By Adam Kramer
Starting in September, the Q27 bus will deliver passengers from Queens Village to Flushing and vice versa at a faster clip. The Metropolitan Transit Authority recently announced it will start a limited stop service between the two Queens communities.
The limited stop service on the Q27 bus that is scheduled to start at the end of the summer will speed up the ride for passengers who travel the route to Flushing in order to catch the No. 7 line, other buses or the Long Island Rail Road.
“This type of peak direction bus service has been very successful, said Deidre Parker, a spokeswoman for New York City Transit. “The bus line feeds into the subways and will save customers travel time. The final destination is the subway and other bus routes.”
She said the Q27, which has the fifth-highest local ridership during the week in the borough, will run only during rush hour and save the riders 5 minutes on their commute. The bus will run from Queens Village in the morning and from Flushing in the evening.
The faster route was implemented “to help commuters who are traveling to Main Street in Flushing to get to work,” Parker said.
The bus passes through Queens Village, Oakland Gardens, Hollis Hills, Bayside, Auburndale and Flushing.
The Transit Authority, she said, will not add any more buses to the route. The plan is for every other bus during peak hours to be a limited stop bus. She said the new bus scheme should ease some overcrowding and provide more customer satisfaction.
The limited service bus is scheduled to operate from 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. to Flushing and from 5 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. to Queens Village.
The trip from Queens Village to Flushing will make 11 stops along the 7.5-mile route, while the trip from Flushing to Queens Village will pick up and drop off passengers at only 10 stops.
The Q27 starts out at the Queens Village LIRR station at Springfield Boulevard and Jamaica Avenue, travels up Springfield Boulevard, turns left on to 56th Avenue and then moves via Luke Place to Rocky Hill Road to Holly Avenue, then along Kissena Boulevard and ends at Roosevelt Avenue.
At the terminus the Q27 connects with the No. 7 train and the Q14, Q17, Q20, Q44, Q25, Q34, Q65, Q66 and the QBx1.
Reach reporter Adam Kramer by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 157.
