Queens

, Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Bus Bunching
Comments were received regarding bus bunching on many of the routes in Northeast Queens. Many
complaints were lodged about specific areas and specific routes that get bunched up.
Bus bunching is caused by many factors including variations in traffic, the amount of time it takes for
customers to load buses, building construction, utility repairs, traffic congestion, and unanticipated
emergency or police activity. Each of these factors by themselves or in combination can lead to bus
bunching on a route.
When available, on‐street bus dispatchers are assigned to critical locations to monitor and adjust bus
spacing as necessary. This may include holding a bus at a stop momentarily so that it will not immediately
follow the bus that is directly ahead of that bus, or conversely the first bus may be directed to jump ahead
and bypass the next several stops.
In addition to on‐street supervision, the MTA deploys the new Bus Time technology to aid in the mitigation
of these issues. Bus Time, which provides information for passengers based on the GPS location of the
bus, provides essential information to MTA operations staff so that they can better adjust the timing and
distribution of buses along the route. The system is new, and the MTA will continue to make more
effective use of it to provide a better experience for all of our passengers.
Reliability
Comments were received regarding the reliability of buses in Northeast Queens. Complaints were made
about late buses, buses that never arrive, and buses that are slow and take too long to reach their
destination.
MTA uses three principal metrics for measuring reliability of its routes: on‐time performance, wait
assessment, and road reliability. Generally, Northeast Queens bus routes perform better than the Queens
and citywide averages for all three metrics. Detailed analysis of bus performance indicators by route are
outlined in Section 4: Quality of Service of this report.
Bus delays can be caused by a number of factors as noted above in Bus Bunching. Often congestion is the
contributing factor to late buses. This is particularly true during the morning and evening peak periods
and in congested Downtown Flushing and Downtown Jamaica. Bus delays can also be caused by
mechanical issues and accidents.
“Not in Service” is a display sign used when buses are running along city streets but are not available to
pick up passengers. Buses may not be in service for several reasons, sometimes due to mechanical issues,
returning to the depot at the end of the bus operator’s shift, or when the bus itself is transitioned from
one route to serve a different route (this is known as “interlining”).
In some instances, buses display “Next Bus Please” when they are delayed and have been informed by
dispatchers to jump ahead and not accept any new passengers, but continue to discharge passengers
when requested. This is usually done is conjunction when another bus is close by providing duplicative
service. This action allows a bus to fill any excessive gaps in service between it and the preceding bus
ahead of it.
60