The first of these buses entered service in mid-May 2016 on the Q10 route. A new livery was also introduced, replacing the blue stripe livery on a white base that had been in use in one variation or another since the late 1970s. The screens are supplied by contract from 3 different vendors and are installed on new bus deliveries starting in 2017 while buses built after 2008 are currently receiving retrofits.

Current plans include the installation of digital information screens installed throughout the interior of the bus which will provide real-time information such as time, weather, advertisements, & service advisories. Though the former Long Island Bus Division (now NICE Bus) had already deployed such a system throughout its fleet since the early-2000s, the MTA had only trialed similar systems alongside GPS tracking between 2007 to 2012 on select routes in the New York City Bus system. Starting in 2016, efforts to bring an audio/visual system to the current and future fleet went underway to improve customer service and ADA accessibility thru use of next stop announcements & PSAs. Beginning in 2016, new orders along with buses built after 2011 will be built/retrofitted with Wi-Fi connectivity and USB charging ports. Most post-2000 orders also feature stop-request buttons located on grab bars. Low-floor buses, designed to speed boarding and alighting and improve riding conditions for elderly and disabled passengers, were first tested in 1997 and have made up most of the new non-express buses ordered since the early 2000s. Articulated buses were introduced in 1996, and have since become prominent in the Bronx and Manhattan. However, buses ordered after 2008 feature cords rather than tape strips due to the latter's higher maintenance cost. Also in the 1980s, stop-request cords ('bell cords') were replaced by yellow tape strips. ' Kneeling buses' were introduced in 1976, and wheelchair lifts began appearing in 1980. The first large order of air conditioned buses began service in 1966. Several fleet improvements have been introduced over the system's history. Fixed-route buses are dispatched from 28 garages (20 New York City Bus and 8 MTA Bus) and one annex in New York City. All vehicles (except for paratransit cabs) are fully accessible to persons with disabilities. The MTA also has over 2,000 vans and cabs for ADA paratransit service, providing service in New York City, southwestern Nassau County, and the city of Yonkers. The fleet consists of over 5,700 buses of various types and models for fixed-route service, making MTA RBO's fleet the largest public bus fleet in the United States. 2.1 Local, limited, & Select Bus Service vehicles.

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