Port Authority Bus Terminal

 

The Port Authority Bus Terminal is the main gateway for interstate buses into Manhattan in New York City. It is operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The bus terminal is a large building located in Midtown, one block west from Times Square, between 8th and 9th Avenues and 40th and 42nd Street at 625 8th Avenue. It serves as a terminus and departure point for both commuter bus routes as well as for long-distance intercity routes.

During Rush hour, the terminal’s two-mile (3 km) bus lane brings buses from New Jersey directly into the building through the Lincoln Tunnel, avoiding traffic tie-ups and delays on city streets (but not necessarily on the ramps into the terminal). Direct underground passageways connect the terminal with the A C E, 1 2 3, N Q R W, 7, and S New York City Subway lines.

The terminal is the biggest bus station in the United States and the busiest in the world by volume of traffic. It serves 7,200 buses and about 200,000 people on an average weekday.

What you can find out there ?
Delicate, startlingly realistic buttercream flowers festoon the offerings at the Cupcake Cafe, where java-lovers cozy up with laptops under fairy lights.
The Poseidon Bakery is one of the few places left where phyllo pastry is handmade. Three generations of the Fable family live above the bakery, which has drawn legions of fans for its spanakopita and baklava, among many other Greek goodies.
Imported spices and dried goods are heaped to overflowing at International Grocery, where Dino Karamouzis has been selling his wares at bargain basement prices for more than three decades.
At International Grocery, midsize bags of dried basil go for $1.50; other spices are similarly low priced.
Lesiure Time Bowl, a 26-lane bowling alley on the Port Authority’s second floor, near Gate 230, draws commuters, families, office workers and late-night revelers.
A statue of Ralph Kramden, the irascible Brooklyn bus driver played by Jackie Gleason in “The Honeymooners,” stands outside the bus terminal, on Eighth Avenue just north of 40th Street.

Tip: if you are planning to go for any reason just remember that there isn’t any seating in the whole terminal, and seating on the stairs is forbidden.