The Port Authority Bus Terminal is the main gateway for interstate buses into Manhattan in New York City. It is owned and operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ). Colloquially called Port Authority, the bus terminal is located in Midtown at 625 Eighth Avenue between 40th Street and 42nd Street, one block east of the Lincoln Tunnel and one block west of Times Square. The PABT, opened in 1950 between 8th and 9th Avenues and 40th and 41st Streets, was built to consolidate the many different private terminals spread across Midtown Manhattan. A second wing extending to 42nd Street was added in 1979. It is one of three bus terminals operated by the PANYNJ, the others being the George Washington Bridge Bus Station in Upper Manhattan and the Journal Square Transportation Center in Jersey City.
PABT serves as a terminus and departure point for commuter routes, as well as for long-distance intercity routes, and is a major transit hub for New Jerseyans. The terminal is the largest in the United States and the busiest in the world by volume of traffic, serving about 8,000 buses and 225,000 people on an average weekday and more than 65 million people a year. It has 223 departure gates and 1,250 car parking spaces, as well as commercial and retail space. In 2011, there were more than 2.263 million bus departures from the terminal. The terminal has reached peak hour capacity, leading to congestion and overflow on local streets. As it does not allow for layover parking, buses are required to use local streets or lots, or return through the tunnel empty. The PANYNJ has been unsuccessful in its attempts to expand passenger facilities through public private partnership and in 2011 delayed construction of a bus depot annex citing budgetary constraints. In June 2013, it commissioned an 18-month study that would consider reconfiguration, expansion, and replacement options.