M104 (New York City bus)

m104
Broadway Line
A 2008 Orion VII NG HEV (3800) on the M104 on Broadway near Columbia University. This bus is retired.
Overview
System	MTA New York City Bus
Operator	New York City Transit Authority
Garage	Manhattanville Depot
Vehicle	Orion VII NG HEV Nova Bus LFS HEV New Flyer Xcelsior XDE40
Began service	1884-5 (train) 1946 (bus) 2010 (current alignment)
Route
Locale	Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Start	West Harlem – 129th Street
Via	Seventh Avenue (southbound) Eighth Avenue (northbound) Broadway
End	Midtown – 41st Street / 8th Avenue
Length	5.6 miles (9.0 km) (southbound)
Annual patronage	1,827,346 (2022)
Transfers	Yes
Timetable	M104
Route map West Harlem – 129th Street  M104  Intermittent stops Convent Avenue 126th Street Morningside Avenue Intermittent stops Old Broadway Tiemann Place Intermittent stops LaSalle Street 122nd Street 120th Street 116th Street Intermittent stops 114th Street 112th Street Cathedral Parkway 108th Street 106th Street 104th Street 102nd Street 100th Street 97th Street ​​ Intermittent stops 94th Street 92nd Street 90th Street 88th Street 86th Street Intermittent stops 84th Street 82nd Street 79th Street 75th Street 73rd Street 72nd Street ​​ Intermittent stops 70th Street 68th Street 66th Street Intermittent stops 63rd Street Columbus Circle ​​​​ 58th Street 56th Street ​​​ 54th Street ​​ 52nd Street 50th Street ​​​​ 49th Street ​ Intermittent stops 47th Street 46th Street 44th Street 43rd Street Midtown – 41st Street  M104  ​​ ​​​​​​​​ Legend Major stops Minor stops  M104  Terminus ​​ Subway connection ← M103  {{{system_nav}}}  M106 →

The Broadway Line is a surface transit line in Manhattan, New York City, running mainly along 42nd Street and Broadway from Murray Hill to Harlem. Formerly a streetcar line operated by the Third Avenue Railway, it is now the M104 bus route operated by the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. This bus route no longer runs along the entire route of the former streetcar.

Route description

The M104 route begins at 41st Street and 8th Avenue, by Times Square. Buses use Eighth Avenue (northbound) and Seventh Avenue (southbound) to and from Central Park South. The route continues north on Broadway through the Upper West Side, finally turning off at 125th Street, where it turns around at a clockwise loop on Amsterdam Avenue, 129th Street, Convent Avenue, and 125th Street.

History

The Forty-second Street, Manhattanville and St. Nicholas Avenue Railway opened the Boulevard Line in 1884 or 1885, following the 42nd Street Crosstown Line from the East 34th Street Ferry along First Avenue (trackage rights over the Central Park, North and East River Railroad's East Belt Line) and 42nd Street to Times Square, using new trackage on Broadway (then Boulevard) to 125th Street, and turning west on 125th Street over the tracks of the One-Hundred and Twenty-Fifth Street Railroad's 125th Street Crosstown Line to the Fort Lee Ferry. The Third Avenue Railroad acquired control of the line in November 1895, and the Metropolitan Street Railway leased the Third Avenue in May 1900. After cable cars stopped running on the Metropolitan's Broadway Line in 1902, the Third Avenue's line was rerouted to continue south on Broadway from Times Square on the Metropolitan's trackage, ending at Houston Street.

Effective February 17, 1908, as part of the splitting of the Third Avenue Railroad from the bankrupt Metropolitan Street Railway, the Third Avenue's Broadway cars were sent along their old route, heading east on 42nd Street at Times Square and ending at the East 34th Street Ferry via First Avenue. Simultaneously, the Metropolitan introduced a new line, the Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue Line, running from Broadway and Houston Street along Broadway, Seventh Avenue, 53rd Street, Ninth Avenue, Columbus Avenue, Broadway, and Amsterdam Avenue to 125th Street. This was done because the Third Avenue's Broadway trackage ended at Times Square; south of Times Square was Metropolitan trackage.

Broadway buses stopped serving the East 34th Street Ferry on September 29, 1917. Buses were substituted for streetcars on December 15, 1946.

In June 2010, due to budget cuts, the M104 bus route was truncated to Times Square from the Headquarters of the United Nations, eliminating service along 42nd Street.