USA Bus Lines

Stopping with the cord on the NYC bus systems?

This is probably the most stupid question ever, but i am far more familiar with the subways than the buses. I need to take a crosstown bus when I go to school this semester (I need to get from the metro north at 125 harlem to city college at 138th ish and amsterdam ave) but according to the schedule, there are no stops for a long while between the east and west side. The question is, are the NYC buses like buses in most cities where you can pull the cord/press a button to get off somewhere in between? and will they pick up at a stop that isn't on the list of stops? i was going to take either the 100 or 101 bus if it matters

Public Comments

1. First thing is that the printed schedules don't show all the stops, so depending on where you're looking there may be more stops than you think. But the M101 is a Limited during parts of the day, so it won't make every stop along the line then. The M100 is always local making all stops. But anyway, you should be OK with either one. The quickest option is the M101 Limited, which you can catch at Morningside Ave. and W. 125th. It goes up Amsterdam and makes the stop at 138th. In Manhattan buses won't drop you off other than at designated stops. In Queens and Brooklyn they can, as long as the driver deems it to be a safe location to stop. And by the way, while they are reportedly putting cords on some buses now, most NYC buses use push tapes and small buttons to notify the driver. So look for those if you don't see the cords you're used to.
2. They don't show every stop because they stop at every corner, and very few buses here have a pull cord, they mostly have a strip of yellow electronic tape that you press on to signal the driver. So, just find the yellow tape, and press it right after you leave a bus stop to get off at the next bus stop, and you'll do fine.