New MTA figures show modest boroughwide speed gains and larger improvements on some routes, highlighting the impact of the Queens bus redesign. The results describe a system redesigned in 2025, not new service starting this week.
Queens bus riders are traveling faster on average after last year’s network overhaul, according to results the Metropolitan Transportation Authority presented Monday, Oct. 26. The agency says the redesign, known as the Queens bus redesign, also brought frequent and overnight service within reach of more residents.
The weekday speed gain across local buses was 1.7%, comparing spring 2025 with spring 2026. That is a measured improvement, but it is not a claim that every route or every passenger’s trip became faster. AmNewYork’s coverage of the MTA committee presentation confirms the comparison periods and the agency’s findings.
For people visiting Queens from the Mohawk Valley, the practical point is to check the current route and stop rather than rely on a bus trip remembered from before the overhaul.
Where the MTA reports the biggest gains
The MTA reported a 1.9% improvement in off-peak speeds and a 4.6% improvement on Rush routes. These routes serve local stops in neighborhoods farther from the subway, then make fewer stops as they approach major transit connections.
According to the Queens Daily Eagle’s Oct. 27 reporting, the Q28 between Flushing and Bay Terrace posted a 13.8% speed increase. The Q23, between East Elmhurst and Forest Hills, cut about 12 minutes from end-to-end travel after changes that avoided congested streets. The Q111, Q40, Q33 and Q26 also recorded gains above 8.5%.
The agency said 24 of the 25 routes with the largest speed increases citywide were in Queens. Route-level results help explain why a relatively small boroughwide average can exist alongside much larger changes for particular riders.
More frequent service and better connections
The MTA’s Oct. 26 announcement, also carried in the Depot transit-news archive, says 124,000 additional Queens residents now have access to a bus running every 10 minutes or better from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Another access measure shows 68,000 additional residents within reach of 24-hour bus service. Those populations may overlap and should not be added together.
The release highlights savings of up to 18 minutes on the Q51 between South Ozone Park and Cambria Heights. It also credits a B62 extension with savings of up to 11 minutes between Greenpoint Avenue’s G station and the 21st Street-Queensbridge subway station. On Hillside Avenue, new and upgraded bus lanes installed alongside the redesign produced speed improvements of up to 28%, the MTA said.
Reliability is a separate measure
The MTA said 71.2% of Queens bus trips in May reached their destinations within five minutes of the scheduled time. It described that as the best May result since it began publishing the measure, excluding the pandemic years of 2020 through 2022.
That measure concerns the completed journey, while the speed figures describe how quickly buses traveled. Neither percentage tells a rider exactly how long today’s wait will be. They should be read alongside the particular route, the time of day and any current service alert.
AmNewYork reported that the new Q74 Limited connects the Forest Hills-71st Avenue subway station with Queens College and Queensborough Community College. The MTA cited roughly six minutes in savings. Officials also highlighted more than six minutes saved on the Q36 Rush between the Little Neck Long Island Rail Road station and Jamaica.
A new map that took years to build
The changes were introduced in two main phases on June 29 and Aug. 31, 2025. The MTA’s 2025 project phasing guide, preserved on a Queens community board website, lists the route-by-route transition dates. Routes without Sunday service changed on their next applicable service days. That document is useful for understanding the rollout, not for checking today’s departure times.
The resulting network has 124 routes, including 94 local-network routes and 30 express routes, a net increase of 11. The MTA described a six-year planning effort involving about 300 public events and nearly 20,000 comments. The agency’s planning documents set out the goal of connecting outer-neighborhood riders to transit hubs more directly.
Changing a familiar bus map can also create burdens. The Queens Daily Eagle documented early confusion, complaints about removed stops and trips that required different transfers. Its Oct. 27 report says the MTA plans a fuller post-implementation report in the coming months. The current figures are the agency’s assessment, not an independent finding that all those concerns have been resolved.
What riders should check before traveling
The MTA’s bus-riding guide distinguishes Local, Limited, Rush, Select Bus Service and Express buses. Limited buses make fewer stops than local routes. Rush service combines a local section with a faster section closer to a hub. Riders should confirm that the particular bus serves their intended stop before boarding.
The guide lists the standard fare for local, Limited, Rush and Select Bus Service at $3 for most riders. Express buses cost $7.25 for most riders. Riders can tap a contactless bank card, mobile device or OMNY Card. Using the same card or device allows eligible transfers to be applied automatically. Local-bus and subway transfers are generally valid within two hours of payment.
All MTA buses are accessible to wheelchair users, according to the agency. For trip-planning help by phone, call 511. People using a relay service can use their preferred provider or the free 711 relay.
The official MTA app provides bus and subway arrival information, maps, service alerts and customer-support chat. It also offers transfer guidance and accessibility information. TrainTime is the separate MTA app for Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North travel.
For late-night riders, the guide also describes a request-a-stop option from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Operators choose a safe location. The option applies to local routes and the local sections of Rush routes, but not to Limited or Select Bus Service buses or the faster sections of Rush routes. It is not a substitute for checking the route.
The new performance report offers evidence of progress. For a particular trip, the current map and service information remain the more useful tools.
