Every bus route throughout Queens will be analyzed as part of the overhaul. (Department of Transportation)
April 16, 2019 By Laura Hanrahan
The Queens bus network is about to get an extensive redesign, the MTA announced on Monday.
During a presentation to the Queens Borough Cabinet, the transit authority outlined its year-long plan to overhaul the network, with intentions to alter unnecessary or indirect bus routes and adjust spacing between stops.
The MTA is calling for a “blank slate” approach to the revamp of Queens’ 107 bus lines, which service upwards of 714,000 riders every weekday.
With ridership decreasing citywide and bus speeds slowing down due to congestion, every bus routes on the current network—largely designed based on the preceding trolley network—will be analyzed and adjusted to accommodate current and future travel patterns.
According to the MTA, average bus speeds in the heavily bus-dependent borough currently average 8.9 miles per hour.
“The Queens bus network has not substantially changed in decades and the people of Queens deserve better,” said MTA President Andy Byford. “It’s imperative that New York City Transit do its part to keep up with the rapid and changing nature of growth in one of the city’s most bus-dependent boroughs. Bus network modernization is absolutely critical to the continued success of Queens and I look forward to being a part of it.”
The transit authority hopes that the new design will be able to provide higher frequency, high capacity bus service throughout the borough’s major corridors.
Public feedback will be collected and incorporated into the future route design changes. The MTA will collect suggestions via an online form, and through a series of open houses, which will begin next month.
The MTA plans to have a first draft of the redesign done by November of this year, and will release the final plan in April 2020.
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34 Comments
Q72 is running from La Guardia to 63rd and Queens Blvd, a route that should really be promoted since it takes people directly to their airlines.
However it is planned to change the terminus at 63rd and Queens Blvd to Woodhaven Blvd. We already have more than enough buses going to Woodhaven and Queens Blvd. and do not need the Q72 go there as well. Please leave the route as is, terminating at 63rd and Queens Blvd. and also make it the first stop going back to La Guardia (as it used to be), since it is directly at the subway exit. We now have to walk 2 blocks from the subway exit across a very dangerous intersection to catch the bus at Ikea instead of taking just a few steps. That simply does not make any sense and is dangerous to boot.
My kids take q47 to school in east elmhurst. So far I don’t see any buses on new plan that get them anywhere close to 73st and 31st ave.
This is great and well needed thank you foresthill post.. Well we need a bus not just an Express bus for city commuters but for the jamaica queens community that goes down linden blvd in Jamaica at least from Rockaway blvd to Merrick Blvd. Currently my granson has to go all the way up to Jamaica terminal to come back down Merrick Blvd.. if your coming from Supthin & Rockaway Q40 & Q6. Also there needs to be a connection to the Brooklyn bound bus Q15 from the Q7 & or Q8 instead of having to walk across highways from the Q7& Q8 to get to the Lindenwood Springcreek area please its really dangerous walking across the Conduit pkwy Please fix it.
Please we need Q42 bus over the weekend too
I believe you should extend the Q8 B13 B20 B83 from gateway north to new lots ave and discontinue the B84
Also make a terminal at JFK where I can get all busses or just extend the Q7 and Q6 to the terminal with the Q10 Q3 and B15
Extend the Q24 to downtown Brooklyn so queens residents will have a easy way to downtown Brooklyn or extend the Q24 down Atlantic ave to the Barclays center
Make a bus route that goes up and down vanwyck expressway to JFK airport maybe start it in Jamaica then up queens boulevard
Extend the Q53, Q52 , Q11 and Q21 to LaGuardia airport currently there is no easy way from lower queens to that airport
Give the Q60 a limited or SBS it’s a very long ride down queens boulevard
Extend the Q112 down liberty to east New York
Extend the Q37 to JFK airport it’s on the border of JFK so you might as well
Extend the Q88 to long island city along the LIE
Add some bus route that goes local along conduit boulevard I have a route idea for that Q89 it goes from Broadway junction- Green acres
Extend the Q25, Q65 and Q34 down suphtin boulevard then down Linden boulevard and then terminate at Rockaway boulevard
Also to reduce traffic in Jamaica make Jamaica ave from Queens boulevard to 168 st and suphtin boulevard from hillside to liberty Ave buses only like Fulton street in Brooklyn
Extend the Q85 and Q5 Limited to green acres also
That’s it for changes. To speed up buses you need to severely in force traffic laws and fix traffic lights make lights stay green longer
The worst incidence of traffic lights I know of is the B20 and B13 along Linden boulevard the street has the worst lights in the system one light turns green the next one is red and that pattern continues all the way down Linden in Brooklyn.
That’s it for me
Reduce buses in Flushing. So many bus lines within a few blocks of streets.
Do not change the Q39 unless it is to add busses. It serves over 15 schools and is constantly packed to the point of skipping stops very early in the route. It’s easy to wait. Over 40 minutes for this bus, but is obviously key to the community moving between Ridgewood to LIC.
Stop the Q47 at Penelope & Juniper Valley Rd. You can switch to the Q29 for the remaining of the ride to Glendale. The bus literally has no one or 1 or 2 people on it from this point on. During rush hour maybe 6 people. It will also alleviate congestion along 80th St. Also, the Q53 on Metropolitan Avenue in Middle Village, should be changed back to the old route going through St. John’s Cemetery. Again, not many people getting of the bus on it’s current route through 80th St in Glendale. This too would alleviate traffic, as you have three buses travel the same route for 6 or 7 blocks, with no ridership or not a lot of people getting off the bus. They can switch for the Q29 at 80th St. This would improve bus speed too on all the lines, less congestion.
My daughter takes the Q47 to Maspeth HS. The Q47 is packed also with students from McClancy HS. The bus is always packed during the week. I don’t know what bus your watching drive to Glendale.
Put a bus from no Blvd in jksn hts to ditmars, astoria
Create a bus route that goes from 74th roosevelt Ave to 69th st and Queens Blvd then turns on to Queens blv and gets on the bqe to Williamsburg Bridge.
Please put Express buses on the rosedale route.
So many buses serve downtown Flushing, but none go to Rego Park, Forest Hills or Kew Gardens. This would be appreciated.
Q58 goes to Forest Hills from Flushing
Maybe focus on renovating the 7 line stations and keep it open on weekends? There are pieces falling on cars. In my opinion, the buses don’t need to change.
Other than the Q8, Q24, Q32, Q35, Q44 SBS, Q50, Q54, Q55, Q56, Q58, Q59, Q60, Q101, B13, B15, B20, B24, B26, B32, B38, B52, B54, B57, B62 and M60 SBS all of which are InterBorough routes must either be left alone or improved (either via merging into another Queens route, extended to a Downtown Center or in some cases shortened to where it terminates where other bus/subway/Commuter Railroad service is available for people to continue their trip, the general Queens Bus Network needs to be looked at in regards of a high-frequency zone (where a bus arrives every 1 to 4 minutes throughout the day), improved grid-like network, new bus corridors in areas where the MTA eliminated bus service due to low ridership (primarily due to the lack of adequate coverage that route provided).
The Q8 and B13 should be extended to new lots and replace the B84
And the Q24 should be extended down Atlantic to Barclays or up Broadway to down town Brooklyn beside the subway queens residents have no easy way to down town Brooklyn
Forgot the Q7
build more subways
A bus line across 39th Street in Sunnyside/LIC over the 39th Street bridge which turns into Steinway Street once across the bridge to the end of Steinway St would be great! Its a pain in the neck to get to Astoria by the train from Sunnyside. You either have to take the 7 to the N or go the opposite direction on the 7 to Jackson Heights Hub where you have to switch to the M/R.
I wonder if there was ever a bus line on 39th st? in all the years i’ve lived here i almost never shopped on steinway, or astoria…..it s just too difficult to get to, …plus before they horribly redesigned greenpoint and 39th a bus could have easily made a u turn and stopped there at the end of the route
They should make some streets bus only and spread out the stops.
Please run additional Q66 on Northern Blvd. heading West in the early mornings. It is so jammed at 5:30 a.m. It is standing room early. 🙁
I wish there was a bus that ran the length of Hillside Ave, where it begins at Myrtle Ave in Richmond Hills. It’s ridiculous that I have to take a bus into Jamaica and then get on another bus to go up Hillside, when Hillside Ave is wide enough to have a bus run its entire length in Queens. This idea might also alleviate some of the ridiculous bus congestion on Jamaica Ave. It would also be a great idea to have express buses to Manhattan that ran on weekends, especially for those of us who have to take buses due to the lack of elevators in the subway system.
The Q23 should run down Continental Ave, not 69th St.
That will never happen. It strategically drives around FHG. That won’t change.
Look up the plans for QT87. It will run from Woodhaven Blvd, down Union Tpke, onto 71st cut through Loubet onto Ascan down to Queens Blvd. This is the current plan and so far has not been opposed. I suspect if more people in the area were aware of it there would be far more opposition.
Still avoids FHG. Ascan is the edge.
Dont touch the Q54 schedule unless making more trips. As it is theres only 1 bus every 20-30 min.
For pete’s sake give Queens Blvd a second bus line or a damn select service Q60 that skips stops. The damn traffic and the constant construction on the trains makes getting from Jamaica to Roosevelt Avenue a slow and terribly long process.
How about the express buses for Ridgewood Glendale Middle Village and Maspeth run a full day and on weekends. People would gladly take them into the city to shop, see a show.
Maybe stay off the busiest streets with all the double-parked trucks at rush hour. Move the routes one or two streets over. Stay off 82 st, 74th St, Roosevelt Ave.
Better yet, get rid of the double parked trucks. Change delivery times, create more loading zones. With better bus service people can leave their cars at home and stop clogging our streets, polluting our air and running over our kids.
I say make those streets bus only or pedestrian only