In the early hours of the morning, the Q76 and Q28 bus lines are packed with students trying to get to schools in the neighborhood. The bus drivers will either let on kids until they are right next to their booths, or they will skip waiting commuters. It is nott uncommon for three busses to pass you by every 10 minutes with “NEXT BUS PLEASE” emblazoned on the front.
In our outer boroughs, in neighborhoods with streets designed for rural living in the 19th century, clunky busses are the only good option for public transit. Yet despite that, our subway lines have stolen the show. After all, the Q76 ultimately connects to Jamaica’s F Line, and the Q28 makes a beeline to Flushing’s 7 Line. Our busses need a redesign.
So, what do we do? First of all, buy more busses. For most people, a 10 minute wait is reasonable. For students, it can mean being late, being on time, or being early. When every bus is full and can not pick up commuters, it is even worse. Naturally, more busses also eases congestion.
Second of all, we need accordion busses. The accordion busses would make sure even at the busiest hours of the morning, riders can be comfortable and no one would get skipped by busses beyond the legal capacity. These busses are no longer anything special or new. They were recently introduced onto the Q12 line.
Most important of all, the MTA is redesigning the busses. While the MTA is making an effort, they need to be bold. The Q76 route is barely ridden in full. Routes need to be cut down. Some routes in this city do not even make sense because they were made for a different time with different needs. A realistic Queens bus redesign is what we need, or else the MTA would not be fulfilling its true job: serving us.
