Comments on: Queens pols back borough-based BRT plans

By: Simon Hova

Simon Hova — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 14:49:35 +0000

As a newly-minted E Bronx resident who is living without a car, I can say that transit between Jamaica and Flushing is very unrepresented. The only ways to get back and forth are the Q44 which is crowded and long, or take the LIRR and change in Woodside which is expensive and long. An SBS connection between these two hubs will go a long way in making travel between the Bronx and LI easier. Not like the current 2.5 hour Bellmore-Throgs Neck journey I am on now (by car, it’s about 30 minutes)

By: Woody

Woody — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:23:32 +0000

Does the M60 still run every 20 minutes? The quickest way to cut the travel time would be to run these buses every 5 or 10 minutes. After I waited 15 minutes for the g.d. bus I always hailed a cab. But now I don’t try it at all. Forgetaboutit.

The MTA could also easily improve service by having the lazy ass driver announce the stops, like, “Exit here and walk a block ahead to American Airlines.”

Without that announcement, a first-time passenger will likely stay on the bus for a complete tour of the airport facilities. The next stop will be the NWA/Delta terminal, then the USAirways terminal. At last then comes the main terminal, finishing with a stop sort-of-near American Airlines, about 15 minutes after the bus first drove past those departure gates.

These two small changes, however, would require a bit of intelligence and attention to the needs of the passengers at the MTA, rather than an enormous expenditure of taxpayer funds, so I don’t expect to see them implemented in my lifetime.

By: Think twice

Think twice — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:40:44 +0000

For a start I’d incorporate BRT with the existing Express and Commuter Bus lines. On the Long Island Expressway I’d build a bus only corridor (that’s camera-enforced or fenced off) that goes through the Queens–Midtown Tunnel. Like the Lincoln Tunnel it should be a “congestion buster” for all the current Express and Commuter Buses that use the LIE and tunnel.

By: Harlan

Harlan — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:39:45 +0000

Indeed! A route that I hope gets considered at some point would be an Express version of the M60 bus between Upper Manhattan and LGA. Stops at LGA, 31st St in Astoria (N/W transfer), and the four subway transfer stops in Harlem. A faster version of the M60 would be very heavily used, I suspect.