Getting From Manhattan to LaGuardia Without Losing Your Mind
The M60 is the only MTA bus that goes directly from Manhattan to LaGuardia Airport. That alone makes it unavoidable if you're traveling on a budget or your flight lands at an hour when nothing else runs. The route runs along 125th Street from Riverside Drive east across Harlem, crosses the 125th Street Bridge into Queens, and then loops through the airport terminals. It operates 24 hours. The westbound return runs via Madison Avenue and 125th Street, which is a significantly different experience depending on what time of day you're riding. There are technically three related services that share this corridor. The base M60 is the local route with frequent stops along 125th Street and Queens Boulevard. The M60-SBS is the Select Bus Service variant, which skips several of those stops and requires you to pay before you board since there is no farebox operator on the bus. Then there is the M60-AQ, which was introduced more recently and routes specifically through the LGA terminal loop so you actually drop off at the terminal rather than a distant layover stop. Most people just call all three the M60. It gets confusing fast. The fare for all three versions is the same as any standard MTA bus ride. You tap your OMNY contactless card or phone at the reader near the front door on the SBS variants. With the regular M60 you can still drop cash in the farebox if you prefer, though I never do that anymore. Once you pay on OMNY or the SBS reader, your tap covers a two-hour transfer window to subways and other buses. If you are using a MetroCard the process works the same but the card reader is sometimes unreliable in cold weather and you will watch people fumble with it at the door.
The most important thing I learned the hard way is that the bus does not stop at every LGA terminal. The original M60 and the SBS both terminate at a bus loop near the central terminal area, and from there you have to catch the free AQ shuttle to reach the actual departure halls. This matters if you have checked bags and a tight connection. The M60-AQ runs directly through the terminal loops. If you are coming from Manhattan with luggage, check whether your bus is the AQ or the SBS before you board. Standing on the sidewalk with two suitcases watching an SBS roll past because you took the wrong one is not a good time. I ran into this exact problem last November after a red-eye flight came in late. I had assumed the bus outside Terminal B would get me to the subway, but the M60 route map on the side of the bus shows it terminates at the loop near the rental car center. I ended up waiting 25 minutes in the cold for the AQ shuttle that I could have caught directly if I had verified the route first. Now I always check the MTA bus array sign at the curbside before getting in line. Eastbound in the morning is rough. The M60 picks up commuters along 125th Street who are heading toward Queens or connecting to the E and F trains at Court Street. The westbound evening run in the opposite direction is where the airport crowd swells. After 10pm on a weekday the bus is mostly people going to or from LGA. During the day it is a mix of students, tourists, and locals who just want to avoid the subway for one change.
The 125th Street corridor between Riverside and Lexington gets congested in the afternoon. Buses frequently sit in traffic for 10 to 15 minutes just crossing between 5th Avenue and 3rd Avenue. If you are trying to beat that window, catching the bus before 9am or after 7pm on a weekday usually means faster movement. Weekends are slower all day because of construction vehicles and delivery trucks blocking lanes near the bridge approach. There is a less obvious detail about the M60 that most guides miss. The eastbound lanes on 125th Street have a dedicated bus-only segment starting around 2nd Avenue where traffic merges. This segment helps the bus keep time through East Harlem, but it ends abruptly near the Queens border. Once you hit Queens Boulevard the bus shares lanes with regular traffic, and that is where delays pile up. The SBS version skips the slow stop between 2nd and 1st Avenues but does not gain enough time to compensate for the Queens traffic. If you are going to a specific stop in Harlem, the local M60 is faster. If you are going to the airport, the SBS saves you maybe four minutes on a good day. Another thing nobody warns you about is the southbound return route. The M60 coming back toward Manhattan does not use 125th Street the whole way. It switches to Madison Avenue in Midtown, which means you can board at 42nd Street or 57th Street and ride it back to 125th. This is useful if you are staying uptown and want to avoid the 125th Street stop. The tradeoff is that Madison Avenue has frequent double-parked cars and delivery zones that force the bus into the travel lane, so expect some stops to take longer than usual.
Get the Full Details
For fare accuracy, OMNY contactless payments are now the standard. Cash payments are still accepted on the non-SBS M60 but you need exact change or you will wait while the driver counts out your coins. The SBS buses do not accept cash at all. If you are traveling with someone who only carries bills and coins, stick to the regular M60 and not the SBS variant. The bus number is the same, but the payment rules differ. The M78 and M104 share parts of the 125th Street corridor and are sometimes confused with the M60. The M78 runs east-west from the Upper West Side through Spanish Harlem and into Queens. The M104 runs from East 125th Street down Madison Avenue into Midtown. Neither of these buses goes to the airport. If you see a bus on 125th with "M60" on the destination sign it is the right one. If the sign says anything else, it is not going to LGA. I should also mention that the M60 sometimes runs on alternate routes during street festivals, construction, or special events. The MTA posts these detours on their website and on digital signs at bus stops, but the alerts are easy to miss if you are just looking at the stop sign. On one occasion last spring the M60 was rerouted onto Queens Boulevard early due to a water main break on 125th, and the buses skipped several stops near Yorkville. If your usual stop is missing the bus during a weekday morning, check the MTA service advisory before assuming the schedule has changed permanently.
Practical tips that actually help. Arrive at the bus loop at LGA at least 20 minutes before your scheduled departure if you need to catch the AQ shuttle. The loop itself is a maze and signing can be confusing if you are unfamiliar with the airport. For the westbound trip into Manhattan, the best board location is at the corner of 125th and Madison because that is where the bus pulls away from traffic fastest. The stops near 5th Avenue and 110th are slower because the bus has to navigate the narrow street before merging onto the avenue. If you are carrying a large bag or traveling with children, the M60 can be tight. The SBS buses have more standing room since they skip stops, but the regular M60 has more door space at the front and back. Either way, folding strollers and large suitcases will block the aisle during peak times and slow everyone down. There is no dedicated luggage area on these buses. Plan accordingly. The M60 is not a comfortable ride during rush hour. It is also the most practical option for reaching LaGuardia without spending money on a rideshare or taxi. The route has its quirks, the payment systems are not always smooth, and the airport loop can be a headache if you are unfamiliar with it. But once you know which version of the bus you need and when to board, it is a straightforward connection that gets you where you need to go.
