Operating the largest transit network in North America, transporting over 7 million people a day (2 billion a year) the NYCTA is a large and complex network of Bus and Rail services.

Type: Public/Private - Bus Network MTA Owned, Subway Network owned by the City of New York

Fleet Size: 4,525 Buses, 6,344 Subway Rolling Stock

Routes: 237 Bus Routes, 65 Express Bus Routes, 24 Subway Lines

Manufacturer and Powerplant: Utilizing Compressed Natural Gas, Hybrid Electric and Diesel powerplants, the NYCTA sources its fleet from all major bus manufacturers in North America.

Fare Collection: There is no contactless card payment system in the City of New York. However the NYCTA does utilized a magnetic contact fare collection system called MetroCard. This card is reloadable but its technology is archaic in comparison to contactless card payment options offered by similar agencies in the United States and worldwide. Magnetic card technology in the use of a transit setting was abandoned by many transit agencies in the early 2000's in favor of contactless cards which are easier to maintain and distribute.The NYCTA is notable for only recently abandoning its use of tokens (2003).

Livery: The NYCTA brands its fleet with the use of a subsidized agency known as RBO or Regional Bus Operations. Both city and regional bus fleets utilize a similar White and Blue livery.

Innovations: In its current incarnation the NYCTA was formed by acquisition of competing agencies. The NYCTA's extensive history of acquisition of competition has formed the largest transit network in North America. This creates a complex corporate structure of the agency being forced to create subsidiaries using its own personnel and resources and distinguishing them with separate branding. Most transit agencies recieve and to some extent rely on assistance from its State of Residence or the Federal Government. The extremely high amount of ridership on the network enables the NYCTA to pay almost 70% of its operating costs from fares and advertising alone.

Driving Dynamics: Driving a 40 or 60 ft bus in a crowded city is one thing, but there is nothing that can prepare a driver for a career of professional driving in America's largest city. Drivers here constantly battle the normal combatants of a big city along with problems that are specific to the City of New York. Violence is one major concern. Bus drivers are attacked by the public constantly safety partitions were added to reduce this concern. The threat of terrorist attacks is a concern to every transit agency in the world but one that resonates deeper with the NYCTA for obvious reasons. (We Will Never Forget) but perhaps one of the biggest challenges other than the traffic would be mother nature herself. New York is not excluded from the normal weather phenomena which plague the East Coast every year. However, New York's proximity and construction on top of several large bodies of water have the constant effect of amplifying various weather conditions such as Snowfall and Hurricanes. Bus service continues even in these conditions.