Queens Bus Network Redesign: Reports, Past Events, and Archived Materials

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The Queens Bus Network Redesign (QBNR) is a multi-year initiative with multiple rounds of planning and public outreach.  

We’re working with you, our riders, to improve the Queens bus network so trips are faster, more reliable, and more seamlessly integrated with the rest of the transit system.

Here, you'll find archived materials and a list of past events held as part of the Queens Bus Network Redesign process.
 

The New Draft Plan for the Queens Bus Network Redesign was released on March 29, 2022. Previously, we had collected an immense amount of constructive feedback from the public through our outreach efforts in winter 2020. Comments centered around subway connections, routing proposals, and bus stop spacing. This feedback became the primary input for the New Draft Plan. With the New Draft Plan, we worked to address as many customer concerns as possible, while still including some well-received elements of the Original Plan. Overall, we focused on redesign strategies that would improve the existing bus network.

The release of the New Draft Plan was followed by several months of outreach to collect additional feedback for review and incorporation into development of the Proposed Final Plan released on December 12, 2023.

See below for the list of New Draft Plan outreach events and materials.
 

In April, May and June 2022, we hosted 14 virtual workshops, 28 sessions, and workshopped with hundreds of Queens bus customers and stakeholders.  

All workshops took place from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Sessions began at 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. If a customer couldn’t make the workshop for their neighborhood, they were encouraged to sign up for a different one. 

Each workshop was conducted in English and other languages per the list below.  Additional language interpreters, ASL, and captioning were available upon advance request.

Download the New Draft Plan Brochure.

This report on existing conditions was the first step in the bus network redesign process. The goal was to take a fresh look at the World’s Borough, its people, its travel needs, and what can be done to improve bus travel to meet those needs.

The Queens Bus Network has not substantially changed in decades. The continuing decline in bus ridership in Queens, and in New York City, requires a fresh look at how we provide bus service. Buses are slowing down, and bus reliability is suffering. Over that same period, our customers’ needs have transformed dramatically. The bus network needs to evolve with them. We will build a new bus network to meet those needs. 

The report was a joint effort by New York City Transit (NYCT) and MTA Bus Company. For everyone’s sake, we refer to the two organizations as “we” throughout the report. 

Corridor Profiles 

We analyzed a large number of corridors in Queens based on land use, density, and bus boarding activity along the corridor, as well as features of the street that affect bus travel. Although many more were considered, we developed profiles for 41 of the longer, straighter corridors for this report.

In December 2019, we released the Original Queens Bus Network Redesign Draft Plan. That plan presented a reimagined bus network for Queens, with goals and strategies focusing on more reliable service, faster travel, better connections, and ease of use.

For three months following the release, we conducted dozens of outreach events all over Queens, including workshops; open houses; community board presentations; briefings with elected officials, civic organizations, transit advocates, and other stakeholders; and direct outreach to customers at subway stations and bus hubs. Those efforts garnered over 11,000 comments before the project was paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Over the course of the pause, some 18 months, our planning experts reviewed the wealth of customer input and reflected on the Draft Plan. We ultimately decided that the best way to restart this project would be to formally withdraw the 2019 Draft Plan from consideration. Now, we will use the public feedback to help inform a New Draft Plan for Queens in early 2022. All the comments and feedback submitted through the outreach phase of the Original Draft Plan was invaluable in helping shape the approach the New Draft Plan would take. The Original Draft Plan helped facilitate the dialogue we needed to improve upon the existing network and truly address customers’ needs.  

In the interest of transparency, we have decided to leave the original “Draft Plan” and supporting documents as part of the project’s archive. You can see the withdrawn Draft Plan here.