By Rebecca Henely
The MTA eliminated a bus route from Jackson Heights to Glendale Sunday, but straphangers may see their service improve.
In a decision designed to eliminate layovers for those traveling on the route from LaGuardia Airport to Atlas Park, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has combined the Q45 and Q47 bus routes, creating a single Q47 line that will go from the airport to Middle Village and Glendale without requiring riders to wait at Jackson Heights’ 74th Street bus terminal.
“We’re trying to make things more efficient,” said MTA spokeswoman Deirdre Parker.
The MTA’s decision was necessitated by the city Department of Transportation’s Jackson Heights Neighborhood Transportation Study, which aimed to improve mobility by analyzing traffic congestion, pedestrian safety, vehicular safety, parking and transit movement.
“They had certain recommendations about what they were going to be doing,” Parker said.
As a result of the study, the DOT made some changes to traffic direction that required changes in the bus routes. In addition to combining the routes, this included changing the Q47 and the Q49’s route to go down 37th Street from 37th Road to 75th Street. The route formerly went? down 75th Street from 73rd Road and 75th Street.
Parker said on an average weekday 3,900 passengers use the Q45 bus, 4,100 passengers use the Q47 bus and 8,500 passengers use the Q49 bus. With the new route, the combined Q47 route should have a passenger count similar to the Q49’s.
Gary Giordano, district manager of Community Board 5, said he could understand how it would be more productive to combine both of the lines. He said his biggest concern was that the buses would continue to come and pick up passengers every 10 minutes and that the schedules were not changed. He said the MTA has assured him the buses will remain on schedule.
“If I hear different, I’m very willing to squawk about it,” Giordano said.
He said he did not know if many residents of Glendale and Middle Village use the bus routes to get to the airport, but he knew one friend who was happy with the change.
“Now they can go from Middle Village to IHOP in Jackson Heights and not have to switch,” Giordano said.
For more information on the route, visit mta.info/nyct/service/bus/qnsche.htm.
Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.
