MTA to Restore Popular M50 Weekend Bus Route Updated April 18, 2011 6:08pm

An MTA bus. (Plaid Ninja/Flickr)

By Serena Solomon

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MIDTOWN — The MTA will restore weekend service on the M50, a popular crosstown bus line, reversing a controversial decision made last year, the agency announced Monday.

Service on the route, which runs east to west along 49th and 50th streets from Twelfth to First avenues, was scaled back by budget cuts. But after more than 4,000 residents signed a petition calling for service restoration, the MTA brought it back.

But the route will be shortened, and evening service will not be restored.  The M50 used to turn on Second Avenue and head down to East 42nd Street, where it would turn and then head back north along First Avenue.  But under the new plan, all stops below East 48th Street will be eliminated. 

While the M50 crosstown bus line will be restored, part of the route will be eliminated at all times. (courtesy of the MTA)

The savings generated by that change will pay for the restored service.

More than 4,000 residents signed a petition organized by Rep. Carolyn Maloney to have the weekend route reinstated after it was eliminated as part of a series of public transport cutbacks throughout the city.

"Resuming weekend service without costing taxpayers a dime is a solution everyone can celebrate," Maloney said in a statement. "The MTA’s decision means that east Midtown residents will no longer be isolated from mass transit on the weekends and facing a long walk to the subway." 

The MTA board still needs to approve the changes, which is expected to come in the next few weeks, Our Town reported.

RELATED CONTENT

• Turtle Bay Residents Confused by Changes to Crosstown Bus Line A resident frustrated by a lack of signage explaining changes to Midtown's M50 crosstown taped a hand-lettered sign to a bus shelter informing of service cuts.  [DNAInfo/Gabriela Resto-Montero]

By Serena Solomon, DNAinfo.com

Follow Serena on Twitter @serenaspeaks