M7 (New York City bus)

The Columbus Avenue Line is a public transit line in Manhattan, New York City, running mostly along Columbus Avenue, 116th Street, and Lenox Avenue from Lower Manhattan to Harlem. Originally a streetcar line, it is now the M7 bus route, operated by the New York City Transit Authority, a division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

m7
Columbus / Amsterdam / Sixth / Seventh / Lenox Avenues Line
MTA 9567 on route M7 in Manhattan.
Overview
System	MTA New York City Bus
Operator	New York City Transit Authority
Garage	Mother Clara Hale Depot
Vehicle	New Flyer Xcelsior XDE40
Began service	1892 (train) 1936 (streetcar) 1962 (bus) 2009-2010 (current alignment)
Route
Locale	Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Start	14th Street / 6th Avenue
Via	Sixth Avenue (northbound) Seventh Avenue (southbound) Amsterdam Avenue (northbound) Columbus Avenue (southbound) Lenox Avenue
End	Harlem – 147th Street
Length	7.6 miles (12.2 km)^[1] (southbound)
Other routes	M11 9th (Columbus)/10th (Amsterdam) Avs M102 3rd/Lexington/Lenox Avs
Service
Operates	24 hours
Annual patronage	2,483,031 (2023)^[2]
Transfers	Yes (within 2 hours)
Timetable	M7
Route map Legend Harlem – 147th Street  M7  147th Street 146th Street 145th Street 142nd Street 139th Street 137th Street 135th Street ​ 132nd Street 129th Street 127th Street 125th Street ​ 122nd Street 119th Street 116th Street / Lenox Avenue ​ 116th Street / Powell Boulevard 116th Street / St. Nicholas Avenue 116th Street / Douglass Boulevard ​ 116th Street / Manhattan Avenue 114th Street 113th Street 112th Street 111th Street Cathedral Parkway 109th Street 108th Street 106th Street / Manhattan Avenue 106th Street 104th Street 102nd Street 100th Street 98th Street 97th Street 96th Street 93rd Street 91st Street 89th Street 86th Streets 83rd Street 81st Street 80th Street 79th Street 78th Street 77th Street 75th Street 72nd Street ​​ 69th Street 66th Street 64th Street 61st Street Columbus Circle ​​​ Central Park South / 7th Avenue Central Park South / 6th Avenue 57th Street ​​​ 57th Street 54th Street 53rd Street ​​ 51st Street 50th Street ​​​​ 50th Street ​​​ 47th Street 45th Street 44th Street 42nd Street ​​​​​ 41st Street ​​​​​​​​ 39th Street 38th Street 37th Street 34th Street ​​​​​​​ 34th Street ​​ 31st Street 29th Street 28th Street 27th Street 25th Street 23rd Street 23rd Street ​ 20th Street 17th Street 15th Street ​ Chelsea – 14th Street  M7  ​​ Legend Major stops Minor stops  M7  Terminal ​​ Subway connection ← M5  {{{system_nav}}}  M8 →

Route description

The M7 route begins at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and 14th Street. Northbound it shares Sixth Avenue with the M55 between 14th Street and 44th Street, as well as the M5 above 31st Street. Southbound it shares Seventh Avenue with the M20. The M7 turns west at 59th Street and northwest on Broadway to reach the one-way pair of Amsterdam Avenue (northbound) and Columbus Avenue (southbound). These two streets are shared with the M11. The M7 turns east at 106th Street, north on Manhattan Avenue, east on 116th Street, and north on Lenox Avenue to a loop at the 145th Street subway station.^[3] This is the exact path followed by the former streetcar north of 109th Street.

Prior to 2009, southbound M7 service ran along Broadway and terminated at Union Square along 14th Street. This was changed due to pedestrianization of Broadway at Times Square, Duffy Square, and Herald Square, which closed the street to traffic. The southbound M7 now turns left at 14th Street and terminates at Sixth Avenue and 14th Street.

History

 

Gold Bond of the Columbus and Ninth Avenue Railroad Company, issued 24. August 1893

The Ninth Avenue Railroad's Ninth Avenue Line used the southernmost part of Columbus Avenue, but cut over along Broadway to use Amsterdam Avenue to Harlem. On December 30, 1892, the Columbus and Ninth Avenue Railroad acquired a franchise from the city to build along Columbus Avenue from Broadway to 110th Street, with a branch west on 106th Street to Amsterdam Avenue.^[4] It was soon authorized to build in 109th Street and Manhattan Avenue to 116th Street. The company was consolidated into the Metropolitan Street Railway on November 7, 1895.

Columbus Avenue cars were operated by the Metropolitan along their Broadway Line from lower Manhattan to Midtown, and then along the 53rd Street Crosstown Line (later the 59th Street Crosstown Line) west to 9th Avenue/Columbus Avenue. Cable cars were used from the line's opening on December 6, 1894 until May 1901. After the Metropolitan system was split in 1913, and the Third Avenue Railway acquired the 59th Street Crosstown, 53rd Street was again used.

Buses were substituted for streetcars by the New York City Omnibus Corporation on March 25, 1936. In 1956 it was renamed Fifth Avenue Coach Lines, and the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority replaced it in 1962. When Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues became one-way streets, northbound buses were moved to Amsterdam Avenue.

Pedestrianization of Broadway in Times Square and Herald Square in 2009 led to southbound buses using 7th Avenue instead of Broadway from 59th Street to 14th Street. Consequently, the 14th Street terminus was shifted to 6th Avenue.

On November 28, 2018, the route's southern terminal was moved to 18th Street and Sixth Avenue. Southbound buses began to run on 16th Street to reach the terminal.^[5] As of 2020, the M7 has been restored to 14th Street and Sixth Avenue.

References

1. Google (May 8, 2017). "M7" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
2. "Subway and bus ridership for 2023". mta.info. April 29, 2024. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
3. MTA Regional Bus Operations. "M7 bus schedule".
4. "Sold by the Controller; the Franchise for the Extension of the Ninth Avenue Road". The New York Times. December 31, 1892. p. 9. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
5. "M7 bus schedule" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. November 28, 2018. (PDF) from the original on January 6, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2018.

External links

•   Media related to M7 (New York City bus) at Wikimedia Commons