A morning rush-hour collision involving three NJ Transit buses shut down New York’s Port Authority Bus Terminal on Wednesday, leaving 13 people injured and bringing Midtown traffic to a standstill.
The first emergency call was placed at 6:05 a.m., according to the FDNY. Authorities said two buses collided near West 41st Street, dragging a third vehicle into the crash. Initial reports indicated 14 people were hurt, but officials later revised the number to 13: 12 with minor injuries and one taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition. One passenger declined medical attention.
Located in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, the Port Authority terminal is among the busiest transportation hubs in the country, serving more than 200,000 passengers daily. Following the crash, the facility was immediately closed, with all inbound and outbound routes rerouted to Secaucus Junction, Newark Penn Station, and Hoboken Terminal. NJ Transit also honored bus tickets on its commuter rail lines, PATH trains (serving Hoboken, Newark, and 33rd Street), and New York Waterway ferries departing from Port Imperial.
By 9:30 a.m., the closure remained in effect. NJ Transit did not provide a timeline for service restoration and said the cause of the crash was still under investigation.
The collision exacerbated existing delays on the Penn Station line, where a disabled train had already slowed service by roughly 20 minutes earlier in the morning. The situation created a ripple effect, choking off access to the Lincoln Tunnel and straining surface traffic across Midtown.
“The Port Authority Bus Terminal is closed due to an accident involving multiple buses,” NJ Transit posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. Images from the scene showed police cruisers, ambulances, and emergency crews stationed inside the terminal as commuters were redirected to alternate transit points.
