Q70 Bus To Be Long Term/Permanently Free Starting May 1st

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

From AM New York

Hochul makes Q70 bus to LaGuardia free starting May 1 while state studies AirTrain alternatives

The Q70 bus to LaGuardia Airport will be free starting Sunday, May 1, while officials study alternatives to the scrapped AirTrain, Governor Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday.

The bus connects the airport to five subway lines and the Long Island Rail Road in Queens and officials have previously made it fare-free on busy weekends, such as holidays, as a way to encourage travelers to use mass transit and reduce congestion.

Hochul unveiled the fare suspension while being the first sitting governor to attend a monthly MTA board meeting on April 27, saying she was inspired by a recent editorial in the New York Daily News pushing the move.

“I thought that made a lot of sense that the Q70 bus could be this interim means to let people know that this is a good way to get from the airport to the next station 10 minutes away,” Hochul told the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

“When there’s ideas that are out there that make sense to us, we’re not going to debate it and study it and think about it for a long time — I’m a person of action,” the governor added.

The line, rebranded by Hochul’s predecessor Andrew Cuomo as the “LaGuardia Link” in 2016, runs between the airport’s terminals and the 74 Street-Broadway/Jackson Heights Roosevelt Avenue subway station on the E, F, M, R, and 7 lines, as well as the LIRR’s Woodside station.

Advocates have for years called on the governor — who controls the MTA — to do away with the fares on the people mover.

“For seven years, riders have demanded a free Q70 bus, a simple connection to the subway and Long Island Rail Road that encourages air travelers to take advantage of New York’s extensive public transit network at virtually no cost to the MTA. Now Governor Kathy Hochul has wisely embraced riders’ idea and made it reality,” said Danny Pearlstein, a spokesperson of the advocacy group Riders Alliance, in a statement.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the region’s airports, convened a panel to study 14 alternatives to former Governor Cuomo’s AirTrain proposal for LaGuardia, including subway extensions, light rail, bus rapid transit, or even a ferry.

Hochul asked the Port Authority to hit the brakes on the $2.1 billion AirTrain back in October.

The bi-state agency’s executive director said the brain trust is working “expeditiously” on the review.

“The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey welcomes Governor Hochul’s decision to make the Q70 LaGuardia Link bus to LaGuardia Airport free on a full-time basis for the foreseeable future,” said Rick Cotton in a statement. “The Port Authority is working expeditiously to complete the Governor’s request for a thorough review of potential alternative mass transit options to LaGuardia Airport, which is focused on 14 alternatives that were presented to the public last month.”

Edited April 27, 2022 by BM5 via Woodhaven

[B35 via Church]

Quote

Hochul unveiled the fare suspension while being the first sitting governor to attend a monthly MTA board meeting on April 27, saying she was inspired by a recent editorial in the New York Daily News pushing the move.

“I thought that made a lot of sense that the Q70 bus could be this interim means to let people know that this is a good way to get from the airport to the next station 10 minutes away,” Hochul told the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

I'd like to believe that she's merely, specifically referring to those that don't take public transportation to get to/from LGA.... Because if the thought process is that the thing's been unknowingly running around back & forth basically carrying air for almost a decade (kind of like those vaccine routes, albeit for a much shorter duration) - with the notion that making it free will be this great revelation to those of us that a] use public transit in this city, in general, and b] been privy to the existence of the thing, I mean good lord....

Quote

“When there’s ideas that are out there that make sense to us, we’re not going to debate it and study it and think about it for a long time — I’m a person of action,” the governor added.

🙃

That's exactly the problem!!

Throughout the course of time, it's been the ideas that makes sense to y'all, not the riding public FIRST -  Kind of like this "better bus network" that's been in the workings that's set to come to fruition in the near enough future..... The least you jesters could do is make a "people mover" bus that ventures out to an airport, that gets the vast majority of its patronage due to turnover, fare-free... Some would argue it should've been that way to begin with; POP for this route is a waste of time...

You're a person of action... Yeah, so was Robert Moses... Look how that one turned out.

[shiznit1987]

Maybe I'm missing something, but considering one already gets a free subway-to-bus transfer and virtually zero people that ride this thing aren't already coming off the subway or LIRR doesn't this make the move pointless?

[B35 via Church]

2 hours ago, shiznit1987 said:

Maybe I'm missing something, but considering one already gets a free subway-to-bus transfer and virtually zero people that ride this thing aren't already coming off the subway or LIRR doesn't this make the move pointless?

You're not missing anything... Don't overthink it.. By doing so, you're giving them credit for essentially, ultimately accomplishing much of nothing.

[Q43LTD]

This is a head scratcher 

[IAlam]

8 hours ago, Q43LTD said:

This is a head scratcher 

There are some people that would benefit, but very few, and most of whom would probably not be using it to go to the airport. 

[paulrivera]

On 4/27/2022 at 7:33 PM, shiznit1987 said:

Maybe I'm missing something, but considering one already gets a free subway-to-bus transfer and virtually zero people that ride this thing aren't already coming off the subway or LIRR doesn't this make the move pointless?

Eehhh... I guess you pocket the $2.75 if you're getting on or off the LIRR.

And you can take the  to 59th and use up your transfer to the  at Lex-63rd and not have to use another fare for the Q70...

I guess there's some positives...

[bobtehpanda]

On 4/27/2022 at 4:33 PM, shiznit1987 said:

Maybe I'm missing something, but considering one already gets a free subway-to-bus transfer and virtually zero people that ride this thing aren't already coming off the subway or LIRR doesn't this make the move pointless?

Basically it just avoids having to bother fumbling around getting an SBS ticket. 

There was some talk with doing this for the Manhattan crosstowns, to be paid for by the 2007 version of congestion pricing, for largely the same reasons.