The M98 operates between Hunter College at East 68th Street on the Upper East Side and Fort Tryon Park in Inwood near West 192nd Street. The M98 operates northbound via Third Avenue, and southbound via Lexington Avenue. At East 120th Street, southbound service shifts from Park to Lexington Avenues, while at East 127th Street, the M98 northbound service shifts onto the Harlem River Drive. The M98 exits the Harlem River Drive via the Interstate 95/Amsterdam Avenue exit. The M98 travels westbound along West 179th Street and eastbound along West 178th Street between Amsterdam Avenue and Fort Washington Avenue, where the M98 turns north on Fort Washington Avenue until its terminal at the entrance to Fort Tryon Park.[6]
M101
The M101 spans between Cooper Square in the East Village and Fort George Avenue in Fort George. The M101 runs northbound along Third Avenue from Astor Place to East 125th Street, while southbound buses use Lexington Avenue north of East 24th Street. The M101 continues crosstown on 125th Street to Amsterdam Avenue, running north towards West 193rd Street after Amsterdam Avenue becomes Fort George Avenue. To begin the southbound trip, the M101 makes its first stop at Fort George Avenue and Fort George Hill, then turns south onto Saint Nicholas Avenue, then left (east) onto West 190th Street, followed by a right (south) back onto Amsterdam Avenue. Some northbound buses terminate at 125th Street & Amsterdam Avenue or in both directions at 96th Street.
The M101 runs as a limited-stop service during the day south of East 116th Street, with no other local service. Local service is provided by the M102 and M103 buses, during that time. Overnight and weekend morning service runs local.[7]
The M103 begins its route at City Hall and travels north via Park Row and the Bowery. At Astor Place, it continues north alongside the M101 and M102 along Third to East 125th Street, where it terminates. Southbound service uses Lexington Avenue from East 125th to 24th Streets, then uses Third Avenue, Bowery, and Park Row.[9]
On July 17, 1960, Third Avenue north of 24th Street became one-way northbound, and southbound buses were moved to Lexington Avenue, and the two parallel bus lines were combined as a one-way pair, keeping the route number M101.[13]
Route M101A, formerly NYCO Fifth, Madison and Lenox Avenues route 2, was started on March 2, 1969.[17] This route was renumbered the M102 on July 1, 1974.[18]
Limited-stop service
New M98 Limited Stop service running between 32nd Street and Washington Heights was introduced on September 14, 1987, as a rush hour-only service.[19][20] A public hearing had been held on March 12, 1987 concerning the proposed introduction of the route. Service initially ran every 15 minutes between 6:30 and 9:30 a.m. southbound, and every 15 minutes northbound from 4 to 7 p.m.. with service every 30 minutes in the reverse-peak. Stops were added to the route in response to community requests at 187th Street, 125th Street, 116th Street and 107th Street. The route was designed to keep the number of stops to a minimum to attract ridership.[21]
Limited-stop service on the M101 began on October 14, 1991, with alternate buses running limited between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.[22]
On September 10, 1995, the M103 was created to improve reliability along Third and Lexington Avenues, curtailing the M101 and M102 south of Astor Place.[23]
In 2009, buses along the corridor were involved in a total of 268 accidents. The number is attributed to both inexperienced operators and the number of "obstacles" along the route.[24]
On June 27, 2010, due to shortfalls in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's budget, the M98 was truncated from 32nd Street to 68th Street. At the same time, southbound M98 service into the George Washington Bus Terminal was discontinued. These two changes were estimated to annually save $800,000.[25]
^Gunn, David L. (August 18, 1987). "September 1987 Bus Changes"(PDF). laguardiawagnerarchive.lagcc.cuny.edu. New York City Transit Authority. Retrieved March 21, 2019.