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In just about every city that has a subway, there are those who will not use them, but does that happen in NYC? Could one exist there without using the subways, assuming one doesn't have the time and money to take taxis everywhere?
Going from Manhattan to most of Brooklyn by public transit is impossible without using the subway. Only buses are express buses for accessing the outer edges of Brooklyn, which have poor subway access.
Buses do tend to be slow in any major city, it's the nature of the beast. It definitely happens in L.A. that you can sometimes get from point A to point B faster on the trains, even if that means going miles out of your way geographically and having to make a transfer or two.
Going from Manhattan to most of Brooklyn by public transit is impossible without using the subway. Only buses are express buses for accessing the outer edges of Brooklyn, which have poor subway access.
You can take a bus to Brooklyn from Manhattan. It may not be the most efficient way to travel, in terms of time, but the B39 traverses the Williamsburg Bridge, from the LES to Williamsburg, where one can connect to other buses in Brooklyn at the Williamsburg Bridge Plaza. On the Manhattan side, the B39 connects with the M14, M15, and M21
I would also echo BugsyPal's statements regarding the M buses on 5th and Lexington as being very busy, something that I have observed as well, both with locals and tourists. I can remember having to take the bus with a friend who had to buy a television close to closing (store closing for the night, not the recent closing for sales) at J&R that would not fit in my car, even if she and her boyfriend took the subway back to the house. She could not wait for delivery because she was having a viewing party for some show or another, so the three of us had to schlep it on the trusty M103 from J&R to the E70s. Even at a strange non-rush-hour, the bus was very slow and busy, because I would swear that it stopped every 100 feet and there was a flood of people on and off, until it reached Midtown, but then slowed again on the UES.
Even where there is subway coverage, the buses are popular.
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All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
You can take a bus to Brooklyn from Manhattan. It may not be the most efficient way to travel, in terms of time, but the B39 traverses the Williamsburg Bridge, from the LES to Williamsburg, where one can connect to other buses in Brooklyn at the Williamsburg Bridge Plaza. On the Manhattan side, the B39 connects with the M14, M15, and M21
Didn't know that existed. The last time I checked it may no have existed:
I miss the B51 that went from Smith Street/Fulton Street in Brooklyn to Foley Square in Manhattan. It was always a nice leisurely ride back to the city after doing my fieldwork in Brooklyn.
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"The man who sleeps on the floor, can never fall out of bed." -Martin Lawrence
That is true, it was suspended during the cuts, but there is enough ridership to warrant the crossing, since it links so many routes in Brooklyn to Manhattan. It may be a short route, but really eases life on the Brooklyn side for those who want to transfer from bus to bus, without the need for the subway, too.
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All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
While there are several reasons why NYC buses can be slow, the primary one is despite years of being told otherwise passengers refuse to use the rear for exiting.
Have seen persons walk the entire length of those new longer buses to exit the front when they were sitting nearly next to the rear door. That or actually pass it in order to go to the front of the bus.
Then there are the elderly. No offence but they take ages to board, pay and settle down. The fact they often have walkers, canes, shopping carts and God only knows what else with them slows boarding/unloading.
Only time one will take a non "Limited" or "Select" bus is when only going a few stops, it is late a night/early morning, weather is just too horrible to stand around waiting, and so forth. Otherwise will walk the few blocks to reach a stop that has *limited* service. It can be maddening to have to stop every two or three blocks during peak times. In the evening or other ours when travel is light I've been on buses that flew up or down avenues because no one was getting off and or on.
Bus ridership in NYC in particular Manhattan has boomed with the introduction of the Metro Card and those free transfers. If you know how to go about it and need to run a quick errand you can get downtown and back (or vice versa) and pay only one fare.
While one uses the N-S buses often and have no problems, cannot abide the East-West (cross town) lines. Every single one is slower than molasses in winter. The M79 is a case in point. Have actually walked from York to Fifth before a bus showed up. Many persons simply give up and walk through Central Park instead of waiting. Never understood why the MTA has not come up with "limited" service for some cross town routes. Buses like the M79 do not all need to stop at each avenue. Skipping a few might speed things up a bit.
While one uses the N-S buses often and have no problems, cannot abide the East-West (cross town) lines. Every single one is slower than molasses in winter. The M79 is a case in point. Have actually walked from York to Fifth before a bus showed up. Many persons simply give up and walk through Central Park instead of waiting. Never understood why the MTA has not come up with "limited" service for some cross town routes. Buses like the M79 do not all need to stop at each avenue. Skipping a few might speed things up a bit.
The MTA sets a criteria for limited-stop buses that the routes have to be over 4 miles long, or else they don't add it. Also, the boardings have to be heavily concentrated at certain stops, compared to crosstowns, where every stop is a busy stop. (Granted, some are busier than others, but it's not like the outer boroughs, where there's a clear distinction as to which stops should be limited)
Somebody mentioned that during rush hour, they used to have two buses leaving the terminal at the same time, making alternate stops, and then dropping everybody off at Lexington Avenue, but eventually they stopped doing that.
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