Public weighs in on Queens' biggest bus redesign in 60+ years

KEW GARDENS, Queens -- It's been more than 60 years since a borough-wide design for bus service in Queens was implemented, and now that a redesign is in its final stages, the MTA has invited the public to give its input on the plan.

Reactions have been mixed, but the top brass of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said that riders' comments will be seriously considered in the completed Queens Bus Redesign. 

The public hearing took place in Queens Borough Hall on Wednesday evening, but riders made their feelings about the new changes and their bus transportation needs known throughout the borough all day.

One bus passenger, Brianna, who gave only her first name, was waiting for the Q10 bus. She pointed out, though, that it was one of a variety of routes she had to take on most days.

"I regularly would be like the Q9, the Q40," she said as she stood at a bus stop with her nine-month-old son in his stroller on her way to do errands.

She said the MTA needs to ensure it's not overzealous in altering existing bus routes.

"If they extend the routes and add some stops, it's a little more convenient," she said about potential plans to make some bus routes longer.

However, the Jamaica residents continued not to want stops added to existing routes.

"Other buses, they can be like, 'Why are there so many stops?'" she said.  

Comments like those are what the MTA said it needs to hear now. NYC Transit Interim President Demetrius Critchlow and other agency leaders heard from dozens of passengers in person and via Zoom at its hearing at Queens Borough Hall on Wednesday afternoon.

It was a chance for Queens passengers to meet with transit decisionmakers. The decisionmakers also allowed written comments to be sent to the MTA through Friday. 

One bus rider, David, who spoke with PIX11 News and gave only his first name, said his frustrations with bus service in the city's second-most populous borough were obscene. 

"I can't say it on television," the Howard Beach resident laughed.

On a more serious note, he added that the frequency of bus service is lacking. 

"It should be improved," he said, "because I wait for a long time for buses, any buses."

At this advanced, but not completed, stage of the Queens Bus Redesign Plan, 15 new bus routes will be created and, 10 eliminated, and dozens more routes will be modified.

All of those changes are not finalized, according to Critchlow, the NYC Transit interim president.

He said Wednesday evening's hearing will be vital in fine-tuning the redesign. 

"We want to hear feedback. We want to get it right," Critchlow said in a news conference just before the public hearing began.

He said that the whole point of carrying out the redesign, which began in 2019 and is on course to be implemented sometime next year, is to promote equity. 

Critchlow said that his agency is trying to ensure that all Queens residents have the best access to public transportation, and that is why the MTA sought the public's input. 

"It is us incorporating that feedback into a plan that works for Queens," Critchlow said.