MTA’s Queens bus network redesign is here (…again)!

MTA has released an updated Queens bus network “re-redesign” draft plan today, restarting the process that’s been paused since the release of their first network draft plan in late 2019.

Riders Alliance has been fighting for years to update our city’s outdated bus network in order to serve the needs of today’s ridership, not the ridership of the 20th century. We’re excited to see how rider feedback has been integrated into the MTA’s newest network draft. So how did we get here? And what does this “re-redesign” mean for bus riders in Queens?

The Queens bus network redesign is a part of MTA’s Fast Forward plan to improve NYC bus service that began in 2018 with a redesign of the Bronx bus network and Staten Island’s express bus network.

Right now, buses in Queens (and across the city) are slow and unreliable, mainly because they’re stuck in traffic. But no matter how many bus lanes are painted or how effectively they’re enforced, traveling by bus is only as efficient and reliable as the overall network they’re part of. And with Queens’ bus network seeing no significant updates over the past century to keep up with the city’s growth and evolving transit needs, redesigning the network is now a crucial step in improving access to reliable transit in Queens, where more than half of residents rely on transit every day.

A redesigned Queens bus network should:

• Streamline bus routes for more direct trips that can get riders to their destination faster with less turning and meandering.

• Increase service frequency on high-ridership corridors to speed up trip times on the most heavily used bus routes.

• Increase the number of jobs, education, healthcare, and recreation centers the average bus rider can access in a reasonable amount of time on transit.

• Improve the flexibility of service to allow more people to reach more places with better connections to popular destinations and transfer points to other modes of transit.

When the Queens bus network redesign draft plan was released in late 2019, riders raised many concerns about the proposed changes, like issues with transfers to accessible subway stations and new route names across every line that confused many who assumed their routes were being discontinued. Riders were understandably concerned that the MTA had not sufficiently fielded feedback from riders who would be impacted in the release of their plan.

The restart of the Queens redesign has given MTA a golden opportunity to include feedback from the initial redesign into the newest iteration, and to double down on community outreach efforts to ensure they’re capturing enough input from riders and community stakeholders for the redesigned network to properly reflect their needs — something the previous redesign effort struggled to do, which, in no small part, is what lead to the plan being put on hold in early 2020.

Since then, Riders Alliance has been actively working with MTA to raise these issues, push for a much broader community engagement effort, and ensure that the streamlined bus routes in the new network coincide with increased service frequency to deliver a better overall experience for riders. 

We’re excited to see how they’ve changed their approach to reach more riders and better include them in the redesign process. From what we’ve seen so far, the new plan cuts trip times from neighborhoods without subway stations, adds better connections to destinations outside Queens, and introduces new “rush” routes to help shorten trips to shopping and transit hubs

Make your voice heard!

But hold on, the process isn’t over just yet! To successfully implement Queens’ new bus network, MTA needs to hear from riders through another round of community outreach to get more feedback on the newest version of the network.

Riders Alliance is organizing an event with TransitCenter on April 13 at 6:00 p.m. where riders can learn more about the redesign, its purpose, what went into it, and when/where/how you can get further involved.

MTA is also holding 14 community sessions in April where riders can give their feedback on the redesign directly to MTA staff. Click here for more information and to find out when a session is happening in your district.