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MTA to Give Discounts to LIRR and Metro-North Users, but It May Not Be Enough for Some

Jean Brannum on May 8, 2024

 

Photo from the MTA

JEAN BRANNUM

jbrannum@queensledger.com

 

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will provide a steeper discount to residents who use certain commuter rail tickets within the New York City area, according to an MTA press release. 

Since congestion pricing goes into effect June 30, residents who take the Long Island Railroad of Metro-North rail line within New York City can expect to pay 10 percent

less on their monthly commuter passes. This is in addition to the current 10 percent discount, totaling a 20 percent discount. 

The discount will hopefully relieve the cost burden of transportation for those who live in New York City but cannot commute without the LIRR or Metro-North. 

Congestion pricing means higher tolls for commuters who travel daily to Manhattan below 60th Street. The new toll system is meant to encourage public transportation use and reduce gridlock and pollution in the area. When pricing is fully implemented, small passenger cars will pay up to $15 with the E-Z pass and $22.50 without the E-Z pass. Similar programs exist in other major cities including Singapore, London, and San Diego, according to Smart Cities Dive.  

The program is not without critics. A change.org petition from The Coalition in Opposition to Congestion Pricing said that the increased fare will not reduce car traffic and will instead put an undue burden on people who need a car to get to work in the city. The group also said that air quality surrounding the congestion pricing zone will decrease due to cars and trucks circumventing the area to avoid tolls. 

The MTA environmental impact study reported that air quality would worsen with congestion pricing since traffic between Long Island and Pennsylvania could drive through the Bronx to avoid the Manhattan tolls. 

Jack Nierenberg, vice president for the advocacy group Passenger United, said that while the discount is a good start by the MTA to relieve the burden of congestion pricing, it would not address the issues residents from disadvantaged communities experience with public transportation and congestion pricing. 

The MTA eliminated the Atlantic ticket in 2023, which cost five dollars for one way between Brooklyn and Southeast Queens. Frequent riders could include a $60 weekly pass with a free weekly Metro card. The pass was eliminated in exchange for the City Ticket, which has a peak-time cost of seven dollars and no subway connection. 

“Now, for the MTA to suggest that they’re going to implement a 10% discount for weekly and monthly city tickets without reinstating the free subway or bus transits that they should have kept, that’s ridiculous.”

Nierenberg also said that the potential increase in passengers would strain the current system since there will barely be an increase in service. He added that while other cities have successfully used congestion pricing to decrease traffic and pollution, those cities have also improved public transportation, citing that London added busses after starting congestion pricing to accommodate the increase in passengers. 

Riders can purchase monthly passes starting in July, one day after the implementation of congestion pricing. 



City Council Holds Congestion Pricing Oversight Hearing

glendaleregstg on August 24, 2023

A city street with buildings lining each side sits packed with traffic. The sky is a light grey shade, indicating pollution, and a street sign above one of the cars reads "E 38 St."

Traffic in Manhattan.

By Carmo Moniz | news@queensledger.com

As the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s congestion pricing plan inches closer to becoming reality, many New Yorkers are worrying about how they and their communities might be impacted.

The plan has suffered years of delays, costing the MTA hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. Now that the agency has the federal government’s go ahead, it is facing concerns over the plan affecting communities in transit deserts, low income New Yorkers, environmental justice communities and other groups.

Throughout the plan’s development, the MTA held 19 early outreach sessions with a focus on environmental justice communities, and heard from hundreds of speakers in these sessions and public hearings, according to a statement from MTA spokesperson Joana Flores. The agency also held separate meetings for other groups, such as electeds, advocates and community boards.

The New York City Council’s Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, headed by councilmember Selvena N. Brooks-Powers of Queens, heard testimony about the plan from MTA officials, residents and advocates in a Thursday oversight hearing.

“The administration has an important role to play in helping to coordinate the implementation of congestion pricing,” Brooks-Powers said. “While I’m disappointed that the representatives from the administration are not here to answer the questions that are specific to their role, the committee will be following up with a public letter with questions to the administration.”

The first panel of witnesses included NYC Transit president Richard Davey, MTA deputy chief financial officer Jai Patel, bridges and tunnels chief operating officer Allison C. de Cerreño and deputy chief for government and community relations William Schwartz. Davey emphasized increased ridership in recent months and the MTA’s improved finances after receiving a long-term bailout from the state in April.

“I am an enthusiastic supporter of congestion pricing, and we need it now,” Davey said at the hearing. “The money raised from congestion pricing is going to help pay for much needed upgrades that will bring our transit system into the 21st century.”

The congestion pricing plan is expected to raise about $1 billion annually for the MTA, which is currently saddled with $48 billion in debt. The funds will go toward $15 billion of the agency’s 2020-24 Capital Plan, which aims to improve the safety, reliability and accessibility of the city’s transit system through upgrades and larger construction projects.

Larry Penner, a former transit employee and transportation advocate, said that the $15 billion in funding could be worth less by the time they are spent on capital projects because of inflation, causing some projects to be pushed into the 2025-29 Capital Plan. 

“It’s also going to have an impact on the next five year capital program, because the MTA, there’s only a certain number of staff, a certain number of track hours and a certain capacity to manage a certain number of capital projects and programs,” Penner said. “To me, that’s the biggest scandal.”

If there is excess funding for the 2020-24 Capital Plan, the projected funding from congestion pricing could transfer to the next plan, according to Flores. In the statement, Flores also said inflation is taken into account when determining the cost of capital projects, and that those costs are adjusted according to changing trends.

Installation for congestion pricing infrastructure is already underway, with scanners in place near Columbus Circle, West 61st Street and West End Avenue. License plate scanners and readers for E-Z Passes, which allow drivers to prepay tolls, are expected to be installed in more than a hundred locations around the city, with tolling slated to begin next spring.

Still up for debate are what exemptions and discounts should be included in the plan. The MTA’s Traffic Mobility Review Board, which will determine how much to charge drivers entering Manhattan from below 60th St., has received over 120 requests for exemptions, including for city workers, taxi cabs and low income residents. Taxi drivers and rideshare workers, both of which already pay a tax to the MTA, have been especially vocal about wanting to be spared from the fee. 

On Tuesday, 25 city and state politicians called for taxi drivers and rideshare workers to be exempt from the tax, which could be up to $23, in a letter addressed to the TMRB. In the letter, politicians proposed a small fee per Uber or Lyft ride to be paid by passengers in place of the congestion tax, citing the companies’ role in causing congestion. 

“Drivers — whether yellow cab, green cab, livery, black car or app-based — are an integral part of the fabric of New York City,” the letter reads. “The impact of an additional surcharge being taken from drivers’ income — on top of the taxes and surcharges drivers already pay to the MTA — or a significant drop in ridership because of a high per-trip fee would be devastating for Uber and Lyft drivers, and simply unsurvivable for taxi drivers.”

At the meeting, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said he supports the congestion pricing plan, but that it should not come at the cost of others, especially low income New Yorkers. He also said he believes the MTA should provide exemptions for congestion pricing, but that there should only be a few and discounts should be more heavily relied on.

“If you are driving daily into the city, you are doing so mostly because you want to do so out of convenience,” Williams said. “If we are going to change things, that means we have to change things. I know that it is difficult for some folks, but we have to.”

South Brooklyn assemblymember Lester Chang also spoke at the hearing, and said that he would have voted against congestion pricing if he had been in office at the time of the vote.

“I fear unfortunately the genie is out of the bottle, congestion pricing is going along and the governor is enthusiastically pushing this plan,” Chang said. “I hope we have a chance to reverse this congestion pricing.”

MTA Announces Updates on Interborough Express

webadmin on August 24, 2023

A man sits at a table wearing a gray suit and blue tie. A nameplate reading "Michael J. Shiffer" is placed in front of him.

MTA senior vice president of regional planning Michael Shiffer at the town hall event.

By Carmo Moniz | news@queensledger.com

The Metropolitan Transit Authority recently shared an update on its proposed Interborough Express, a train line that will run between Jackson Heights and Bay Ridge.

While the project is still in its early stages, MTA officials explained the train line’s current status and next steps in a town hall this past Wednesday. 

The last update on the $5.5 billion project was in January, when the MTA decided on a light rail system for the line. MTA senior vice president of regional planning Michael Shiffer said that it could still be years before the agency breaks ground on the project at the meeting.

“We’re still very early in this process,” Shiffer said. “I don’t want to leave you with a sense that this thing is going to be done within a year or two, it’s going to take a while.”

The project will remain eligible for federal funding by undergoing an environmental review, which takes two years to complete, but the government could still decide against advancing it after the review is finished. Shiffer said the project’s advancement is also dependent on the space available in the MTA’s 2025-29 Capital Plan. 

With the light rail option, the trip from one end of the line to the other is estimated to take around 39 minutes. The line could operate with as few as five minutes between trains, according to Shiffer.

a graphic showing the proposed Interborough Express stations between Roosevelt Avenue and Brooklyn Army Terminal.

A graphic from the MTA’s presentation.

The infrastructure for the train line already partially exists, and had been used to carry passengers until it was designated for freight-only use in 1924. While some of the infrastructure for the project is already in place due to the old line, new stations, tracks and other modifications will need to be added. Among these changes are 45 bridges that need to be built. 

Shiffer said that the MTA has asked the public for their input on where the stations should be, and has seen more than 1,000 people make suggestions for station locations. There are currently 19 proposed stations, including at Brooklyn Army Terminal, Atlantic Avenue and Roosevelt Avenue stations, but Shiffer said these could change as the project develops.

“The early sense was that this really hits the mark on so many of these targets that it certainly got the attention of the public, it’s had the attention of the public for quite some time,” Shiffer said. “The governor, as well as a lot of key planners throughout the region, and leaders saw that this may be a promising project, and so that’s why we’re doing the work we’re doing now to better understand how it could support our region.”

Larry Penner, a former transit employee and a transit advocate, said he thinks the IBX may struggle to hold the MTA’s attention due to other projects in the next Capital Plan.

“Everyone has their dreams,” Penner said. “It was a nice public relations news release, and they had the public outreach, which was nice, but the proof of the pudding will be when they actually start the environmental impact statement process.”

The next step for the project will be the “scoping” phase of the environmental review process, where the design and surroundings of the line will be under closer scrutiny, according to Shiffer.

“That’s where you come in handy because we need you, we need your support and we need your engagement,” Shiffer said. “We need you to explain to us some of the key constraints and things that the designers, the planners and the engineers need to be aware of, from a community perspective.”

Delivery and Rideshare Workers Demand Exemption from Congestion Tax

webadmin on July 27, 2023

A group of around 30 people protest outdoors while holding signs. A tent is visible behind them.

Rideshare workers protesting outside MTA headquarters.

By Carmo Moniz | news@queensledger.com

Delivery and rideshare app workers are demanding to be exempt from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s planned congestion tax, a fee ranging from $8 to $23 that will be charged to anyone entering Manhattan from below 60th Street.

These workers already pay a for-hire transportation specific tax of $2.75 every time they enter the city from below 96th Street, and are urging the MTA not to impose an additional tax. The agency has not yet decided on what groups will be exempt from the tax, and has received requests for exemption from more than 120 different groups.

On Wednesday, the same day the MTA’s Traffic Mobility Review Board held a public hearing to discuss the details of the congestion pricing plan, dozens of drivers with the organization Justice for App Workers took to the agency’s headquarters to voice their frustrations.

“We understand, the MTA needs money, but we can’t be the people that they turn to to get the money all the time,” said Justice for App Workers co-chair Naomi Ogutu. “We are people who don’t want trouble, but then every time they want to come to us to get extra taxes, they want to get extra money from us, for how long are we going to be milked by this city?”

The MTA is currently projected to have close to a $3 billion budget gap by 2025 due to declining fare revenue and COVID-19 funds drying up.

Larry Penner, a transportation advocate and who worked in the transit industry for over 30 years, said the different groups looking to receive exemptions are creating “tremendous political pressure” for the MTA to grant them, but that allowing more exemptions will lead to less revenue.

“You need political clout,” Penner said in an interview. “It’s a question of who their lobbyists are and who their elected officials are.”

The congestion pricing plan is expected to bring $15 billion in revenue for the MTA’s capital plan, which is aimed at improving public transit infrastructure. It could be implemented as soon as this coming spring.

“The number of taxi and For-Hire Vehicle trips has doubled in recent years while travel speeds in Manhattan dropped precipitously,” MTA spokesperson John J. McCarthy said in a statement. “Congestion pricing provides a solution and improves mass transit for the vast majority of people.”

The plan was recently hit with a lawsuit from New Jersey officials claiming that it would unfairly impact the state’s residents, both financially and environmentally. The federal lawsuit calls for a more in-depth environmental review of the pricing plan, and was followed by a similar lawsuit from Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella.

McCarthy denied that not enough study was done ahead of the federal government’s approval of the plan, adding that New Jersey residents and public officials had multiple opportunities to voice their concerns during the outreach process.

“This lawsuit is baseless,” McCarthy said in a statement. “We’re confident the federal approval — and the entire process — will stand up to scrutiny.”

Asad Ijaz, a Brooklyn native who has been driving for Uber and Lyft for over nine years, said that the tax would prevent him from picking up larger fares in Manhattan and keep him confined to driving in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.

“We are delivering New Yorkers from point A to point B, if we have to go empty-handed to Manhattan that’s going to be unfair,” Ijaz said. “The only thing is to keep fighting with the MTA not to implement this, we have to gather and we have to fight.”

A day before the protest, five Brooklyn pols signed a letter to the TMRB chair calling for the congestion tax pass down to passengers using services like Uber and Lyft, rather than be paid by drivers.

The politicians, including Greenpoint Assemblymember Emily Gallagher and North Brooklyn State Senator Julia Salazar, proposed increasing the $2.75 tax that drivers already pay when entering from below 96th Street, with the added cost being paid by the passenger. Discounts would be provided at night, and yellow cab rides would be exempt from the added tax under the proposal in the letter.

“Our view is that taking an Uber from Tribeca to Central Park is a luxury and should be priced as such,” the letter reads. “Concerns about worker dislocation should be taken with utmost seriousness during the shift to new policies and technologies, but we should not accept the argument that polluting industries be protected for the sake of preserving jobs and profits.”

Another group of 16 politicians representing communities in Brooklyn, including Gallagher, Salazar and councilmember Lincoln Restler, signed a letter addressed to the TMRB calling for tolling fees to be equalized across entrances to Manhattan.

“We are focused on making sure that no single crossing into Manhattan disproportionately bears the burden of traffic,” Restler said in an interview. “I hope that the Traffic Mobility Review Board will take our concerns into account as they develop policies for how congestion pricing will work.”

Six weekends of 7 line closures into Queensboro Plaza

Alicia Venter on January 11, 2023

7 line suspended between 34th St.-Hudson Yards and Queensboro Plaza on select weekends beginning in February

By Alicia Venter

aventer@queensledger.com

Queensboro Plaza South Side Rendering. Photo: MTA

Seven train line service will be suspended between 34th St.-Hudson Yards and Queensboro Plaza for six weeks, with the first of these closures beginning Saturday, Feb. 4.

During these weekends, the MTA will be constructing two elevators at Queensboro Plaza in an effort to make the station fully accessible.

The service change for the first weekend is scheduled to be in effect from 12:15 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4 until 5:00 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 6.

The following weekends will have service changes beginning at 3:45 a.m. on Saturday to 10:00 p.m. on Sunday:

  • Feb. 11 – Feb. 12
  • Feb. 25 – Feb. 26
  • Mar. 11 – Mar. 12
  • Mar. 25 – Mar. 26
  • Apr. 22 – Apr. 23

Free shuttle buses will be provided between Queensboro Plaza and Vernon Blvd – Jackson Av, as well as between Times Square and 34 St-Hudson Yards.

Construction at Queensboro Plaza includes an elevator at the southern entrance of the station and an elevator between the mezzanine and the two platforms.

The mezzanine is expected to receive new lighting and be expanded by approximately 50 square feet. There will also be updates to the pedestrian bridge.

To make the station fully accessible, the project will consist of new boarding areas compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with new platform edges and upgrades to existing street and station stairs to current ADA standards.

“The improvements coming to Queensboro Plaza will greatly benefit tens of thousands of riders,” said NYC Transit President Richard Davey in a statement. “Accessibility is such an integral part of mass transit, especially for a city like New York where mass transit is essential for many. When complete, the project will provide critical accessibility upgrades, security updates, and customer experience improvements throughout the station.”

The MTA describes the planned work on Queensboro Plaza as a “complex construction project” in a press release due to the rapidly growing, densely populated neighborhood.

According to the MTA, Queensboro Plaza served approximately 70,000 rides on average every weekday in November 2022, and work will be required over the 11-lane wide approach to the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, including two bike lanes.

“Building in dense urban environments, with infrastructure that dates back more than 100 years, is complex and challenging,” said MTA Construction and Development President Jamie Torres-Springer in the press release. “But making our system accessible is essential and so we are finding creative ways to meet that challenge. Queensboro Plaza is a perfect example, taking advantage of private investment to maximize the benefit for riders while minimizing cost to the MTA.”

The project for building an accessible entrance on the south side of Queensboro Plaza is expected to be completed by mid-2024, and is budgeted for $74 million. There will also be upgrades made to the fire alarm system, installation of a new security camera system, a new public address system and digital information screens.

The north side’s entrance is also set to become an accessible entrance, done so through the Zoning for Accessibility (ZFA) program. This entrance is anticipated to be completed by 2025, and will be financed by the developer of 25-01 Queens Plaza North under the ZFA transit improvement bonus program. This is expected to save the MTA millions of dollars in construction and maintenance costs.

ZFA enables developers, in exchange for an increase in their building’s density, to improve access to public transit in the busiest areas of the city.  To learn more about the program, visit https://new.mta.info/accessibility/zoning-for-accessibility.

The MTA also announced that there will be weekend service changes on the N line in May.

Additional weekend service changes are expected throughout the year and in 2024.

Construction underway at Flushing-Main Street Station

webadmin on July 13, 2022

One of the most overcrowded subway stations in the borough is getting a $61 million facelift, which the MTA says will improve the passenger experience.

Work is currently underway on eight new staircases at the Flushing-Main Street Station which aims to address congestion on the 7 train platforms and at street levels during peak travel hours.

“Flushing-Main-St Station is one of the top ten busiest stations in our entire subway system, and it is time its infrastructure supported that reality,” MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said in a press release. “Soon our passengers will be able to travel through this station more easily and comfortably.”

The project includes four new street-to-mezzanine stairs, in addition to four new mezzanine-to-platform stairs.

The new street-to-mezzanine stairs will be installed on the north and south corners of Main Street and to the west of Main Street along both the north and south sides of Roosevelt Avenue.

Four existing street stairs will also be rehabilitated for ADA compliance and four existing platform stairs will be reoriented.

The project will also expand the mezzanine and install two new fare control areas with six new turnstiles that will be constructed. Existing CCTV cameras and signage will also be upgraded and improved.

Councilwoman Sandra Ung said that now that Con Edison has finished relocating the existing utilities, the cost of which was included in the estimated $61 million expense, contractors are ready to start the work to improve pedestrian flow and reduce congestion in earnest.

“This is a big project for Flushing, and my office will keep you updated on the work hours and progress, but if you are a regular user of the Main Street station, be advised there could be some disruptions to your daily commute for the foreseeable future,” Ung said in a newsletter. “But in the end, hopefully, we will have smooth-flowing entrances to the busy station.”

Construction will only occur within the station during off-peak hours between the hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

However, the contractor is permitted to work during off-peak hours during the day (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and in the evening (8 p.m. to 5 a.m.). Additionally, the contractor is permitted to work during the day on weekends.

In the meantime, Q48 and Q50 bus stops will be temporarily relocated to the intersection of Main Street and 39th Avenue in front of the GNC until approximately March 1, 2023.

“These improvements will greatly enhance the customer experience traveling in one of New York’s most vibrant neighborhoods,” MTA Construction & Development President Jamie Torres-Springer said in a statement. “These eight new staircases will alleviate overcrowding on the platform and street level and ensure passengers can better move through the station.”

A substantial portion of the project is expected to be completed by October 2023.

Full access to a minimum of four street-level stairwells will be maintained in the mezzanine areas during the construction. Access to the four stairs that serve the northbound and southbound platforms from mezzanine areas will also be maintained at all times.

MTA indicated that it is working closely with City agencies and local stakeholders to mitigate impacts on the local community. Signs reminding pedestrians that businesses remain open will be posted.

Members of the public wishing to express concerns and raise issues will be able to contact at 24/7 construction hotline, 844-508-2636 for the duration of the project.

Community discusses Bus Network Redesign

Jessica Meditz on May 10, 2022

As part of their public outreach efforts, the MTA is holding workshops in each community district — from Astoria to Rockaway — to hear feedback about their Queens Bus Network Redesign Plan.

After an 18-month pause on the project, which was initially developed in 2019, the MTA released the most updated draft.

They said in a presentation that after the recent public outreach has been completed, that feedback will be analyzed and implemented into a proposed final plan.

The goal of the Bus Network Redesign is to modernize the city’s bus network and provide faster, more efficient service to the nearly 800,000 customers who rely on it.

The plan is slated to eliminate a total of 1,685 bus stops, as well as offer 85 routes to the borough.

Residents of Community District 5 — which covers Ridgewood, Glendale, Middle Village and Maspeth, had the opportunity to provide feedback to MTA representatives at last Wednesday’s virtual workshop, and many of them were quite skeptical about the plan.

“The proposed change to the Q39 removing all service in Ridgewood removes access to several colleges not served by the Q67,” one concerned resident said. “Q67 frequency is 30 minutes, which does not improve Q39 service. The only option would be the Q58, which is already overcrowded, and transfer to the Q39 somewhere.”

The proposed Q39 would be extended north to Astoria via 21 Street and Astoria Blvd, replacing Q103 service there, and providing new connections across western Queens.

It would also terminate in Maspeth instead of serving Ridgewood, which would be provided by the potential Q67 bus. It will also no longer operate on a 24-hour timeline.

As part of the plan, the MTA created online profiles for each individual bus route in Queens in order for customers to analyze the proposals in depth.

The profiles suggest alternate connections by bus and train to compensate for any service that was changed or eliminated, as well as average stop spacing, total length, proposed frequency and span, and a map to provide a visual guide for the route’s changes.

Another Ridgewood resident pointed out that a stop on Menahan Street and Fresh Pond Road along the Q58 has been skipped as a result of nearby construction and stressed that it needs to be addressed in the new plan.

The same resident also brought up an error in the MTA’s plan regarding the QM24 and QM25 buses, which say there will be a stop on Fresh Pond Road and Gates Avenue, however, there is currently no bus stop at Gates Avenue.

“I think that was just an error because there is a stop at Fresh Pond and Grove, and that would make perfect sense to keep the bus stop there. But if you remove the bus stop at Bleecker Street and move the Grove stop, it’s such a tremendous difference to be able to walk all the way over to Gates Avenue,” she said.
Lucille Songhai, an MTA representative, said she and other employees will continue to do research regarding the road operations, which will likely be reflected in the final plan.

MTA representative Daniel Randall reminded all attendees that the current plan is merely a draft at this point, and that all feedback, questions, and concerns are welcome.

“All this feedback is very useful,” he said. “You know your communities better than we do.”

Randall added that “the fact that you’re naming economic institutions, schools, and local infrastructure is really helpful because that will inform the next phase of this plan.”

More information about the Queens Bus Network Redesign Plan is available on the MTA’s website for anyone to view. Community members can register for any of the MTA’s virtual bus workshops through June 2 as well.

MTA releases Queens Bus Network Redesign draft plan

Evan Triantafilidis on April 6, 2022

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority rolled out its new Queens Bus Network Redesign draft plan, after receiving over 11,000 public comments on their initial attempt to redesign the bus network in 2019.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the brakes were put on the initiative in March 2020. Now, the MTA is ready to start back up again with a fresh perspective after the agency received an “unprecedented number of comments” about the original draft plan released in December 2019.

The MTA says its focus is now on routing, bus stop locations, and providing frequent and reliable bus service throughout the borough. In 2019, the bus network served nearly 800,000 average weekday riders with over 100 routes.

“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,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said. “So many people depend on buses for access to jobs, education, culture and everything else New York has to offer. The New Draft Plan reimagines both local and express service to address the evolving needs of Queens communities, with a focus on more reliable service, faster travel, better connections, and ease of use.”

MTA Chair & CEO Janno Lieber, Interim NYCT President Craig Cipriano, Acting MTA Bus President/SVP NYCT Buses Frank Annicaro, DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards announce the Queens Bus Network Redesign Draft Plan at Jamaica Av. & 150th St. on Tuesday, Mar. 29, 2022. (Marc A. Hermann / MTA)

With over half of Queens residents relying on public transportation for their daily commute, at least 11 percent commute primarily by bus, the MTA says. Although ridership dropped significantly during the pandemic — to roughly 46 percent of pre-pandemic levels — ridership is slowly continuing to recover as New Yorkers return to work and their daily activities.

More direct routes in congested areas, like downtown Flushing and Jamaica, are in the pipeline for the redesign. The MTA says a contributing factor to congestion in Flushing and Jamaica are the result of bus routes that end in those neighborhoods.

The MTA is also placing a priority on creating a more efficient bus system by removing and adjusting closely-spaced bus stops along routes in hopes of expediting service. The MTA says with seconds shaved off of existing bus routes, there is a “positive cascading effect” on overall travel times with fewer bus stops.

A total of 85 bus routes (up from 82 currently) are proposed for the local bus network, which can be broken down into four different route types, including 35 local routes, 27 rush routes, 16 limited routes and seven crosstown Select-Bus Service routes.

The MTA will also continue its work with the city’s Department of Transportation to build upon its achievements of dedicated bus lanes, like the ones that were installed last year in Jamaica.

DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez lent his support to the bus network redesign plan, calling efficient bus service a top priority for commuters from Queens.

“The majority of Queens residents rely on public transportation for their commutes and making sure their buses are running on time and unobstructed has been one of our top priorities,” said NYC Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “We strongly support the holistic efforts of the borough bus network redesigns to improve bus service, through simplified routings, improved access to important destinations, and improved bus stop spacing.”

In its latest redesign draft plan, the MTA says they are looking into more direct routing and finding new connections to subway stations and other bus routes. New bus routes may have less stops, but this is countered with a proposed frequency increase and fewer route variations or branches.

For example, the proposed Q46 bus route would only serve LIJ Hospital, while the proposed Q48 bus route would only serve Glen Oaks.

Proposed changes to the Express Bus Network include one new express route, serving southeast Queens from Springfield Gardens and Rochdale to Midtown Manhattan. The MTA is also proposing to discontinue the QM3 line that runs between Little Neck and Midtown Manhattan due to low ridership, as well as to retire the QM10 and QM40 lines in order for more direct routes (the proposed QM11, QM12 and QM42 lines) to take their place.

In an effort to gather feedback from locals, the MTA is holding virtual workshops that start on Monday, April 18 for local Community Boards. All workshops will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Community Board 1 (Astoria, Long Island City and Woodside) will be the first virtual workshop held on Monday, April 18, with the rest to follow.

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