The M60 was introduced in 1992 as an airport connector and is usually advertised as such. Much of the M60's passenger load, however, is from its crosstown service along125th Street inHarlem; the M60 is the busiest of the four bus routes that run along the 125th Street Crosstown Line ("125th Street corridor"). On May 25, 2014, the M60 was converted into aSelect Bus Service (SBS) route to improve service to-and-from the airport, and service along 125th Street.
A 2017 XD60 (6098) on the LaGuardia-boundM60 SBS at Broadway/West 116th Street
The M60 begins on theUpper West Side in Manhattan at West 106th andBroadway. It turns east at 120th Street, and north atAmsterdam Avenue, before turning east onto125th Street inManhattanville. Along 125th Street inHarlem, the M60 provideslimited-stop service, with theM100,M101 andBx15 providing local service. At the east end of the street, it enters theTriborough Bridge, crossing into Queens. It then travels alongAstoria Boulevard (the service road for theGrand Central Parkway) and 23rd Avenue to 94th Street, providing limited-stop service in the neighborhoods ofAstoria andEast Elmhurst. TheQ19 provides local service along Astoria Boulevard, and theQ33 andQ48 along 23rd Avenue. At 94th Street, the M60 turns north and enters the airport, serving Terminals B, C, and A (in that order) before returning to Manhattan.[7][3][4][8][9] Some eastbound buses may terminate at 125th Street & Lexington Avenue and do not enter Queens.
The route loops around LaGuardia Airport terminal bus stops and continues operating back toward the westbound terminus. There is no eastbound terminus stand.
Passengers traveling eastbound toward LaGuardia Airport must be off the bus by the Terminal A (Marine Air Terminal) stop, or purchase a westbound fare at fare payment machines at LaGuardia Airport stops.
Bus stops marked with an (§) are not served between midnight and 6 AM, when the 82nd Street exit (and the airport in general) is closed.
A 2004Orion VII OG HEV (6410) on the West Side-bound M60 in 2007, prior to articulated and SBS implementations.
In 1991, theMetropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) held a public hearing to discuss a bus route between Manhattan and LaGuardia Airport. It was first proposed as the Q49 from LaGuardia Airport to Park Avenue and East 125th Street, atHarlem–125th Street station on theMetro-North Railroad, but was quickly renamed the M60.[11] The M60 was approved for implementation in mid-1992[12] and began service on September 13, 1992, running betweenAdam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue) and the airport.[1][13][14][15] On May 1, 1994, it was extended toColumbia University and the116th Street subway station. The M60 was extended west along 125th Street, south on Amsterdam Avenue west on 120th Street, south on Claremont Avenue to West 116th Street, and then north on Broadway to the terminal.[16][17] The route was extended in response to requests from residents and groups from Morningside Heights and West Harlem. 20% of M60 riders surveyed said that they had used taxis, car services, personal cars or Carey Bus before its introduction and 25% said that they walked or did not make the trip. These 45% of riders surveyed were new NYC Transit riders.[18]
In June 1995, the route was extended 0.4 miles (0.64 km) to West 106th Street and Broadway, and was rerouted to Broadway from Claremont Avenue as residents on that street believed that the route had decreased their quality of life. Three options had been considered to reroute or extend the M60: using Riverside Drive, extending the route to West 110th Street, and extending the route to West 106th Street, which was decided upon. The M60 was extended south via Broadway and West End Avenue to West 106th Street, making limited stops, and laying over at West 106th Street and Broadway. The extension provided direct service between theUpper West Side and LaGuardia.[18][19]
Between 1997 and 2004, the bus route had an increase in ridership of 237%,[20] leading to a decrease in trip headways from 20 minutes[10] to 15 minutes in 1998,[21] and under 10 minutes by the 2000s.[13] On October 12, 2009, the first luggage rack-equipped bus in the city debuted on the M60, as part of a ten-bus pilot program on airport bus services to improve passenger flow.[22][23][24] In August 2011, two 60-foot (18 m)articulated buses started running per day on the M60, before permanent conversion to replace the 40-foot (12 m) buses on the route by September 2012.[25][26]
A Nova Bus LFS Articulated on the LaGuardia-bound M60 SBS exitingInterstate 278 in Queens after crossing theTriborough Bridge.
In 2009, the MTA and theNew York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) identified the M60 as a potential corridor for Phase II ofSelect Bus Service (SBS), the city'sbus rapid transit service. The M60 was identified under studies to improve crosstown service on 125th Street, which like other crosstown bus corridors was noted for slow travel speeds.[27] It was also identified as a corridor for improvement by the LaGuardia Airport Access Alternatives Analysis, which conducted with thePort Authority of New York and New Jersey to improve bus service toLaGuardia Airport.[28][29] The reason for the creation of the LaGuardia Access Alternatives study was the slow bus service on the M60,Q33,Q47,Q48, andQ72, which all went to LaGuardia Airport.[28][29] A separate outside study in 2011 by theRegional Plan Association proposed creating dedicated busways along theGrand Central Parkway to speed up M60 service.[30]
The M60 is one of three SBS routes that were planned under the LaGuardia Alternatives Analysis.[29] TheQ70 Limited became an SBS route on September 25, 2016,[31] and theBx41 SBS route had been planned to be extended to LaGuardia Airport under the LaGuardia Alternatives Analysis.[29] However, the Bx41 extension has not been implemented yet due to a lack of funding.[32] According to the city government, the three routes" would provide "shorter term, lower cost transit improvements" for LaGuardia Airport. At the time, the airport was the New York area's only large airport without any rapid transit connections to Manhattan.[33]
A 2017 Nova Bus LFS Articulated (5452) on the Upper West Side-bound M60 SBS in April 2023.
Studies and community outreach for Select Bus Service upgrades were conducted through 2011, and plans to implement the M60 SBS were announced on October 11, 2012.[34] At the time, the M60 was the heaviest used of the four 125th Street crosstown buses. The plan would turn the M60 local into a limited-stop service along 125th Street, with the number of stops along the corridor reduced from eleven to six. It would adddedicated MTA bus lanes and other improvements to speed travel times, and make the fleet entirely articulated and fully equipped with luggage racks.[7][8] Plans for the SBS route were scrapped in July 2013 after opposition from the Harlem community and state senatorBill Perkins, over the potential loss of parking space on 125th Street, and due to a lack of collaboration by the DOT with the community.[35][36][37]
In October 2013, the plan was reinstated after the proposed bus lanes along 125th Street between Morningside Avenue on the West Side andLenox Avenue in central Harlem were eliminated.[8] The M60 SBS began service on May 25, 2014.[3][7][8] An inauguration ceremony was held two days later.[38]In January 2023, the MTA released a strategic action plan called "Extending Transit's Reach".[39] As part of this plan, the M60 SBS fleet was scheduled to receive bike racks.[40][41] The bike racks had been installed on the fronts of the buses by 2024.[42]
A 2011 Orion VII EPA10 (7070), used as a loan on the LaGuardia Airport-bound M60 SBS at Broadway/West 116th Street (Columbia University)
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