# New York City Omnibus Corporation

The New York City Omnibus Corporation (NYCO, later Fifth Avenue Coach Lines, Inc.) ran bus services in New York City between 1926 and 1962. It expanded in 1935/36 with new bus routes to replace the New York Railways Corporation streetcars when these were dismantled. It further expanded with the acquisition of the Fifth Avenue Coach Company from The Omnibus Corporation in 1954. NYCO was renamed the "Fifth Avenue Coach Lines, Inc." in 1956, becoming bankrupt in 1962, after which operations were taken over by the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority.

## History

The New York City Omnibus Corporation was formed in 1926 with John A. Ritchie as President. Richie was also president of The Omnibus Corporation founded a year earlier.
The company introduced new bus lines to replace the streetcar lines being withdrawn by the New York Railways Corporation in 1935/36, which The Omnibus Corporation also owned.
In 1954, the company purchased the Fifth Avenue Coach Company from The Omnibus Corporation and renamed itself as "Fifth Avenue Coach Lines, Inc." on May 14, 1956. They also acquired the Third Avenue Railway-owned Surface Transportation Corporation on December 17 that same year, and created an operating subsidiary, Surface Transit, Inc., to administer their routes.
The company went bankrupt in 1962 and the services were taken over by the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority.

## Routes

The routes that were operated by the New York City Omnibus Corporation are listed below.
| Route | Terminal A | Major streets of travel | Terminal B |
| 1/2 | Civic Center Park Row/City Hall or Astor Place 8 Street/4 Avenue | Fourth Avenue Madison Avenue (1 via Park Avenue) (2 via Madison Avenue) | Harlem Madison Avenue/135 Street |
| 3/4 | Gramercy Park 23 Street/Lexington Avenue or Astor Place 8 Street/4 Avenue | Lexington Avenue (3 and 4) Lenox Avenue (4 only) | East Harlem Lexington Avenue/131 Street or Harlem Lenox Avenue/146 Street |
| 5 | Civic Center Park Row/City Hall | Sixth Avenue | Central Park South 59 Street/6 Avenue |
| 6 | South Ferry | Broadway Seventh Avenue | Central Park South 59 Street/7 Avenue |
| 7 | Gramercy Park 23 Street/Broadway | Broadway Columbus Avenue Lenox Avenue | Harlem 146 Street/Lenox Avenue |
| 8/9 | Tribeca Canal Street/Varick Street or Astor Place 8 Street/4 Avenue | Seventh Avenue (8 to Canal and Varick Streets) (9 to 8th Street and 4th Avenue) | Central Park South 7 Avenue/59 Street |
| 10 | SoHo Cortlandt Street | Eighth Avenue Central Park West | Polo Grounds 159 Street/8 Avenue |
| 11 | Greenwich Village Abingdon Square | Ninth Avenue Amsterdam Avenue | Harlem La Salle Street/Broadway |
| 12 | SoHo West Street/Watts Street | Spring and Delancey Streets Crosstown | Williamsburg Bridge Mangin Street/Delancey Street |
| 13 | Greenwich Village West Street/Christopher Street | 8 Street Crosstown | East Village Avenue D/West 10 Street |
| 14 | Chelsea West 22 Street/11 Avenue | 14 Street Crosstown | East Village Avenue D/East 14 Street or Lower East Side Delancey Street/Essex Street |
| 15 | Chelsea 11 Avenue/West 23 Street | 23 Street Crosstown | Kips Bay FDR Drive/East 23 Street |
| 16 | Clinton 12 Avenue/West 34 Street or Clinton 12 Avenue/West 42 Street via 8 Avenue | 34 Street Crosstown | Murray Hill 1 Avenue/East 34 Street |
| 17 | Upper West Side West End Avenue/West 79 Street | 79 Street Crosstown | Yorkville East End Avenue/East 79 Street |
| 18 | Upper West Side West End Avenue/West 86 Street | 86 Street Crosstown | Yorkville East End Avenue/East 86 Street or Yorkville York Avenue/East 91 Street |
| 19 | Upper West Side West End Avenue/West 96 Street | 96 Street Crosstown | Yorkville York Avenue/East 91 Street |
| 20 | Upper West Side West End Avenue/West 106 Street | 116 Street Crosstown | East Harlem FDR Drive/East 116 Street |
| 21 | SoHo West Street/Watts Street | Houston Street and Avenue C Crosstown | Kips Bay 27 Street/1 Avenue |
| 22 | Lower East Side Clinton Street/South Street | Pitt Street Ridge Street | Lower East Side Houston Street/FDR Drive |
| TB | East Harlem Lexington Avenue/East 125 Street or South Bronx 138 Street/Jackson Avenue | Triborough Bridge | Randalls and Wards Islands or Astoria 37 Street/24 Avenue |