M34 and M34A buses

The Thirty-Fourth Street Crosstown Railway was chartered on March 18, 1896, being a consolidation of the Thirty-Fourth Street Railroad Company and the Thirty-Fourth Street Ferry & Eleventh Avenue Railroad. The stock of the company was owned by the Metropolitan Street Railway. The streetcar line was previously a horsecar line, and in July 1900 the line began running via storage batteries, but in September 1903 it was changed to using an underground third rail.[4]

New York City Omnibus Corporation bus route (M19 - 16) replaced New York Railways' 34th Street Crosstown Line streetcar on April 1, 1936.[5][6][7]

In April 1986, the main bus route was renamed the M34.

In April 2001, the MTA announced a planned reroute of the M34 to serve the 34th Street Ferry Terminal. Buses, at the time, eastbound buses had traveled north via First Avenue and turned east onto East 36th Street, where the route terminated, and westbound buses headed east along East 36th Street, south via FDR Drive West Service Road, and west along East 34th Street. To serve the ferry terminal, eastbound service would run east along East 34th Street, over the FDR Drive Service Roads, and turn north into the bus staging area at the pier, and westbound service would leave from the northern end of the terminal area at East 35th Street, turn south on the FDR Drive West Service Road and head west on East 34th Street. The change was to be implemented in April 2001.[8]

In 2010, it was one of seven local bus routes in Manhattan to participate in a PayPass smart card program. This program was a pilot program meant to find a suitable smart card technology to replace the MetroCard.[9][10]

In August 2010, a program was implemented along the M16 and M34 routes, in which riders could track arriving buses. This later became MTA Bus Time.[11]

A standard-length Orion VII NG bus, used by M34/M34A SBS.

The M34 SBS and M34A SBS routes began on November 13, 2011.[12] Like other Select Bus Service corridors, off-board fare payment is used, as well as all-door boarding.[13] These are considered by the MTA as two SBS services, the M34 34th Street Crosstown and the former M16 route, which was renamed the M34A; the routes share a single corridor.[14][12] The stops are listed below from west to east. Red-painted bus lanes were installed on 34th Street between First Avenue and Eleventh Avenue.[15] The stops at Madison Avenue and Lexington Avenue were eliminated, the westbound stop at Tenth Avenue was moved to Dyer Avenue, and a stop at West 43rd Street near Ninth Avenue was moved consolidated with a stop at 42nd Street near that avenue. A part-time stop at West 38th Street and Ninth Avenue was moved to West 39th Street.[16][17]

On April 8, 2012, as part of a pilot program that expanded on the 2010 pilot, MTA Bus Time was phased into this route.[18] In April 2012, weekend service on the route was increased.[19]

Starting in early 2013, bus bulbs were installed at twelve locations along 34th Street, allowing buses to stay in the bus lane while stopping.[15] In November 2015, the section between Lexington Avenue and Seventh Avenue was completed with the installation of four new bus bulbs, resurfaced streets, new parking spaces, and newly painted bus lanes. The portion between 12th Avenue and Lexington Avenue included the construction of eight bus bulbs at bus stops and one curb extension. The remaining segment, between Lexington Avenue and the FDR Drive Service Road is expected to be completed by December 2016. The remaining portion would install three bus bulbs at bus stops and would build two curb extensions.[20] The entire cost of the project is $27 million. In its first year of operation, there has been 23% time savings. Since 2011, there has been 12% ridership growth on the route, while overall, bus ridership has been decreasing in Manhattan.[21][22]