Port Authority bus terminal evacuated after suspicious luggage was reported

Hundreds of passengers were evacuated from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday evening when a suspicious bag was reported at Gate 75, the agency said.

The Port Authority police received the report about the bag around 8:24 p.m. and an evacuation was ordered shortly afterwards. It was determined that the bag would no longer pose a risk after 10 p.m., the Port Authority said.

The New York City Fire Department said they received a call about a suspicious device just after 9 p.m. and that firefighters and emergency responders had watched as police officers cleared the area.

By 10:30 p.m. the fire brigade had left and no injuries were reported, although many passengers’ commutes were disrupted.

The New York City Department of Emergency Management has been dispatched a warning to New Yorkers around 9:20 p.m. and said traffic delays and public transportation disruptions were to be expected due to the police activity.

“Avoid the area,” the warning read.

The emergency response caused delays at one of the busiest bus terminals in the United States. The bus terminal serves as many as 260,000 passengers each weekday traveling between Manhattan and New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania and the Lower Hudson Valley.

Joann Veneziano was one of hundreds of people waiting outside the building Wednesday evening, checking her phone for updates. An Uber back home in New Jersey cost about $100, she said, so she was determined to wait until the bus station reopened.

“I feel quite irritated,” she said. “But I’m sure they’ll open soon.”

After passengers were allowed back into the terminal, service was still delayed on some routes, leaving some passengers confused about where to find their buses.

“Do you know when the next one is coming?” a woman asked an officer.

“Where is it?” another man asked in Spanish, as lines about 20 people deep surrounded the waiting area.

The Port Authority bus terminal said on It was not specified when these areas would reopen.

New Jersey Transit said on X that bus service from the terminal could be delayed by up to 30 minutes due to police activity.

Some people remained stuck and unsure as of 10:45 p.m. Firat Delibalta stood with his hands in his pockets behind the closed room on the ground floor.

His bus to Albany was scheduled to leave at 10:50 p.m., but the lower level was closed.

“I’m not sure what’s happening,” he said. “There is nothing to do but wait.”