MTA Board approves Queens Bus Network Redesign plan
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Board has approved the Queens Bus Network Redesign plan, a bus service improvement plan to transform the nearly 70-year-old bus system with updates to both express and local bus service to better match the growth and travel patterns the borough has seen over the years.
Complementing a five-year planning process and extensive outreach process of over 250 events with more than 18,000 comments, New York City (NYC) Transit will launch a large-scale public education campaign leading up to implementation of the new bus network, which will roll out in two phases, in alignment with regular seasonal service changes at the end of June and the end of August. MTA notes the final plan includes a total of 124 routes (versus 113 existing), 94 local routes and 30 express routes.
“Queens is the most bus reliant of the five boroughs by far, and this redesign plan will create the modern bus system its 800,000 daily riders deserve,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “Faster, more frequent and more reliable service – with more bus-to-rail connections – will help residents of the World’s Borough take advantage of all that New York has to offer.”
“Queens is a borough that relies on buses like no other, and it was imperative that we went about the redesign process the right way: evaluating routes and bus stops, prioritizing transit equity, analyzing ridership patterns and engaging with everyday riders and community leaders,” said NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow. “Today’s vote marks a culmination of years of work to deliver a bus system that improves the quality of lives for Queens residents with shorter wait times, better all-day frequency and more reliable bus service.”
According to the MTA, the redesign focuses on four customer priorities:
- Reliable service
- Faster service
- Better connections
- Simplified service
MTA notes the new bus network adds a new type of route, labeled “Rush,” in addition to the existing local, limited, select bus service (SBS) and express routes. According to the authority, Rush routes are designed to get riders to their destination more quickly and have both a local and a non-stop portion to quickly connect between outer borough neighborhoods and subway stations.
The authority says the NYC Department of Transportation’s (DOT) work installing busways in downtown Flushing and Jamaica, as well as bus lanes on Northern Boulevard and 21 St., strengthens the bus network redesign and its investment in Queens. According to MTA, improvements along Northern Boulevard resulted in an increase of up to 25 percent in bus speeds, with those along Main Street / Kissena Boulevard seeing a 44 percent increase in bus speeds, and buses along Archer Avenue are traveling up to 57 percent faster since implementation of bus priority street improvements. As part of the NYC Streets Plan, released in February 2023, NYC DOT is working collaboratively with the MTA to identify additional corridors where bus priority street treatments can be implemented to improve bus rider travel time.
Equity-informed approach
MTA notes the Queens Bus Network Redesign aims to create a more efficient, reliable and accessible bus system that better serves the needs of all riders while prioritizing equity to address disparities in access and opportunity. Beyond the Title VI requirements, the project team published an equity evaluation that shares the data behind socioeconomic factors and framework used to inform the development of the new bus network, underscoring the project’s commitment to equitable transportation. In the MTA’s equity analysis, the public can learn how factors such as transit dependency, minority representation, income, access to opportunity and mobility needs were taken into consideration when making improvements to routes with finite resources to ensure communities with greater equity concerns continue to have strong access to transit.
Highlights of the final plan addendum network
New routes
MTA notes four new local routes were introduced in the addendum network released in December 2024, raising the total of new routes in the plan to 17:
- The Q74 Limited connects Forest Hills to points in eastern Queens, including Queens College, Queensborough Community College and many major high schools.
- The Q80 provides more frequent service on Lefferts Boulevard along the path of the existing Q10 Limited.
- The Q89 Rush provides service along the path of the existing Q85 Green Acres branch.
- The Q90 Limited connects Flushing to LaGuardia Airport via Willets Point.
Improved all-day frequent network
According to the authority, there are 29 routes that provide 10 minutes or better service from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on weekdays. MTA says 20 routes have either increased frequency or expanded hours of operation. Key streets throughout the borough that would see frequency increases include Union Turnpike, Merrick Boulevard, Guy R. Brewer Boulevard and the western section of Northern Boulevard.
More direct routing, faster travel
MTA notes there are 25 Rush routes that pick-up passengers locally on one end and then have greater stop spacing to improve travel times to the other end of the line, stopping at major transfer points and key destinations. The authority says bus stop changes were carefully considered and holistically examined. According to the MTA, 84 percent of riders will continue to use the same stop that they do today.
Better connections
MTA says the redesign fills in gaps in the bus network and establishes new connections with other bus routes, subway lines, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and improves accessibility throughout Queens by connecting to more Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible subway stations.
According to the authority, the redesign improves service to John F. Kennedy Airport on the new Q80, and to LaGuardia Airport on the Q33 and the new Q90 Limited. New and modified routes expand the reach of the bus network, making interborough travel easier. The Q98 Limited route connects Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenue’s (on the Brooklyn-Queens border) and downtown Flushing via the Horace Harding Expressway.
MTA says the new route complements the existing Q58, which also operates between Flushing and Ridgewood, but the new Q98 provides a more direct alternative, along with connections to subway lines, 31 other bus routes and the LIRR Flushing-Main Street station. The QM65 is a new express route connecting Laurelton and Rochdale in Southeast Queens to downtown Manhattan.
Simplified service
MTA notes all Express routes are being standardized to use the “QM” route label, instead of some using “QM” while others use “X.” Route labels for the local network have been simplified, so that customers better understand where their bus is traveling before they board.
