The Downtown Alliance provides a free bus service called the Downtown Connection to help you get around Lower Manhattan.

The Downtown Connection travels between South Street Seaport and and Battery Park City, making 38 stops along the way.  You can hop on and off as you please. Seven buses serve the route. Look for the red shuttle-sized buses with the Downtown Connection labeling on the side.

The buses are set up for GPS tracking, so you check online to see where the buses are and when they’ll arrive at a stop. The Downtown Alliance website has directions on how to use your cell phone to check on bus locations.

The bus service runs seven days a week (except Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day) from 10:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.  Buses arrive at the stops on about 10 minute intervals during the week and 15 minute intervals on the weekend.

There are many things to do in Lower Manhattan that are either free or inexpensive. You can walk the Brooklyn Bridge, visit the 9/11 Memorial, see the famous Wall Street Bull, explore Battery Park and South Street Seaport, or take the Staten Island Ferry (for views of the Statue of Liberty), all free of charge. A ferry ride to Governors Island costs just $2 for adults, $1 for seniors, and is free for kids under 13, and the official ferry out to visit the Statue of Liberty is just $18 for adults, $14 for seniors and $9 for kids. Combine these activities with the Downtown Connection’s free bus service and you can spend days seeing NYC attractions while spending very little money.

See a map of the Downtown Connection bus route.

 

365 Free Things to Do in New York City

Sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to receive Free Things to Do updates via email.