Bus routes in Staten Island all originally took the prefix R- for the borough of Richmond. This was changed to S-, probably about the time that the borough was officially named Staten Island (1975).
I smell like purple swiss cheese.
The largest street railway company in Staten Island was originally the Richmond Light & Railroad Co. In addition, the Staten Island Midland Railway operated a few routes.
In 1920, the Staten Island Midland Railway failed, and their streetcar routes were taken over by the New York City Department of Plant and Structures . The Department of Plant and Structures also started some trolleybus routes, beginning in 1921.
In 1925, the Tompkins Bus Co. was formed, and was awarded a franchise to operate gasoline buses on Staten Island. Buses replaced the Department of Plant and Structures streetcar and trolleybus routes, and new bus routes were formed serving previously unserved areas.
In 1927, the Richmond Light & Railroad Co. was renamed to Richmond Railways , and in 1933, a Richmond Railways subsidiary Staten Island Coach Co. began operating buses, which gradually replaced the Richmond Railways streetcar routes. The two separate bus systems continued to operate until 1937, when the Staten Island Coach Co. began operating the Tompkins Bus Co. routes. The former Tompkins Bus Co. routes were given new route numbers in the 100's.
The Staten Island Coach Co. went out of business in 1946, and the Isle Transportation Co. , a company organized by some Staten Island Coach Co. employees, briefly began operating the buses on Staten Island. However, the Isle Transportation Co. did not last long, itself going bankrupt in 1947, and the city took over the buses on Feb. 23 of that year. This was the first city-operated bus service (other than the Williamsburg Bridge line, which retained city operation under the Board of Transportation) after the end of the Department of Plant and Structures.
Table of routes and re-numberings: [ ]
Old Route Number
New Route Number
Route Name
Buses Introduced/Streetcars Discontinued
History
R-1
S-40
Richmond Terrace
1/21/34
Replacing Richmond Streetcar
R-2
S-51
Bay St
1/7/34
Replacing Richmond Streetcar
R-3
S-46
Castleton Av
1/14/34
Replacing Richmond Streetcar
R-4
S-44
Richmond Av
12/31/33
Replacing Richmond Streetcar
R-45
S-54
Giffords La/Nelson Av
6/3/29
New Bus-Tompkins
R-9
S-59
Richmond Av
12/31/33
replacing Richmond Streetcar
R-12
S-58
Ocean Tr
8/21/1934
Old Bus-Discontinued 7/4/2007
R-5
S-52
Jersey St
12/31/33
replacing Richmond Streetcar
R-5
S-52
Cebra Av
3/14/37
New Bus-Staten Island
R-6
S-66
Victory Blvd/Jewett Av
1/26/34
Tompkins (replacing DP&S Streetcar)
R-7
S-60
Howard Av/Clove Rd
7/30/51
Old Bus-Replaced By s66
R-8
S-53
Clove Rd/Verrazano Narrows
11/21/64
New Bus-NYCTA
R-101
S-42
St Marks Pl/Bay St
4/ 20/25
New Bus-Tompkins
R-102
S-44
Cary Av/Henderson Av
3/20/25
New Bus-Tompkins
R-103
S-78
Hylan Blvd
3/24/37
New Bus-Staten Island
R-104
S-52
Tompkins Av
6/09/1927
New Bus-Tompkins
R-105
S-58
Clove Rd
replaced by R7 after VB
n
R-107
S-48
Forest Av
5/07/25
New Bus-Tompkins
R-110
S-54
Manor Rd
8/18/27
Tompkins (replacing DP&S Streetcar)
R-111
S-57
Bradley Av/Brielle Av
8/1/27
Tompkins (replacing DP&S Trolleybus)
New
S-61
Victory Blvd/Bradley Av
6/31/1930
New Bus-Tompkins
R-112
S-62
Victory Blvd
1/26/34
Tompkins (replacing DP&S Streetcar)
R-113
S-74
Richmond Rd
10/16/27
Tompkins (replacing DP&S Streetcar)
R-115
S-55
Annandale Rd/Richmond Av
6/6/1930
New Bus-Tompkins
R-115
S-56
Richmond/Arthur Kill/Foster
2/29/1930
New Bus-Tompkins
R-117
S-76
Richmond Rd/New Dorp Lane
1/30/1929
New Bus-New Dorp Beach Bus
New
S-79
Hylan/Verrazano Narrows
9/11/ 2001
New Bus-NYCTA
Defunct New York City Transit Operators
Steam railroads later converted to rapid transit systems
Brooklyn and Brighton Beach Railroad • Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Rail Road • Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Railroad • Brooklyn, Bath and West End Railroad • Brooklyn, Flatbush and Coney Island Railway • Coney Island Elevated Railway • Greenwood and Coney Island Railroad • Marine Railway • New York and Coney Island Railroad • New York and Manhattan Beach Railway • New York and Sea Beach Railroad • New York and Sea Beach Railway • New York, Brooklyn and Manhattan Beach Railroad • Prospect Park and Coney Island Railroad • Sea Beach Railway • Sea View Railroad
Rapid transit systems
Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation • Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company • Brooklyn Union Elevated Railroad • Interborough Rapid Transit Company • Kings County Elevated Railway
Streetcar systems
Avenue C Railroad Company • Belt Line Railway • Bleecker Street and Fulton Ferry Railroad • Broadway and Seventh Avenue Railroad • Broadway Surface Railroad • Broadway Railway Company • Brooklyn and North River Railroad • Brooklyn & Queens Transit Corporation • Brooklyn Central and Jamaica Railroad • Brooklyn City Rail Road • Brooklyn Crosstown Railroad • Brooklyn, Queens County and Suburban Railroad • Bush Terminal Railroad • Bushwick Railroad • Calvary Cemetery, Greenpoint and Brooklyn Railroad • Central Crosstown Railroad Company •
Central Park, North and East River Railroad • Chambers Street and Grand Street Ferry Railroad • Christopher and Tenth Street Railroad Company • Columbus and Ninth Avenue Railroad • Coney Island and Brooklyn Rail Road • Coney Island, Fort Hamilton and Brooklyn Railroad • Dry Dock, East Broadway and Battery Railroad • Eighth Avenue Railroad Company • Flushing and College Point Electric Railway • Fort George and Eleventh Avenue Railroad • Forty-Second Street and Grand Street Ferry Railroad Company • Fourth Avenue Street Railway • Fulton Street Railroad • Grand Street and Newtown Rail Road • Greenpoint and Lorimer Street Railroad • Houston, West Street and Pavonia Ferry Railroad • Interurban Street Railway • Jamaica Central Railways Company • Kings County Electric Railway • Lexington Avenue and Pavonia Ferry Railroad • Long Island City and Calvary Cemetery Railroad • Long Island City and Maspeth Railroad • Long Island City and Newtown Railway • Long Island Electric Railway • Manhattan and Queens Traction Company • Manhattan Bridge Three Cent Line • Marine Railway • Maspeth Avenue and Toll Bridge Company • Maspeth Railroad and Bridge Company • Metropolitan Crosstown Railway • Metropolitan Street Railroad • Metropolitan Street Railway • Nassau Electric Railroad • Newtown Railway • New York City Department of Plant and Structures • New Williamsburgh and Flatbush Railroad • New York and Harlem Railroad Company • New York and North Shore Traction Company • New York and Queens County Railway Company • New York and Queens Transit Corporation • New York City Railway Company • New York Railways Company • Ninth Avenue Railroad Company • Park Avenue Railroad • Port Richmond & Prohibition Park Electric Railroad • Queensboro Bridge Railway Company • Richmond County Railroad • Richmond Light & Railroad Company • Richmond Railways • Rikers Avenue and Sanford Point Railroad • Second Avenue Railroad • Sixth Avenue Railroad Company • South Brooklyn Street Railroad • South Ferry Railroad Company • Staten Island Electric Railroad • Staten Island Midland Railroad • Staten Island Midland Railway • Staten Island Traction Company • Steinway and Hunters Point Railroad • Steinway Railway Corporation • Third Avenue Railroad • Third Avenue Railway • Third Avenue Transit Corporation • Thirty-fourth Street Crosstown Railway • Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth Streets Crosstown Railroad • Twenty-Third Street Railroad Company • Union Railroad (Brooklyn) • Union Railway Company of New York City • Van Brunt Street and Erie Basin Rail Road
Bus systems
Affiliated Bus Transit Corporation • Argus Line Transportation Corporation • Avenue B & East Broadway Transit Company • B&L Transportation • Bilow Bus Line • Brooklyn Bus Corporation • Command Bus Company • Comprehensive Omnibus Corporation • Concourse Bus Lines • Courier Bus Company • Eastern Parkway, Brownsville and East New York Transit Relief Association • East Side Omnibus Corporation • Fifth Avenue Coach Company • Fifth Avenue Coach Lines, Incorporated • Flushing Heights Bus Company • General Omnibus Corporation • Greater Cities Bus Lines • Green Bus Lines • Hamilton Bus Company • Independent Buses • Isle Transportation Co. • Jamaica Bus Line • Jamaica Buses • Kings Coach Company • Liberty Bus Transportation • Liberty Lines Express • Long Island Coach Company • Madison Avenue Coach Company, Incorporated • Manhattan & Queens Bus Corporation • Midland Coach Corporation • Municipal Motorbus Company • National City Bus Lines • New York Bus Service • New York City Department of Plant and Structures • New York City Omnibus Corporation • North Shore Bus Company • Pioneer Bus Company • Plum Beach Auto Stage • Queens Auto Traction • Queens Bus Corporation • Queens Bus Lines • Queens-Nassau Transit Lines • Queens Surface Corporation • Queens Transit Corporation • Rauchwerger Bus Company • Richmond Hill Bus Line • Ruoff Brothers • S&C Buses • S&F Transportation • Staten Island Coach Company • Steinway Omnibus Corporation • Steinway Transit Corporation • Surface Transit, Incorporated • Surface Transportation Corporation of New York • Tompkins Bus Company • Triangle Bus Company • Triboro Coach Corporation • Woodside-Astoria Transportation Company • Z&M Coach Company