PABT serves as a terminus and departure point for commuter routes as well as for long-distance intercity bus service and is a major transit hub for residents of New Jersey.

PANYNJ has been unsuccessful in its attempts to expand passenger facilities through public private partnership, and in 2011 it delayed construction of a bus depot annex, citing budgetary constraints.

[11] A large bus terminal near the mouth of the Lincoln Tunnel was first mandated in December 1939, after the city announced that it would ban commuter buses from driving into congested parts of Midtown.

[26][27] Plans for the structural design were revised substantially in March 1948, when the Port of New York Authority added a 500-spot parking lot on the terminal's roof, to be accessed via a series of ramps.

[54] Despite the large numbers of passengers who used the terminal, it recorded a net loss during its first five years, in part due to high operating expenses, debt charges, and interest costs.

The Port Authority Bus Terminal also recorded hundreds of crimes every year by the late 1970s; this was attributed in part to the "lonely and derelict" in the neighborhood.

[80] The Interstate Commerce Commission began investigating overcrowding at the terminal that March after receiving numerous commuter complaints that the PANYNJ and bus operators had "failed to provide safe and adequate service".

[98][99] The additional funds were earmarked for renovating the main concourse, erecting glass enclosures around 24 platforms, adding entrances on Ninth Avenue, refurbishing the restrooms, and replacing the air-conditioning system.

In an attempt to alleviate fears of crime, the PANYNJ turned on some lights that had been switched off to save energy; cleaned the city-maintained sidewalk outside the terminal; and created designated zones for hustlers and advocacy groups.

[104] During 1997, the terminal was the subject of a study, coordinated by Professor Marcus Felson of Rutgers University, which identified strategic changes to the building's design and area supervision with a view to reducing crime and other problems.

[105] In addition, architecture firm PKSB Architects was hired in 1995 to design a titanium facade, a canopy above the entrance, and stainless steel cladding around the terminal's ramps and bridges.

[108] That November, the PANYNJ announced the terms of an agreement in which it would receive nearly $500 million in a lease arrangement for a new office tower that would also provide funds for additional terminal facilities.

"[127] Originally included in the PANYNJ 2007–2016 Capital Plan,[128] construction of the garage was scrapped by the agency in October 2011, after it cited budgetary constraints due to an arrangement whereby the toll increases would be incrementally implemented.

[120] In June 2013, the PANYNJ commissioned an 18-month study that was to consider reconfiguration, expansion, and replacement options for PABT and new bus staging and storage facilities on Manhattan's West Side.

[3] The $5.5 million contract awarded to Kohn Pedersen Fox and Parsons Brinckerhoff would look into potential public-private financing, including the sale of air rights and cost-sharing with private bus carriers.

[138] In anticipation of opportunities that reconstruction of the bus terminal will portend, the Hell's Kitchen South Coalition produced its own plan for the area.

[144][145] The PANYNJ announced revised plans for the terminal the same month, which called for 3.5 acres (1.4 ha) of parks, a glass atrium, and a main entrance on 41st Street.

[151][152] The Commuters, a sculpture of three weary bus passengers and a clock salvaged from the original terminal by George Segal, was unveiled in the main ticket area in 1982.

[154] A statue of Jackie Gleason in the guise of one of his most famous characters, the bus driver Ralph Kramden, stands in front of the main entrance to the original South Wing.

The plaque reads, "Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden - Bus Driver - Raccoon Lodge Treasurer - Dreamer - Presented by the People of TV Land".

[155] Triple Bridge Gateway, completed in 2009, is an art installation by Leni Schwendinger Light Projects, underneath the ramps connecting the tunnel and the terminal; it is part of the transformation of the Ninth Avenue entrance of the South Wing.

[156][157][158] In July 2011, PABT became home to the world's largest mediamesh, a stainless steel fabric embedded with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for various types of media, art, and advertising imagery.

In 2015, both the Port Authority and NJ Transit installed screens listing upcoming scheduled departures, though buses are not tracked so delays are not communicated via this method.

Like other transit hubs, PABT has undergone a series of renovations to create a mall-like sphere to promote its retail, food, entertainment, and services spaces.

[167][168] There are numerous franchise stores, such as Heartland Brewery, Au Bon Pain, Jamba Juice, Starbucks, Hudson News, Duane Reade, GNC, plus a United States Postal Service branch station, as well as a variety of restaurants and bars throughout the terminal.

It acts as a makeup counter, frequented by crowds daily due to its lighting, large mirrors, and cleanliness, a noted contrast to the rest of the unpopular terminal.

[186][187][188][189][190][191] In 2011, a controversy arose when Megabus, a long-distance carrier using double-decker buses, with the permission of the New York City Department of Transportation, began to use the streets and sidewalk at the terminal.

[205] leading to re-routing and overflow on local streets[205][206] In December 2011, the New Jersey Assembly passed a resolution calling upon the PANYNJ to address the issue of congestion.

[207] A proposed bus garage in Midtown, so that daytime turnover buses could avoid unnecessarily traveling through the tunnel without passengers, was scrapped by the agency in October 2011.

[121][208][209] In May 2012, the commissioner of NJDOT suggested that some NJ Transit routes could originate/terminate at other Manhattan locations, notably the East Side; an arrangement requiring approval of the NYC Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) to use bus stops.