Queens Division Bus Proposals/Ideas

[Gotham Bus Co.]

Meetings are scheduled at the worst possible time, and people have shit to do.

 

That's why they also accepted testimony by email or snail mail.

[BreeddekalbL]

well Paul Vallone is their politician why not blow up his line?

[BreeddekalbL]

While i am Here what are the headways on the q11 between it's 2 terminals?

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

While i am Here what are the headways on the q11 between it's 2 terminals?

On the individual branches it's every 30 minutes during the rush hour in the peak direction, every 60 minutes during rush hour in the reverse peak direction and middays, and every 30-40 minutes (from Hamilton Beach/Old Howard Beach) or every 60 minutes (towards Elmhurst) during the evenings. 

[BreeddekalbL]

On the individual branches it's every 30 minutes during the rush hour in the peak direction, every 60 minutes during rush hour in the reverse peak direction and middays, and every 30-40 minutes (from Hamilton Beach/Old Howard Beach) or every 60 minutes (towards Elmhurst) during the evenings.

 

Was thinking how about re labeling them to keep their same number as q11A&q11b to avoid confusion?

 

Same question regarding the Q10 headway between branches and can they be relabeled A&b to avoid confusion?

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

Was thinking how about re labeling them to keep their same number as q11A&q11b to avoid confusion?

 

Same question regarding the Q10 headway between branches and can they be relabeled A&b to avoid confusion?

IMO it's not worth it for the Q11. The branches are a relatively small portion of the route. By then virtually no one is on the bus. I mean, the frequencies are kept for coverage, but they don't have it as bad. Theoretically, someone from Old Howard Beach could either walk to 160 Avenue or across the Pedestrian bridge to Hamilton Beach (and vice-versa) in order to catch a bus, so the hourly headways aren't too problematic. I think you would initially confuse more people by signing the bus as a Q11A or Q11B.

 

The Q10 does not need it either. The Q10 Locals go via Rockaway Boulevard & 130 Street, and the Q10 LIMITEDs run via Lefferts Boulevard south of Rockaway Boulevard. It's fairly simple to remember.

Edited July 27, 2017 by BM5 via Woodhaven Bl

[Gotham Bus Co.]

well Paul Vallone is their politician why not blow up his line?

 

Not all of us voted for him. (BTW, the Vallone family owns the Vallo school bus company that took over the former X32 back in 2010.)

[bobtehpanda]

That's why they also accepted testimony by email or snail mail.

 

Fair. The MTA, however, does not do a very good job of informing people when these things are happening. If there even is a poster on the bus, it's usually in some out of the way location where maybe half the bus can see it, at best, and it's usually a giant thicket of small text that no one is going to read.

[B35 via Church]

Was thinking how about re labeling them to keep their same number as q11A&q11b to avoid confusion?....

Rather than bother with any relabeling, I'd have every trip going south of Pitkin serve Old Howard (99th) and Hamilton Beach (104th) on the same trip....

 

Eliminate that branching.... All buses would terminate in Old Howard Beach; nothing should be ending in Hamilton Beach IMO....

[BreeddekalbL]

Rather than bother with any relabeling, I'd have every trip going south of Pitkin serve Old Howard (99th) and Hamilton Beach (104th) on the same trip....

 

Eliminate that branching.... All buses would terminate in Old Howard Beach; nothing should be ending in Hamilton Beach IMO....

 

that might work.

[ViaWaterViaChurch]

More buses are needed on the AM QM25 runs.  It seems like the line has grown in popularity with Middle Village and Glendale residents over the past year or so.  It also seems like the M Train shutdown has finally caught up with everyone as now the first three AM buses are practically SRO (and this is the middle of summer). 

 

There was a supervisor doing counts at the last stop on the first AM run yesterday morning, hopefully changes will come when school is back in session and even more people resume taking the bus  If there is no room in the budget to add another bus or two, then perhaps either the last 8:25am run can be cut, or one of the QM24/34 runs can be cut.  From what I heard from a B/O who drove the 8:25am run about 6 months ago, there's maybe 6-8 passengers on the 8:25 am QM25. 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

More buses are needed on the AM QM25 runs.  It seems like the line has grown in popularity with Middle Village and Glendale residents over the past year or so.  It also seems like the M Train shutdown has finally caught up with everyone as now the first three AM buses are practically SRO (and this is the middle of summer). 

 

There was a supervisor doing counts at the last stop on the first AM run yesterday morning, hopefully changes will come when school is back in session and even more people resume taking the bus  If there is no room in the budget to add another bus or two, then perhaps either the last 8:25am run can be cut, or one of the QM24/34 runs can be cut.  From what I heard from a B/O who drove the 8:25am run about 6 months ago, there's maybe 6-8 passengers on the 8:25 am QM25. 

It amazes me how Queens residents can advocate for CUTS to express bus service. You guys already have pathetic service as it is. You should advocating for MORE express bus service.  Middle Village/Glendale should have express bus service until mid day. Something like 15:00 during the week and later service in the evening.  I would run the QM15 on Sundays to cover Middle Village and Glendale and extend the QM15 past Howard Beach to cover Neponsit.

[Gotham Bus Co.]

It amazes me how Queens residents can advocate for CUTS to express bus service. You guys already have pathetic service as it is. You should advocating for MORE express bus service.  Middle Village/Glendale should have express bus service until mid day. 

 

He's suggesting that a later bus be moved earlier because that is when it's truly needed. Otherwise, adding service just to add service accomplishes nothing except running lots of empty buses.

Edited August 3, 2017 by Gotham Bus Co.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

He's suggesting that a later bus be moved earlier because that is when it's truly needed. Otherwise, adding service just to add service accomplishes nothing except running lots of empty buses.

I know what he's suggesting and I think it's foolish. Cutting the Downtown bus that starts at 08:25 means people that need to be in the office at 10:00 will have a longer commute. Just because a B/O says something doesn't make it so. Ridership fluctuates.

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

It amazes me how Queens residents can advocate for CUTS to express bus service. You guys already have pathetic service as it is. You should advocating for MORE express bus service.  Middle Village/Glendale should have express bus service until mid day. Something like 15:00 during the week and later service in the evening.  I would run the QM15 on Sundays to cover Middle Village and Glendale and extend the QM15 past Howard Beach to cover Neponsit.

The QM24 has the ridership, and it has been slated to get weekend service many years ago. The 2003/2004 DOT PBL study recommended it (along with the QM21, which was pulling in its own loads too), and IIRC someone mentioned that it was suppose to receive the service somewhere between 2008-2009 (which was put off because of the recession). Since then, nothing has been mentioned. 

 

My council member (Elizabeth Crowley) hasn't done much in order to demand more service on the express bus lines, especially the QM24. She focuses a little too much on local community matters (not that it's wrong, but transportation is also important). If it had more service, even more people would take it over dealing with the Q54, Q67, and Q38 to the subway. What she has done though is to support and allocate funds for a LIRR lower Montauk revitalization study though (in which the service doesn't even go to Manhattan)...

 

 

Perhaps my senator (Joseph Addabbo Jr.) can help. He appears to be a little more transportation oriented. Brian Barnwell (Assemblyman) appears to focus more on senior citizens' issues and affordable housing. Sucks that over here in Queens, our representatives are not too vocal on transportation like some of their Bronx, Brooklyn, and Staten Island counterparts.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

The QM24 has the ridership, and it has been slated to get weekend service many years ago. The 2003/2004 DOT PBL study recommended it (along with the QM21, which was pulling in its own loads too), and IIRC someone mentioned that it was suppose to receive the service somewhere between 2008-2009 (which was put off because of the recession). Since then, nothing has been mentioned. 

 

My council member (Elizabeth Crowley) hasn't done much in order to demand more service on the express bus lines, especially the QM24. She focuses a little too much on local community matters (not that it's wrong, but transportation is also important). If it had more service, even more people would take it over dealing with the Q54, Q67, and Q38 to the subway. What she has done though is to support and allocate funds for a LIRR lower Montauk revitalization study though (in which the service doesn't even go to Manhattan)...

 

 

Perhaps my senator (Joseph Addabbo Jr.) can help. He appears to be a little more transportation oriented. Brian Barnwell (Assemblyman) appears to focus more on senior citizens' issues and affordable housing. Sucks that over here in Queens, our representatives are not too vocal on transportation like some of their Bronx, Brooklyn, and Staten Island counterparts.

Your representatives are only going to be as vocal as their constituents are and that's just the truth.  If the people representing you don't give a damn about your commute, well you vote them out.  It's that simple. That's the way I look at it.  It seems as if the people in Queens in general are not vocal enough.  They are timid about demanding services that they are paying for and quite frankly it baffles me.  Areas like Pelham Bay, Throggs Neck and the like gets their fair share of service because they speak up and do so constantly until their elected officials are forced to address the issue.

 

I don't know if some in Queens are more car centric or what, but what goes there would not be tolerated in other areas of the City.  If you don't complain and constantly raise hell nothing changes.  I've been working on trying to get an HOV lane on the Major Deegan for years now since I moved to Riverdale and I finally got a response from a big wig at the DOT the other day in writing after personally contacting Cuomo's office about the issue.  I was told that they did a study that said that there wasn't a demand for such a thing right now, so now I'm going to go back and demand to see when the study was done because it's complete BS.  The place is a parking lot more days than not and yet somehow they can't put in an HOV lane but they're spending millions of taxpayer dollars to improve the expressway?  

 

I read an article not too long ago about people that use the QM7 and QM8 attending a Town Hall like meeting about the need for more express bus service Downtown and that went no where. The elected officials basically acted as if they they were going to beg the to consider the service, which gets you no where.  Politicians like Senator Golden are relentless in fighting for his constituents and the folks in his district allow him to be vocal because they raise hell.  That's how things get done.  My State Senator has been pretty good about certain issues including some on the transportation end, but I'd like to see more done, so I follow up regularly with his office, particularly about express bus service, but also I've been outspoken about trying to get weekend shuttle service on Metro-North, as well as restoring some lost express bus service on the BxM1 in addition to a few more earlier trips on the BxM1 and BxM2 on weekend mornings.

 

Having lost so much service on Staten Island, I understand the impact that taxpayers must have in holding their elected officials accountable and getting them to focus on the issues that affect them the most.  

Edited August 3, 2017 by Via Garibaldi 8

[checkmatechamp13]

More buses are needed on the AM QM25 runs.  It seems like the line has grown in popularity with Middle Village and Glendale residents over the past year or so.  It also seems like the M Train shutdown has finally caught up with everyone as now the first three AM buses are practically SRO (and this is the middle of summer). 

 

There was a supervisor doing counts at the last stop on the first AM run yesterday morning, hopefully changes will come when school is back in session and even more people resume taking the bus  If there is no room in the budget to add another bus or two, then perhaps either the last 8:25am run can be cut, or one of the QM24/34 runs can be cut.  From what I heard from a B/O who drove the 8:25am run about 6 months ago, there's maybe 6-8 passengers on the 8:25 am QM25. 

 

To be fair, I'm sure if the train shutdown caused increased ridership on those early morning QM25 runs, it also caused increased ridership on that last 8:25am QM25 run. The other thing to consider is that the last bus of a certain time period (whether it's the morning, afternoon, or evening) usually doesn't get too much ridership in and of itself, but people use it as a backup in case they miss the second-to-last bus. I think 8:25am is a decent time to end a rush hour route (it gets to 85th Street a little before 9am and gets people into Downtown around 9:30 or so). 

 

My council member (Elizabeth Crowley) hasn't done much in order to demand more service on the express bus lines, especially the QM24. She focuses a little too much on local community matters (not that it's wrong, but transportation is also important). If it had more service, even more people would take it over dealing with the Q54, Q67, and Q38 to the subway. What she has done though is to support and allocate funds for a LIRR lower Montauk revitalization study though (in which the service doesn't even go to Manhattan)...

 

At least it would get you over to the train, which is a quick ride to Manhattan and has room to spare (since a lot of people get off at QBP to transfer to the )

[Eric B]

The QM24 has the ridership, and it has been slated to get weekend service many years ago. The 2003/2004 DOT PBL study recommended it (along with the QM21, which was pulling in its own loads too), and IIRC someone mentioned that it was suppose to receive the service somewhere between 2008-2009 (which was put off because of the recession). Since then, nothing has been mentioned. 

 

My council member (Elizabeth Crowley) hasn't done much in order to demand more service on the express bus lines, especially the QM24. She focuses a little too much on local community matters (not that it's wrong, but transportation is also important). If it had more service, even more people would take it over dealing with the Q54, Q67, and Q38 to the subway. What she has done though is to support and allocate funds for a LIRR lower Montauk revitalization study though (in which the service doesn't even go to Manhattan)...

 

 

Perhaps my senator (Joseph Addabbo Jr.) can help. He appears to be a little more transportation oriented. Brian Barnwell (Assemblyman) appears to focus more on senior citizens' issues and affordable housing. Sucks that over here in Queens, our representatives are not too vocal on transportation like some of their Bronx, Brooklyn, and Staten Island counterparts.

They need to find a way to straighten it out so that it doesn't go all the way to Rego Park ad then come back west. It should cut off somewhere around Maspeth, and maybe swing something else over to serve Eliot Ave.

[B35 via Church]

Your representatives are only going to be as vocal as their constituents are and that's just the truth.  If the people representing you don't give a damn about your commute, well you vote them out.  It's that simple. That's the way I look at it.  It seems as if the people in Queens in general are not vocal enough.  They are timid about demanding services that they are paying for and quite frankly it baffles me.  Areas like Pelham Bay, Throggs Neck and the like gets their fair share of service because they speak up and do so constantly until their elected officials are forced to address the issue.

 

I don't know if some in Queens are more car centric or what, but what goes there would not be tolerated in other areas of the City.  If you don't complain and constantly raise hell nothing changes...

 

With the exception of Astoria and [Glen Oaks & a couple lesser enclaves to an extent], you just described Queens when it comes to public transportation... I don't get the sense that they're timid, it's actually worse..... I have a theory - It seems to me that a lot of Queens patrons are content with bus service now, because it was an upgrade in consistency & reliability compared to what the PBL's provided....

 

In laymens, they've gotten content with mediocrity.... The fact that they're not getting enough, I seriously doubt ever enters their head (which is why I say it's worse then them being hesitant/timid/scared)......

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

They need to find a way to straighten it out so that it doesn't go all the way to Rego Park ad then come back west. It should cut off somewhere around Maspeth, and maybe swing something else over to serve Eliot Ave.

I always hear this when referring to the QM24 (at least, on this forum).

 

Honestly, the pattern isn't as bad as people make it out to be. It takes about 20-25 minutes depending on the time of day. The only issue is Fresh Pond Road (and especially with the construction at Metropolitan Avenue and the shutdown, it adds runtime. It's still gets you to East Midtown in about 45-60 minutes, and towards West Midtown in 50-70 minutes. It's much better than:

 

A) Taking the Q55, to the

B) Taking the Q55, to the , to 6 Ave

C) Taking the Q54 or Q58 to the or

D) Taking the Q67 to the to whatever other subway

E) Taking the Q38 to the , and then transferring to an express train

 

All the aforementioned options are slower than the bus itself. In some cases, the bus will be in Manhattan before you catch the subway to Manhattan.

 

During off-peak hours, a bus can do that in 20 minutes (I'd say even 15 minutes during evening or very light periods). It's not really a big deal. During the PM rush, it's more of an issue because of how much more traffic there is compared to the AM rush.

With the exception of Astoria and [Glen Oaks & a couple lesser enclaves to an extent], you just described Queens when it comes to public transportation... I don't get the sense that they're timid, it's actually worse..... I have a theory - It seems to me that a lot of Queens patrons are content with bus service now, because it was an upgrade in consistency & reliability compared to what the PBL's provided....

 

In laymens, they've gotten content with mediocrity.... The fact that they're not getting enough, I seriously doubt ever enters their head (which is why I say it's worse then them being hesitant/timid/scared)......

You know, you may not be off with that statement. It still boggles me that the buses in my area are so infrequent as they are. Q38's during the rush, Q47 on weekends, Q29's in the morning.There's also others, but those are the main culprits, given how infrequent they are during said periods.

 

Not only that, but some people don't know, or don't care about local politics, so they don't know who to contact in order to get things done.

 

I am aware of what happens regarding to transportation in my community, and there are a few others, but the majority don't.

========================================

1)I wrote to my assemblyman and my state senator a week ago regarding off-peak express bus service (I've sent stuff in the past to others, but nothing really happened). My senator said that he would address this with the MTA and work something out. He's more outspoken with transportation considering some of the neighborhoods he represents (Lindenwood, Howard Beach, the Rockaways).

 

IDK if my earlier message to him regarding the Queens-Midtown Tunnel delays had any part, but after sending that message, the MTA has revised the schedule the following pick so that the QM15 departs Manhattan slightly later on Saturdays (in order to save money DH'ing extra buses to Manhattan because the schedule wasn't met), which is this pick. He apparently has an MTA contact, so IDK. I also remember sending a notice to other city council members along the affected routes (all the weekend QM's). Despite not receiving a message back, they probably might have looked into this issue as well.

 

2)My assemblyman said that ultimately he is not in charge of what the MTA does or doesn't do, but would get back to me regarding the same topic.

 

3) The office of my council member has sent letters to the MTA, and has sent a scan of the letter + response regarding the Queens-Midtown Tunnel delays, but they ignored my latest message, after I felt the response wasn't very accurate. Should I even bother to send a note regarding off-peak express bus service, IDK. I don't really like getting ignored and doing stuff for no reason. Then the council member and the office call and ring the door about the upcoming city council election and attempting to get a yes vote and whatnot.

Edited August 21, 2017 by BM5 via Woodhaven Bl

[Eric B]

That still seems like a long time, which would be shortened by picking up Fresh Pond directly from Maspeth.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

That still seems like a long time, which would be shortened by picking up Fresh Pond directly from Maspeth.

It's actually pretty average.  You can't just cut off service to Glendale like that because it's in the same boat as Middle Village.  I don't know what's so hard to understand about that, but the current route is the best it's going to be so that it can serve the areas without direct subway service, which are Glendale, Middle Village, Maspeth and parts of Ridgewood.  There's really no other way to serve Glendale because of the cemeteries.  You either cut off access from Glendale or leave it as is.  

 

The purpose of express bus service is to cover the most areas as possible without doing too much zig zagging, and I think this route works the best as an express bus rider.  Serving four neighborhoods is about what most express buses do throughout the city and they do it in about the same amount of time... 20 - 30 minutes and then onto Manhattan.  The only ones that move a little quicker are Super Express buses or routes like the BxM6 which only make three stops and mainly run to serve the large co-op complex, but you have to have enough ridership for such super express bus trips and the QM24 isn't in that boat since the part in Queens isn't that long.  We have them in Riverdale mainly to serve two purposes... Provide a faster commute for people in North Riverdale and Central Riverdale, and to prevent overcrowding.  Central Riverdale is really where a good chunk of express bus ridership comes from after Spuyten Duyvil, so we get the most of such services.

Edited August 21, 2017 by Via Garibaldi 8

[Eric B]

It's not cutting off Glendale; that's the end of the line. I'm talking about the Eliot portion, where it goes past Ridgewood, Maspeth and Glendale first, to Rego Park, and then backtracks via Eliot. Eliot could probably be served by having another line swing over.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

It's not cutting off Glendale; that's the end of the line. I'm talking about the Eliot portion, where it goes past Ridgewood, Maspeth and Glendale first, to Rego Park, and then backtracks via Eliot. Eliot could probably be served by having another line swing over.

From Fresh Pond Rd and Metropolitan to Eliot and 85th, it's about 15 minutes, and Middle Village is where most of the ridership comes from, so I don't see the point in having another route serve that portion. You don't have enough ridership from Glendale to have its own route, and even if you did, you'd only be saving a few minutes at best. It's more sensible to keep it the way it is.  People that have that much of a problem with the "backtracking" can simply get on further down.  That's what I do when I'm on an express bus that isn't a Super Express.  It really isn't that big of a deal, and it's not different than commuter trains that skip stops.  You usually save a whooping 5 minutes or so tops in most cases, unless you're much further out, and Glendale and Middle Village are basically next to each other.  

Edited August 21, 2017 by Via Garibaldi 8

[Eric B]

And extra 15 minutes seems like a long time when you've already been riding through the traffic from Manhattan, in addition to however long it takes to get from 64th or Hamilton Pl (which are closest to Fresh Pond), to Woodhaven, and in all the traffic; only to come back all that distance. That sounds like it is probably close to a half hour out of the way.

I realized there may not have been enough ridership in Glendale by itself, but I always used to suggest extending it also, perhaps to somewhere in that Woodhaven corridor where all those other routes go. They could replace something, like perhaps cutting back the QM12 that ends around there in that loop.

Edited August 22, 2017 by Eric B