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Q3 (New York City bus)

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For additional information on the current bus service, see List of bus routes in Queens § Q3.

q3
Farmers Boulevard – JFK Airport
A 2015 Nova Bus LFS (8105) on the Jamaica-bound Q3 at Merrick Blvd/89th Ave in August 2018
Overview
SystemMTA Regional Bus Operations
OperatorNew York City Transit Authority
GarageJamaica Depot
VehicleNova Bus LFS
New Flyer Xcelsior XD40
Route
LocaleQueens, New York, U.S.
Communities servedJamaica, Jamaica Estates, Hollis, St. Albans, Springfield Gardens
StartJamaica, Queens – 165th Street Bus Terminal Bay 5
ViaHillside Avenue, Farmers Boulevard
EndJFK Airport – Lefferts Boulevard AirTrain station
Length11.6 miles (18.7 km)
Service
Operates24 hours[1]
Annual patronage2,094,041 (2023)[2]
TransfersYes
TimetableQ3
← Q2  {{{system_nav}}}  Q4 →

The Q3 bus route constitutes a public transit line in Queens, New York City, operating via Farmers Boulevard between the 165th Street Bus Terminal in Jamaica and John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Route description and service

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The JFK Airport-bound Q3 starts from Bay 5 at the 165th Street Bus Terminal in Jamaica, Queens. It then goes via Hillside Avenue, until it turns south onto Farmers Boulevard via 187th Place. The route continues through the neighborhoods of Hollis, stopping at the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) station there. It then passes through St. Albans, before stopping at the LIRR station at Locust Manor. Then it continues, passing through Springfield Gardens before finally crossing Rockaway Boulevard, and then entering John F. Kennedy International Airport via North Boundary Road, 148th Street, and JFK Expressway, passing by the North Cargo Area and Central Terminal Area. After stopping at Terminal 8, the route travels west and north along the Van Wyck Expressway and its service road. The Q3 travels west around Federal Circle, then north along 130th Place, west along Pan Am Road, and north at Lefferts Boulevard. The Q3 terminates at the AirTrain JFK's Lefferts Boulevard station.[1][3]

Jamaica-bound buses from Lefferts Boulevard largely follow the reverse routing. Buses travel south at Lefferts Boulevard, east along Pan Am Road, south along 130th Place, and south and east along the Van Wyck Expressway and its service road. After stopping at Terminal 8, the route turns along JFK Expressway, 148th Street, and North Boundary Road. Leaving the airport, the Jamaica-bound Q3 runs along Farmers Boulevard, then turns north on 188th Street and west on Hillside Avenue, terminating at Bay 5 of the 165th Street Bus Terminal.[1][3]

A majority of the ridership of the Q3 is formed from airport employees from JFK.[4] Upon the route's extension to JFK Airport, more riders began to use the Q3, there were increased employment opportunities in Queens, airport hires were encouraged to move to Queens, and road congestion was relieved.[5]

History

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Early history

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The Saint Albans Improvement Association obtained a permit to operate a bus line between St. Albans and Jamaica, Queens, around 1920.[6] The association hired Mortimer Randel to operate the line.[6][7] The route was put under the supervision of the New York City Department of Plant & Structures, which established the Saint Albans–Hollis–Jamaica line in March 1922.[8] The route ran from Saint Marks Avenue (now 119th Avenue), via Farmers Avenue, Seminole Avenue and Villard Avenue (both now 190th Street), and Hillside Avenue to Union Hall Street.[8][9] Because the majority of the route ran via Farmers Boulevard, it was known as the Farmers Boulevard Line.[10]

The Hillside Avenue-Farmers Blvd bus was transferred to Bee Line Bus Incorporated in 1923 and was labeled the Q3.[11] The Q3 route originated from 163rd Street and Jamaica Avenue in the Jamaica business district;[12] the route then ran along 165th Street, Hillside Avenue, 187th Place, and Farmers Avenue, terminating at the intersection of Farmers Avenue and Merrick Road.[13] On October 1, 1930,[14] the Bee Line routes began terminating at the newly constructed Jamaica Union Bus Terminal near its former terminus. The new bus terminal was located at Jamaica Avenue and New York Boulevard (now Guy R. Brewer Boulevard), adjacent to the now-closed Union Hall Street Long Island Rail Road station.[14][15][16][17]

On August 11, 1936, the Bee-Line routes were moved to the newly opened 165th Street Bus Terminal (then the Long Island Bus Terminal).[18][19][20] In May 1939, Bee-Line relinquished its Queens routes.[21] The bus was assumed by the North Shore Bus Company on May 22, 1939. These routes began operation from the terminal under North Shore Bus Company on June 25, 1939,[22] as part of the company's takeover of nearly all routes in Zone D (Jamaica and Southeast Queens).[23][24][25] The route was extended to Rockaway Boulevard on July 1, 1939. The route was cut back to the 165th Street Bus Terminal from 163rd Street and Jamaica Avenue on October 27, 1939.[11]

NYCBOT and NYCTA operation

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On March 30, 1947, North Shore Bus would be taken over by the New York City Board of Transportation (NYCBOT; later the New York City Transit Authority or NYCTA), making the bus route city operated.[26][27][28][29]

Q3 service was extended from Rockaway Boulevard to JFK International Airport on December 6, 1987.[5][30] Prior to the extension, the Q3 only operated during weekday morning and evening peak periods. However, once the route was extended, the route was expanded to 21 hours per day, 7 days a week.[5] This extension was not designed for air travelers, as evident by the route's roundabout routing, but it was instead intended for airport employees, those at JFK Airport. In the areas of southeast Queens where the Q3 operates, there is a high concentration of airport workers, and before the extension, they had no direct access via public transportation.[31] The headways during peak-periods were shortened from 20–25 minutes to 15 minutes, and new midday, evening, and weekend service was provided every 30 minutes. The new extensions, was extensively advertised through the use of brochures and timetables, which were the first for a local bus in Queens. These were distributed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to its employees at JFK, and articles were written about the extension in airport newspapers and newsletters. All households in southeast Queens got mailings. A special inaugural bus with local dignitaries ran on December 6, 1987, with a celebration at JFK. Additional service was added to the route because of increased patronage of the route. A majority of the people who started using the Q3 to get to the airport previously to travel by car.[31]

24-hour service was added to the Q3 on April 11, 2004. At the same time, service to all JFK terminals except Terminal 4 was replaced by AirTrain JFK.[32][33] The route's JFK Terminus was moved to Terminal 5 on May 30, 2012, due to construction at Terminal 4.[33][34]

Bus redesigns

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In December 2019, the MTA released a draft redesign of the Queens bus network.[35][36] As part of the redesign, the Q3 would have been replaced by a "neighborhood" bus route, the QT68, which would have been extended south to Federal Circle and north to Jamaica Hospital.[37] The redesign was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City in 2020,[38] and the original draft plan was dropped due to negative feedback.[39]

A revised plan was released in March 2022.[40] Shortly before the announcement of the bus redesign, the Q3 was extended southwest to the AirTrain JFK's Lefferts Boulevard station to accommodate long-term construction at JFK Airport on March 27, 2022. The changes would remain in effect until at least 2026, when JFK's new Central Terminal Area was completed.[41] The new draft plan also called for the Q3 to be extended to the Lefferts Boulevard station. Therefore, no further changes to the Q3 would need to be made in the bus redesign, other than the elimination of closely spaced stops.[42]

A final bus-redesign plan was released in December 2023.[43][44] Under this plan, the Q3's extension to the Lefferts Boulevard station would be made permanent.[45]

On December 17, 2024, addendums to the final plan were released.[46][47] Among these, stop changes were made to the Q3 in support of the Port Authority redevelopment project, which may affect the routing as it happens.[48]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c MTA Regional Bus Operations. "Q3 bus schedule".
  2. ^ "Subway and bus ridership for 2023". mta.info. April 29, 2024. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Queens Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. August 2022. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  4. ^ Boyle, Daniel K.; Gawkowski, Paul R. (January 1, 1992). "PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION FOR AIRPORT EMPLOYEES: Q3 EXTENSION INTO JOHN F. KENNEDY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT". Transportation Research Record (1373). ISSN 0361-1981.
  5. ^ a b c Diamond, Bob. Electric Transportation For The City of New York In The 21st Century Volume 1. Lulu.com. ISBN 9781329682542.
  6. ^ a b "Bus Owner Loses Suit Against St. Albans Folk". Times Union. January 24, 1921. p. 10. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  7. ^ "Bus Owner Sues St. Albans Ass'n". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. January 22, 1921. p. 3. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Minutes. 1922. p. 1774.
  9. ^ "Old New York". Motor Coach Age (January – June 2013). 2013.
  10. ^ North Shore Bus Company (July 29, 1942). "For the Convenience of Queens Bus Riders" (PDF). Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. p. 4. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  11. ^ a b "Queens Issue". Motor Coach Age (April – May 1977). 1977.
  12. ^ "Bee Line Runs Many Routes: Has Large Central Garage and Headquarters at Rockville Centre". Brooklyn Standard Union. Fultonhistory.com. November 18, 1929. p. 18. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  13. ^ New York Supreme Court Appellate Division-Second Department. 1935. pp. 121–122.
  14. ^ a b "Jamaica Opens Terminal Today: Bus Station Triples Service: 50,000 Passengers To Be Handled Daily By New Plan" (PDF). The Nassau Daily Review. Fultonhistory.com. October 1, 1930. p. 9. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  15. ^ "Bus Routes Over Which Companies Are Battling" (PDF). Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. July 15, 1931. p. 4. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  16. ^ "$1,500,000 Bus Terminal Started: Service To Begin In 30 Days, Say Depot Builders" (PDF). Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. August 12, 1930. p. 1. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  17. ^ "Green Line to Use New York Ave. Depot As Bee Buses Shift to 165th St. Terminal" (PDF). Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. August 12, 1936. p. 2. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  18. ^ "At Midnight...Tuesday, August 11, 1936". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. August 11, 1936. p. 4. Retrieved February 20, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Bee Bus Line Will Use New Jamaica Station: To Remove to $1,500,000 Terminal Tuesday Night". New York Herald Tribune. August 10, 1936. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  20. ^ "Jamaica's Bus Terminal Open: Bee Line and Four Shops Lease Space-Centrally Located". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. August 16, 1936. Retrieved July 9, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ Hall, Charles (May 23, 1939). "Bee Line Quits Zone D As Police Jail Drivers: Ousted 'Wildcat' Presses Fight In Courts" (PDF). Long Island Daily Press. No. 72. Fultonhistory.com. p. 1. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  22. ^ "North Shore Buses Start From Terminal Today" (PDF). Long Island Star-Journal. Fultonhistory.com. June 25, 1939. p. 3. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  23. ^ "North Shore May Take Over Z & M And Schenck Lines on Saturday: Franchise for Zone D Area Is Legalized" (PDF). Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. June 27, 1939. p. 1. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  24. ^ Abelman, Lester (February 2, 1939). "Court Upholds Bus Permit; City Defeats Bee Line In Zone D Fight; Way Cleared for North Shore to Take Over Routes in Jamaica Area" (PDF). Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. p. 1. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  25. ^ "31 BUS FRANCHISES AWARDED BY CITY; 26 Grants in Manhattan Made to Forestall Stopping of Emergency Lines. UNIFIED SYSTEM HELD UP New York Railways Will Take Over Madison Av. Lines Today -- 2-Cent Transfer Points Fixed". The New York Times. December 17, 1932. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  26. ^ "Major Improvements Ordered in Zone D" (PDF). Long Island Star-Journal. Fultonhistory.com. April 10, 1947. p. 2. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  27. ^ Sparberg, Andrew J. (October 1, 2014). From a Nickel to a Token: The Journey from Board of Transportation to MTA. Fordham University Press. ISBN 978-0-8232-6190-1.
  28. ^ "CITY TAKES OVER BUS LINE: O'Connor Selected to Operate North Shore System" (PDF). The New York Times. March 30, 1947. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  29. ^ "120-Passenger Vehicles Added For Next Week: 10 City Lines Will Have All New Equipment by Wednesday" (PDF). Fultonhistory.com. Long Island Star-Journal. December 31, 1948. p. 2. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  30. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/19980127010654/http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/Bus/busfacts.htm Department of Buses history NYC Transit
  31. ^ a b "Transportation Research Record No. 1373 Aviation Airport Landside Operations and Planning" (PDF). Transportation Research Board, National Research Council. 1992. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  32. ^ "Bus Service Advisories: Queens". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 2004. Archived from the original on December 5, 2004. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  33. ^ a b "Transit Committee Meeting June 2012" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. June 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 13, 2012. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  34. ^ "mta.info | Planned Service Notices: JFK Airport Terminal 4 Bus Stop Relocation". May 31, 2012. Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  35. ^ Acevedo, Angélica (December 17, 2019). "MTA gives 'sneak peek' of transformative Queens bus network redesign plan". QNS.com. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  36. ^ "MTA Unveils Draft Proposal to Redesign Bus Network in Queens". Spectrum News NY1 | New York City. December 31, 2019. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  37. ^ "Draft Plan, Queens Bus Network Redesign". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 2019. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  38. ^ "Queens bus network redesign remains on hold amid COVID-19 pandemic: MTA". QNS.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  39. ^ Duggan, Kevin (December 15, 2021). "MTA to release 'totally redone' Queens bus network redesign draft in early 2022". amNewYork. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  40. ^ Duggan, Kevin (March 29, 2022). "FIRST ON amNY: MTA reveals new Queens bus redesign draft plan". amNewYork. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  41. ^ Mohamed, Carlotta (February 14, 2022). "MTA announces bus route service changes to take effect in March amid JFK Airport terminal redevelopment – QNS.com". QNS.com. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  42. ^ "Draft Plan, Queens Bus Network Redesign". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  43. ^ Brachfeld, Ben (December 12, 2023). "MTA unveils final proposal for Queens bus network redesign". amNewYork. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  44. ^ Shkurhan, Iryna (December 13, 2023). "MTA unveils final plan to overhaul Queens bus network for the first time in decades". QNS.com. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  45. ^ "Final Plan, Queens Bus Network Redesign". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  46. ^ Russo-Lennon, Barbara (December 17, 2024). "Hold that bus! Queens riders to get more bus service, better rail connections if MTA approves redesign plan". amNewYork. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
  47. ^ Heyward, Giulia (December 17, 2024). "After years of delays, MTA finally moves ahead with Queens bus redesign". Gothamist. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
  48. ^ "Queens Bus Network Redesign Proposed Final Plan Addendum". Retrieved December 17, 2024.
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