The MTA Regional Bus Operations bus fleet is a fleet of buses in fixed-route service in New York City under the "MTA New York City Bus" (also known as New York City Transit or NYCT) and "MTA Bus" (also known as the MTA Bus Company) brands, both of which operate local, limited, rush, express, and Select Bus Service routes.

Description and history The fleet consists of over 5,800 buses of various types and models for fixed-route service, making MTA RBO's fleet the largest public bus fleet in the United States. The MTA also has over 2,000 vans and cabs for ADA paratransit service, providing service in New York City, southwestern Nassau County, and the city of Yonkers. All vehicles, with the exception of paratransit cabs, are fully accessible to persons with disabilities. Fixed-route buses are dispatched from 27 garages (19 New York City Bus and 8 MTA Bus) and one annex in New York City.

Several fleet improvements have been introduced over the system's history. The first large order of air conditioned buses began service in 1966. "Kneeling buses" were introduced in 1976, and wheelchair lifts began appearing in 1980. Also in the 1980s, stop-request cords (or "bell cords") were replaced by yellow tape strips. However, buses ordered after 2008 feature cords rather than tape strips due to the latter's higher maintenance cost. Articulated buses were introduced in 1996, and have since become prominent in the Bronx and Manhattan. Low-floor buses, designed to speed boarding and alighting and improve riding conditions for elderly and disabled passengers, were first tested in 1997 and have made up most of the new non-express buses ordered since the early 2000s. The last non-express high-floor bus was withdrawn in 2019.

Most post-2000 orders also feature stop-request buttons located on grab bars. Beginning in 2016, new orders have been built/retrofitted with Wi-Fi connectivity and USB charging ports. In 2023, Wi-Fi connectivity was removed on all buses due to low usage. In 2023, the MTA began adding open-stroller areas to some buses, reducing the need for passengers with babies to fold their strollers; this was expanded to all buses in 2026. Non-folding bicycles are banned on most bus routes, except for a small number of routes that cross major bridges—the —whose fleet have bicycle racks on their exteriors. Some bus routes serving LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport also have luggage racks inside.

Starting in 2016, efforts to bring an audio/visual system to the current and future fleet went underway to improve customer service and ADA accessibility thru use of next stop announcements & PSAs. Though the former Long Island Bus Division (now NICE Bus) had already deployed such a system throughout its fleet since the early-2000s, the MTA had only trialed similar systems alongside GPS tracking between 2007 and 2012 on select routes in the New York City Bus system. Current plans include the installation of digital information screens installed throughout the interior of the bus which will provide real-time information such as time, weather, advertisements, & service advisories. The screens are supplied by contract from 3 different vendors and are installed on new bus deliveries starting in 2017 while buses built after 2008 are currently receiving retrofits. A new livery was also introduced, replacing the blue stripe livery on a white base that had been in use in one variation or another since the late 1970s. The first of these buses entered service in mid-May 2016 on the Q10 route.

Low and zero emission buses

Buses operating on clean or alternative fuels also make up a significant portion of the fleet, particularly since the establishment of the MTA's "Clean Fuel Bus" program in June 2000. Buses running compressed natural gas (CNG) were first tested in the early 1990s, and were mass-ordered beginning in 1995. Hybrid-electric buses, operating with a combination of diesel and electric power, were introduced in September 1998 with the Orion VI, and mass-ordered beginning in 2003 with the Orion VII. These hybrid buses proved to be useful, at least the 2006-2007 models, for these models cost significantly less to repair and maintain than earlier units. As of December 2022, the fleet has over 1,100 diesel-electric buses and over 700 buses powered by compressed natural gas, which make up less than half of the total fleet. This is the largest fleet of either kind in the United States.

In 2017, the MTA tested a fleet of ten forty-foot battery electric buses – five from New Flyer and five from Proterra, the XE40 Xcelsior CHARGE and Catalyst BE40 models respectively. These were all leases, which expired in 2021. In 2019, the MTA ordered their first battery-electric sixty-foot articulated buses, with an order of fifteen XE60 Xcelsior CHARGE buses from New Flyer, deployed on Manhattan Select Bus Service routes. In April 2021, the agency placed an RFP for forty-five new forty-foot battery-electric buses. Later in 2021, the MTA awarded New Flyer the contract for the electric bus order, set to arrive in late 2022 and 2023. 15 more buses were added to the originally 45 bus contract, making for a total of 60 buses allotted for MTA NYCT.

In 2022, the MTA announced that they would trial hydrogen fuel cell buses, funded by a grant from New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. The first two buses (New Flyer Xcelsior CHARGE H2) will be launched in The Bronx by late 2025.

The MTA announced that it would only purchase zero-emission buses from 2029, and that the entire bus fleet will be zero-emission by 2040.

Fixed-route fleet details A roster of the fleet is shown below. Not included below are buses and vans not open to the general public (Access-A-Ride vans, taxicabs, and employee shuttle buses), retired buses, or demonstration buses. This list also does not include buses formerly operated by MTA Long Island Bus (now Nassau Inter-County Express) that later operated under contract to Nassau County by Veolia Transport/Transdev.

Local, Limited, Rush, and Select Bus Service vehicles All buses listed below have semi-low floors. Image Type Model year Length Numbers(total) Approximateamount active Energy source Operator Orion Bus IndustriesOrion VII 07.501 HEVNext Generation 2009-2010 4343-4702(360 buses) 86retiring Diesel-electric hybrid NYCT Nova BusLFSA TL62102A1st GenerationArticulated 2010 1202-1289(88 buses) 53retiring Diesel Nova BusLFS TL40102A3rd Generation 2011 8000-8089(90 buses) 88 Orion Bus IndustriesOrion VII 07.501EPA103rd Generation 7000-7089(90 buses) 88 New FlyerXD40 Xcelsior 4810-4899(90 buses) 88 New FlyerC40LF Low Floor 2011-2013 185-672(488 buses) 486 CNG MTA Bus & NYCT Nova BusLFSA TL62102A1st GenerationArticulated 5252-52985300-53635770-5986(328 buses) 326 Diesel NYCT New FlyerXD60 XcelsiorArticulated 2012-2013 4710-4799(90 buses) 89 New FlyerXD40 Xcelsior 2014-2015 7090-7483(394 buses) 389 MTA Bus & NYCT Nova BusLFS TL40102A4th Generation 2015-2016 8090-8503(414 buses) 409 NYCT New FlyerXD60 XcelsiorArticulated 2016 5364-5438(75 buses) 72 MTA Bus New FlyerXN40 Xcelsior2017 673-810(138 buses) 135 CNG NYCT New FlyerXD60 XcelsiorArticulated 5987-6125(139 buses) 137 Diesel MTA Bus & NYCT Nova BusLFSA TL62102A2nd GenerationArticulated 2017-2018 5439-5602(164 buses) 162 NYCT New FlyerXN60 XcelsiorArticulated 1000-1109(110 buses) 108 CNG New FlyerXDE40 Xcelsior 2018 9500-9509(10 buses) 10 Diesel-electric hybrid New FlyerXD40 Xcelsior 2018-2019 7484-7850(367 buses) 363 Diesel Nova BusLFS TL40102A4th Generation 2019 8504-8754(251 buses) 247 New FlyerXE60 Xcelsior CHARGEArticulated 4950-4964(15 buses) 15 Battery electric New FlyerXD60 XcelsiorArticulated 2019-2020 6126-6286(161 buses) 161 Diesel MTA Bus & NYCT Nova BusLFS HEV TL40102A3rd Generation 2021-2022 9620-9912(293 buses) 293 Diesel-electric hybrid NYCT Nova BusLFS TL40102A4th Generation 8755-8963(209 buses) 208 Diesel New FlyerXDE40 Xcelsior 9416-94999510-9619(194 buses) 193 Diesel-electric hybrid New FlyerXD40 Xcelsior 7851-7989(139 buses) 138 Diesel Nova BusLFS TL40102A4th Generation 2023-2024 8964-9271(308 buses) 308 MTA Bus New FlyerXD40 Xcelsior 9272-9387(116 buses) 116 New FlyerXE40 Xcelsior CHARGE 2024-2028 4965-50245030-5216(247 buses) 66under delivery Battery electric NYCT Nova BusLFSe+ 2025-2026 5025-5029(5 buses) 5 New FlyerXHE40 Xcelsior CHARGE H25217 5218(2 buses)2Hydrogen electricNew FlyerXE60 Xcelsior CHARGEArticulated 5603-5620(18 buses) 1under deliveryBattery electric New FlyerXD60 XcelsiorArticulated 2025-2030 6287-6956(670 buses) 82under delivery Diesel

Express bus fleet All express buses are diesel-powered, long commuter coaches. All buses are high-floored. ImageTypeModel yearNumbers(total)Approximateamount activeOperator Motor Coach IndustriesD4500CL 2004-2007 3000-34744306(476 buses) 51retiring MTA Bus Motor Coach IndustriesD4500CT 2008 2195-2250(56 buses) 38retiring PrevostX3-45 Commuter1st Generation 2011 2400-2489(90 buses) 31retiring NYCT Motor Coach IndustriesD4500CT 2012-2013 2251-2303(53 buses) 53 MTA Bus & NYCT PrevostX3-45 Commuter1st Generation 2014-2016 2490-2789(300 buses) 276 NYCT PrevostX3-45 Commuter2nd Generation 2021-2022 1300-1629(330 buses) 330 MTA Bus & NYCT 2025-2026 1630-2020(391 buses) 292under delivery

Future bus fleet These are bus orders that will occur a few years into the future. Type Model year Length Numbers(total) Energy source OperatorNew FlyerXD40 Xcelsior2026-2027TBA(58 buses) DieselNYCTNew FlyerXDE40 Xcelsior2026-2028TBA(246 buses)Diesel-electric hybrid Nova BusLFS TL40102A4th Generation2027TBA (100 buses) Diesel Motor Coach IndustriesD45 CRT LE CHARGE2028+ TBA(5 buses)Battery electric New FlyerXE60 Xcelsior CHARGENext GenerationArticulated 5621-5692(72 buses) Motor Coach IndustriesD45 CRT TBA(92 buses) Diesel New FlyerXE40 Xcelsior CHARGENext Generation TBA(108 buses) Battery electric MTA Bus & NYCT

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