MTA Bus Adds Additional Service To Q70
Earlier this morning, the MTA announced it will be adding additional service to the popular Q70 bus route that services LaGuardia Airport. Here is more via the official press release:
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Bus Company is adding service to meet rising customer demand for the Q70 Limited bus that links LaGuardia Airport with regional transit hubs in Woodside and Jackson Heights. Starting in Spring 2016, the Q70 Limited will operate every 10 minutes around the clock, carrying travelers and airport workers between LaGuardia, the Long Island Rail Road and the EFMR and 7 subway trains.
“We always want to better serve our customers by strengthening service whenever we have sustainable resources to do so,” said Darryl Irick, Senior Vice President, MTA NYCT Department of Buses and President of MTA Bus Company. “This added service on a growing route will further enhance the fast and reliable bus connection between LaGuardia Airport and all parts of the City via the transit hubs in Queens.”
The Q70 Limited was designed to link the airport with regional transit lines 40% faster than earlier local bus routes. Travel times between Midtown Manhattan and LaGuardia Airport connecting at Woodside or Jackson Heights can be as fast as 35 minutes. This convenient option to and from the airport has seen ridership more than double, from 2,173 average weekday customers in September 2013 to 4,372 average weekday customers today.
MTA Bus Company is also actively working to bring Select Bus Service (SBS) to the Q70, which will allow faster boarding and more convenient service. SBS routes use off-board fare collection technology, which allows customers to enter and exit through any bus door once they have pre-paid their fare, eliminating the need for customers to pay at a single farebox. The MTA anticipates converting the route to SBS during 2016. SBS is already operating on the M60 bus connecting LaGuardia with 125th St. in Harlem, reducing travel times and improving service.
Initially, the Q70 Limited ran on a 12-minute frequency during most of the day, with 15-minute and 20-minute headways during early morning and late evening periods; and 30 minute headways during overnight periods. It currently runs every 12 minutes at all hours, but because of increasing ridership, buses will run every 8 minutes during midday and weekday p.m. peak hours. On weekends, buses will run every 10 minutes middays and p.m. hours.
The Q70 Limited serves the Woodside-61st Street LIRR and 7 subway station and the EFMR and 7 subway station at the Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Av hub, then travels non-stop to and from LaGuardia Airport via the limited-access Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and Grand Central Parkway. At the airport, the Q70 Limited serves all central airport terminals with the exception of the lightly-used Marine Air Terminal (Terminal A); customers can access this terminal to and from Jackson Heights via the Q47.
Direct connections with the LIRR at Woodside have provided access to the airport from the eight LIRR branches that previously have no access, making travel to the airport more convenient for LIRR customers as well as subway customers.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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