Shouldn't We Theater Lovers Be Fighting to Save the M10 Bus?
The rallying cry sounded by my sister blogger Sarah B at Endless Adventures in the Pursuit of Entertainment was enough to rouse me from my summer stupor. Yesterday she rightfully railed against the decision to change the route of the M10 bus, which for years "traveled north on 8th Avenue from Penn Station and then continued north on Central Park West to Harlem." Now, as part of the Metropolitan Transit Authority's new cost-cutting campaign, the bus only runs uptown from Columbus Circle. That, of course, cuts out the Theater District entirely. Each night the M10 bus used to be filled with theatergoers and theatermakers, ranging from actors to stagehands, making it, as Sarah says, " a community of post-theatre commuters." Many of those folks were seniors and disabled people who found it easier to ride the bus than pull the subway steps—and safer too. Not to mention a whole lot cheaper than taking a cab.
I know that the MTA has to save money and that we've all got to do our share but is it really cost-efficient for the MTA to reduce the route through one of the busiest parts of the city? I've lived in both Harlem and the Upper West Side, the communities the bus still serves, and I can testify that the main purpose of that bus for the folks in these neighborhoods wasn't to visit one another (which is pretty much all we can do on it now) but to get downtown to work and to play. Which for many of us meant going to the theater. Where is the Broadway League when we need it?
Ah, to hell with that, let's do it ourselves. You can tell the MTA how boneheaded the decision to cut the Theater District from the M10 route is by clicking here.
