A new MTA QT78 bus route for Roosevelt Island will, if implemented, devastates mass transit locally. The Q102 ends, severely cutting service.
Reporting by David Stone
A plan reimagines Queens bus service for the first time since trolley lines were original guides. It aims for faster service by reorienting routes on north/south patterns.
“We are very excited about this draft plan for Queens buses because it is a true reimagination of the routes that incorporates the earned knowledge of customers, our ground personnel and operations staff to create a new foundation of bus service in Queens,”
Andy Byford
MTA NYC Transit President
Let the MTA know what you think, right here…
But Roosevelt Island, guided by Ed Logue, came late to the design, and this result from the Fast Forward initiative guts service here. And RIOC’s failure to advocate for local needs, even with its sister agencies under Governor Cuomo, is harmful again.
How will the new QT78 Bus Service Work?
First, Q102 buses, which residents and others who work here rely on for its sweeping runs the full length of already struggling Main Street, end completely. A proposed QT102 becomes an express across the Queensboro Bridge into Manhattan.
And the QT78 replaces few of the lost stops.
Its route runs south from Middle Village and follows 36th Avenue onto Roosevelt Island. At Main Street, it turns left, makes a single stop at Good Shepherd Plaza and terminates at the subway.
Locations losing service…
- Roosevelt Island Tram
- Cornell Tech
- Southpoint/Four Freedoms Parks
- The Octagon
- Coler Hospital
- Lighthouse Park
Conclusion: All Is Not Lost. Yet.
A final plan is not expected until April. In the meantime, the MTA says it will continue outreach sessions. Roosevelt Islanders have time to speak up.
Maybe RIOC will awake from its slumber and make some calls, but don’t count on it unless you lob some alarms their way.
Although the hopeless RIRA Common Council is out, its Island Services Committee can rally support. And maybe Community Board 8 remembers us, and Ben Kallos, his sights now on Borough President, ought to be engaged too.
Roosevelt Island’s about to be shafted again, but there’s time to roust our neglectful representatives for a Hail Mary.
We’ll let you know about any public outreach sessions of which we learn.
Reporting relies on a reader tip and the 6sqft website.
Coler will be the loser in this plan. Many residents us the Q102 to easily leave the island and it is used by staff for shift chages,
Yeah, this hits Coler very hard, but one effect that may not be immediately apparent is on our already overcrowded Red Buses. This adds load on them, filling in gaps left by the MTA abandoning most of the Island. Our transportation infrastructure is sagging, and as in so many things, RIOC’s clueless to do anything about it.
[…] more brilliant thinking has the MTA threatening to gut remaining bus services. An active proposal takes away the Q102, replacing it with a QT78 which reduces services by more […]
[…] we reported last January, a proposed Queens bus redesign would devastate local transit. A ripple effect would impact all […]