Queens

, Metropolitan Transportation Authority
might be established is difficult to quantify, and the MTA does not currently have the funding or
resources needed to implement this extension.
Q. Can the MTA extend the Q46 to North Shore Towers?
A. The Q46 is a long route and operates almost the entire length of Union Turnpike from Queens to
Nassau County. Extending the route to North Shore Towers would require an extension of approximately
one mile in each direction on either branch. This would add almost two miles to each trip. Long Island
Jewish Hospital is a large trip generator and has a dedicated bus terminal area near the main hospital
entrance. We have also receive significant amounts of comments over the years in opposition to a
possible Q46 extension to North Shore Towers.
Bus Stop Changes
Q. Can the MTA improve the conditions at bus stops at subway stations, particularly 169 th Street Subway
Station?
A. The MTA will continue to evaluate the passenger environment and look for ways to improve the
customer’s experience through better information, more comfortable surroundings, and an increased
feeling of safety. Unfortunately, many of the conditions of the sidewalk along Hillside Avenue are due to
the high number of buses running along the street during the evening rush hour. Buses arrive, discharge
passengers, and load up new passengers. The dwell time for fare collection of so many transfers from
the subway slows down the departure of the bus and therefore prohibits other buses from properly
curbing to pick up passengers. The MTA continues to deploy new technologies to aid in the mitigation of
these issues. BusTime, which provides information for passengers based on the GPS location of the bus,
also 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 is just beginning to make changes
that will ensure a better experience for all of our passengers.
Other Bus Service Requests
Q: The bus route on my street is local, but can it be turned into a limited?
A: The guidelines for limited service are listed in Section 5: Public Input of this document.
Q. Can the MTA make information clear regarding the numbering of bus routes?
A. The MTA currently has 315 bus routes, by far the largest number in the United States. Almost a third
of this number, consisting of 81 local and limited routes and 22 express routes, operate primarily in
Queens. The sheer number of bus routes makes adding extra numbers problematic for customer
understanding.
Q. What is Bus Time and how does it work?
A. Additional information about BusTime is located in Section 4: Quality of Service in this report. Also,
please visit http://web.mta.info/nyct/MTA_BusTime.htm for more information and instructions on how
to use its features.
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