Queens Bus Redesign Discussion Thread

[checkmatechamp13]

16 hours ago, BrooklynBus said:

In January, the former head of the project stated on Facebook he heard it would be released in two weeks. That’s how I got that. 

That may have been based on information he received when he was still an MTA employee. When we went to the virtual meetings in February/March, the MTA staff there said they didn't have a specific timeline for the Queens redesign.

[40 to 241st]

I can't wait for the q44 in Fordham and the q50 at laguardia

 

[Gotham Bus Co.]

53 minutes ago, 40 to 241st said:

I can't wait for the q44 in Fordham and the q50 at laguardia

 

You probably will have to wait at least another year.

[40 to 241st]

13 minutes ago, Gotham Bus Co. said:

 

You probably will have to wait at least another year.

Like 2024

 

[limitednyc]

Same as brooklyn

[xD4nn]

The Q30 being cut back to QCC makes no sense. It isn't that hard to walk 0.4 of a mile. If you're lazy you can just take the Q27.

[Lex]

2 hours ago, xD4nn said:

The Q30 being cut back to QCC makes no sense. It isn't that hard to walk 0.4 of a mile. If you're lazy you can just take the Q27.

First, that Q30 branch was created out of short-turns that didn't cover that very distance you're implying isn't a big deal (by that logic, the Q27 shouldn't directly serve QCC, either). Second, the current Q30 and proposed Q75 cover a fair bit of ground as it is, so stopping short of a notable school -- which is also a significant employer -- doesn't really make sense.

[MysteriousBtrain]

19 minutes ago, Lex said:

First, that Q30 branch was created out of short-turns that didn't cover that very distance you're implying isn't a big deal (by that logic, the Q27 shouldn't directly serve QCC, either). Second, the current Q30 and proposed Q75 cover a fair bit of ground as it is, so stopping short of a notable school -- which is also a significant employer -- doesn't really make sense.

I think bringing back the Q75 is one of the few good ideas from this redesign. Hopefully it remains in the final redesign due for release sometime in the upcoming months.

[xD4nn]

25 minutes ago, Lex said:

First, that Q30 branch was created out of short-turns that didn't cover that very distance you're implying isn't a big deal (by that logic, the Q27 shouldn't directly serve QCC, either). Second, the current Q30 and proposed Q75 cover a fair bit of ground as it is, so stopping short of a notable school -- which is also a significant employer -- doesn't really make sense.

0.4th of a mile isn't that far to walk... Why not just run all the buses to Little Neck instead of short turning it a very small distance?  Cutting the Q30 back to QCC permanently results in Little Neck/Douglaston losing access to Jamaica when the Q45 does not run which is on weekends and times not between 6AM-8PM.

[checkmatechamp13]

1 hour ago, xD4nn said:

0.4th of a mile isn't that far to walk... Why not just run all the buses to Little Neck instead of short turning it a very small distance?  Cutting the Q30 back to QCC permanently results in Little Neck/Douglaston losing access to Jamaica when the Q45 does not run which is on weekends and times not between 6AM-8PM.

The main purpose is to save money. If they didn't route those buses to QCC they would short-turn them at Springfield Blvd. They wouldn't run them to Little Neck Parkway.

That being said, I agree the Q45 should be a full-time route. 

[Q43LTD]

Isn't the Q30 being split in two technically? The covers all of the LIE and this revised Q75 does the Queensboro short turn albeit 7 days a week.

[xD4nn]

7 hours ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

The main purpose is to save money. If they didn't route those buses to QCC they would short-turn them at Springfield Blvd. They wouldn't run them to Little Neck Parkway.

That being said, I agree the Q45 should be a full-time route. 

The Q45 should be a full time route and have better gaps but I don’t know how much money you’re actually saving without going 2-3 more miles to the plaza for the Q30. Short turning it really screws over a lot of people especially people who live between Springfield Blvd and Little Neck Plaza. I’m going to assume the Q45 will be based out of Queens Village even though that doesn’t make much sense.

Edited April 25, 2023 by xD4nn

[40 to 241st]

Why don't we extend the Q44 to Jfk Airport

[danielhg121]

13 hours ago, 40 to 241st said:

Why don't we extend the Q44 to Jfk Airport

The route is long enough as it is and the current proposal is to extend it to Fordham Plaza. The current route (Bronx Zoo - Jamaica) already suffers from bus bunching due to certain bottlenecks such as the Bruckner interchange, Cross Bronx Expwy traffic, Downtown Flushing congestion. Having it serve JFK Airport is throwing another wrench into the works. That's another role it has to fulfill, serving an airport while being a hub connector. The reliability is going to slip.

[40 to 241st]

13 minutes ago, danielhg121 said:

The route is long enough as it is and the current proposal is to extend it to Fordham Plaza. The current route (Bronx Zoo - Jamaica) already suffers from bus bunching due to certain bottlenecks such as the Bruckner interchange, Cross Bronx Expwy traffic, Downtown Flushing congestion. Having it serve JFK Airport is throwing another wrench into the works. That's another role it has to fulfill, serving an airport while being a hub connector. The reliability is going to slip.

I get what your saying but there's a reason why it's a select bus service and it would give riders in Fordham a direct ride to an international airport but it's not that bad to just keep it as the a Fordham to Jamica route I don't know Queens well enough but is there a route that goes from Jamica to Jfk ?

[limitednyc]

Just now, 40 to 241st said:

I get what your saying but there's a reason why it's a select bus service and it would give riders in Fordham a direct ride to an international airport but it's not that bad to just keep it as the a Fordham to Jamica route I don't know Queens well enough but is there a route that goes from Jamica to Jfk ?

Yes via airtrain.

[40 to 241st]

Just now, limitednyc said:

Yes via airtrain.

Isn't that expensive like $8 so why don't we have a bus that goes from Jamica to Fordham

[limitednyc]

Because the running time  would be around  2hrs one way to long.

[danielhg121]

17 minutes ago, 40 to 241st said:

I get what your saying but there's a reason why it's a select bus service and it would give riders in Fordham a direct ride to an international airport but it's not that bad to just keep it as the a Fordham to Jamica route I don't know Queens well enough but is there a route that goes from Jamica to Jfk ?

Multiple actually. Q3 is the only one that serves it proper which means it stops a Terminal 5 where you can transfer to the AirTrain to take you to all the other airport terminals. The Q6 serves the JFK Cargo Area.

14 minutes ago, 40 to 241st said:

Isn't that expensive like $8 so why don't we have a bus that goes from Jamica to Fordham

That's what the Q44 is being proposed to do. Adding Fordham into the mix is going to be another hub so that makes it 3 hubs (Jamaica, Flushing and Fordham). Luckily, the route they proposed into Fordham doesn't seem like it will be prone to a lot of traffic. It runs on Third Avenue for a brief period of time before terminating and that part doesn't see too much traffic congestion. 

If you meant JFK to Fordham, I've already explained why that's a no-go above. If you meant Jamaica to JFK, the Q3 already exists and the MTA really is in no interest of competing with the AirTrain, I'm sure they collect some revenue from Port Authority after it gets divvied up. The Q3's main purpose is more or less to provide service along Farmers Blvd and JFK is more of a convenient terminal for it to end. Notice how the MTA doesn't go out of its way to advertise the Q3 to JFK but during heavy travel periods such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, it'll make the Q70 to LaGuardia Airport fare-free and advertise this. 

[40 to 241st]

9 minutes ago, danielhg121 said:

Multiple actually. Q3 is the only one that serves it proper which means it stops a Terminal 5 where you can transfer to the AirTrain to take you to all the other airport terminals. The Q6 serves the JFK Cargo Area.

That's what the Q44 is being proposed to do. Adding Fordham into the mix is going to be another hub so that makes it 3 hubs (Jamaica, Flushing and Fordham). Luckily, the route they proposed into Fordham doesn't seem like it will be prone to a lot of traffic. It runs on Third Avenue for a brief period of time before terminating and that part doesn't see too much traffic congestion. 

If you meant JFK to Fordham, I've already explained why that's a no-go above. If you meant Jamaica to JFK, the Q3 already exists and the MTA really is in no interest of competing with the AirTrain, I'm sure they collect some revenue from Port Authority after it gets divvied up. The Q3's main purpose is more or less to provide service along Farmers Blvd and JFK is more of a convenient terminal for it to end. Notice how the MTA doesn't go out of its way to advertise the Q3 to JFK but during heavy travel periods such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, it'll make the Q70 to LaGuardia Airport fare-free and advertise this. 

I meant Jamica to Jfk.

[Kamen Rider]

Here’s the thing about us MTA employees… we’re not robots. We’re human beings.

you can’t just keep adding to a route or a line and expect us to be able to operate it just as easy as the old one. 
 

two hours is roughly a good yardstick for how long we can go without a break.

[B35 via Church]

The Q9 should be another option for a JFK - Jamaica route (over that of the Q3)... I still believe there to be latent demand for it to this day, but thanks the good ole AIRTrain (among other things), forget it....

The current Q3 to Lefferts AIRTrain is brutal... If you thought the thing was unreliable when it used to terminate at T4 & T5, maaaannnn.....

[40 to 241st]

3 hours ago, danielhg121 said:

Multiple actually. Q3 is the only one that serves it proper which means it stops a Terminal 5 where you can transfer to the AirTrain to take you to all the other airport terminals. The Q6 serves the JFK Cargo Area.

That's what the Q44 is being proposed to do. Adding Fordham into the mix is going to be another hub so that makes it 3 hubs (Jamaica, Flushing and Fordham). Luckily, the route they proposed into Fordham doesn't seem like it will be prone to a lot of traffic. It runs on Third Avenue for a brief period of time before terminating and that part doesn't see too much traffic congestion. 

If you meant JFK to Fordham, I've already explained why that's a no-go above. If you meant Jamaica to JFK, the Q3 already exists and the MTA really is in no interest of competing with the AirTrain, I'm sure they collect some revenue from Port Authority after it gets divvied up. The Q3's main purpose is more or less to provide service along Farmers Blvd and JFK is more of a convenient terminal for it to end. Notice how the MTA doesn't go out of its way to advertise the Q3 to JFK but during heavy travel periods such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, it'll make the Q70 to LaGuardia Airport fare-free and advertise this. 

Another Question the Q3 to the Airtrain is that a free transfer

[B35 via Church]

Just now, 40 to 241st said:

Another Question the Q3 to the Airtrain is that a free transfer

AIRtrain inside the confines of JFK is free, so yes.

[EastFlatbushLarry]

1 hour ago, Kamen Rider said:

Here’s the thing about us MTA employees… we’re not robots. We’re human beings.

you can’t just keep adding to a route or a line and expect us to be able to operate it just as easy as the old one. 
 

two hours is roughly a good yardstick for how long we can go without a break.

I'm glad you said it. no offense to anyone on here, but the fantasy bus lines people conjure up are NOT logistically possible or plausible. I'm not expecting anyone to think from the mindset of management, but from an aspect of living, breathing human beings operating a line from Fordham to jfk 24/7/365 is insane. there's no way to adequately account for runs/run pay, personnel/extra list personnel, equipment wear & tear... even with built in short signs, there's no way an operator is doing a full trip both ways without that run being at minimum over 8 hours. if a line like that did exist, it would suffer from the worst case of bunching, b/o's "abusing" personals at each end, incomplete trips, etc. i would know... i left 100 street to get away from the m101 for these reasons (and more)