NFTA Metro buses run up Elmwood, Delaware and Main all day, and Metro Rail carries riders between downtown and the University at Buffalo’s South Campus. Most trips end without a scratch. When they don’t, whether a bus sideswipes your car on Hertel, a rider falls when a driver slams the brakes or a pedestrian is hit at a stop, the claim runs against a public authority with its own rules.
Who is the NFTA?
The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority is a public benefit corporation created by state law. It runs Metro bus and rail service in Erie and Niagara counties, along with the Buffalo Niagara International Airport and the Niagara Falls airport. Because it’s a public authority, it can only be sued on the terms its statute sets.
What are those terms?
They’re in Public Authorities Law 1299-p.
- The claim has to be presented to the authority, and at least 30 days must pass without payment or adjustment before you file suit.
- A notice of claim must be served within the time and in the form required by General Municipal Law 50-e, which generally means within 90 days.
- A tort lawsuit, other than for wrongful death, must be started within one year and 90 days after the claim accrues.
- Wrongful death claims follow separate notice and time rules in another part of the Public Authorities Law, so get advice quickly in a fatal case.
The authority can also require you to answer questions under oath about the claim before it settles.
What if you were a passenger?
Bus passengers hurt in a crash usually look first to no-fault benefits. Buses are treated differently from cars under New York no-fault, and which policy pays can depend on whether your household has its own auto policy. Ask the NFTA’s claims staff and your own insurer in writing, and keep their answers.
Injuries from sudden stops or lurches are common. To win those cases, passengers usually have to show the movement was unusual and violent, not just the ordinary jerks of city bus travel. Witness statements and the bus’s onboard video help.
What evidence should you ask for?
- The bus or train number, route and direction.
- The time, to the minute if you can, which helps locate video.
- Names and phone numbers of other riders who saw it.
- Photos of the scene, your injuries and any vehicle damage.
Metro buses carry cameras inside and out. Ask in writing, soon, that the NFTA preserve the footage, since it may be overwritten.
Who responds to the crash?
The NFTA has its own Transit Police, who handle many incidents on buses, trains and NFTA property. A crash on a city street may also bring Buffalo Police. Find out which department wrote the report. Our crash report guide covers requesting a copy.
Does the reform matter here?
Yes. If your claim is subject to the no-fault law and your suit is filed on or after May 26, 2026, the new modified comparative fault rule and serious injury definition apply. A pedestrian hit by a bus while crossing against the light could be blocked if found more at fault than the bus driver. See the 2026 reform guide.
What about the airport?
Crashes on NFTA roads at Buffalo Niagara International Airport, including at the terminal curb and parking areas, may also involve the authority. The same 90-day notice rule applies when the NFTA is a defendant.
The short version
- Serve a notice of claim on the NFTA within 90 days.
- Wait 30 days, then sue within one year and 90 days.
- Wrongful death claims have separate rules.
- Ask right away that bus video be preserved.
Due care at the stop, and no-fault bills still have a 45-day clock
A Metro bus pulling away from a stop on Niagara, Elmwood or Main still owes pedestrians and cyclists the due-care duty in VTL § 1146, including the horn warning when necessary and the rebuttable presumption that applies if a physical injury follows a due-care failure. That traffic rule sits alongside the notice and suit deadlines in Public Authorities Law § 1299-p, which still require a timely presentment and generally a suit within one year and 90 days.
If you were a passenger, no-fault bills still generally have to be submitted within 45 days, and the claim itself noticed within 30 days, per the DFS filing FAQ. Those insurance dates do not extend the NFTA notice period.
If the bus or rail crash also involved a private car, keep the ordinary MV-104 and no-fault dates on the calendar as well. The NFTA presentment is not a substitute for those filings, and a copy of the police report should still be ordered through the agency that actually responded, or later through the DMV order page.
Photograph the bus number, the stop, the fare card or ticket and any interior camera housings before you leave, because a notice under Public Authorities Law § 1299-p will need a clear description of the time, place and vehicle. Those details are harder to reconstruct a month later.
Ask witnesses for names at the stop, because regular riders can disappear after one transfer. A short note about which door you used, which seat you were in and which direction the vehicle was traveling can also help NFTA locate video later.
This page explains the general rules. For your own claim, find a Buffalo-area attorney.