S46 and S96 buses

The **S46** and **S96** consitutes bus routes in Staten Island, New York running primarily on Castleton Avenue and South Avenue, between St. George Ferry Terminal and Chelsea, Staten Island.

The S46 was originally a streetcar route operated by the Staten Island Electric Railroad, Richmond Light and Railroad Company, and later Richmond Railways, unit it was replaced with buses on 1934. The S96 was created in 1996 as a rush hour, limited stop version of the S46.

## Route description

The S46 begins at St. George Ferry Terminal, at Ramp C, and goes on Bay Street until it goes along Victory Boulevard. It continues on the boulevard until it uses Jersey Street to access Castleton Avenue, while eastbound buses use Cebra Avenue to access Victory Boulevard. It then continues on Castleton Avenue until it uses Nicholas Avenue, Innis Street, Morningstar Road, and Walker Street. Westbound buses use Van Pelt Avenue, Linden Avenue, and Maple Parkway to access Walloon Street, and eastbound buses use Maple Parkway, De Ruyter Place, and Van Pelt Avenue to access Walker Street. It then continues on Walloon Street until it turns to Union Avenue and Brabant Street. It then continues on the Street until it turns to South Avenue and continues, until it terminates near the West Shore Plaza Shopping Center and The Teleport. Buses heading eastbound uses Forest Avenue and Grandview Avenue to access Brabart Street. It also serves the Teleport in Bloomfield weekdays only. Some buses start and terminate at Forest/Grandview Avenues.

During rush hours, the S96 replicates the S46, running towards St. George Ferry Terminal during AM rush hours, and to Chelsea, Staten Island during PM rush hours. While in operation, the S96 makes all local stops west of Port Richmond and Castleton Avenues.

## History

The S46 was originally the #3 streetcar route, operated by the Staten Island Electric Railroad, later the Richmond Light and Railroad Company, andd then Richmond Railways. It ran between St. George Ferry Terminal and Port Richmond, via Richmond Terrace, Clove Road, Castleton Avenue, Brook Street, Victory Boulevard, and Bay Street. It was replaced with buses on January 14, 1934, and was initally operated by the Staten Island Coach Company, then the Isle Transportation Company.

On 1947, Isle Transportation Company went bankrupt and its routes, including the S46, were taken over by the New York City Board of Transportation on February 23rd of that year.

The R3 route was renumbered the S3, and then the S46 on April 2, 1989. It was extended to Grandview & Forest Avenues, Mariners Harbor and later Chelsea (West Shore Plaza).

Service was extended to West Shore Plaza on June 26, 1994 from Grandview Avenue and Forest Avenue from 8:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekdays and Saturdays and from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., corresponding with the shopping center's hours. Service was extended in response to requests for the extension from the office of the Staten Island Borough President, the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, the owner of the shopping center and other groups. Before the extension, there was no bus service to the Plaza, requiring employees and shoppers to walk a mile from the S62 bus. NYCT studied extensions of the S40, S46, S48 and S62, and decided to extend the S46 because it did not make diversions and did not branch, for its connections to other bus routes and the SIR, because it connected to a large apartment complex, and because it offered good accessibility to residential areas on the North Shore. The extension also provided access to the Teleport, an office park constructed by the Port Authority. The extension was done through an agreement with the developer of the shopping center, and required the elimination of some parking spaces. The extension received more ridership than expected, with an additional 450 riders compared to the projected 200 to 250 riders. In June 1996, the span of service in the peak hour in the off-peak direction was increased in the morning for workers and early morning shoppers, with the first bus leaving St. George at 6 a.m..

In September 1996, the S96 limited-stop service began, operating in the PM rush hour between 4:50 and 6:30 p.m. westbound. Stops chosen for the S96 included high-ridership S46 stops, transfer locations and stops near major destinations. It was implemented to speed up trips for S46 riders traveling the farthest by about five minutes. Service was implemented by converting selected existing S46 trips. S96 service only made limited stops from St. George to Port Richmond Avenue along Castleton Avenue. It also originally ran PM rush hours only. AM rush hour service was introduced in September 2006.

The opening of the Teleport, on South Avenue, prompted limited service in conjunction with employee work hours. Service began on August 29, 2011.

A.M. & P.M. rush hour service was supplemented with additional trips to & from Clove Road & Richmond Terrace to the ferry and Park Avenue & Richmond Terrace to the ferry.