Contentious Queens Bus Redesign Plan Revamped For The Third Time

QUEENS, NY — A contentious borough-wide bus redesign plan got a revamp this week, as the MTA (once again) sets its sights on speeding up commutes and modernizing redundant bus routes for hundreds-of-thousands of weekly riders in Queens.

The plan to redesign Queens' sprawling network of 107 bus lines was first announced in 2019 as part of the transit agency's sweeping initiative to overhaul the city's subway and bus systems.

Pitched as a yearlong project, the MTA released a first draft of the plan in December 2019, which was lambasted by every single Queens City Council member (plus transit advocates and locals) as a series of service cuts (a claim that the MTA hotly rejected). A second draft was planned for the summer of 2020, but the MTA had to hit the brakes on the redesign amid the pandemic.

The new plan, announced on Tuesday, takes into consideration the negative feedback — as well as 11,000 comments from the MTA's first round of public engagement — now offering 85 regular bus routes in Queens, up from the 77 in the old draft and the 82 that currently traverse the borough.

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.

"The Queens New Draft Plan is the third to be released, but in some ways, may be the most important of the five because Queens has, historically, had less subway service relative to its size and population than the other boroughs," acknowledged MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber.

Transit officials said that the plan will 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), introduce so-called "rush" service for buses that connect riders to subway lines, and preserve some Sunday service — a major sticking point of the last plan, which nixed Sunday service.

Changes include 20 new borough-wide routes (in central and northeast Queens alike), plus 11 "retired" routes, which will either be combined with an existing one or incorporated into a new route.

All told, 17 lines will be extended, seven shortened, and five incorporated into existing routes, plans show.

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards echoed Lieber's sentiment, speaking to the importance of reliable bus service in Queens.

"Queens families rely heavily on bus service that can often lack in efficiency and reliability, especially in our many transit deserts, so it could not be more important that we get this redesign of our borough's bus network right," he said, urging residents in Queens to familiarize themselves with the plan and give feedback.

On April 18 the MTA will kick off its virtual public workshops to hear feedback and answer questions from neighbors in Queens, one community district at a time (though neighbors who can't make their community district meeting can attend a different meeting, the MTA said).

Interactive local and express maps of the proposed bus networks also include a comment feature, which neighbors can use to directly post opinions on proposed bus routes and stops.

Find out more about the new redesign plan, and how to get involved, here.