The M5 and M55 bus routes constitute a public transit corridor in Manhattan, New York City, running along the Fifth / Sixth Avenues / Riverside Drive Line as well as the southern portion of the Broadway Line after the discontinuation of the M6. The routes primarily run along Broadway, Fifth and Sixth Avenues, and Riverside Drive from South Ferry, Lower Manhattan to Washington Heights. The M5 covers the northern portion of the route north of 31st Street, while the M55 operates along the southern portion of the route south of 44th Street. The two routes overlap in Midtown Manhattan. The portion along Broadway south of East 8th Street was originally a streetcar line. The whole line was a single route, the M5, until January 2017, when the M55 was created. Route description Broadway Line The Broadway line began at Columbus Circle. It runs east along Central Park South one block, and turned right onto Seventh Avenue. It followed Seventh to Times Square, and bore left on Broadway. It followed Broadway to Madison Square, and bore right onto Fifth Avenue. It ran on Fifth along with the Fifth/Madison Avenue Line to 8th Street. Both lines turned left onto East 8th Street (also known as St. Marks Place) east towards Broadway. At Broadway, the Broadway line turned right and terminated at the South Ferry; the Fifth/Madison Avenue Line continued to Fourth Avenue and terminated at Astor Place and Fourth Avenue. Current alignment The current M5 and M55 follow a similar route, except the M55 does not run on Broadway north of St. Marks Place after the pedestrian plazas were implemented. The current northbound M55 route begins at South Ferry and runs uptown on Church Street and Sixth Avenue. Downtown M55 buses run along Fifth Avenue to East 8th Street, where the route cuts over to Broadway and terminates at South Ferry. The northbound M55 runs along Fifth and Sixth Avenues until 44th Street, where it terminates. The M5 starts at 31st Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, using Sixth Avenue northbound and Fifth Avenue southbound until it reaches Central Park South. This corridor is shared by the M1, M2, M3 and M4 routes, and Sixth Avenue with the M7. There, the M5 runs crosstown along Central Park South (West 59th Street) and uptown along Broadway from Columbus Circle to West 72nd Street, where it crosses over to the southern terminus of Riverside