Tell The MTA What You Think About The New Queens Bus Redesign Plan

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — Neighbors in Bayside have a chance this week to voice opinions about the MTA's most recent redesign plan for Queens' buses, which will impact local service.

A virtual workshop for members of community district 11, which encompasses a large swath of northeast Queens including Bayside, is being held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, marking a chance for neighbors to voice feedback and ask questions about the new transit plan.

In March, the MTA announced a revamp of its contentious borough-wide bus redesign plan, which it says takes into account negative feedback from previous proposals and 11,000 comments from the transit agency's first round of public engagement.

MTA brass lauded the new plan saying it will improve speed and efficiency for riders in the World's Borough who often depend on buses as their sole public transit option — including in Bayside where the plan could add some new stops and faster busses, Patch reported.

All told, the redesign will include 85 regular bus routes (up from the 82 that currently traverse the borough), with 20 new routes, and 17 route extensions, plans show.

As proposed, though, the plan would also cut an as-yet stated number of bus stops in order to reduce commuting time (each stop axed could save 20 seconds of travel time, officials estimate) and change neighborhood routes.

Tuesday's meeting is one of more than a dozen virtual workshops — one per community district — that the MTA is holding to talk with neighbors about the redesign.

The community district-specific meetings will conclude June 2. Neighbors in Bayside who can't make Tuesday's meeting can attend one of the several remaining virtual workshops, the MTA said.

Spanish, Mandarin and Korean language assistance will be provided at the Tuesday meeting, the MTA said.

If you are a neighbor in Bayside, register for the Tuesday meeting here.

Related Article: New Routes, Faster Buses Could Come To Bayside: MTA New Bus Plan