MTA Staff at Key Bus Stop Locations to Assist Riders with Service Changes Through Friday, Sept. 12
Customers Encouraged to Use MTA App to Navigate New Bus Network
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today issued a reminder that the remaining changes in the Queens Bus Network Redesign will take effect on Sunday, Aug. 31 (and Tuesday, Sept. 2 for bus routes that do not operate on Sundays). This marks the completion of the largest bus redesign in the country and the first boroughwide redesign of the MTA’s bus network with changes to both local and express bus service. In 2018, the MTA redesigned Staten Island’s express bus service, and in June 2022, the MTA implemented a revamped local bus network for the Bronx – with plans to fully redesign the boroughs’ bus networks in the future. The redesign of Queens’ 70-year-old bus system brings foundational improvements to New York City’s largest borough boasting over 800,000 daily riders and will deliver more reliable bus service, improve connections, reduce wait times and increase bus speeds. Additionally, the MTA committed to investing $33.7 million annually to deliver substantive Queens bus service improvements, rather than limited upgrades within the existing budget.
The remaining set of changes are concentrated in Northwest and Southwest Queens, including Astoria, Long Island City, Jackson Heights, Ozone Park, Woodhaven, Howard Beach, and Far Rockaway. Some notable changes in this second implementation includes the reroute and extension of the B62 along 21 St in Queens, terminating at the Astoria Houses, and a new route, the Q80 Local, which will replace the Q10 limited branch, providing more frequent and new overnight service along the entire length of Lefferts Blvd. With both the Q10 and Q80, Lefferts Blvd riders will see more frequent service overall.
Following the completion of the second phase on August 31, 2025, the MTA will conduct a post-implementation analysis and analyze changes in bus speeds, ridership, reliability, travel times, rider satisfaction, and other relevant variables over the first six months of the new network. The results of this analysis will inform future adjustments to the bus network to ensure that service is meeting its stated goals.
The first phase of the plan launched on Sunday, June 29 and encompassed nearly two-thirds of the plan’s changes. The Customer Ambassador Program, which staffs MTA personnel at key bus stop locations to raise public awareness of any route changes, relaunched on Monday, Aug. 18 and will run through Friday, Sept. 12 for the remaining set of changes. This redesign project updated nearly every route in Queens, resulting in one of the most comprehensive service changes in MTA history – and a comprehensive community outreach process to match it. The Redesign team worked iteratively over the last six years to develop and refine proposals that better meet rider needs, modernize service, and improve operations for the MTA’s workforce.
In Queens, where residents are more likely to face longer commutes and have limited access to subway and rail compared to other boroughs, the bus network plays an important role, especially for historically marginalized communities. The MTA’s team extensively studied demographic characteristics and equity areas of concentrated need to learn about how transit can better meet riders’ needs. This led to the development of the Final Plan that holistically invests in service in areas with greater need, and as a result 23 percent of trips in equity areas are estimated to be five or more minutes shorter.
Beyond the Title VI requirements, the project team published an Equity Evaluation which shares the data behind socioeconomic factors and framework used to inform the development of the new bus network, underscoring the project’s commitment to equitable transportation. In the MTA’s equity analysis, the public can learn how factors such as transit dependency, minority representation, income, access to opportunity, and mobility needs were taken into consideration when making improvements to routes with finite resources to ensure communities with greater equity concerns continue to have strong access to transit.
Learn More and Stay Up to Date
The new network includes a total of 124 routes (vs 113 pre-implementation): 94 local routes, and 30 express routes. To plan ahead, customers can use the Trip Planner on the homepage to preview their trips with the changes in effect by selecting a departure date on or after August 31. Once the redesign is fully rolled out, customers are encouraged to use the MTA app to navigate the new network. The app provides live bus updates, including arrival times, and the option for customers to reach out to the customer care team via the chat feature with any questions they may have.
To find out if and when a specific route has either changed or will change, customers can check out the Project Phasing Guide or the Route Look-Up Tool, which allows customers to select any bus route from a drop-down menu to see detailed information. The route look-up tool also works with Google Translate, which enables customers to read information about their specific route(s) in their preferred language. All plan materials and resourceful links, including the links mentioned, can be found on the project webpage.
The MTA will continue to keep customers informed about the rollout of the redesign via social media, advertisements, email and SMS alerts. Customers should sign up for MTA service alerts to receive real-time information and updates about their bus routes. If already subscribed, customers are advised to check if their bus route options change and update their MTA service alerts before August 31 to continue receiving alerts without interruption.