NYC Bus Routes Graded: Only This Queens Bus Got An 'A'

ELMHURST, QUEENS — Only one New York City bus route is up to par, according to a new report from a bloc of transit advocacy groups, and it's in Queens.

The Q52 Select Bus Service was the only route in the city to get an A in the Bus Turnaround Coalition's annual report cards for 248 city bus routes. The Q52 travels along Woodhaven Boulevard and Cross Bay Boulevard from Elmhurst to Far Rockaway.

Nearly three-quarters of the routes citwide got D's or F's, according to the new report, and more than half of Queens bus routes flunked. The transit advocacy groups assigned each bus route a letter grade based on speed and reliability in 2018 using real-time MTA data.

The addition of bus lanes, all-door boarding and consolidation of bus stops helped the Q52 make the grade, according to the report released Wednesday; those changes led to a 66 percent decrease in "bus bunching" compared to 2017. Bus bunching refers to the problem of buses clumping together and arriving at a stop around the same time.

“When bus service doesn't make the grade, bus riders are the ones who get held back,” said Jaqi Cohen, campaign coordinator for the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign. “These grades show just how pervasive poor bus service is citywide, and exemplify why it is so important for the MTA and New York City DOT to work together towards an aggressive revitalization of New York City's bus system.”

The MTA launched the Q52 Select Bus Service and its companion route, the Q53, in November 2017. Last year, the Department of Transportation introduced bus lane cameras to catch cars that loiter there.