Yes, a Q38 extension to Flushing would benefit me and the many others living in the growing Asian community here in Rego Park who lack a direct bus route to Flushing. The Q38 as it is now does not serve much purpose, as it is always prone to delays, up to the point where many people would rather walk instead, and it does not serve any popular destination other than the Metro Mall. I think that my proposal for the Q38 will increase reliability (even if you keep the 20 minute headways) and generate new ridership for the route. The Eliot half of the Q38 does not warrant a direct link to Flushing at the time as 1) the people there have a direct transfer to the Q58 on 108th Street (which is why I extended that half of the route to 108th St) and 2) there is not as much of a growing Asian community in Lefrak City and Eliot Ave who would like a convenient way to get to Flushing, and 3) there is not enough room to accommodate so many buses at the terminal as it is already sharing with the Q58. The Eliot half of the Q38 would be sent to Ridgewood to provide better transfer options; Myrtle-Wyckoff station with transfers to the L and M train and the variety of buses at the Ridgewood Terminal offers better transfer options than the Metro Mall with only the M, Q54 and Q67 buses. I chose not to extend the Penelope/63rd half of the Q38 also because there may not be enough room at Myrtle-Wyckoff to accommodate that many buses. I have been living here in Rego Park for over 10 years, and I have been riding and observing the Q38 ever since its days at Triboro Coach; in addition I know the areas I am talking about pretty well. So, if requesting better, more efficient and more meaningful bus service for my community is selfish, then yes I am very selfish
Routing the Q38 via Horace Harding and Main St could be another alternative; however, as discussed that would just end up duplicating the Q88 and Q44. Also, where would you terminate the Q38 if you were to do that? Making left turns on Main Street is highly unadvised due to the amount and nature of traffic on it. Additionally, the heavy traffic on Main Street can cause massive delays on the Q38. I chose to route it via the Q58 College Point Blvd since it is the most direct and quickest way to get to Flushing from 108th Street.
My philosophy is that if the route is there, the route is fast, reliable, and serve popular destinations, people will ride it.. Public transportation services should both respond to and encourage ridership patterns.