The Orange Street Bus Line was a bus operator in New Haven, Connecticut. It operated one line, along Orange St.- closely paralleling three of the former Connecticut Company routes (J- Whitney Avenue, M/Q- State St.) in New Haven, operating at a lower fare than The Connecticut Company. Its few short older General Motors 'Old Look' buses bore a blue color scheme that was somewhat identical to The Connecticut Co. fleet. Downtown, the bus remained on Orange St. directly to the railroad station (Union Station), and further along Union Ave. to Liberty St. Return trips were via Church St. to Elm St., then onto Orange St. northbound to its Wilbur Cross High School terminus at Mitchell Dr. This bus line did not have a transfer agreement with other carriers. It was taken over by Connecticut Transit after the 1970s, now part of its 'M' Route (continuing to State St.via Mitchell - Willow, branching off either to Devine St. or via Ridge Rd.- Skiff St.- Hartford Tpke. loop in North Haven), which extends from Wilbur Cross HS via Willow St.east to State St., then northbound to Hamden and North Haven (but neither branch extending to their respective town centers- heavy commercial sectors which would likely see higher ridership on this route). <portions added to this article by Ted Elliss>
Advertisement