MTA Bus Accidents

Key Takeaways

• An ordinary NYCTA injury claim generally requires a Notice of Claim within 90 days after the accident.
• Notice service and commencing a lawsuit are separate steps with separate deadlines.
• Hearings depend on the defendant, the statute and the applicable appellate decisions.
• New York applies reasonable care under the circumstances, not a special “highest degree of care” rule.
• Save the bus number, route, exact location, witness details and medical records.
• NYCT collision rates are not annual citywide accident counts.

Last reviewed: September 2026.

The New York Post cited this guide in its April 27, 2026 report on the MTA’s bus-driver simulator training. The article linked here for accident context; it was not an endorsement of the firm.

Correction: An earlier version stated that about 4,500 bus accidents occurred annually. We could not verify that estimate against a primary source and have removed it. The dated NYCT figures below measure rates, not annual totals.

Start with the bus operator, not the logo

After an MTA bus accident, identify the legal entity that owned and operated the bus. “MTA” on the vehicle does not make the parent authority, New York City Transit Authority and MTA Bus Company interchangeable defendants.

Keep the route, fleet number, direction of travel and nearest intersection. A photograph of the bus identification and the police or incident report can help counsel confirm the operator.

The distinction affects notice, service and lawsuit requirements. It also matters when another vehicle, a road defect or a maintenance contractor may have contributed to the injury.

For representation across Nassau and Suffolk counties, see our Long Island bus accident lawyer page. This guide focuses on the transit-claim issues to identify first.

The Notice of Claim is the first deadline, not the lawsuit

For an ordinary NYCTA personal-injury claim, Public Authorities Law §1212(2) incorporates the notice requirements of General Municipal Law §50-e.

That generally means serving a Notice of Claim within 90 days after the date of the accident. Reporting an incident to the driver, requesting records or opening an insurance claim is not a substitute for proper service.

The notice identifies the claimant, the nature of the claim, when and where it arose, how it happened, and the injuries or damages claimed. Exact service requirements matter as much as preparing the document.

The lawsuit has its own clock

Section 1212(2) states a one-year-and-90-day period for ordinary NYCTA tort actions. Do not assume the usual three-year private-injury deadline applies, or that serving the notice restarts the clock.

The statute also has a 30-day presentment requirement before suit. Counsel must calculate the applicable waiting period, accrual date and any tolls together; a general article cannot establish an individual filing deadline.

MTA and subsidiary claims have separate provisions in §1276, including a subsidiary notice exception. An exception to formal notice does not eliminate every pre-suit requirement.

Our NY bus accident statute-of-limitations guide explains the notice, hearing and lawsuit steps in more detail.

Is the hearing before or after the lawsuit?

A municipal 50-h hearing is sworn questioning about the incident and claimed injuries. Under GML §50-h(5), compliance with a properly demanded examination generally comes before suit, subject to statutory exceptions.

Transit-authority examinations arise under different provisions: PAL §1212(5) and §1276(4). Lawyers sometimes call these “50-h hearings,” but the label alone does not determine whether filing must wait.

In Lekakh v City of New York (2025), the Second Department treated the NYCTA examination as a pre-suit condition. On that record, it ordered an examination after the lawsuit had begun rather than dismissing the case.

First Department authority takes a different approach, as discussed in Williams v MTA Bus Co. (2014). The applicable court and entity therefore matter. Do not skip a demanded hearing or assume its adjournment extends the deadline.

A deposition in the lawsuit is a separate discovery step after filing. Counsel should explain which examination has been demanded and calendar it alongside the notice and lawsuit deadlines.

What must an injured passenger prove?

A bus injury does not by itself establish negligence. The claim needs evidence of what went wrong, who was responsible and how that conduct caused the injury.

New York’s Court of Appeals replaced the old highest-degree-of-care rule in Bethel in 1998. Boyd v Manhattan & Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority (2007) confirms reasonable care under the circumstances as the standard.

Depending on the incident, useful evidence may include:

• Video showing a collision, turn, braking event or door movement.
• Witness accounts of where the passenger stood and what happened.
• Photographs of a step, handrail, floor condition or boarding location.
• Driver assignments, inspection records and relevant repair history.
• Medical records connecting the reported incident to the injury.

A crash involving a private vehicle may also require the investigation described on our car accident lawyer page. Carrier status does not make fault or compensation automatic.

What do the official bus safety numbers show?

The MTA publishes NYCT Safety Data: Beginning 2019, organized by department, month and metric. Its December 2025 Bus records report:

• 67.17 bus collisions per million miles.
• 7.10 bus collision injuries per million miles.

These are the dataset’s December 2025 entries, not a full-year total or a count of all MTA-affiliated bus accidents. The injury rate is not a percentage of passengers injured.

Rates help describe safety performance. They do not establish fault in a particular accident, predict a settlement or prove that simulator training caused a change in collisions.

What to save after a bus accident

Seek needed medical care first. If it is safe and practical, collect the following for a legal consultation:

1. Accident date, time, cross streets, bus route and fleet number.
2. Photographs or video, including the boarding or fall location.
3. Witness contact details and any police or incident-report number.
4. Treatment records, bills, work restrictions and missed-work information.
5. Every notice, examination demand, claim acknowledgment and envelope received.

Ask counsel promptly about preserving footage and records. Retention periods vary; there is no verified universal 30-day deletion rule for every bus camera or operator.

Insurance-benefit paperwork and the tort Notice of Claim are separate matters. Bring both to the review. Our legal encyclopedia explains related insurance and civil-procedure terminology.

Get the calendar checked before waiting for an answer

If 90 days may have passed, obtain prompt legal advice. GML §50-e(5) permits an application for late-notice relief in qualifying circumstances; relief is neither automatic nor limited only to children.

Wrongful-death claims and claims involving children require separate deadline analysis. Do not use this ordinary personal-injury outline to calculate those dates.

The Law Office of Jason Tenenbaum, P.C. can review the operator, documents and potential deadlines. Call (516) 750-0595 or request a case review.

This guide provides general information, not a determination of liability or a filing deadline for your case.

Connect to the Encyclopedia

• Topic hub: Legal Encyclopedia
• 50-H Hearing in New York: What It Is, What to Expect, and How to Prepare
• Bus Accident Settlements in New York: MTA, NICE Bus, and School Bus Injury Claims
• NY School District Notice of Claim: 3-Month Deadline
• Suing a Municipality for a Road Defect Car Accident in New York