Queens residents hope Sunday’s launch of the borough’s bus network redesign will mean an easier commute.

“If they’re going to revamp it, do it the right way,” bus rider Richard Ladson said. “The proof is in the pudding.”

“I’ve been talking to a lot of bus drivers and they’re not really excited about it because it’s, you know, a little bit chaotic,” rider Kristina Dubinskaya said. “But they’re all telling me that it’s going to be good for the riders, for the passengers.”


What You Need To Know

  • After six years, nearly 300 public outreach events and 20,000 public comments, the Queens Bus Network Redesign is being implemented in two phases

  • The redesign also includes an annual investment of $35 million to increase service

  • The MTA realizes some may be unhappy a stop has been moved or eliminated but say every change has been done to increase speed and efficiency, and give more people access to buses

The MTA promises it will be good for riders.

“This isn’t just redesign. We are actually pouring money into Queens buses. Thirty-five million more per year,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said. “Not a one time project of 35 million, 35 million more to make sure that we have a better bus system.”

The redesign adds 11 more routes for a total of 124, giving 124,000 more riders access to a bus that arrives every 10 minutes or better between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m., and 68,000 more riders will have access to a bus that runs 24/7.

The redesign also includes 25 rush routes, buses with increased stop spacing that connect to rail hubs. All but three routes will see changes to frequency, stop spacing or both — and all came from rider feedback.

“We did start this process prior to COVID,” Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said. “And I can tell you the first iteration of this plan was trash. But we’ve come a long way.”

And COVID wasn’t the only factor in the delay.

“We did an extraordinary sequence of public meetings and back-and-forth and interactions with the community,” Lieber said. “Nearly 300 public outreach events. That’s what drove the schedule: 20,000 comments from New Yorkers.”

In addition, there will be extensive outreach, with bus ambassadors giving out fliers.

The changes will come in phases, with the first one on Sunday — mostly in eastern Queens and Ridgewood — affecting two-thirds of all routes.

“At the end of the day, our job at New York City Transit is to move people, not machines,” New York City Transit President Demetrus Crichlow said. “This network will have real benefits for Queens riders.”

The second phase of the Queens bus redesign will take place on Aug. 31. That’s when one new route will be introduced. Thirty-seven routes will change and one will be discontinued.