Queens’ bus network will undergo its first major redesign since the 1950s. plan The MTA announced Tuesday.
The agency proposes creating 15 new routes within the borough, removing 10 existing routes and adjusting dozens of others. Officials say the changes will mean an additional 200,000 passengers in the borough will have to wait less than 10 minutes for a bus between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. on weekdays.
“I have always said that buses are a force for equity in our city. They disproportionately serve the elderly, the disabled, residents of low-income neighborhoods, and especially communities of color. “MTA Chairman Jano Lieber said at a press conference. “And…for all the people who don’t have access to the subway, Queens is at the center of that problem.”
The redesign includes a new express bus route from Laurelton to Lower Manhattan and a new route from Ozone Park to Cambria Heights that travels along Linden Boulevard to the Rockaway Boulevard A-Line station. It can be done.
Passengers on the 10 lines that will be eliminated under the plan will be transferred to new routes, officials said.
The plan would also reduce the number of bus stops in Queens. The MTA said fewer stops means faster service, noting that 83% of riders continue to use the same stop.
MTA officials say the district’s current bus route map follows old trolley lines that were discontinued more than 60 years ago.
The agency announced the first redesign of Queens’ bus network in 2019, but plans were delayed by the pandemic. MTA planners scrapped the proposed 2021 map after backlash from local riders.
The MTA is planning a months-long public outreach campaign about the latest proposal and hopes to implement the changes in 2025. Officials said the new network would cost $30 million more a year to operate than the current network.
Lieber said it’s important to speed up transit commutes in Queens, where buses are traveling at an average speed of 9 mph, compared to 2019 when MTA data showed they were traveling at an average speed of 8.74 mph. There has been a slight increase since 2015.
“These riders need a strong system that is faster than walking,” Lieber said.
Richard Davey, president of the New York City Transit Authority, said adding new bus lanes is also an effective way to reduce commute times, adding that “we continue to have conversations with the Department of Transportation about where we would like to install bus lanes” in Queens. Stated.
City Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, who attended a press conference about the redesign, also blamed political resistance for delays in rolling out bus lanes under Mayor Eric Adams.
Rodriguez said an example of this can be seen on Fordham Street in the Bronx, where his agency scaled back plans for bus-only lanes after encountering opposition from business leaders and institutions such as the New York Botanical Garden and the Bronx Zoo. said.
“Sometimes we go to places like Fordham where most of our elected officials say they don’t want to be here,” Rodriguez said. “The botanical garden said we don’t want it like you guys want it.”
Rodriguez said the city is increasing enforcement of automatic cameras on cars parked in bus lanes.