bx12 bx12
Fordham Road−Pelham Parkway 207th Street Crosstown Line
A 2017 Nova Bus LFS Articulated (5469) on the Bx12 SBS and a 2011 Nova Bus LFS (8001) on the Bx12 Local at Pelham Bay Park station.
Overview
System	MTA Regional Bus Operations
Operator	Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority
Garage	Gun Hill Depot Kingsbridge Depot (local summer service)
Vehicle	Nova BusLFSarticulated (main vehicle) New FlyerXcelsior XD60 (local main; SBS supplemental) Nova BusLFS Nova BusLFS HEV New FlyerXcelsior XD40 (supplemental service) New FlyerXcelsior XE40 (local summer supplemental)[1][2]
Livery	Bx12 SBS:Select Bus Service
Route
Locale	The Bronx andManhattan, New York, U.S.
Communities served	Inwood,University Heights,Fordham,Belmont,Allerton,Morris Park,Pelham Gardens,Pelham Bay,Baychester,Co-op City
Landmarks served	Fordham Plaza,Fordham University,New York Botanical Garden,Bronx Zoo,Pelham Bay Park,Bay Plaza Shopping Center,Orchard Beach
Start	Inwood –Broadway /207th Street (full route) University Heights –Sedgwick Avenue (daytime local)
Via	207th Street,Fordham Road,Pelham Parkway
End	Pelham Bay Park (daytime local) Orchard Beach (summertime local) Baychester – Edson Avenue (late night) Bay Plaza Shopping Center (full route)[note 1][3]
Length	8.2 miles (13.2 km)[4]
Service
Operates	24 hours (Bx12 Local)[note 1][note 2][3][5]
Annual patronage	4,537,844 (2024)[6]
Timetable	Bx12Bx12 SBS
Route map Legend  Bx12  Bx12  Co-op City –Bay Plaza Co-op City Boulevard Bartow Avenue Baychester Avenue  Bx12  Bx12  (early mornings) Baychester – Edson Avenue  Bx12  summers only Orchard Beach  Bx12  Pelham Bay Park ​ (Westchester Avenue)   St. Paul Avenue Stillwell Avenue Eastchester Road Seymour Avenue –Jacobi Hospital Naragansett–Throop Avenues Williamsbridge Road Hone Avenue Muliner–Bronxwood Avenues White Plains Road ​ Southern Boulevard –Bronx Zoo Camberleng Avenue Hoffman Street Bathgate Avenue Third Avenue –Fordham Plaza Decatur Avenue Elm Place Valentine Avenue ​ East 190th Street–Grand Concourse Jerome–Walton Avenues University Avenue Sedgwick Avenue  Bx12  Sedgwick Avenue(Webb Avenue) Cedar Avenue University Heights Bridge The Bronx Manhattan Tenth Avenue  Bx12  Bx12  Inwood –Broadway /207th Street Legend SBS & local local only  Select local two-way stop one-way stop two-way stop one-way stop terminal Select Bx12     Bx12  local  Bx12  local (part-time) subway connection ← Bx11 ←Bx6 SBS (by borough) ←Bx6 SBS (by route number)  {{{system_nav}}}  Bx13 → Bx41 SBS → M14 SBS →

TheBx12 is a public transit line inNew York City bus route running east-west along 207th Street inUpper Manhattan and along the continuousFordham Road andPelham Parkway in the Bronx.

The line started operating in the early 1900s as a streetcar line betweenInwood in Manhattan andBelmont in the Bronx.^[7][8] This line was known as the207th Street Crosstown Line, theFordham Road−207th Street Crosstown Line^[7] or theFordham Road Crosstown Line.^[9]

In 1948, the streetcar route was converted into a bus route, operated by theNew York City Transit Authority under the subsidiary Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority (MaBSTOA). Throughout the late 20th century, several separate bus routes were combined to form the Bx12. The bus line became the firstbus rapid transit route to enter service in the city in 2008, when the Bx12 Limited became theBx12Select Bus Service (SBS). Both the Bx12 local and SBS carry over 53,000 riders each weekday. In 2024, the total ridership was 4,537,844, making it the ninth-busiest line citywide.^[6]

The Bx12 runs crosstown from Inwood in Manhattan to various areas in the northeastern Bronx. The line, eastward, begins at theInwood–207th Street subway station (A train) on Broadway and West 207th Street. The Bx12 then loops around via Isham Street and Sherman Avenue and rejoins West 207th Street, continuing across theUniversity Heights Bridge intoUniversity Heights. The route runs along Fordham Road through Fordham Center,Fordham Plaza, and Belmont until the road becomes Pelham Parkway near theBronx Zoo andNew York Botanical Garden inBronx Park. The route then runs along Pelham Parkway's main roadway toPelham Bay, where it takes a somewhat circuitous route. The line turns off Pelham Parkway onto Burr Avenue stopping at thePelham Bay Park subway station. From here, the Bx12 services that do not terminate here make a U-turn and join theNew England Thruway to Bay Plaza or veer east along Shore Road toOrchard Beach.^[3][5][10]

At the Pelham Bay Park station, Manhattan-bound buses use stops along southbound Amendola Place. The setup requires westbound service to make a U-turn onto Shore Road before heading onto Pelham Parkway.^[11][12]

During the daytime and evening hours, local service runs between Sedgwick/Webb Avenue inUniversity Heights and thePelham Bay Park subway station (6 and <6>​ trains). Some local service also originates from Belmont Avenue and 182nd Street inBelmont during the afternoons on school days. 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. Some westbound buses terminate at Fordham Plaza or University Avenue.^[3][5][10]

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 theGun Hill Bus Depot, as the shopping center is closed during these times.^[3][5]

The Bx12 is New York City's firstbus rapid transit service, marketed asSelect Bus Service, which began on June 29, 2008. Selected as the Bronx corridor for the pilot project in 2004, theMTA,New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) and theNew York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) 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 allMetro-North lines.^{[13][5][14][15][16]}

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. When supplemental service is needed, the blue wrap may be absent. The NYCDOT also addeddedicated bus lanes painted in maroon-red alongPelham Parkway andFordham 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, viaMetroCard fare machines andcoin meters, allows passengers with proof of payment to board through any door. Bx12 Select Bus Service operates daily, from around 6am to 10pm weekdays, 7am-11pm weekends.^{[13][5][14][15][16]}

Station Street traveled	Direction	Connections
Manhattan
West 207th  / Isham Streets Broadway	Westbound terminus, eastbound station	NYC Bus:Bx7,Bx20 MTA Bus:BxM1 NYC Subway: train atInwood–207th Street
Tenth Avenue West 207th Street	Bidirectional	NYC Bus:M100 NYC Subway: train at207th Street
University Heights Bridge
The Bronx
Cedar Avenue West Fordham Road	Bidrectional	Metro-North:Hudson Line atUniversity Heights (one block west atMajor Deegan Expressway)
Sedgwick Avenue West Fordham Road[Bx12 1]		NYC Bus:Bx12 Local
University Avenue West Fordham Road		NYC Bus:Bx3,Bx12 Local
Jerome / Walton Avenues East Fordham Road		NYC Bus: Bx12 Local,Bx32 NYC Subway: train atFordham Road
Grand Concourse / Valentine Avenue East Fordham Road		NYC Bus:Bx1, Bx2, Bx12 Local,Bx22,Bx34 Bee-Line:62 NYC Subway:​ trains atFordham Road
Webster andThird Avenues Fordham Plaza /Fordham University East Fordham Road		NYC Bus:Bx9, Bx12 Local,Bx15,Bx17, Bx22,Bx41 Local,Bx41 SBS Metro-North:Harlem andNew Haven lines atFordham Bee-Line:60, 61, 62
Southern Boulevard Bronx Zoo /Botanical Garden East Fordham Road		NYC Bus: Bx9, Bx12 Local,Bx19, Bx22 Bee-Line:60, 61, 62
White Plains Road Pelham Parkway		MTA Bus:BxM11 NYC Bus: Bx12 Local, Bx30,Bx39 NYC Subway:​ trains atPelham Parkway Bee-Line: 60, 61, 62
Williamsbridge Road Pelham Parkway		NYC Bus:Bx8, Bx12 Local NYC Subway: train atPelham Parkway
Eastchester Road Jacobi Medical Center Pelham Parkway		NYC Bus: Bx12 Local,Bx31 MTA Bus:BxM10
Stillwell Avenue Pelham Parkway		NYC Bus: Bx12 Local
Pelham Bay Park Amendola Plaza		MTA Bus:Bx23,Q50,BxM8 NYCT Bus:Bx5, Bx12 Local,Bx24,Bx29 NYC Subway:​ trains atPelham Bay Park Bee-Line:45
Baychester Avenue Bay Plaza Boulevard	Eastbound
Bay Plaza Shopping Center The Mall at Bay Plaza	Eastbound terminus, westbound station	NYC Bus: Bx5 (Weekend Only), Bx25,Bx38
Co-Op City Boulevard Bay Plaza Boulevard	Westbound	NYC Bus: Bx5 (Weekend Only), Bx25, Bx38
Bartow Avenue/Bartow Mall[Bx12 2]		MTA Bus: Bx23, Q50 NYC Bus: Bx5 (Weekend Only), Bx28
Bartow Avenue Gun Hill Depot Edson Avenue		NYC Bus: Bx5 (Weekend Only), Bx25,Bx26, Bx28, Bx38
Notes: ^Sedgwick Avenue stop added in January 2009.[17] ^Bartow Mall stop added in Spring 2009.[18]

The Fordham Road/Pelham Parkway service began as a streetcar line operated by theUnion Railway Company, a subsidiary of theThird Avenue Railway, and was the last Union Railway franchise to be constructed.^[7][19] In February 1903, the company announced plans to construct a two-track line along Pelham Avenue (the former name ofFordham Road andPelham Parkway) betweenBronx Park andPelham Bay Park, running through largely undeveloped land and parkland. Called thePelham Avenue Line, its western terminus would be atThird Avenue in modernFordham Plaza, at theFordham station of the then-New York Central Railroad (now theMetro-North RailroadHarlem Line) and the entrance of what was then St. John's College (nowFordham University's Rose Hill campus). Its eastern end would be at thePelham Bridge in Pelham Bay.^[20][21]

By 1904, the line was running along Fordham Avenue and Pelham Avenue (today's Fordham Road) betweenSedgwick Avenue inUniversity Heights and Third Avenue in Fordham.^[22] That year, the company released plans to extend the line west across the yet-to-be-constructedUniversity Heights Bridge toBroadway and 207th Street inInwood, Manhattan.^[22][23] 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.^[24] By 1909, the planned eastern extension was truncated toSouthern Boulevard, with both extension plans delayed due to deadlock in negotiations with the city.^[25] In 1910, the company once again petitioned theNew York City Board of Estimate and theNew York State 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 aboutBoston Road,White Plains Road, and Bronx Park East).^[26][27] The Manhattan extension was finally granted in June 1910.^[28][29] Service across the bridge to Inwood began on November 29, 1910.^[28]

In late 1916, the railway petitioned for another extension along either Vermilyea Avenue or Nagle Avenue, andDyckman Street west to the ferry terminal at the end of Dyckman Street, to connect with ferries toNew Jersey and upstateNew York, particularlythe Palisades region andPalisades Interstate Park.^{[7][30][31][32]} The franchise was granted in December of that year.^[30][33] The extension was initially opposed since many streets in the area were narrow.^[30] 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.^[31][32] The extension was never implemented.^[34]

Beginning in the 1920s, manystreetcar lines in the Bronx,Manhattan, and the rest of the city began to be replaced by buses, particularly after theunification of the city's three primary transit companies in June 1940.^[35][36][37] That year, the railroad company began relinquishing its trolley franchises with the city, to be replaced by buses operated by the subsidiarySurface Transportation Corporation.^[19][38] The 207th Street Crosstown Line was replaced with the then-Bx19 bus service operating between Broadway-207th Street and Southern Boulevard on January 25, 1948, the same date as the motorization of the Bronx and Van Cortlandt Parks Crosstown Line (today'sBx9).^[34] The route would be operated by Surface Transit until 1956, and by theNew York City Omnibus Corporation (later under the brandFifth Avenue Coach Lines) until the company's routes were taken over by the New York City Transit Authority through its subsidiary Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority (MaBSTOA) in 1962 after a strike.^[39]

As the years progressed, service was eventually consolidated from multiple routes, and was given a single label, the Bx12. The route saw extensions east toCity Island, seasonal service toOrchard Beach, and a branch to theBartow-Pell Mansion in thePelham Bay Golf Course,^[40] along with the introduction of limited-stop service on weekdays. The Orchard Beach branches were labeledBx12A andBx12B until July 1, 1974, when they were merged into the Bx12 designation.^[41]

On April 21, 1989, the New York City Transit Authority presented two proposals to rationalize the eastern terminals of service on the Bx12 to the MTA Board for approval. The first proposal called for the discontinuation of the summer only Bx12 Golf Course Shuttle, which ran between Orchard Beach and Pelham Bay Golf Course between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., since it was only used by an average of ten daily passengers. This change took effect in June 1989. The second proposal up for approval was the extension of Bx12 trips that terminated at the Pelham Bay Park subway station to the new Gun Hill Depot at Bartow Avenue and the New England Thruway when it opened in September 1989. This change was intended to rationalize service and establish a relief point for bus operators. While it increased net costs, it increased operating efficiencies.^[42] In early 1990, the MTA proposed a dedicated route from City Island to Pelham Bay, the currentBx29.^[43][44] The Bx12 continued to run to City Island through mid-1990,^[45] but the bus routes were split by 1991.^[46] The split service pattern remains in effect today, with some minor adjustments.^[47]

In 1988, due to the reconstruction of theUniversity Heights Bridge, the Bx12 began detouring 0.5 miles (0.80 km) to cross into Manhattan via Bailey Avenue and theBroadway Bridge at 225th Street, as opposed to the direct path via 207th Street. The route was restored in September 1994 as the vehicle weight restriction on the bridge was removed.^[48] In 1989, limited-stop service began on the Bx12, saving up to five minutes per trip. In January 1995, an additional limited stop was added at Jacobi Hospital, and the hours of limited-stop service were expanded from 6:57 – 8:39 a.m. and 4:55 – 6:41 p.m. to 6:30 – 9:30 a.m. and 4 – 6:30 p.m.. Extending the span of the limited-stop service to operate all day between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. was considered, with a plan to revisit the idea if the increase in the span of limited-stop service was successful.^[49] The span of the Bx12 was extended to operate all day between 6:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. on September 8, 1997.^[50] Exactly one year later, on September 8, 1998, the Bx12 began stopping in the Bay Plaza Shopping Center.^[51]

In 2004, the MTA in conjunction with the NYCDOT and NYSDOT, performed an initial study on bus rapid transit, with 80 corridors studied citywide. Five routes were prioritized, including the Bx12 route.^{[13][52][53][54]} On June 29, 2008, the Bx12 Limited was converted into the Bx12 Select Bus Service.^{[13][14][15][16]} 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.^[10] The total ridership in 2009 was 14,736,515, ranking the route third in ridership citywide and the busiest in the Bronx.^[55] In March 2013, the high-floorarticulated buses on the SBS route were replaced withlow-floor articulated buses with three sets of doors to improve boarding and alighting of passengers.^[56]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toBx12 (New York City bus).

• Bx12 Fordham Road SBS −mta.info
• Fordham Road/Pelham Parkway Select Bus Service −NYCDOT
• Bx12 Schedule
• Bx12 SBS Schedule
• Bx12 SBS Map

• MTA Regional Bus routes
• Bus routes in the Bronx
• Streetcar lines in Manhattan
• Streetcar lines in the Bronx
• Select Bus Service
• Bus routes in Manhattan

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