Details
-
LocationQueens
-
TypeBus Network Redesign
-
StatusPlanning
Area Map
Timeline
- April 2019: Queens Bus Network Redesign initiative launched
- August 2019: Queens Existing Conditions Report published
- December 2019: Original Queens Draft Plan published
- August 2021: Bus Network Redesign initiative restarted after COVID-related pause
- December 2021: Original Queens Draft Plan withdrawn from consideration
- March 2022: Queens New Draft Plan published
- Spring-Fall 2022: Queens New Draft Plan outreach
- Winter-Fall 2023: Review New Draft Plan feedback to develop Proposed Final Plan
- December 2023: Queens Proposed Final Plan released
- Fall 2023-Spring 2024: Queens Proposed Final Plan outreach
For languages other than English, use the Google Translate tool at the bottom of this page.
About the project
The Queens Bus Network Redesign is an innovative and comprehensive initiative aimed at enhancing the bus commuting experience for Queens residents. This plan signifies our commitment to making bus travel more efficient, accessible, and responsive to our riders' needs.
Since August 2022 we have been meticulously reviewing and analyzing the valuable feedback that our dedicated customers offered in response to the New Draft Plan, which was unveiled on March 29, 2022. The draft generated robust engagement, with comments submitted covering aspects of bus service like routing proposals, bus stop locations, and overall operations.
Our Proposed Final Plan takes all these insights into consideration, striving to address as many customer concerns as we can while upholding the well-received proposals from the New Draft Plan. In this plan we have also proposed further adjustments to enhance operational efficiency based on feedback from the public and Bus Operators.
Our approach to this redesign centers on optimizing existing network resources while remaining attentive to riders’ needs. By focusing on strategic improvements, we aim to create a seamless, convenient, and reliable bus network that truly works for the people of Queens.
At the conclusion of New Draft Plan outreach, Operations Planning worked to review and synthesize feedback that riders shared in response to the proposals in the New Draft Plan. During our outreach, we held over 40 events and received a total of 3,875 comments. These comments centered around routing proposals, bus stop locations, and overall operations.
In the Proposed Final Plan, we worked to address these customer concerns while carrying forward the principles of our Bus Network Redesigns and the proposals from the New Draft Plan that were well-received. We also strengthened the proposals to improve operational efficiencies. To achieve this, we focused on redesign strategies to improve the existing bus network.
Project benefits
- Improved connections and a simplified network that will decrease travel times and make trips simpler for riders
- Improved intraborough and interborough connections
- Increased frequencies to create a better all-day frequent network to meet customer needs
- Balanced stop spacing, to help speed up buses and improve reliability
- Bus Priority Projects on targeted corridors will maximize travel time savings and improve the quality of service
Public outreach
Since the publication of the Proposed Final Plan on December 12, 2023, the MTA has been meeting with and presenting to stakeholders across the borough including requesting time to present to all Queens Community Boards.
This spring, we're hosting in-person MTA events including open houses, pop-ups, and partnering with our Mobile Sales team in an effort to meet with our customers where they’re at. These input sessions will be used to collect feedback to inform changes to the Proposed Final Plan ahead of an MTA Board vote. The process is laid out more fully in the report.
Upcoming outreach events
Queens Bus Network Redesign open houses
The redesign team will host open houses on the dates listed from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Drop by to learn more about the project, speak with MTA staff, and share your feedback.
- Thursday, April 18: King Manor Museum (inside Rufus King Park), 150-03 Jamaica Av, Jamaica
- Wednesday, May 1: Queensboro Community College in the Administration Building Lobby, 222-05 56 Av, Queens
- Thursday, May 2: Challenge Charter High School, 15-20 Central Av, Far Rockaway
- Thursday, May 9: The Helen Marshall Cultural Center at Queens Borough Hall, 120-55 Queens Blvd, Kew Gardens
- Thursday, May 16: Variety Boys and Girls Club, 21-12 30 Rd, Astoria
Queens Bus Network Redesign pop-ups
The redesign team will be out in communities across Queens on the dates listed below from 4-7 p.m unless noted otherwise. In the case of extreme weather, events may be rescheduled, so customers are advised to check the project webpage before heading out to an event.
- Monday, March 25: 165 St Bus Terminal, underneath the canopy of the bus bays
- Tuesday, March 26: Flushing-Main St , on the central mezzanine of the subway station
- Wednesday, March 27: Queens Center Mall, the northwest corner of Queens Blvd and Woodhaven Blvd
- Tuesday, April 2: Jamaica-179 St , on the central mezzanine of the subway station
- Wednesday, April 3: Myrtle-Wyckoff subway station (due to inclement weather, we will be holding the pop-up inside instead of out in the Pedestrian Plaza)
- Wednesday, April 3: Rockaway Park-Beach 116 St subway station
- Monday, April 8: Diversity Plaza near Jackson Heights 74 St-Roosevelt Av subway station (between Broadway & 74 St)
- Tuesday, April 9: Woodhaven Blvd southbound bus median outside the Rockaway Blvd subway station (in front of PC Richard & Son)
- Tuesday, April 9 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m: The Bay Terrace Shopping Center (Bell Blvd and 24 Av)
- Monday, April 15: Queens Village LIRR station, at the corner of Springfield Blvd and Amboy Ln
- Tuesday, April 16: Union Tpke and Utopia Pkwy, on the southeast corner
- Wednesday, April 17: Lefferts Blvd AirTrain station, near the Q3, Q10, and B15 bus stops
- Wednesday, April 17: Queens Plaza South and 28 St, on the southwest corner of the intersection
Mobile Sales pop-ups
In partnership with the MTA’s Mobile Sales team, the Queens Bus Network Redesign team will be on-site at five Mobile Sales locations this spring to meet with bus customers, talk about the Proposed Final Plan and routes proposed in their neighborhood, and receive feedback.
- Monday, April 8 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. in Astoria at Ditmars Blvd and 23 Av
- Tuesday, April 16 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Rochdale Village Senior Center
- Thursday, April 18 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. in Jamaica at the Allen Community Senior Citizens Center
- Tuesday, April 23 from 1 p.m.-3 p.m. in Maspeth at Grand Av and 69 St
- Friday, May 3 from 1 p.m.-3 p.m. at the Rego Park Mall outside Marshall’s
In addition to meeting with the Queens Bus Network Redesign team, the following services are offered at the Mobile Sales Vehicles:
- Get help with a Reduced-Fare application.
- Transfer MetroCard balances (full fare and Reduced-Fare).
- Exchange a damaged Reduced-Fare MetroCard for a temporary replacement.
- Report a lost/stolen Reduced-Fare MetroCard.
- Ask our team about any MetroCard-related issues.
- Sign up for OMNY.
Explore the proposed bus network
Check out your proposed commute in the Future Trip Planner!
The routes shown in the Proposed Final Plan have been uploaded to the Future Trip Planner so people can get a sense of the routes they would be interested in and their average travel times.
The new routes will be available for preview via a trip planning tool that allows customers to input a start and end location and see an overview of their trip with the bus route changes in effect. After entering their trip information, customers are able to drag the start and end flags across the map and watch their options and routes shift in real time.
Enter your start and end locations to see which routes you might use!
Download GTFS
Download static GTFS for the Queens Bus Network Redesign Proposed Final Plan.
Interactive Remix network map
We need your feedback! Use this interactive Remix map to view our proposed bus routes and stops in detail. Please provide comments using the "Post Comment" button on the top right of the page. Then click on the route that you would like to comment on. To learn more about how to use the Remix maps and provide comments, please watch this short video.
See the Proposed Final Plan
Download Proposed Final Plan presentations
Watch Proposed Final Plan presentation videos
Where we left off
In December 2019, we released the original Queens Bus Network Redesign Draft Plan. It focused on providing more reliable service, faster travel, better connections, and improving ease of use. For the next three months, we held dozens of outreach events throughout Queens and received over 11,000 comments.
However, in March 2020, we paused work on the Bus Network Redesigns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The project remained on pause for approximately 18 months.
In August 2021, we announced we would restart the Bus Network Redesigns with the Bronx local bus project resuming first and then the Queens project.
The Queens Original Draft Plan was officially withdrawn from consideration in December 2021, and on March 29, 2022, the Queens New Draft Plan was released. Following the release of the New Draft Plan, the MTA hosted over 40 public engagements including virtual workshops and briefings, outdoor open houses, pop-up events in partnership with MetroCard Mobile Sales, as well as direct on-street outreach to customers to gather feedback on the New Draft Plan. The input we received was used to inform and shape the Proposed Final Plan.