The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has officially announced the full implementation of the Queens Bus Network Redesign.
The largest bus redesign in the United States; the update has been put into effect over two phases that began on 29 June and 31 August.
Customer ambassadors were joined by MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber and New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow at a launch ceremony in Long Island City, Queens, to greet riders, answer any questions and gather impressions.
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber, said:With both phases of the redesign now in effect, MTA’s transformation of the Queens bus network—adding $34 million for new service — is now complete from Arverne all the way to Astoria.
That means faster buses, greater reliability and increased access to jobs, education and shopping for the City’s most bus reliant borough, home to 800,000 daily riders, as many as the entire Los Angeles bus system.
From October, the MTA will analyse any and all changes in bus ridership, speeds, reliability, rider satisfaction and travel times over the course of a six month period in order to present a post-implementation report in Spring 2026.
The overhaul of the Queens bus network has been six years in the making, taking onboard plans and community feedback consisting of 300 redesign events and almost 20,000 comments.
Changes include the expansion of accessibility, improvements in transit equity and a stronger local bus service with faster trips, more frequent services and better connections to key locations.
The new network includes 124 routes consisting of 94 Local and Express routes, an increase of 11 routes from the current network representing a 33.7 million USD annual investment to improve operations.
NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, said:The Queens Bus Network Redesign is a crucial step toward creating a modern, reliable bus system that makes the city more livable and transportation more accessible for Queens residents.
This historic project improves vital commuter connections and delivers more dependable service, and with the full redesign now in effect, we are proud to partner with the MTA to make this vision a reality. NYC DOT has complemented this effort with key bus priority projects on Hillside Avenue, Northern Boulevard, 21st Street and more, enhancing service, reducing commute times, and giving riders valuable time back in their day.
The redesign itself focuses on creating a more reliable, faster and simplified service, adding a new type of route named a ‘Rush’ route, which provide both a local and non-stop service in order to offer faster services between outer borough neighbourhoods, as well as subway stations.
