We strongly advise you to at least purchase 1 Metrocard with the Pay-per-ride option which is a reloadable card that you can use on both subways and buses, and each ride will cost you $ 2.75.

If you pay the Bus fare with your regular MTA Card, note that as always the MTA guarantees Free Transfer within a 2-hour window from the first use when switching from 'local-bus to local-bus', ' from subway to local-bus', and vice-versa ' from local-bus to subway', as mentioned before Express Buses are not part of theses Free Transfer system. For Express Buses, unlimited Express Metrocards are required (valid for 7 or 30 days.) If you pay by coins aboard the bus, and your itinerary includes a bus change or a transfer to a subway train, just tell the Bus Driver that you have to make a Transfer and you will be given a single-use (not reloadable) Metrocard Card with a black stripe on the back, which you will have to use when you get on the other bus (or subway), the duration of this Transfer Ticket is 2 hours from the time you paid the original fare. If by chance, you find yourself without an MTA card on you, you can still pay the Bus single-ride fare ($2.75) aboard the bus, but make sure you have coins with you, no banknotes are accepted, only exact change and no pennies! To pay for your ride, you can use the same Metrocard that you buy at the vending machines located in every Subway Station. Public buses in New York are run by the same company that manages the subway system, the MTA, and the cost of a single-ride ticket is $2.75.

Tickets - How Much A Bus Ride Costs in NYC

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