page 18
  14. ↑ New York Board of Transportation, Report for the Three and One-half Years Ending June 30, 1949
  15. 1 2 NYCDOT (June 19, 2012). "Nostrand Avenue / Rogers Avenue Select Bus Service" (PDF). nyc.gov. NYCDOT. Retrieved November 2013. p.14 Williamsburg Bridge Plaza Construction
  16. 1 2 3 "Nostrand Ave. Trolley Makes Way for MTA New York City Transit Select Bus Service". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York). October 10, 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  17. ↑ http://web.mta.info/mta/planning/sbs/nostrand.html

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to B44 (New York City bus).
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, March 04, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.