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Posted by
nh153
on Tue Sep 23 08:23:09 2014
edf40wrjww2msgDetailB:detailStr fiogf49gjkf0d Earlier this month, I was in Manhattan and wanted to take a ride on the M12, a route that began at the start of September. It runs between Columbus Circle and Abington Square, via 11th Avenue downtown, and using West Street, 12th Avenue and 57th Street uptown.
In announcing the route, the MTA said it would serve the growing population on Manhattan's far West Side. After all, the new extension of the #7 train to Javits Center is supposed to serve that new population as well, even though some of the projects in that neighborhood have not been built yet.
The M12 runs every half hour from 7 am to 11 pm, seven days a week. I waited at 19th Street and West Street on a Sunday afternoon. The bus was a few minutes late. An older woman got out as I got on. The only other person on the bus was a female transit worker, who was chatting with the driver most of the time.
The three of us rode up West Street, then at 23rd Street, the bus left West Street for a few blocks to stay east of the triangle park near Chelsea Piers. It then turned left at 24th Street, following the same route along that block as the M23. Then at 12th Avenue, it turned right and continued north.
There was no traffic that day along 12th Avenue. I wonder how big the delays will be when the cruise ships are ready to sail. That usually ties up 12th Avenue from the 30s to the 50s. And if there's a big delay at the Lincoln Tunnel, that will mess up downtown service along 11th Avenue. But this day, traffic was not a factor.
The female transit worker got off the bus at 42nd Street and a young couple, each with coffee cups, got on. I suppose they had been spending time at the pier, maybe on the Circle Line, and picked up coffee before heading for Columbus Circle. I got off the bus at 57th Street and 11th Avenue, in front of the CBS Television complex. Three new passengers were getting on. So I suppose this bus had five passengers by the time it got to Columbus Circle.
It will be interesting to see if this route catches on, and if the opening of the #7 station at 34th Street will have any impact on it.
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