B44 (New York City bus)

The northern terminal of the bus route, and the former terminal of the streetcar line, the Williamsburg Bridge Plaza Bus Terminal.

The Williamsburgh and Flatbush Railroad was chartered in 1868,[6] and opened in 1870 from the Broadway Ferry in Williamsburg south over the Brooklyn City Rail Road's Greenpoint Line on Kent Avenue and Classon Avenue, east on its Flushing Avenue Line on Flushing Avenue, and south on Nostrand Avenue to Flatbush. The charter allowed them to use Lee Avenue instead from Williamsburg, but residents along that street opposed its use.[7] Tracks were however placed in Lee Avenue in early 1873,[8] and opened soon after, running from the Broadway Ferry east over the Broadway Railroad's Broadway Line on Broadway and south on Driggs Avenue and Lee Avenue.

An extension from Empire Boulevard south to the Flatbush Avenue Line opened on July 15, 1895, after some delay, and the Holy Cross Cemetery Line was moved to a branch of the line along Tilden Avenue.[9][10][11] The line eventually reached Avenue U in Sheepshead Bay.[12]

Effective 5 am, December 5, 1948, the line was cut back from Essex Street on the Manhattan side of the Williamsburg Bridge to the Williamsburg Bridge Plaza in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Service across the bridge was replaced with a transfer to the new B39 bus route.[13][14][15]

Buses were substituted for streetcars on April 1, 1951;[12] the B44 bus now continues south past Avenue U into Sheepshead Bay, some B44 buses now go as far as Emmons Avenue and Knapp Street near the foot of Sheepshead Bay.[16][17]

Originally, the buses used were New York City Transit Authority Mack diesel buses. Around 1959, the B44 became one of the first bus lines in New York City to use the "new look" GMC buses that became popular in New York City during the 1960s and 1970s. The route ran in both directions on Nostrand Avenue until the mid-1960s, when the section north of Flatbush became a one-way southbound thoroughfare. From that time on, the B44 northbound ran on New York Avenue.

Limited-stop service was added on September 10, 1995.[18]

Final design work for the B44 SBS began in fall 2011, and construction south of Atlantic Avenue occurred between spring and fall 2013, including the repaving of the street, the installation of bus lanes, the construction of bus bulbs and neckdowns, and bus lane signs.[5] The construction of the designated bus lanes for the service required the removal of the surface line's rails, which had been previously paved over.[17]

Effective November 17, 2013, the B44 Limited service was converted to Select Bus Service (SBS), joining other SBS routes in New York City: the M15 and M34 in Manhattan and the Bx12 and Bx41 in the Bronx. This is the first SBS route in Brooklyn, and it is the fifth and final Phase I SBS route to be implemented.[5] The service continues to operate between Williamsburg Bridge Plaza (also known as Washington Plaza) and Sheepshead Bay. Southbound SBS service operates on Nostrand Avenue and northbound on Rogers Avenue, north of Flatbush Avenue. Local B44 service continues on Nostrand Avenue and New York Avenue.[16][17][19] The B44 and the B44 Select Bus Service are based out of Flatbush Bus Depot near Marine Park and Kings Plaza, as is the B49 bus route.

Bus stops were consolidated, with several of the lesser used stops, on the northern and southern portions of the route changed from Limited to local. Off-board fare collection was installed, significantly reducing the amount of time it takes for buses to spend at bus stops. Bus lanes were implemented on 9.6 miles along both directions of the route, covering over half of the route. Northbound buses were rerouted from New York Avenue to Rogers Avenue, a corridor already served by the B49. This allowed for the length of the northbound route to be decreased, and it benefited the northbound route by putting it on a wider street with multiple traffic lanes. B44 local service was kept on New York Avenue to continue serving passengers along that street. As a result of this, riders on both Rogers Avenue and New York Avenue now have direct service to destinations north of Fulton St. 62-foot-long, 3-door buses were put into service on the route, replacing the 40-foot-long, 2-door buses that previously served the B44 Limited. The B44 local continued to use the 40-foot-long buses. Bus bulbs with new bus shelters and greenery were also installed. Bus bulbs were installed, allowing for more room for people to wait, allowing for the installation of bus shelters and greenery, and allowing bus to pull straight in and out of stations without pulling over. Resulting form the installation of bus bulbs or neckdowns, which shorten the crossing distances, traffic injuries along the corridor were reduced by 37%.[5]

Two stops were added to the B44 SBS, at Gates Avenue and Avenue L, because of strong public feedback, and B44 local service was increased after the implementation of the B44 SBS. Real time information screens are being added to bus stops along the route.[5]

As a result of the conversion to SBS, travel times decreased between 15-31% compared to the B44 Limited. In addition, ridership along the B44 SBS increased 10% from 2014 to 2015, going against the 1% decline in overall Brooklyn ridership during the same time frame.[5]

After years of requests by Councilman Chaim Deutsch and local residents, a stop was added at Avenue R on September 2, 2018, shortening the 1 mile (1.6 km)-long distance between the Kings Highway and Avenue U stops, while providing transfer to the B2 and B31 buses. New York City Transit and the Department of Transportation had refused to add the stop, claiming that it was unnecessary, and that the local stop could not fit articulated buses.[20] A protest had been held on April 30, 2015 by seniors and local officials to put pressure on the MTA.[21]

On December 1, 2022, the MTA released a draft redesign of the Brooklyn bus network.[22][23] As part of the redesign, southbound B44 buses would maintain their existing routing, although northbound B44 buses would be shifted to Rogers Avenue. In both directions, closely spaced stops would be eliminated.[24] The B44 SBS would be rerouted through Sheepshead Bay station at its southern end along Avenue Z to Ocean Parkway, and the stop at Hewes Street would be removed in both directions (The B44 local would still serve these stops overnight).[25]