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Port Authority Bus Terminal
Category: Hotels & Travel Transportation Public Transportation Public Transportation [Edit]
42nd St and 8th AveNew York, NY 10001
Neighborhoods: Hell's Kitchen, Midtown West, Theater District
(212) 564-8484
- Nearest Transit:
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42 St - Port Authority Bus Terminal (A, C, E)
Times Sq - 42 St (7, 7X)
Times Sq - 42 St (1, 2, 3, N, Q, R)
171 reviews for Port Authority Bus Terminal
171 reviews in English
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Review from Jason H.
Hoboken, NJ
1/13/2012 106 Check-ins Here
I am at PA at least twice a day to commute from Hoboken to Mid-town. I'm going to try to stick to reviewing solely PA and not bring tunnel traffic issues into this but it can be most difficult. PA was built just for it's utility and certainly not it's beauty. The superstructure is ugly but I guess it gets the job done. I'm lucky because I only have to go to one of three gates for the most part and I have my monthly pass. I can see how having to figure out where to buy your ticket to travel on a Greyhound bus or whatever can be difficult to find. Then having to find the gate can be difficult as well since their are 4 floors of gates and some of the signage can be misleading. Not that anyone ever really goes to PA to get food it has many of the usual fast food places to eat (none of which I've ever eaten at). There is a bowling alley which I've been to once but it is outrageously expensive.
In the end, PA is what it is. It's utilitarian and nothing more. -
Review from Phil H.
1/23/2012 1 Check-in Here
You have now entered Satan's asshole.
I have had the unfortunate experience of having to use this bus terminal on occasion and dread it each and every time. It's a necessary evil if needing to take a bus to points in New Jersey or a day trip to Ikea. You almost feel dirty just walking into it.
Hardly ever see any security here. Shady characters shuffling around during the day and even more so at night. You almost feel as if you need to keep looking behind and all around you at all times. Confusing signage. Tourists wandering around like a chicken without a head. Crappy places to eat. Skeevy bathrooms that makes you not want to touch human flesh on anything. Crack heads and homeless asking for money. Total fail at any shopping or mall like experience. No place to sit and wait for your bus. In all my years here this place has not changed one bit in over a decade.
Two confusing buildings of Hell. One has a bowling alley - why? This part of town totally sucks, and the dregs of humanity seem to occupy this area.
I swear this place could be the scene of the moment the zombie apocalypse begins. -
Review from Christopher M.
New York, NY
12/30/2011
Mainstream on two sides, crack heads on the others.
I tend to only use Port Authority anymore as a short cut from 8th to 9th ave, a Duane Reade stop in, or as a point of reference when meeting up with a friend to dine at Daphne's or Shorty's.
It has some minimal use. So I'll give it 2-stars. But, yeah. Fail. -
Review from J M.
Shelton, CT
All walks of life here
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Review from Chris E.
New York, NY
1/28/2012
I cannot stand this place.
Problem #1: there is no central departure board showing gates...and the information booths are frequently closed (especially on weekends)...and while the timetables for bus routes often show gates, sometimes they don't, and sometimes they're impossible to find when you're at the bus terminal.
Lesson: be prepared for extreme frustration and wasted time (and money, as sometimes you have to pay a tip to a homeless person for gate info) here, all of which is completely unnecessary. -
Review from Harvey H.
Chicago, IL
12/22/2011
I thought I'd seen it all in Chicago. I guess not. This place is like, wow. And people here. Well, let's just say your average New Yorker is not the same as your average Chicagoan.
Pretty dirt and took me a while to get through. I also couldn't figure out the signs to get to the MTA. Then all the trains are letters and numbers?!?! Why are we using two different systems here?
It looks like I'm going to be spending Christmas weekend looking for Noelle in New York. But her dad didn't get a Christmas, all he got was an untimely murder, so who am I to complain?
As I was on the bus I got a text from an unknown area code 212 number. It said "Heard you were coming to New York. You'd best be careful who you trust. Meet me Christmas eve at the Waverly. Bring the envelope. - Mr. B"
I guess I'm sniffing up the right pole if I'm catching this much attention. I'm going to stay with my old college buddy Joe, he lives in Williamsburg. Wish me luck! I'm here for you No.
Harvey out! -
Review from karen c.
Boston, MA
11/28/2011
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
As a Road Warrior, I pride myself in my traveling superpowers. In the past year, I've logged 100,000 airline miles, 27 bus trips, 40 train rides, several passport stamps and a financial planner who asks me why I bother to rent my apartment when I spend more money on travel than on said apartment.
But every road warrior trips over her own two feet. Yesterday (the Sunday after Thanksgiving), I fell flat on my face. I forgot to book a ticket to get from New York to Boston. Granted, this was not a typical trip-I flew from Boston to Jamaica to JFK, then spent a few days on Long Island, went out east to the vineyards, then back to NYC expecting a Bolt Bus ticket in my inbox, but there was no ticket. Panic set in at noon on Sunday when I realized that I was about to be stranded on Long Island. I quickly booked a ticket via Greyhound, dreading the trip to Port Authority for good reason....
The line to get from NY to Boston was wrapped around the lobby of Port Authority three times. I was asked for money no fewer than seventeen times by homeless people. The staff was rude and completely useless when you had questions (like, "where can i print my ticket so I can get on the bus I just waited two hours for?"). Had the line been on a staircase, you could have thrown yourself from the top step and spiraled down the staircase of insanity for days.
It was also hotter than moose balls in the terminal. I deeply pondered the merits of going to the bathroom to put on a bikini left over from my trip to Jamaica, but the thought of entering the bathrooms, which are on an unknown level of hell that even Dante himself wouldn't enter, makes me queasy. You couldn't pay me to go peepee in the station. I would sooner go in my pants and/or explode.
There is no method to the madness, nor is there adequate staffing. There are seven police officers for every one agent, which makes sense in hindsight; I was expecting a riot to ensue after they announced that the time on your ticket meant nothing and that if you were to get on a bus and get home, you should consider yourself lucky. And THAT is what I call customer service!
Unless I forget to book travel again and I'm hard up, I could happily live the rest of my life without ever going NEAR Port Authority again. I made it home in one piece and lived to Yelp about it. -
Review from Imir L.
12/16/2011
Thinking about the NYC Port Authority is like a Vietnam Vet recalling how good the hookers were in between napalm bombings, North Korean torture tours and weeks of nonstop jungle rain.
As a Native New Yorker I'm equally amazed at how much NYC has been cleaned up and how the Port Authority continues to hold onto its grime and stench. Going there is like being transported to the nights of that Paul Newman film "Ft. Apache the Bronx." The problem is Port Authority is not a nostalgic museum tour. It's real and the dangers that your parents all warned you about are still very much real there.
Scam artists just don't live at Port Authority, they are the buildings main financial institutions unless you count the pick pockets. I can almost excuse the rudeness of the "polite" citizens who go there because everyone is in such a rush to get out that the "excuse me" or the occasional "I'm sorry" is hardly ever used. It's every man for himself.
It smells, it's dangerous and it's a throwback to the times you expected to be mugged on a New York City Street.
The Port Authority for me is a sign of how I've moved on and grown professionally and maybe personally. God's blessed me enough that I can afford better means of transportation so that the bus is never truly an option.
Now that I think of it, God has truly blessed me because He's given me feet so the bus is truly never an option and should the day come when my feet no longer work, I will jump off the Empire State Building with homemade wings and just glide to where I need to go to avoid the NYC Port Authority all together. -
Review from Mia M.
11/22/2011
It is a horrible privilege and shameful right of passage to be able to navigate this building with ease. Probably because you have crossed the Hudson River enough times to figure it out [in my case, over the course of 30 years. And only the cost of a ride has changed since].
If this does not describe you, my advice to you is:
1) Know which of the two buildings you need to go to.
2) Know your ROUTE number.
3) The ROUTE number is NOT the same as the ZONE number.
4) The ROUTE number and ZONE number are NOT the same as the GATE number.
5) Your destination may or may not be posted at the gate.
6) Your destination may or may not appear on the printed schedule.
7) You may or may not get your hands on the printed schedule, that is, on-site.
8) The employee at the info kiosk may or may not exist.
9) However, Penn Station exists ten minutes away. Their departure board is helpful and makes all the difference.
Godspeed. -
Review from Angela N.
New York, NY
1/23/2012 1 Check-in Here
Was eerily quiet on my last visit on Friday morning. The new bus service from Bolt from NY to D.C. is great. Short lines, quick, efficient service and sheltered from the weather. Will definitely use their service again in the future. Surprisingly clean and sanitary women's restroom.
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Review from Cullen A.
New York, NY
1/20/2012 1 Check-in Here
This place can be quite entertaining. Every time I pass through here there are people shouting about the end of the world, jesus is coming, save your soul, performers, dancers, you name it, if you want free entertainment....pass through this place.
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Review from Yuna D.
Syosset, NY
11/29/2011
I hate how you never know which gate to go to. Gates 1-56 is like a riot fiasco every morning. The people who actually work for port authority are alright, but people who work for trailways and greyhound seriously have issues understanding simple english or maintaining order.
The sunday after thanksgiving was like some "occupy port authority" event with all the students trying to go back to college. They grouped everyone from gates 20~26 into one ginormous line instead of simply making separate lines for each gate. I missed my bus because greyhound wouldn't let me on my 10am scheduled time. When I told them that there was only one layover from Binghamton to Geneseo, they LIED to my face about a special nonexisting layover. Lo and behold, 4 hours later at Binghamton, they told me I would have to transfer to Syracuse and then transfer to Rochester and then somehow get to Geneseo, which is 30 minutes away from Rochester. A seven hour trip took 12 hours thanks to the fiasco at Port Authority.
This place is a seriously disorganized waste of space where anarchy reigns supreme and no one knows how to communicate. I'm sure there are other yelpers who were on that ridiculous neverending line sweating our butts off frustrated at the mosh pit port authority became on 11/27/2011.
Au bon pain and the bowling alley are like the only two good things here... eat shop play? yeah right. its more like stress out, scream, and cry. -
Review from Althea A.
12/5/2011
Port Authority truly is a Pit Of Hell.
And this year, the Sunday after Thanksgiving was the penultimately worst time I have ever been there. I know, I know, bad day to travel, but I've traveled on many holidays and I've never seen it so miserably chaotic. I was saintly patient through a horrible bus trip, but I swear I nearly hit some obnoxious matron who started blocking my way and screaming that I was trying to cut her line - when I was within sight of the exit! I have no idea whose idea it was to make people form a line that blocked access to the main exit out onto 8th Avenue...
In summation: Miserable. Smelly. Nasty. Ugly. Full of the dregs of humanity. Sitting in here waiting for a bus is a good way to convince yourself of the futility of existence and the worthlessness of everything you hold dear.
Oh yeah - penultimate. Only because the Number One Worst Day at Port Authority was when a guy pickpocketed my walkman (yes this was a while ago) out of my bag, I knew who did it, and the security and police refused to do anything about it - they said I couldn't prove it was mine.
Someday, someday I will never have to come back here...
(OH - a note to the California reviewer who opines that only 'newbies' don't appreciate Port Authority... you are simply wrong. I am a 25-year veteran of Gate 17, and the hatred only grows with time...) -
Review from Jonathan S.
Las Vegas, NV
12/2/2011 1 Check-in Here
Only one word can explain the Port Authority Bus Terminal: NIGHTMARE!!!!
On top of being a gigantic labyrinth of floors, terminals, busses, shuttles, trams, tracks, balls, hoops, gadgets, and gross people, this place is just filled with angry people who really couldn't care less about you or your journey.
I had booked a Peter Pan ticket online and was never given the option to pick it up at the station even though I was traveling and had zero access to a printer. Upon visiting the Peter Pan counter I was told I was being charged $5 to print out a boarding pass and couldn't print the ticket any other way and I was basically SOL. I'm pretty sure this is a scam seeing as they never gave me a way to opt out of this bogus charge and did not notify me beforehand.
After receiving my boarding pass I was pointed in a direction that wasn't my terminal and had to spend another 15 minutes wandering the underground maze that is floor 1. I never thought anything would make me miss Penn Station but this place takes the cake. NO THANKS! -
Review from Kristine S.
Jersey City, NJ
11/17/2011 5 Check-ins Here
Oh yeah.... PRETTY terrible.
I only use Port Authority out of extreme necessity as it is NYC's major bus terminal, but given the choice, I would stay FAR FAR away from this place. Honestly, how hard is it to update the facilities here?
In such a heavily traveled transportation hub, I am extremely disappointed in the lack of signage for terminal gates. I usually travel with Greyhound/Peter Pan and I hate that their gate signage is only a partial list! Most transportation hubs not have clearly marked signs for where you need to go, but even have TVs with gate and departure time! You really wouldn't know where you were going unless you ask someone where to go, and there you are relying on all employees to know the gates on top of their head. That is a major failure.
I agree with the other reviewers that it also is extremely dirty and looks like it hasn't left the 70s as far as being updated. Hungry? The restaurants are collectively as a whole below average. Its only shining grace if you want to call it that is that it is connected to the subway.
If you can, avoid traveling through Port Authority as much as possible. -
Review from Alyssa K.
11/28/2011
Oh, dear God. Where do I begin...
In my early 20s, I had no problems taking the Greyhound. In fact, I quite liked it and was racking up all these discounts and free companion fares because I took it so much. One time I took it from Huntington, West Virginia to Chicago, driving through the Ohio countryside. At the time, I found it quaint, even with the ex-convict we picked up along the way.
Fast forward about eight years later, and I'm thisclose to giving up the American coach bus system for good, mainly thanks to Port Authority.
First of all, this bus terminal has to be the most depressing place in all of NYC. It's also the grimiest and most ghetto and disorganized bus station I've ever experienced worldwide.
I'll give it some credit. The main floor and upper level of Port Authority are just whatever, with its selection of eateries and newsstands. It's when you take the escalator down to the lower-level gates that makes you feel like you're descending upon a smelly, dingy hell.
Good luck trying to find someone here who 1) works there, and 2) knows what gate you should go to for your bus. If you're willing to spare some change, you might be better off asking one of the homeless people there for directions. They actually sound pretty knowledgeable.
The only positive going for PABT is the fact that it's sheltered. I would hate to be standing in line outside during the middle of a thunderstorm, waiting for a BoltBus or MegaBus. Actually, maybe it wouldn't be that bad...
I think I'm just starting to outgrow buses. Maybe I'll be a bigger fan of them once I move out of NYC and no longer have to endure Port Authority. But for now, it just might be time to cough up more money and enjoy the luxuries of Amtrak for my trips back home... -
Review from Chad S.
11/19/2011
What a beautiful mix of culture, time, and disorderly conduct. I sometimes need to travel through this transit hub but can't say that its easy. There really is no organization especially when you've got "homeless guy just trying to make a living" directing you than asking for a donation. OR when you walk by the 42nd street entrance and the 1979 party crew is having a slumber party on the steps. Sometimes I must say that I enjoy the confusion of "do I take the 163 or the 274 bus?" and I'm told that they'll both get me to the same place but when I buy a ticket for one and go to the other, I'm not welcome on that transportation device. In need of serious renovations and the upscale bowling alley and that big screen they just put on the facade is NOT what I'm talking about.
If you aren't fortunate enough to travel through Grand Central and you must enter the city through the Port Authority or Penn Station, then your perception of New York is probably already distorted. But hey don't let that get you down, embrace the extracurriculars occurring on the steps and the guy just trying to make a living for the uniqueness of our city of infinite stories.Listed in: Transit Hubs
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Review from Nino R.
9/28/2011 6 Check-ins Here
After reading several dozen reviews I think it's safe to say that most visitors of the PABT are more concerned with bums and their odors than they are with Homeland Security.
Folks, perhaps the administrators of the PABT are more concerned with addressing possible terrorist threats than they are with kicking bums out of walkways.
This is NYC right? I mean, if you're not used to seeing bums by now, then maybe you should move back to the midwest or Canada.
What the PABT does well is stay organized and keep buses running on time (generally). For you newbies, there are several help desks that not only supply bus itineraries, but they're also staffed with a human being to direct you to the proper gate.
And for the most part, it's the newbies that are driving the low ratings. For the veterans of PABT, I think their main concern is bus schedules.
Which the PABT usually nails... -
Review from Matty G.
10/3/2011 4 Check-ins Here
You might as well try to navigate the place with your eyes closed.
The Port Authority Bus Terminal is great for me because the bus takes me from my front door to here. Then from here I can go almost anywhere I would like to in Manhattan. Call it a jumping point once you arrive in the city. The one severe disadvantage is that once you arrive at the terminal, the lack of signs will keep you guessing and get you lost. The only reason I now know my way around here is because I have memorized landmarks in the terminal that help guide me from the exit to the platform and back. The quickie store, the ATM machine, and the bum who sleeps on the staircase. Believe it or not the bum never seems to move. You can't even find a exit sign which I thought was required by law to be posted in case of a fire.
But I got to say if you are taking a bus it does help. It will drive you insane finding your way around or trying to ask for directions. But to help ease your frustration they built a Heartland Brewery in the building to drink away the pain. All you got to is find it.
Overall the Port Authority Bus Terminal gets two stars because of its lack of proper signage, lack of help from the staff who work there, the homeless people everywhere and the frustration it will produce. It is a place that you just can't avoid, so I guess the only option is to just put up with it. -
Review from Chris S.
Little Ferry, NJ
10/23/2011 1 Check-in Here
This looks like a run down bus station. Renovation is much needed. And it smells really bad. Good luck trying to find someone to assist you. Oh and everything is soooooo...... expensive!!!!!
Oh and outside the terminal kinda scary. I'm 5 10 240lbs and I still feel as if I'm going to get robbed. :/ -
Review from Tiffany H.
Astoria, NY
10/28/2011 1 Check-in Here
Super confusing... bus tickets sometimes don't say the correct gate. Adventures to ensue if you ever try nagivating Port Authority under a time constraint.
I have found myself sprinting around this building on multiple occasions. -
Review from Carina Z.
8/28/2011
During my trip I was here on two separate occasions. This bus terminal is HUGE and while the gate numbers are well marked, which bus departs from which gate is NO WHERE to be found. At 5:30am running around trying to find where our bus departed from was extremely frustrating - so much so that even after asking 3 employees we were still lost and not sure we had the right place. We ended up missing our bus and only finding the terminal by trial and error. The second time was slightly less invigorating but we still had to ask several people where to go as there is no posting of the schedule or relationship of bus to gate (so weird!). I guess if you are a regular here then you don't need this but I have no idea how anyone manages to find the right bus.
The station itself is easy to find - located in midtown, with doors on several sides of the building. We did notice that it seems to be a place where homeless people gathered - not that it bothered us, but it is a good thing to know. Inside there are many places to pick up food or a beverage (including a Cinnabon I took advantage of) and even some stores (including a Strawberry that we shopped in). I will comment that the place is sub-standard for cleanliness. -
Review from Ali F.
10/8/2011
I used to travel Greyhound all the time to either Philadelphia or Baltimore. It got to the point where I could memorize just about anything I needed to know about most sections of this station while killing time waiting for my bus.
I can at least give this place two stars for the fact that there are a lot of different shops inside the Port Authority. However, it loses a lot of chances at a better grade from me only because of the confusing layout. On top of that, you really need to walk fairly far in order to get to a bathroom depending on where you are.
Speaking of which, the restrooms need a lot of work. I'm tired of crazy homeless people going in there, singing/yelling/bellowing their asses off or badgering whoever is in a closed stall to hurry and get the f**k out, as if they actually own the place or even so much as know how long the person before them has even been inside the stall!
Sometimes the information peeps aren't all that friendly or professional, and it really makes me wish I hadn't even bothered to ask a simple question such as, "Did the gate for this bus change, or is it in the same spot as usual, and the bus is just running behind schedule?"
Let me tell you... I got so uninterested with traveling Greyhound or Peter Pan to the point that I just up and entirely replaced them with Megabus. Granted that service has its occasional issues, too (like a tendency to be late for departure from NYC), but at least once we're on the road, I have very little complaints almost ever. -
Review from Benson Y.
6/20/2011 196 Check-ins Here
Before I started working in midtown Manhattan, I only went to Port Authority once in a blue moon to take a bus to Pennsylvania or maybe Canada. For the past five years however I've passed through here almost every day of the week.
Port Authority is an amazing piece of organization. Hundreds of buses pass through here daily. It has a direct line to the subway underneath and it's right in the heart of one of the biggest tourist centers of New York City. They manage to maintain security in what seems like a mass of chaos on a daily basis and if you're hungry, there's quite a few places to get a bite to eat.
So that's the good. What's the bad? Roving homeless all over the place, the frequent smell of God-knows-what at every other turn, dirty, abandoned store fronts, water leaking from the ceiling and rest rooms that make you nervous to be inside. Even recent renovations haven't done much to make it better. It's a bit more open, but the vestibules you wind up waiting for buses in look like fire traps ready to happen.
So yeah, this isn't the most pleasant place in the world, but it is a necessary part of my daily commuting reality so I've learned to adapt. That said, no matter how you look at it, this is the real life equivalent of Star Wars' Mos Eisley minus the cool aliens and music. That's *not* a compliment. -
Review from Sean S.
7/19/2011
It's rare I give something a one star rating. I think a place has to work as hard at getting one-star as you do at getting five stars, in some weird twisted way!
Port Authority is that kind of place you go to only when you have to go there. It reminds me of a bus terminal in Buffalo or other rust belt city.
The place isn't kept very clean, birds fly in and out constantly, there are many many junkies living in and around the place, and it is a constant trap of confusion.
Where do you find this ticket counter, or that bus or that terminal? It's all confusing. If you are pining for the good old days in NYC where depravity lurked around every corner, you can get a small taste of that still here at the lovely Port Authority Bus Terminal! -
Review from Joe S.
7/17/2011
This could be one of my least favorite places on earth. Why?
- swarming with tourists who have no idea where to go because there are no signs
- swarming with cranky people who still have no idea where to go because there are no signs and they are dragging luggage or bags around
- there's two buildings, and this is confusing. Neither have good signs.
- the bathroom should be condemned
- no one else here is usually in a good mood
- the food at most of the places has been sitting out for hours, next to the swarms of the smelly public
- the lines are so long that you can never tell which gate people are in line for and who you might dare butt in front of
- there's no where to sit, and it's a bus terminal
- it has a bowling alley in it, which is random, but it is pretty nice.
- there's no signs, did I mention that? -
Review from Ms. J.
Washington, DC
11/25/2011
This place on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is seriously the seventh circle of hell.
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Review from Ron C.
This was my first time going to Port Authority Bus Terminal. Also this will be my last. I only have a few words to describe this place...
NEW YORK'S GIANT URINAL!
This place reeks with the stench of urine and garbage. It's like the people who maintain this place don't care about anything. I suggest to everyone to try and avoid this place as much as possible. Sure there are stores and places to eat inside. So does everything outside of the Port Authority Bus Terminal. -
Review from Yan F.
7/10/2011
I used to come here to take the CoachUSA bus to New Jersey. The first time I came here was a disaster. The whole setup of this terminal is just so disorganized and confusing. It's like they built this to be some kind of maze or an annoying quest.
The signs don't contain meaningful information. The maps don't really tell you much. Nothing really makes any sense at all unless you're familiar with the terminal to begin with and you're familiar with the names of regions.
The first time I came here, I had no idea where to buy the tickets for the bus. I was on the phone with my mate who could not help me because I was freaking out and panicking and he had no idea where I was. I was so confused!!!
I had to look for the ticket booth. When I got there, there were two ticket booths and depending on where you are going, you will have to go the corresponding booth. The booth unfortunately did not list locations and being unfamiliar with NJ territory, I got on the wrong line like always.
When I finally got back on the other line, I got my ticket. So after running around, getting lost and finally getting the ticket, I looked around to see where the buses were. Of course the signs did not help. I looked at my ticket and it did not tell me what bus to take, what the terminal was and what time the bus leaves. -_-;; It was dreadful so I went back to the ticket booth and asked the guy to give me all that information. Then I asked him "Where does say all that on the ticket?" His response was just a chuckle. I was a bit pissed off.
My bus was one flight of stairs up and I thought the distress was over because I was taking the escalator up to ground floor where the buses will be waiting for its passengers. I was so wrong on that one. On the ground level, there were two signs labeled with different numbers. I looked at my ticket which said 9A which did Not correspond to the numbers in the sign. -_-;;; There was already a bus there and I didn't want to miss it if it was my bus.. I was lucky there was a worker who was at the end corner of the waiting area who told me that was bus I needed to take.
I almost thought I was never going to get to New Jersey or it just doesn't want me to be there. But wait, there's more. :-o I got on the bus, it drove off but now how was I supposed to know where to get off? The bus driver never announced his stops and having never been to New Jersey before, I was still lost. I took a breather and luckily I found my way eventually but I had to stay on the phone with my mate the whole time so I can figure out where I was.
If you are not familiar with Port Authority, be prepared to be under a lot of stress trying to find out where to go. If you have a car, you might as well avoid all of this. The ride wasn't cheap and wasn't exactly easy to understand.
PS Why two stars and not one? It's because it's at least it gets you to where you need to go when you don't have a car. -
Review from Hillary M.
Manhattan, NY
8/21/2011
This place is literally Hell on earth.
And what's with the lack of seating? There are absolutely no places to sit here. Where are you supposed to sit when your bus is running extremely late or when you miss your bus after some asshole station worker tells you you need to get on another bus and then you find out the bus they told you to get on won't be stopping at your destination? -
Review from Kat C.
Manhattan, NY
11/15/2011
What could really be said about PABT... they keep the buses running normally on time, there are places to grab a quick bite or your daily newspaper, it connects to several subway lines, and it's convenient. Sure, it has it's issues, but I never feel unsafe (inside) and with over 200 platforms, it's not a total wad a mass confusion! Sure, there are bums, but this is NYC!
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Review from John P.
Westbury, NY
12/29/2011
But I dont have a choice but to use this "lovely" facility when I take my NJ Transit bus to Toms River. It's a busy place for sure, and it is kinda confusing if you dont know which gate your bus departs from. The terminal is in two sections, the north and south wings. Generally the North Jersey buses use the South Wing, which is busier and has most of the eateries. But if you're going to Central or Southern Jersey, you're relegated to the North Wing. There's few eateries here, and it's generally regarded as the ghetto wing, esp on the 3rd level. But my biggest complaint is the restrooms. They are DISGUSTING. I only use them as a last resort. Its like stepping back into the NYC of the 70s. There are bums and thugs often washing up in there and it STINKS. Then they beg for money and harass you. The PAPD is usually stationed in the South Wing, they are rarely seen in the North Wing. Its not like they'd do anything anyway. They repeatedly announce how photography is prohibited over the loudspeaker (yes in one of the busiest bus stations full of tourists) yet they can't clean these bums out? They sleep everywhere, even sometimes in the elevators. I cannot understand how the Port Authority, with all the money it rakes in each year, cant provide bus riders into and out of NYC with a SAFE and CLEAN place to wait for a bus. Sure there are signs by the waiting areas that tickets are required to wait there, yet the bums sleep there on the seats, wash up in the rest rooms, and stink up the place. Its gotten much worse recently too. I'm not asking the PA to make this a fancy terminal, heck even if they keep those ugly steel toilets it'd be OK, just get rid of the damn bums!!!
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Review from Yunji L.
5/7/2011 2 Check-ins Here
It's impossible to navigate through this maze of a bus terminal. There are no proper directories and each person at the information desk gives you a different answer for the same question, which none of them are correct. They need to have an accurate collective information system instead of each private company giving you a dirty look if you ask the whereabouts of the competitor. You just have to arrive early, wander around this place and try your luck to make a proper trip.
Things get worse during rush hours with thousands and thousands of commuters crowding every inch of the terminal. No wonder the commuters all look like zombies after they are released from this place. -
Review from Mitch S.
Frederick, MD
10/14/2011 1 Check-in Here
If ever there was a place to be said to resemble the eighth level of Dante's inferno, it surely be the PABT on 42nd I've been to whore houses and dog tracks with better signage than this place, and I've never been to either a dog track or a whore house, but if I had, I'd expect better navigation and floor plans than this hell hole.
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Review from Kira c.
Manhattan, NY
7/19/2011
I've only been here once and I live in NYC...I had to go to NJ for a friends birthday party.
This is one of the worst places.
Not very clean.
The people that work here are not very helpful and have grumpy attitudes.
It can be very confusing to find your way. (Luckily my friend helped me in advance how to get to the right bus and so on).
In conclusion I will only come here if I really have to and have no other way.
It's all been said already about what makes this place super sucky. -
Review from Evelyn S.
Long Island City, NY
10/10/2011 5 Check-ins Here
Glad the tourist are gone
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Review from Ali K.
6/8/2011
I AGREE WITH RON C
NEW YORK'S GIANT URINAL!!
Normally i reserve judgement on any type of establishment that has to do with the assistance of helping all people travel back and forth. Although I am grateful for the existence of the Bus Terminal this place is a disaster, it purely sucks ass having the wait in line with some low lifes, obviously sometimes college students, regular people, business people, and penny pinchers/economically saavy people utilize the bus. To avoid the wait in this dreaded place all you have to do is order your ticket online or at one of the machines and then wait online and board the bus, and don't arrive to early. It's as simple as that -
Review from Susan H.
Manhattan, NY
7/10/2011 1 photo
Bleach mists. Yeah, that's what this place needs. A mist of bleach that you can walk through to cleanse the funk that permeates every pore at the NY Port Authority bus terminal. Better yet, the Star Trek transporter bio-filter.
It is amazing that operationally this place says aloha to millions traveling within the contiguous United States and Canada. That can't be an easy achievement, but the same time and attention to eliminating the funk would be welcome. I don't need to go through the NYPA often, but when I do I dread the experience.
Touch. Nothing. -
Review from Brandon Z.
Ridgewood, Queens, NY
6/1/2011 1 Check-in Here
Am I rating this in comparison to other bus terminals? If so, it's not bad-- the world's busiest, you can get anywhere in the country and even Canada from here. There's enough food and retail to keep you occupied while you wait.
However, there is almost nowhere to sit (other than immediately next to the gates). -
Review from devin s.
Los Angeles, CA
10/24/2011
Make sure you know your gate number and get there 15 minutes early. It's more than functional, as far as not being modern enough, they are buses, not planes. They take credit cards! Quit complaining. If you take greyhound, you can get some crazy deals(15 bucks to washington dc is more than reasonable) if you buy your ticket ahead of time and print it out to make it even easier.
