The 42nd Street “Mega Station”

42 St Port Authority Bus Terminal (A/C/E) and Times Sq-42 St (N/Q/R/W/S/1/2/3/7) have always been one station (as in they are connected inside the paid area), and in 2021, the MTA opened a new tunnel that connects Times Sq-42 St (N/Q/R/W/S/1/2/3/7) to 42 St Bryant Park (B/D/F/M). And 42 St Bryant Park (B/D/F/M) has always been connected to 5 Av (7) . So now it’s one “Mega Station” that spans 4 avenues and has 16 subway lines running through it (and you can walk from one 7 train station to another!). On the subway, map, it looks like this:

The station is not fully ADA accessible and not the entire station is open 24/7 though. Here are some details:

• The tunnel that connects 42 St Port Authority Bus Terminal (A/C/E) and Times Sq-42 St (N/Q/R/W/S/1/2/3/7) is not accessible (the incline of the slope is very steep).

• The connection between Times Sq-42 St (N/Q/R/W/S/1/2/3/7) and 42 St Bryant Park (B/D/F/M) is not accessible (it’s accessible through the S train platform, but it’s only connected to the BDFM platforms through stairs), and is only open 6:00am-11:59pm.

• 42 St Bryant Park (B/D/F/M) is not accessible - there are only street-to-mezzanine elevators, but no mezzanine-to-platform elevators.

• 5 Av (7) is not accessible, and neither is its connection to 42 St Bryant Park (B/D/F/M).

port authority bus terminal

Obviously, the 42 St Port Authority Bus Terminal (A/C/E) station is named as such because it’s connected to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. The Port Authority Bus Terminal, PABT, or simply “Port Authority”, is an L-shaped structure that spans between 40th and 42nd Street, and between 8th and 9th Avenue. It is connected, through the mezzanine underground, to the “Mega Station” mentioned above. I made this first graphic which mapped out where the 200 and 300 gates are for my fellow New Jersey residents.

A few notes:

• Gates are numbered according to floors, so the 200 gates are on the 2/F, 300 gates are on the 3/F etc.

• All the 200 gates are in the South wing, and all the 300 gates are in the North wing.

• There are bathrooms on all floors from Ground Floor to 4th Floor.

And here are where all the gates are:

• Gates 1-34 and 51-56 are on the Lower Floor in the South Wing

• Gates 60-85 are on the Lower Floor in the North Wing

• Gates 200-234 are on the 2nd Floor in the South Wing

• Gates 301-326 are on the 3rd Floor in the North Wing

• Gates 401-421 are on the 4th Floor in the South Wing

Check out https://www.panynj.gov/bus-terminals/en/port-authority.html for official facility maps.