Dear Transit Sam,
I live in the West Village near 9th St., and I attend events at Lincoln Center on a regular basis. Before the service cuts, there were alternative buses for getting to the Village either by taking the M104 and transferring at Fifth Ave. and 42nd St. for the M2, M3 or M5 or taking the M7 to 23rd St. and Broadway and transferring there. After the service cuts, I lost those alternatives since the M104 no longer travels east on 42nd St. and the M7 no longer goes down Broadway. This all stems from Tuesday, June 27th when I waited for more than 30 minutes for an M5 to finally appear.
I have a suggestion that I’d like to offer. I propose changing the M7 route so that heading southbound, it turns east at Greenwich Ave., instead of on 14th St., and then northbound onto Sixth Ave. It would still make the same stops at 14th St., link up with the M8 and have an easier turn onto Sixth Ave. I hope the MTA will consider it. Thank you in advance.
David, West Village
Dear David,
Thank you for your suggestion, and I’m sorry to hear about the inconvenience of having to wait so long for the next M5. I did reach out to the MTA on both accounts. With respect to the lengthy wait, it’s possible there was heavy traffic on another part of the route resulting in the long delay. The bus is scheduled to run every 10 to 12 minutes late evenings so it hopefully shouldn’t be a regular occurrence (and if it is, please let me know).
As for extending the M7 to Greenwich Ave., I raised the idea with the MTA. They gave it a thumbs down. First, it would cost money to run the buses the extra roughly four tenths of a mile (they calculate miles times buses per day times cost per mile times 365 days per year to arrive at an annual cost).
Secondly, the MTA said once they start down this road of extending the route a couple blocks, people will want the bus to go further south all the way to the Battery.
Finally, the MTA also feels you have a sufficient number of additional travel options, which include:
Taking the 1 train from Lincoln Center to 14th St. and either walking the rest of the way or take the M14A/D to Fifth Ave. and transferring to the M1, M2, M3 or M5.
Taking the M20 which stops near Lincoln Center and runs along Seventh Ave. past Greenwich Ave.
Taking the M7 to 14th St. and following the second part of option A.
Transit Sam
Tell me how the MTA service cuts are affecting your day-to-day commutes! Transit Sam wants to know! E-mail me at TransitSam@downtownexpress.com or write Transit Sam, c/o SSE, 611 Broadway, Suite 415, NY, NY, 10012.
