Queens Division Bus Proposals/Ideas

[Orion6025]

The q44 gets pretty decent ysage on union street. It may not always be to the bronx but I notice plenty of people use it as the fastest way to go south. Whitestone needs a fast bus connection to the subway, it’s a well populated residential area without immediate access to a train so it’s only logical.

perhaps in rush hours a handful of q44 trips could be added to bypass that section and run down the whitestone to linden place but ultimately no service should be cut from union street (or very little...).

[B35 via Church]

Yeah, in that "Winter 2019 bus changes" thread late last year, I brought up having Q44's skip Union & take on the Q50 routing between b/w 38th/Main & Lafayette av... However, the context of the suggestion was predicated on having the Q44 be a quote-unquote super limited, running nonstop b/w Briarwood subway & Kissena/Main... To have that happen, I mentioned having the Q20 having a local/LTD setup.... To have the Q44 extracted from Union, you would have to boost Q20 service.....

It was all in response to a comment @Lawrence St made, regarding splitting the route in 2, due to how long the route is & how delayed it also gets.... Instead of splitting the route, I would go about looking to allocate the differing riderbases along the Q20/Q44 corridor, differently (hence having running Q44's S-LTD & having Q20's be local/LTD)

With that said:

14 hours ago, NewFlyer 230 said:

.....Some changes I would make to the Q44 is to have it cut back from Merrick Blvd to Sutphin LIRR. The Q20 would continue to run to Merrick. Routes would probably need to be shifted around to allow the Q44 to terminate at Sutphin. I’d say move the Q43 to turn left on Archer Ave and another left on 147th Place and have it lay over there. The first stop towards 268th street would be at Sutphin & Jamaica Av. I would also have the Q44 skip the routing on Union Street & Parsons Blvd and allow the Q20 to pick up whoever needs service over there. Instead the Q44 would follow the Q50 towards the Bronx. I think these two changes would help speed up the route even more.

As far as the Q20/44 dynamic, that's funny, because I actually think the opposite....

From Jamaica (due north), people tend to want to take the Main st. local if it comes before the Q44 (and/or if they don't want to deal with the crowding on the Q44).... If you think the Q44 is wasteful east of Sutphin, the Q20 local is even worse & I haven't heard/read one person bring up how much the Q20 sorely lacks in Jamaica.... The most you'll hear about the Q20 across the differing transit forums, is whether the Q20b should stay or go.... The Q20 accounts for a sheer waste of BPH along Sutphin & along Archer..... To be perfectly honest, I'm inclined to want to cut it from Jamaica entirely & just have it running from Briarwood to College pt. & let anyone seeking Jamaica along the affected corridor (Main st) to take the Q44 - Hell, they do it anyway....

3 hours ago, NBTA said:

I'm hearing that some people are agreeing to eliminate the Q34 entirely. How do you guys feel about this?

Eh, if it means allocating more service to the Q25 & having the Q20 split to running between [Union st] & [Linden Towers & the western side of Mitchell Gardens] (instead of splitting it to run on 14th & 20th), then I'd say sayonara to the Q34...

[NewFlyer 230]

4 hours ago, NBTA said:

I'm hearing that some people are agreeing to eliminate the Q34 entirely. How do you guys feel about this?

Being someone who lives right off of the Q25/Q34, I would agree that the route should be eliminated at least south of Roosevelt Ave. 

In its current state if the whole route were to be eliminated, I honestly don't see it causing that much outcry. This is mainly because it's a weekday only route and I haven't heard anyone really fight to have it run on the weekends. The Q34 is one big supplementary route anyways. The areas it serves exclusively is also accessible by the Q15, Q20, Q25, Q44 and Q50 by walking a block or two.

However if I had to tweak the route north of Roosevelt Ave I would similar to what many others have said, run via Willets Point Blvd and terminate it in Bay Terrace. That way you split the branches of the Q16 up while also opening up local service alongside Willets Point Blvd. 

South of Roosevelt Ave I would eliminate the Q34 completely.

To make up for the loss of Q34 service, I would even put the headway for the Q25 during rush hour. Currently the Q25 local runs every 10, and the Limited runs every 8 minutes. I would make both local and limited run every 8 minutes with a combined frequency of 4 minutes. 

During off peak hours I was thinking one of two things could happen.

1. The old Q34 trips can turn into  Q25 LTD trips with service between Jamaica & Flushing with the limiteds continuing to College Point while the local Q25's short turn at Flushing since College Point doesn't need all that service. However this would mean that they would need to make limited buses run local between Roosevelt Ave and the Whitestone Expressway which it currently doesn't now.

The second idea would be to have all buses run local off peak and terminate half of those runs at Flushing Main Street to maintain service betweeen Jamaica and Flushing. What tends to happen is that you could have 3-4 buses at Main street operating northbound but no buses are heading south which creates huge gaps in service. So hopefully with this short turn that can reduce the amount of gaps the Q25 gets.

 

[NewFlyer 230]

1 hour ago, B35 via Church said:

Yeah, in that "Winter 2019 bus changes" thread late last year, I brought up having Q44's skip Union & take on the Q50 routing between b/w 38th/Main & Lafayette av... However, the context of the suggestion was predicated on having the Q44 be a quote-unquote super limited, running nonstop b/w Briarwood subway & Kissena/Main... To have that happen, I mentioned having the Q20 having a local/LTD setup.... To have the Q44 extracted from Union, you would have to boost Q20 service.....

It was all in response to a comment @Lawrence St made, regarding splitting the route in 2, due to how long the route is & how delayed it also gets.... Instead of splitting the route, I would go about looking to allocate the differing riderbases along the Q20/Q44 corridor, differently (hence having running Q44's S-LTD & having Q20's be local/LTD)

With that said:

As far as the Q20/44 dynamic, that's funny, because I actually think the opposite....

From Jamaica (due north), people tend to want to take the Main st. local if it comes before the Q44 (and/or if they don't want to deal with the crowding on the Q44).... If you think the Q44 is wasteful east of Sutphin, the Q20 local is even worse & I haven't heard/read one person bring up how much the Q20 sorely lacks in Jamaica.... The most you'll hear about the Q20 across the differing transit forums, is whether the Q20b should stay or go.... The Q20 accounts for a sheer waste of BPH along Sutphin & along Archer..... To be perfectly honest, I'm inclined to want to cut it from Jamaica entirely & just have it running from Briarwood to College pt. & let anyone seeking Jamaica along the affected corridor (Main st) to take the Q44 - Hell, they do it anyway....

 

With the Q44 being a select bus route, a majority of people treat the Q20 as an after thought. And it amazes me when I see people skip the Q20 southbound towards Jamaica when the Q44 could still be a good 8-10 minutes away. This could be at stops like Jewel Ave or 73rd Ave which at that point the Q20 is usually flying down Main Street anyways and will get you to Jamaica within the same amount of time as the Q44 would. The only two stops that the Q20 has a high chance of stopping at towards Jamaica from Jewel Ave for example is 76th Ave and 82nd Dr. Maybe it will stop at one of those Queens Blvd stops but it’s usually fast. 

When I use the Q44/Q20, I usually get on whatever comes first. However if a Q20 or Q44 runs together I will get on the Q20 because I know most of the time it will have a seat on it.

 

However I am kind of iffy about terminating the Q20 at Briarwood. Briarwood doesn’t seem like a place to terminate a route. Terminating the Q20 at Briarwood is so abrupt since it is so close to Jamaica at that point. I know most people would take the Q44 anyway, but if the Q20 was to run to Jamaica Sutphin/Archer Av and the Q44 continues to Merrick at least local service to Jamaica would be retained. 

[B35 via Church]

11 hours ago, NewFlyer 230 said:

The reason why I proposed this routing for the Q44 is because there are several people who use the Q44 from Jamaica to reach the Bronx and there are also quite a bit of people who board at Main Street/ 38th Ave to get to the Bronx. I feel like there is no reason for the Q44 to make that detour through Whitestone which slows the route down when the Q20 is already serving those stops. I understand that the Q20B especially doesn’t have much demand but I was having the Q44 make correlating stops at 14th and 20th Aves on the Whitestone expressway and then one on Linden Place and 35th Ave. The Q34 may see a little boost in ridership above Roosevelt which it currently has low ridership on that segment of its route. So the only stops that will get lose Q44 service is Bayside Ave and 28th Street but you already have the Q16, Q20 serving the Bayside Ave stop and the Q20 and Q34 serving 28th Ave. 

Yeah, but you can't take the Q44 away from Union without adding service to the Q20 though... Part of the reason those people over in Mitchell-Linden bombard the Q44 is because service levels on the Q44 trumps that of the Q20.....

25 minutes ago, NewFlyer 230 said:

With the Q44 being a select bus route, a majority of people treat the Q20 as an after thought. And it amazes me when I see people skip the Q20 southbound towards Jamaica when the Q44 could still be a good 8-10 minutes away. This could be at stops like Jewel Ave or 73rd Ave which at that point the Q20 is usually flying down Main Street anyways and will get you to Jamaica within the same amount of time as the Q44 would. The only two stops that the Q20 has a high chance of stopping at towards Jamaica from Jewel Ave for example is 76th Ave and 82nd Dr. Maybe it will stop at one of those Queens Blvd stops but it’s usually fast. 

When I use the Q44/Q20, I usually get on whatever comes first. However if a Q20 or Q44 runs together I will get on the Q20 because I know most of the time it will have a seat on it.

 

However I am kind of iffy about terminating the Q20 at Briarwood. Briarwood doesn’t seem like a place to terminate a route. Terminating the Q20 at Briarwood is so abrupt since it is so close to Jamaica at that point. I know most people would take the Q44 anyway, but if the Q20 was to run to Jamaica Sutphin/Archer Av and the Q44 continues to Merrick at least local service to Jamaica would be retained. 

The Q20 became more & more of an afterthought, the second the Q44 became a LTD... That went double for when they allocated a crap-ton more service to the Q44....

I get what you're saying in regards to Briarwood subway feeling like a stub terminal, but short of having the Q20 only make Q44 stops south & east of that point, the Q20 would be one of the first routes I'd look at, if the end goal is to restructure the bus network & reducing overall BPH in the heart of Jamaica.....

3 hours ago, LaGuardia Link N Tra said:

On a Side Note, Veering the discussion away from Flushing for a moment, I thought of a restructured Q39 that would be more direct between LIC and Ridgewood. 

Buses will start at Queens Plaza like they currently do, but run down Queens Blvd instead to access Van Dam Street. (N/B) Buses will do the same but will have some sort of loop around 21st Street in order to begin (S/B) Trips. The route remains the same until 48th Street/Laruel Hill Blvd where the route will continue down 48th Street until it reaches 56th Road/Rust Street. Between Rust Street and 61st Street/Fresh Pond Road, (S/B) buses will run via 58th Avenue and (N/B) Buses will run via Maspeth Avenue before ultimately replacing the Southern Portion of the Q58 Route. Its Current South Terminal will be replaced by a Split Q54 route. Any thoughts or opinions?

The only thing I agree with in all this, is taking buses off Laurel Hill...

Edited May 25, 2019 by B35 via Church

[bobtehpanda]

I've always thought that Queens needs better connections to the other boroughs. What if there were more limited-stop/express style buses between Queens and other boroughs?

Two I thought of:

Hub to Jackson Heights via Major Deegan and I-278

• 149-3rd Av
• 138-3rd Av
• Astoria Blvd  
• Jackson Heights - Roosevelt Av

Jackson Heights to Williamsburg via the BQE and Meeker Av

• Jackson Heights
• Graham/Meeker (optional)
• Metropolitan/Meeker
• WBP

We know that more highway-based bus service can be attractive if it's reliable (see: Chinatown vans, Q70). These aren't really long like the crazy Fordham-Flushing route, so what do you guys think?

[Gotham Bus Co.]

1 hour ago, bobtehpanda said:

We know that more highway-based bus service can be attractive if it's reliable (see: Chinatown vans, Q70). These aren't really long like the crazy Fordham-Flushing route, so what do you guys think?

 

By definition, highway-based routes can be only as reliable as the highways. If the road is always slow and congested, then the bus will always be slow. 

[bobtehpanda]

1 hour ago, Gotham Bus Co. said:

By definition, highway-based routes can be only as reliable as the highways. If the road is always slow and congested, then the bus will always be slow. 

That hasn't really stopped the Q70 or the Chinatown vans, has it?

[Around the Horn]

I know I know, I'm late to the whole Sheepshead Bay <-> Rockaways discussion, but I have one simple question to the proponents of such a service:

I don't even want to know what route it would take or anything like that, I just want to know what is the target demographic for this service and who makes this kind of trip already?

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

22 minutes ago, bobtehpanda said:

That hasn't really stopped the Q70 or the Chinatown vans, has it?

BQE north of Queens Boulevard is a different story than BQE south of Queens Boulevard. That portion north of Queens Boulevard is the most free-flowing section and is relatively decent in terms of traffic conditions. The BQE south, especially the section between the Williamsburg Bridge and the LIE is incredibly slow. Nearly all of the delays on the B24 are a result of having to use the Kosciusko Bridge. Plus, those Chinatown vans are probably able to swerve through traffic, beating other vehicles to spaces on flowing lanes, in order to get to their destinations faster (and I'm pretty sure they'll do that, given their size and their low fares). A full sized bus can't do that.

I'm not against such a route running between two points (I think Jackson Heights to The Hub would be a good route to implement), but staying on the highway for large portions just narrows the ridership base down way too thin, or would have too many people making transfers to/from other routes, which negates the benefit of a quicker trip on the highway route.

Edited May 26, 2019 by BM5 via Woodhaven

[JeremiahC99]

20 minutes ago, Around the Horn said:

I know I know, I'm late to the whole Sheepshead Bay <-> Rockaways discussion, but I have one simple question to the proponents of such a service:

I don't even want to know what route it would take or anything like that, I just want to know what is the target demographic for this service and who makes this kind of trip already?

The target demographic would likely be Rockaway Park commuters during the morning seeking an alternative to the  train and the delay-prone South Channel Bridge. This would allow riders commuting into Manhattan from Rockaway Park to ride to Sheepshead Bay, and take the   directly into the Manhattan core faster than if they relied on the South Channel Bridge to not malfunction or stuffing themselves onto an already-packed  and  train. In addition, if the route were to also use Knapp Street between Flatbush Avenue and Emmons Avenue (no Belt Pkwy operation without a permit), then people living closer to Knapp Street would also use the route to get to Kings Plaza rather than jam up Avenue U with their cars or walk out of their way to Nostrand Avenue to catch the B36, then transfer to the B3.

Aside from better access to additional not-crowded subway lines, the new route would improve travel between Sheepshead Bay and the Rockaways, which was made harder when an old ferry from Emmons Avenue to Breezy Point was eliminated. People traveling between the two areas by car would stand to benefit from this new bus route. Furthermore, service would operate every 10 minutes, providing more frequent service to the Sheepshead Bay station for those living in Plumb Beach, who would also benefit from the new route. It is to my belief that a lot of Plumb Beach want the Sheepshead Bay station, not the Flatbush Avenue station. Therefore, with this new route operating at a great frequency, those people will stand to benefit from the new route. The B4 would be truncated to Sheepshead Bay Station, and some B44 local and SBS trips (which operate empty in that section anyway) would be rerouted to alleviate crowds along Avenue Z and at Kingsborough College respectively.

[Lex]

2 hours ago, JeremiahC99 said:

The target demographic would likely be...

Great opener.

Seriously, give it up. That entire proposal is a load of 💩.

[bobtehpanda]

5 hours ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

BQE north of Queens Boulevard is a different story than BQE south of Queens Boulevard. That portion north of Queens Boulevard is the most free-flowing section and is relatively decent in terms of traffic conditions. The BQE south, especially the section between the Williamsburg Bridge and the LIE is incredibly slow. Nearly all of the delays on the B24 are a result of having to use the Kosciusko Bridge. Plus, those Chinatown vans are probably able to swerve through traffic, beating other vehicles to spaces on flowing lanes, in order to get to their destinations faster (and I'm pretty sure they'll do that, given their size and their low fares). A full sized bus can't do that.

I'm not against such a route running between two points (I think Jackson Heights to The Hub would be a good route to implement), but staying on the highway for large portions just narrows the ridership base down way too thin, or would have too many people making transfers to/from other routes, which negates the benefit of a quicker trip on the highway route.

If you went from Jackson Heights to WIlliamsburg today, the bus route would be extremely slow and winding. This would almost certainly be faster than anything that currently existed. And the point is to transfer; that's why the stops are at major transfer areas like WBP or next to Lorimer/Metropolitan  .

The new Kosciuszko Bridge, when the westbound span is complete, will provide dedicated lanes for local traffic, which I assume would help such a route (which could then use Meeker for the rest of its journey.)

[Union Tpke]

20 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

Yeah, in that "Winter 2019 bus changes" thread late last year, I brought up having Q44's skip Union & take on the Q50 routing between b/w 38th/Main & Lafayette av... However, the context of the suggestion was predicated on having the Q44 be a quote-unquote super limited, running nonstop b/w Briarwood subway & Kissena/Main... To have that happen, I mentioned having the Q20 having a local/LTD setup.... To have the Q44 extracted from Union, you would have to boost Q20 service.....

It was all in response to a comment @Lawrence St made, regarding splitting the route in 2, due to how long the route is & how delayed it also gets.... Instead of splitting the route, I would go about looking to allocate the differing riderbases along the Q20/Q44 corridor, differently (hence having running Q44's S-LTD & having Q20's be local/LTD)

With that said:

As far as the Q20/44 dynamic, that's funny, because I actually think the opposite....

From Jamaica (due north), people tend to want to take the Main st. local if it comes before the Q44 (and/or if they don't want to deal with the crowding on the Q44).... If you think the Q44 is wasteful east of Sutphin, the Q20 local is even worse & I haven't heard/read one person bring up how much the Q20 sorely lacks in Jamaica.... The most you'll hear about the Q20 across the differing transit forums, is whether the Q20b should stay or go.... The Q20 accounts for a sheer waste of BPH along Sutphin & along Archer..... To be perfectly honest, I'm inclined to want to cut it from Jamaica entirely & just have it running from Briarwood to College pt. & let anyone seeking Jamaica along the affected corridor (Main st) to take the Q44 - Hell, they do it anyway....

Eh, if it means allocating more service to the Q25 & having the Q20 split to running between [Union st] & [Linden Towers & the western side of Mitchell Gardens] (instead of splitting it to run on 14th & 20th), then I'd say sayonara to the Q34...

I would have the Q20B run to Kew Gardens along the old Q74.

[B35 via Church]

1 hour ago, Union Tpke said:

I would have the Q20B run to Kew Gardens along the old Q74.

I was always fond of the Q74....

Q20b: Jamaica - Queens College.... Good idea.

10 hours ago, Around the Horn said:

I know I know, I'm late to the whole Sheepshead Bay <-> Rockaways discussion, but I have one simple question to the proponents of such a service:

I don't even want to know what route it would take or anything like that, I just want to know what is the target demographic for this service and who makes this kind of trip already?

You're going to get a bullshit answer......

...................

....................

10 hours ago, JeremiahC99 said:

The target demographic would likely be Rockaway Park commuters during the morning seeking an alternative to the  train and the delay-prone South Channel Bridge. This would allow riders commuting into Manhattan from Rockaway Park to ride to Sheepshead Bay, and take the   directly into the Manhattan core faster than if they relied on the South Channel Bridge to not malfunction or stuffing themselves onto an already-packed  and  train. In addition, if the route were to also use Knapp Street between Flatbush Avenue and Emmons Avenue (no Belt Pkwy operation without a permit), then people living closer to Knapp Street would also use the route to get to Kings Plaza rather than jam up Avenue U with their cars or walk out of their way to Nostrand Avenue to catch the B36, then transfer to the B3.

Aside from better access to additional not-crowded subway lines, the new route would improve travel between Sheepshead Bay and the Rockaways, which was made harder when an old ferry from Emmons Avenue to Breezy Point was eliminated. People traveling between the two areas by car would stand to benefit from this new bus route. Furthermore, service would operate every 10 minutes, providing more frequent service to the Sheepshead Bay station for those living in Plumb Beach, who would also benefit from the new route. It is to my belief that a lot of Plumb Beach want the Sheepshead Bay station, not the Flatbush Avenue station. Therefore, with this new route operating at a great frequency, those people will stand to benefit from the new route. The B4 would be truncated to Sheepshead Bay Station, and some B44 local and SBS trips (which operate empty in that section anyway) would be rerouted to alleviate crowds along Avenue Z and at Kingsborough College respectively.

.....case in point.

Edited May 26, 2019 by B35 via Church

[Union Tpke]

20 hours ago, NewFlyer 230 said:

Being someone who lives right off of the Q25/Q34, I would agree that the route should be eliminated at least south of Roosevelt Ave....

 

What do you think of the Q25 SBS, which will come?

[Around the Horn]

1 hour ago, B35 via Church said:

You're going to get a bullshit answer......

...................

....................

.....case in point.

I specifically said I didn't want routing details and he did it anyway 

[B35 via Church]

1 hour ago, Around the Horn said:

I specifically said I didn't want routing details and he did it anyway 

*throws hands up*

I'm sayin though....

@Lex hit it right on the head, calling out dude's ambivalence.... You better believe if I hold a staunch view about something & you ask me about it, you're going to get a direct answer...

What are these colleges teaching these kids anymore... My god.

[Union Tpke]

2 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

*throws hands up*

I'm sayin though....

@Lex hit it right on the head, calling out dude's ambivalence.... You better believe if I hold a staunch view about something & you ask me about it, you're going to get a direct answer...

What are these colleges teaching these kids anymore... My god.

Are you certain that these kids are going to college? Even so, by the time it is college, it is often too late.

[Future ENY OP]

2 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

*throws hands up*

I'm sayin though....

@Lex hit it right on the head, calling out dude's ambivalence.... You better believe if I hold a staunch view about something & you ask me about it, you're going to get a direct answer...

What are these colleges teaching these kids anymore... My god.

A basic college education is no more for these kids.

Thank goodness I had my CUNY Education 15 years ago with professors that made sense even though they were getting paid shit and still are now. Proud City Tech & Brooklyn College product. 

[B35 via Church]

1 hour ago, Union Tpke said:

Are you certain that these kids are going to college? Even so, by the time it is college, it is often too late.

The doppelganger here claims being a college student, so that's what I'm going on....

If he's on here fabricating his educational status, that is on him!
(reading his posts on here, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised at that)

 

41 minutes ago, Future ENY OP said:

A basic college education is no more for these kids.

Thank goodness I had my CUNY Education 15 years ago with professors that made sense even though they were getting paid shit and still are now.

Proud City Tech & Brooklyn College product. 

Potential alumnus

[Future ENY OP]

42 minutes ago, B35 via Church said:

The doppelganger here claims being a college student, so that's what I'm going on....

If he's on here fabricating his educational status, that is on him!
(reading his posts on here, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised at that)

 

Potential alumnus

The irony......... 

[Union Tpke]

I have started a map of adding bus lanes to Kew Garden Hills, where opposition from two politicians, one of whom is the father of a former classmate of mine, killed them. I have tried to focus on sections to start. Suggestions would be appreciated.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Maz6HRabaJ8_BW5rBgl1iqiuTupEnSd-&usp=sharing

[Via Garibaldi 8]

5 minutes ago, Union Tpke said:

I have started a map of adding bus lanes to Kew Garden Hills, where opposition from two politicians, one of whom is the father of a former classmate of mine, killed them. I have tried to focus on sections to start. Suggestions would be appreciated.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Maz6HRabaJ8_BW5rBgl1iqiuTupEnSd-&usp=sharing

What sort of suggestions are you looking for? If the electeds killed the bus lanes, that's it, not unless the DOT tries to muscle them through themselves.

[NewFlyer 230]

11 hours ago, Union Tpke said:

What do you think of the Q25 SBS, which will come?

When it comes to the Q25 SBS, I don’t necessarily see the SBS serving College Point. The reason why I say that is being that ridership is mostly split north and south of Roosevelt Ave. Most people get off the bus at Roosevelt no matter which direction they are traveling in, but the amount of people who stay on the Q25 is still higher than those who stay on the Q34. Ridership is highest between Jamaica and Flushing which is the targeted areas that the MTA is focusing on improving travel times.  

So what I see the MTA doing is make the Q25 SBS run between Flushing- Main Street and Jamaica LIRR stopping at all the existing LTD stops. It will most likely run all day except probably after 8pm when local Q25 service will take over. I don’t know if it will run on the weekends.

Knowing how the MTA doesn’t favor local service, Q25 local service will probably be reduced south of Flushing in favor of buses from College Point short turning at Main Street. So you will probably see every 3rd local bus continuing south of Main Street especially since the Q17 and Q27 also run along Kissena Blvd for a considerable length. Service between CP and Roosevelt Ave will probably be boosted to make up for the loss of limited service during rush hours and boosted to meet the current level of frequency during off peak hours.

Even though the Q34 should be eliminated south of Flushing it will probably be retained however it would mostly likely lose some of its midday and evening service with no service being lost between Whitestone and Flushing.

I can see the MTA making the Q25/Q34 local service between Jamaica and Flushing run every 20 minutes each with a combined frequency of 10 mins during rush hour. Off peak hours they probably will have the buses run at a combined 12-15 minutes each with the SBS maintaining probably around 7-8 minutes. Knowing the MTA they will probably cut at local service more to make more people take the SBS service. So local service may be even less frequent especially if the Q25 SBS were to use artic buses. 

However what I hope happens is that the Q34 service is eliminated south of Main Street. The Q25 local will retain all its current level of service with more service running between College Point and Roosevelt Ave to replace the loss of LTD service. The SBS should keep the current frequency of LTD, with it taking over the buses per hour that the Q34 runs during the midday hours.  Some minor adjustments should be made balance out service so local stops don’t lose the level of frequency currently available. I don’t care if they run the SBS between Jamaica and Flushing because that’s the part of the route the MTA wanted to improve travel times on anyways. If they were to run artic buses I don’t see them running through College Point without the routing of the Q25 being changed. 

Honestly I don’t know how they would go about putting bus lanes on Kissena Blvd, because the slowest parts of Kissena Blvd is between the Horace Harding Expressway and Booth Memorial and Mulberry Ave to Main Street. However Kissena Blvd at those parts are also narrow so it can’t have its own dedicated lane at all times. So the only way they could implement that is by making a bus lane in the parking lane in effect during rush hours. The reality of the Q25 SBS is that it May in fact be a rush hour only route but we shall see what the MTA does. 

 

Edited May 27, 2019 by NewFlyer 230