Photo Courtesy of Marc Hermann/MTA
“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,” Borough President Richards said.
By Michael V. Cusenza
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) on Tuesday announced the release of the newly developed Queens Bus Network Redesign’s New Draft Plan. The MTA’s New Draft Plan reflects over 11,000 comments received during the first round of public engagement. The Queens Bus Network Redesign is one of the largest bus network redesigns in the country, with over 100 routes, serving almost 800,000 average weekday riders in 2019, and is now the third project of the MTA’s ambitious initiative to rework and enhance bus networks in every borough.
The New Draft Plan is a forward-thinking redesign focused on routing, bus stop locations, and frequency proposals that aim to address the evolving needs of local communities, considering factors such as population growth, travel patterns, commute times, and off-peak ridership for current and future Queens riders. There will be 14 virtual public workshops held through June – one workshop for each community district in Queens. At these workshops, attendees will be provided information about all the changes proposed in the New Draft Plan and will be able to share their questions, comments, and concerns.
Reasons for a complete borough bus network redesign:
Photo Courtesy of Marc Hermann/MTA
The announcement was made at Jamaica Avenue and 150th Street on Tuesday.
Service Reliability • Our customers told us that Queens buses are often slow and stuck in traffic. • The On-Time Performance for Queens bus routes decreased by 12 percent from 2014 to 2018. • Queens had a Customer Journey Time Performance (CJTP) of 70 percent prior to the pandemic; CJTP measures the percentage of trips successfully made not more than five minutes later than scheduled. • As bus service becomes less reliable due to congestion, particularly in areas such as downtown Flushing and Jamaica, the effects are experienced by the majority of Queens bus customers. • During the height of the pandemic, service reliability briefly improved due to less traffic on the roads; however, much of that congestion has since returned, and reliability has begun to decrease back to pre-pandemic levels.
Bus Speeds • Prior to the pandemic, bus speeds had been declining systemwide for a number of years. Congestion, particularly in areas such as downtown Flushing and Jamaica, are an ongoing challenge to providing fast and reliable bus service for Queens residents and employees. • In 2019, average bus speeds in Queens were the second highest of the five boroughs at 8.7 miles per hour (MPH), however that number is a 3.3 percent decrease from the average speed in 2015 (9.0 MPH). Even a small decrease in bus speed can have a cascading effect on a customer’s overall travel time. • Slower bus speeds reduce route reliability and decrease productivity, further deterring would-be customers from choosing to take the bus. • Congestion is the leading cause of declining bus speeds and service reliability in Queens. It is often worse on key corridors and choke points, amplifying its detrimental effect on bus speeds, and in turn the reliability of bus service. • During the height of the pandemic, bus speeds briefly increased due to less traffic on the roads; however, much of that congestion has since returned and bus speeds have begun to slow back down to pre-pandemic levels. Ridership Decline • Bus ridership in Queens fell 5.3 percent from 2014 to 2019—a decrease of about 40,000 average daily boardings. • The decline in ridership can be attributed to a variety of factors, including slower bus speeds, decreased reliability, modal shifts to other transportation, including the subway and Transportation Network Companies (TNCs), and demographic changes. • During the height of the pandemic, bus ridership in Queens fell to roughly 46 percent of prepandemic levels; however, ridership has slowly continued to recover as customers return to their daily activities.
Plan highlights include:
More direct routes. Implementing more direct routes allows for faster service. Downtown Flushing and Jamaica are areas where effects of congestion hinder bus service. A contributing factor to this congestion are bus routes that terminate in these areas. A series of proposed routes that serve downtown Flushing and Jamaica will travel through these congested areas, instead of terminating there.
Balanced Bus Stop Spacing. Removing and adjusting closely spaced bus stops along routes results in fewer route turns and faster service. The seconds saved per trip by having fewer bus stops have a positive cascading effect on overall travel times.
Bus stop placement is also key in filling gaps in the bus network; proximity to key destinations and transfer points are important components in deciding bus stop locations. In the proposed redesigned draft plan, placement of bus stops expands the reach of accessible public transportation.
Enhanced Connectivity. The proposed redesign presents new connections, enhancing connectivity at key transfer locations necessary to ensure customers have a smooth transition between buses and other modes of public transportation. The plan focuses on expanding connectivity to ADA accessible subway stations, including stations that have been identified to receive accessibility upgrades in the near future.
Bus Priority. The MTA will continue working with the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) to build upon existing efforts of expanding bus priority improvements on corridors throughout the city, implementing measures such as dedicated bus lanes, queue jumps, and transit signal priority.
Improved Accessibility and Customer Experience. The MTA and DOT will continue to work to increase bus stop accessibility throughout the borough and citywide, along with the roll out of real-time digital service information screens on buses, and countdown clocks at bus stops.
“My district is a transportation desert, and increasing my constituents’ options to get around the city and borough is critical,” said Council Member Robert Holden (D-Middle Village). “I look forward to working with the MTA on ensuring that their New Draft Plan for the Queens Bus Network Redesign addresses the needs of my constituents.”
“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,” Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, Jr. added. “If our communities are fully engaged and involved in this process, getting it right is what we’ll achieve. I encourage all our residents to familiarize themselves with the MTA’s draft plan and I look forward to working with the MTA to ensure our families are not only actively involved, but centered in this redesign.”
