Q79 (New York City bus)

q79
Little Neck Parkway
Overview
System MTA Regional Bus Operations
Operator New York City Transit
Garage Queens Village Depot
Began service June 4, 1950
Ended service June 27, 2010
Route
Locale Queens
Communities served Little Neck, Glen Oaks, Bellerose, Floral Park
Landmarks served Queens County Farm Museum
Start Little Neck – Little Neck / LIRR station 40th Avenue & Little Neck Parkway
Via Little Neck Parkway
End Floral Park – Jamaica Avenue & 257th Street
Timetable Q79

The Q79 bus route constituted a public transit line in Queens, New York City, United States. It ran primarily along Little Neck Parkway between Queens College and Hillside Avenue. It was operated by the New York City Transit brand until June 27, 2010, when it was discontinued under system-wide service cuts.[1][2]

Route description and service

The Q79 began at the intersection of 40th Avenue and Little Neck Parkway near the Little Neck Long Island Rail Road station on the Port Washington Branch. From there, buses continued south along Little Neck Parkway through the communities of Little Neck, Glen Oaks, and Bellerose, before turning onto Jamaica Avenue/Jericho Turnpike in Floral Park and terminating at 257th Street. Buses returning to Little Neck then turned north on 257th Street, east on 87th Avenue, and south on 256th Street before turning onto Jamaica Avenue/Jericho Turnpike. Buses then headed north on Little Neck Parkway before heading west on 41 Avenue, north on 249th Street, and east on 40th Avenue to reach the terminal.[3] This was one of the few bus routes in the city not to connect to a subway line.[4] This bus route was operated out of Queens Village Depot.[5]

History

Early history

Queens Borough President Fitzgerald suggested the creation of the Little Neck to Bellerose bus route to the Board of Estimate running along Little Neck Parkway. On March 7, 1950, the New York City Board of Transportation passed a resolution adopting its planned route for bus service along Little Neck Parkway, and designated the route the Q12A. On March 9, the Board announced that a public hearing concerning the route would be held on April 4.[6][7] At the public hearing, Little Neck residents argued for a change in the route's northern terminal loop, which was granted by the Board, requiring another public hearing for the route to be held on April 27. Originally, the route would have turned off of Little Neck Parkway onto Northern Boulevard before running along Westmoreland Street to 39th Avenue at the LIRR station. The changed route had buses stay on Little Neck Parkway until Marathon Parkway, before turning on 40th Avenue, which was one block to the south of the LIRR station, and going back on Little Neck Parkway.[8]

On April 27, the Board of Estimate approved the proposed service over the objections of civic leaders and property owners from Little Neck, who feared that the bus route would create a bottleneck, and called for the route to end at Northern Boulevard. The new route was expected to provide better transit access to employees at the Hazeltine Electronics Corporation at the Grand Central Parkway and Little Neck Parkway.[9] The route was approved by the Mayor on June 2.[10]:554 Q12A service started on June 4, 1950 against the wishes of many Little Neck homeowners who did not want buses to run through their streets. On the first day of operation bus service couldn't run on its intended route at both terminals. At the Little Neck end there was a detour due to water-main work, and at the Floral Park end, local residents complained about its route along 254th Street, forcing it to change route for that day.[11]

Service cuts and discontinuation

On April 15, 1990, several Queens bus routes with suffixes were relabeled including the Q12A, which was renamed the Q79 to distinguish itself from the Q12 route along Northern Boulevard.[12] In December 1990, the MTA announced that, because it had a $272 deficit for 1991, it proposed reducing the hours of 127 token booths, shortening 19 or 20 local bus routes, and discontinuing 7 express bus routes and 24 to 27 local bus routes, including the Q79 service.[13][14][15] However, due to significant public outcry, the MTA Board opted for a fare increase instead of the cuts.[16]

On February 24, 1995, the MTA Board voted to drastically cut bus and subway service for the first time in two decades in order to cut $113 million out of the $3 billion budget of New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA). The budget cuts were pushed by Governor George Pataki, who approved approved the service reductions as part of a package of budget cuts to avoid a fare increase. The NYCTA expected a $160 million surplus, but was left with a projected deficit of $172 million after MTA funding was reduced on the local, state, and federal levels. As part of the cuts, the Q79 was set to be discontinued along with the Bx18 and Bx24.[17] However, the chairman of the MTA, Peter Stangl, approved a plan to save the route by extending it 1⁄3 mile (0.54 km) southwards to the Floral Park station on the Long Island Rail Road's Hempstead Branch in Nassau County. The extension was intended to give LIRR commuters a new option, as the route would connect the Hempstead Branch on its southern end and the Port Washington Branch on its northern end. In September, the Village of Floral Park informally rejected the plan. In October, the MTA planned to reevaluate the route in January 1996.[18] In March 1997, the MTA scrapped its proposal to extend Q79 service to the Floral Park LIRR station in Nassau County due to opposition from the Village of Floral Park, whose board had already voted against the plan because they expected the bus route to increase traffic and worsen parking problems.[19]

On December 17, 2009, the MTA board voted to cut New York City Transit bus and subway citywide in order to reduce the MTA's budget deficit of $900 million.[20] As part of the cuts, Saturday Q79 service was to be discontinued.[21] On January 22, 2010, the MTA announced that it modified its plan to cut transit service to reduce customer impact.. As part of the change, all Q79 service was going to be discontinued.[22] In 2009, the route had the lowest average weekday and weekend ridership for any New York City Transit local bus route in Queens[23]:16 (second-lowest overall), with an average of 650 weekday riders, and 160 Saturday riders. On March 24, 2010, the MTA Board approved the revised cuts in service, and announced that the cuts would take effect in June.[24] The route's planned discontinuation was opposed strongly by local officials and Amalgamated Transportation Union Local 1056.[25][26] Cumulatively, the cuts for NYCT totaled $67.8 million. It was one of 20 local bus routes to be discontinued as part of the plan, with the last bus running on June 25, 2010.[2] The route's discontinuation was expected to save New York City Transit $700,000 annually.[1] The MTA evaluated the impacts of the changes in 2011, and assumed that a majority of Q79 riders started driving or using car services instead.[27]:B-84 and B-85 After the bus route's discontinuation, the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) issued a request-for-proposals for private operators to operate replacement service for the Q79 and two other discontinued routes. The TLC voted to approve the pilot program on July 15, 2010.[28] An operator was chosen, and the service was started, but due to low ridership, it was discontinued.[27]:B-84 and B-85

Partial restoration

On January 7, 2013, weekday service along the Q79 route was restored with the extension of alternate Q36 trips from Jamaica Avenue to Little Neck along Little Neck Parkway. This extension also gave the Little Neck Parkway corridor a one-seat ride to the subway at the Jamaica–179th Street station on Hillside Avenue. Q36 buses to the LIRR station in Little Neck were scheduled every 30 minutes, as opposed to connecting with every LIRR train due to the LIRR's erratic schedule, and to ensure reliability along the route.[23]:61 This change was made as part of the MTA’s Service Enhancement Plan, which was released in July 2012, and was intended to restore network coverage.[29][30]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "2010 NYC Transit Service Reductions - Revised" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 19, 2010. p. 102. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  2. 1 2 Press Release (June 23, 2010). "Queens Local Bus Service Changes Q14, Q15, Q24, Q26, Q30, Q31, Q42, Q48, Q74, Q75, Q76, Q79, Q89 & B24". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  3. ↑ MTA Regional Bus Operations. "Q79 bus schedule" (PDF).
  4. ↑ "Queens Bus Map" (PDF). nycityhealth.com. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 1999. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 16, 2015. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  5. ↑ "The Roster" (PDF). hopetunnel.org. March 2007. p. 10. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Board of Estimate Notice of Public Hearings Transit Matters". March 27, 1950.
  7. ↑ "City Calls Hearing On Q12A Bus Route". Long Island Star-Journal. March 19, 1950. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Board Approves New Bus Routes". Long Island Star-Journal. April 5, 1950. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  9. ↑ "New Q12A Route Approved; Two Busless Area To Get Service". Long Island Star-Journal. April 28, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  10. ↑ Proceedings. Board of Transportation. 1950.
  11. ↑ "Torn-Up Streets Help Objectors To New Bus Route In Little Neck". Long Island Star-Journal. June 5, 1950. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Queens Bus Map". New York City Transit Authority. April 15, 1990. Missing or empty |url= (help)
  13. ↑ "Transit Agency Seeks to Cut Back On Buses and Some Subway Runs". The New York Times. December 6, 1990. p. B2. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  14. ↑ Bearak, Corey (March 11, 1991). "Northeast Queens Jewish Community Council Press Release". www.northeastqueensjewish.org. Northeast Queens Jewish Community Council. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  15. ↑ Sims, Calvin (December 21, 1990). "Milder Transit Service Cuts Are Approved". The New York Times. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  16. ↑ Grynbaum, Michael M. (March 2, 2010). "M.T.A. Begins Hearings on Proposed Cuts, to Jeers From Public". The New York Times. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  17. ↑ Perez-Pena, Richard (February 25, 1995). "Board Votes Cuts For City Transit". The New York Times. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  18. ↑ Cohen, Mark Francis (October 8, 1995). "NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: LITTLE NECK: BELLEROSE; Vote in Nassau May Doom Queens Bus". The New York Times. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  19. ↑ Lii, Jane H. (May 12, 1996). "NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: LITTLE NECK/BELLERROSE; M.T.A. Scraps Q79 Extension". The New York Times. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  20. ↑ Grynbaum, Michael M. (December 16, 2009). "M.T.A. Board Votes Major Cuts in New York City Transit". The New York Times. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  21. ↑ "Expected Changes To Transit Service". The New York Times. December 17, 2009. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  22. ↑ Grynbaum, Michael M. (January 22, 2018). "Revised M.T.A. Plan Would Avert Some Service Cuts". The New York Times. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  23. 1 2 "Northeast Queens Bus Study" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York). September 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  24. ↑ Grynbaum, Michael M. (March 24, 2010). "M.T.A. Approves Cuts in Subway and Bus Service". The New York Times. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  25. ↑ Bearak, Corey (February 21, 2010). "ATU Local 1056, Queens Electeds, Community Join v. Bus Cuts" (PDF). coreybearak.com. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  26. ↑ "Electeds want MTA to nix Q79 bus cuts". New York Post. February 24, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  27. 1 2 "Evaluation of 2010 Service Reductions" (PDF). mta.info. New York City Transit. September 23, 2011. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  28. ↑ "Notice of opportunity to participate in a pilot program To test Group Vehicle Ride Program" (PDF). nyc.gov. New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission. 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  29. ↑ "Bus Service Enhancements Set to Begin". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York). January 2013. Archived from the original on January 10, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  30. ↑ "Route and service improvements". web.mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. January 2013. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
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