N.F.T. Bus Routes in Buffalo

In 1950 the Niagara Frontier Transit (NFT) System was formed to operate public bus service in Buffalo. It inherited two sets of bus routes: the numbered routes of the International Railway Company, and the lettered routes of the Buffalo Transit Company.

Numbered Routes

Here are the numbered routes as I remember them from the 1950s:

1William
2Clinton
3Grant
4Broadway
5Niagara
6Sycamore
7Baynes-Richmond
8Main
9Parkside-Zoo
10West Utica
11Colvin
12East Utica
13Kensington
14Abbott Road
15Seneca
16South Park
17Central Terminal
18Jefferson
19Bailey-McKinley
20Elmwood
21Michigan-Forest
22Porter-Best
23Fillmore-Hertel
24Genesee
25Delaware
26Delavan
27Sheridan Parkside
28Sheridan-Englewood
29Niagara Falls
30Kenmore-River Road
31South Buffalo Crosstown
32Amherst Crosstown

7 Baynes-Richmond replaced the I.R.C.'s Hoyt Street car line.

The I.R.C.'s route 9 was Kenmore Avenue. Evidently it was discontinued and later restored as route 30.

Route 11 was originally Utica Crosstown. It followed Route 10 from the west side to Main Street, then Route 12 from Main Street to the east side. N.F.T. discontinued it. The modern route 12 follows the Utica Crosstown route.

The I.R.C.'s car route 17 was Elk Street. So far as I know, it was never a bus route.

19 Bailey-McKinley, now called just Bailey, is the second longest route within the city limits. Bailey Avenue is the longest street in Buffalo, and the route goes past its southern end, to McKinley Park.

The I.R.C.'s route 22 was called Connecticut. The Porter-Best bus, which corresponds to the I.R.C.'s car 25, goes through the same neighborhood but does not pass Connecticut Street.

23 Fillmore-Hertel is the longest route in the city. Fillmore Avenue is one of Buffalo's longest north-south arteries, and Hertel Avenue is one of Buffalo's longest east-west arteries. The bus goes the length of both streets and past the south end of Fillmore Avenue onto Smith Street.

27 Sheridan Parkside was consolidated into 25 Delaware as 25C during the route reorganization of the 1960s. Most of its route followed the Delaware Avenue route. The number 27 was later assigned to the Ridge Road route.

28 Sheridan-Englewood was discontinued in the 1960s. The number 28 was later assigned to a new route, Sheridan-Mill. It too was discontinued.

29 Niagara Falls, which ran on Niagara Falls Boulevard, was discontinued. A new route 34 now runs on Niagara Falls Boulevard, with a slightly different path.

31 South Buffalo Crosstown was also called Ogden-Tifft, because it ran on Ogden and Tifft Streets in South Buffalo. It no longer exists.

Lettered Routes

According to this user Wikipedia page, the lettered routes were:

AAbbott Road to Hamburg
BBroadway to Lancaster/Alden
CCamp Road to Hamburg
EElectric Avenue to Hamburg
FGardenville/West Seneca
GGenesee Street
HHarlem Road
JSloan
KKensington Avenue
LCheektowaga/Depew
MMain St. to Williamsville
OOrchard Park
RRidge Road to Lackawanna
SSouth Park Avenue to Scranton, Pa.
WWilliam Street

In the 1960s, NFT merged the BTC's routes with the numbered routes, creating new numbers for some of them: 33 was North Tonawanda, 34 was Elma, and 35 through 37 ran to Hamburg via Camp Road, South Park Avenue, and Abbott Road.

Last revised 2014-07-27.


Col. George Sicherman [ HOME | MAIL ]