The Queens Bus Redesign will – finally – launch on Sunday

The MTA announced the launch of the first phase of the Queens Bus Network Redesign will be this Sunday, June 29. Marc A. Hermann/MTA

By Ryan Schwach

More than half a decade after it was first pitched, the MTA officially announced the launched the long-awaited redesign of the Queens bus map on Thursday.

The first phase of the new, redesigned bus map will officially launch on Sunday, bringing significant changes to how Queens bus riders get around.

“We’re excited to roll out Phase 1 of the redesigned bus network — a transformation driven by extensive customer feedback and shaped through years of community engagement,” said New York City Transit Senior Vice President of Buses Chris Pangilinan. “This long-overdue upgrade modernizes an outdated bus system, delivering faster, more reliable service, better connections, and a network that reflects the needs of today’s riders.”

The new bus network initiative includes 124 routes in total, 94 of which are local and 30 are express routes and a $33.7 million annual investment to improve Queens bus operations. The plan includes several changes to routes and stops across the borough.

“This is our most ambitious bus redesign network yet, and for a good reason that this is the big one, Queens is the bus borough,” said MTA CEO and President Janno Lieber. “We're talking real numbers of bus riders in Queens. They need fast and frequent service, and they are going to get it with this redesign.”

Getting to this point however, was anything but fast.

Plans to redo and modernize the Queens bus map first began before COVID, but the MTA’s first attempt was panned and disliked so much by the public and elected officials that it was totally scrapped.

“The first iteration of this plan was trash,” Borough President Donovan Richards said Thursday. “But we’ve come a long way.”

Following the pandemic, the MTA started over again, this time choosing to simply rework the current maps by tweaking routes and stop locations to increase frequency and service.

That resulted in the new draft plan unveiled in December 2023.

That plan received similarly negative feedback from locals and elected officials alike.

Southeast Queens City Councilmember Selvena Brooks-Powers and State Senator Leroy Comrie opposed many of the details.

Following that onslaught of pushback, the MTA once again returned to the drawing board, and returned this last December with the “proposed final draft plan addendum,” – which was ultimately adopted.

Still, some criticism remains, with many locals testifying that the MTA elimination of certain stops to increase speed was too much of an inconvenience.

Richards described it on Thursday as he has in the past: “perfectly imperfect.”

“This was a job well done, and this is going to be as good a plan as it can be,” he said.

The MTA does have plans to monitor service, and is prepared to adapt if necessary.

Elected officials will be keeping an eye out as well.

“Our work isn't done,” said Brooks-Powers, the chair of the council’s transportation and infrastructure committee. “Implementation matters just as much as planning, and I'll be closely monitoring service changes to ensure that community feedback is reflected, that underserved neighborhoods aren't left behind, and that adjustments are made when needed.”

The MTA is rolling the redesign out in phases to ease locals into the new map. Phase two of the rollout will launch on Aug. 31.