Nearly 700,000 people ride Queens local buses on an average weekday; Same for Brooklyn

[JubaionBx12+SBS]

I actually counted the ridership of all local bus routes in Brooklyn and Queens based on the 2011 numbers (MTAB+NYCT) out of curiosity as to which borough garners the most local bus riders. I also wanted to see how large the margin is in these boroughs over Manhattan and the Bronx. I used the average weekday numbers because those more accurately reflect the loads commuters experience on a day to day basis. What I ended up with is....

695,569 daily riders for Queens and 651,924 for Brooklyn 

 

It ends being that Queens garners the most bus riders. While the reasons for this are surely not surprising, I just thought I would share this. 

[XcelsiorBoii4888]

Look at that...queens has the most ridership...

1. they dont have that many guide a rides

2. They have most of the older buses ..

3. they dont have bus time...

 

so imagine the ridership with the opposite of all those things

[Turbo19]

Look at that...queens has the most ridership...

1. they dont have that many guide a rides

2. They have most of the older buses ..

3. they dont have bus time...

 

so imagine the ridership with the opposite of all those things

It would remain the same for the most part. The only thing that might shift ridership of buses in Queens would be increased Subway connections.

[Minato ku]

Not surprising, Queens has more inhabitants and a lower subway coverage than Brooklyn.

[realizm]

It would remain the same for the most part. The only thing that might shift ridership of buses in Queens would be increased Subway connections.

 

That's something to think about. The completion of the LIRR East Side Access Project could indirectly shift ridership too for those trying to get into midtown Manhattan from all the underlying neighborhoods along the LIRR routes (and indirectly the Flushing IRT, Astoria BMT and the IND QBL resultantly) through Queens into LI. 

 

In what direction it will shift ridership? Not sure, but most likely ridership will increase as commuters takes advantage of the benefits of generally increased capacity on all these modes of transportation for crosstown or Manhattan-centric travel. I can say this: With completion of the LIRR Access Project along with the activation of CBTC along the Flushing IRT and eventually the IND Queens Blvd Line as they start installation of it in 2016-17 if not sooner, may definitely have an effect on the ridership patterns along the local Queens bus routes that network into these major subway and railroad routes from the underserved areas of Queens. 

 

Otherwise the key to increase in ridership as proposed by many advocates would be solid and direct improvements in bus transportation service such the implementation of more SBS routes and in the increase of buses per hour along critical routes as much as the existing street grids and the road highway infrastructure would allow for it. Queens is severely lacking in dependable crosstown routes unlike Brooklyn and building new subways or light rail lines is not a viable option thanks to the ongoing games that these politicians play in this city and in this state.

 

Just my two cents. 

[JubaionBx12+SBS]

The MTAB routes are what really makes the difference in Queens. Based on NYCT ridership alone Queens ranks worst of the four subway boroughs and Brooklyn wins out by a lot.

[Minato ku]

MTAB is mostly based on the Queens for local routes.

 

By looking the ridership data, I see that effectively Queens busiest lines have less passengers than those on the other subway boroughs.

No line in the Queens had over 10 million passengers in 2011.

The busiest is the Q44 with 9 million passengers in 2011.

There are three busier routes in Manhattan, four busier routes in the Bronx, five busier routes in Brooklyn than the Q44.

[User]

Given this statistic, anyone else proud to be residing in Queens?

[checkmatechamp13]

Not surprising, Queens has more inhabitants and a lower subway coverage than Brooklyn.

 

Actually, Brooklyn has more people living in it. But like you said, the big issue is the subway coverage in Brooklyn vs. Queens.

[Grand Concourse]

Look at that...queens has the most ridership...

1. they dont have that many guide a rides

2. They have most of the older buses ..

3. they dont have bus time...

so imagine the ridership with the opposite of all those things

1 that's the dot's issue.

2 mta bus usually gets the older buses

3 same for Brooklyn and parts of the other boroughs.

Brooklyn also shares the same issues as 2 &3 so not really sure what you are trying to get at.

[MattTrain]

What does GPS tracking "Bus Time" have to do with ridership statistics, it only gives you locations of buses on the map.

[realizm]

I made that statement keeping in mind that the borough of Queens is a true international hub. Both our major international airports are located in Queens. Also many commuters from Long Island reverse commute on the LIRR to Manhattan. Let's not forget rapidly developing areas such as Flushing. Other things will need to be taken into consideration as well such as the fact that Queens is geographically much larger than the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island combined forcing commuters reliant on public transportation to travel farther distances into Manhattan or going crosstown. 

 

I'm sure those reasons would in itself facilitate the assessment for improvement in Queens transportation services, which the MTA has already has done, and acted upon. Hence all the capital construction projects we are seeing straight across the board for MTA Subways, MTAB, and LIRR. So just be looking at that alone, against the ratio of available transportation options currently available, shows the reasons for the MTA's interest in finally putting some investment, after many years of extensive studies, into the system that they already have in place, all avenues of transit, straight across the board.

 

FYI: Spoken of as a proud Bronx resident. 

[Minato ku]

Well, Flushing, Meadows Park, Jamaica... maybe not Jamaica but if I lived in New York City, it would not bother me to live in Queens, as long I am close the subway (not more than 5-10 minutes walk) in a decent neighborhood.

 

Actually, Brooklyn has more people living in it. But like you said, the big issue is the subway coverage in Brooklyn vs. Queens.

I look so stupid and the worst is that I knew that Brooklyn was more populated. 

[B35 via Church]

The only thing that surprises me about that little tally there is that Brooklyn is as close to Queens in terms of bus ridership....

I actually thought Queens would have a wider margin to tell the truth......

[checkmatechamp13]

What does GPS tracking "Bus Time" have to do with ridership statistics, it only gives you locations of buses on the map.

 

BusTime could boost ridership because people know where the buses are and can time themselves accordingly. (Instead of being discouraged from using the system because they don't know where the bus is)

[Via Garibaldi 8]

What does GPS tracking "Bus Time" have to do with ridership statistics, it only gives you locations of buses on the map.

Bus ridership in NYC has been falling over the years and the biggest complaint has been that buses were slow and unreliable and more importantly, that passengers don't know if the bus is coming or not.  Now that people know where the bus is in some cases, they can plan better or wait for the bus if it is nearby.  Not only that but it allows for more accountability since it's more difficult for buses to go MIA suddenly.  In speaking with the Bus Time team, it seems as if they can check to see if a bus really was early or not, so it's no longer the passenger's word against the B/O's word.  

[JubaionBx12+SBS]

Now to add some extra info here's express bus ridership by borough....

Staten Island- 33,660

Brooklyn- 11,145

Queens- 15,925

Bronx- 14,329

 

Staten Island being this high is no surprise. 

[B35 via Church]

They're trying to wither away express bus usage in brooklyn on weekends; that can explain brooklyn's totals, comparative to the other boroughs.....

 

The Bronx... well, outside of the 18, buses run 7 days a week...

Staten's Island's exp. bus. usage should come as a shock to no one....

 

The Bronx & Queens being similar, I can understand....

[XcelsiorBoii4888]

1 that's the dot's issue.

2 mta bus usually gets the older buses

3 same for Brooklyn and parts of the other boroughs.

Brooklyn also shares the same issues as 2 &3 so not really sure what you are trying to get at.

 

for 2&3...it makes a difference because people would probably choose to get picked up over a very old bus...if there was new buses they would choose to ride them.

and for Bustime...it makes a difference...because if a bus is coming (on bustime) you would wait for it (as for no bus time...you dont know if you missed the bus or not etc) ...if you check bustime and see you missed a bus...you would walk but if that bus is coming you would wait..

 

What does GPS tracking "Bus Time" have to do with ridership statistics, it only gives you locations of buses on the map.

 

Same thing I said to GC...^

[S78 via Hylan]

^^ I disagree with you that on people preferring to avoid an old bus. I'm not saying all riders, but most don't care about whether they get a or new or old bus as long as they reach their destination.

 

And Queens has the largest number of old buses and has the most riders as it was pointed out, so that makes no sense to even say if people want certain buses.

[ttcsubwayfan]

^^ I disagree with you that on people preferring to avoid an old bus. I'm not saying all riders, but most don't care about whether they get a or new or old bus as long as they reach their destination.

 

Bingo. If buses are kept well enough then people won't even know that they are old.

[qjtransitmaster]

They're trying to wither away express bus usage in brooklyn on weekends; that can explain brooklyn's totals, comparative to the other boroughs.....

 

The Bronx... well, outside of the 18, buses run 7 days a week...

Staten's Island's exp. bus. usage should come as a shock to no one....

 

The Bronx & Queens being similar, I can understand....

what is shocking is that queens has more ridership than the bronx.

[checkmatechamp13]

what is shocking is that queens has more ridership than the bronx.

 

Not by a huge margin, though.

 

Queens has about 2.3 million people, whereas The Bronx has 1.4 million people, and a higher percentage of Bronx residents live near the subway. I think The Bronx has more full-time express routes, whereas Queens has more express routes in general (I don't feel like counting them), and remember that a lot of express bus ridership is during rush hour, so since Queens has more routes during rush hour, that might help edge it out over The Bronx.

[BrooklynBus]

I don't see how anyone can say Queens has moe riders than Brooklyn. What about the routes that travel between the two boroughs? Are they being considered separately or are you going just by the prefix? It's so close, I would say its a toss up.

[Grand Concourse]

The only reason why I can understand why ppl would think queens has more bus riders is because they don't have the many subway lines that Brooklyn has and have to stay on the bus longer till they can get to the flushing or qb lines.