The 86th Street Crosstown Line is a bus line in Manhattan, New York City, running mostly along 86th Street on the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. Originally a streetcar line, it now comprises the M86 Select Bus Service bus line.

Quick Facts Overview, System ...

m86
86th Street Crosstown Line
An M86 SBS at Central Park West / 86th Street.
Overview
System	MTA New York City Bus
Operator	New York City Transit Authority
Garage	Michael J. Quill Depot
Vehicle	Nova Bus LFS articulated New Flyer Xcelsior XD60 New Flyer Xcelsior XE60
Livery	Select Bus Service
Began service	1872 (streetcar) 1936 (M18 bus) 1989 (M86 bus)
Route
Locale	Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Communities served	Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Yorkville
Landmarks served	Central Park, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Asphalt Green
Start	Upper West Side – West End Avenue and West 86th Street
Via	86th Street, York Avenue
End	Yorkville – East 92nd Street and York Avenue
Length	2.3 miles (3.7 km)
Service
Operates	All times[1]
Annual patronage	3,620,915 (2022)[2]
Transfers	Yes
Timetable	M86 SBS
Route map Legend West Side – Broadway  M86  Amsterdam Avenue Columbus Avenue Central Park West ​ 85th Street Transverse 5th Avenue / 86th Street 5th Avenue / 84th Street Madison Avenue Lexington Avenue ​​ 3rd Avenue 2nd Avenue 1st Avenue York Avenue / 88th Street York Avenue / 91st Street 1st Avenue / 91st Street Yorkville – York Avenue (92nd Street)  M86  Legend Two-way stop Two-way stop without machines One-way stop  M86  Terminal Subway connection ← M79 SBS ← M79 SBS (by borough) ← B82 SBS (by route number)  {{{system_nav}}}  M96 → Q44 SBS →

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The M86 has the highest "per-mile ridership" of all bus routes in the city, and the second highest ridership of all Manhattan crosstown routes after the M14A/D routes along 14th Street.^[3] Because of this, the M86 became a Select Bus Service route in July 2015.

In April and May 1872, two separate streetcar franchises along 86th Street were granted to the Second Avenue Railroad Company and the New York and Harlem Railroad, respectively. The Second Avenue Railroad received the rights to build a line east of Second Avenue, then north along York Avenue (then called Avenue A) to 92nd Street. The New York and Harlem Railroad, meanwhile, were permitted to construct a line west of Second Avenue, connecting with their Madison Avenue Line.^[6] On April 30, 1890, the two companies agreed to give each other rights to operate on the trackage of the 86th Street Line.^[6] Around this time, the City of New York constructed trolley tracks on the 85th/86th Street Transverse Road crossing Central Park.^[6][10][11] On May 11, 1893, the New York and Harlem received the rights to operate on the Transverse Road tracks.^[6] On June 11, 1896, the New York and Harlem Railroad leased its streetcar lines to the Metropolitan Street Railway.^[6]

On November 12, 1908, the 86th Street Line was temporarily truncated to Second Avenue. This occurred when the Metropolitan Street Railway, a subsidiary of New York Railways, was turned over to creditors when New York Railways went into receivership; the portion of the 86th Street Line east of Second Avenue also went to the receivers, due to the original 1872 franchises. Travel to the 92nd Street Ferry required transferring between trolleys and paying additional fare.^[6]

The line was turned over once again to the New York and Harlem Railroad, now a subsidiary of New York Railways, from February 1, 1920 to December 17, 1932. Afterwards, it returned to New York Railways.^[4][12][13]

On November 3, 1919, the City of New York began operating municipal bus service to replace abandoned New York Railways lines, including the Delancey−Spring Streets Line. At this time, the city also began operating competing bus service along the 86th Street route, called "Route D".^[14][15]

New York City Omnibus Corporation replaced New York Railways's streetcars with the M5–18 bus on June 8, 1936.^[4][12][16]

The M18 was renumbered the M86 in 1989 to match the number of the crosstown street that it runs on.^[17][18]

60-foot (18 m)-long articulated buses were added to the M86 and M79 routes in 2000. Bus stops were lengthened along the routes to accommodate the new buses, while some closely spaced stops were eliminated.^[19][20]

Beginning on June 1, 2010, the M86 was part of a six-month trial testing MasterCard PayPass as a tap-and-go smart card payment system. The trial included seven other MTA bus routes, three NJ Transit bus routes, as well as the IRT Lexington Avenue Line and PATH subway routes.^[21][22]