By Philip Newman
Riders of two Queens buses have complained about overcrowding, a problem a transit activist agency blames on a growing number of passengers boarding the same number of buses or slightly fewer.
A poll by the Straphangers Campaign said 74 percent of patrons of the Q27 bus from Queens Village to Flushing and 56 percent of riders of the Q58 bus from Flushing to Ridgewood complained of jam-packed buses.
Riders of both buses rated cleanliness, safety, reliability, announcements and crowding on a scale of one to five.
The poll showed that even though those voting thought Q58 buses were too crowded, 94 percent praised the safety on the buses.
The Straphangers said one big reason for the crowding might be that the Q58 had an 11.3 percent increase in passengers with a less than 1 percent increase in service between 1999 and 2000.
“There are a lot more riders on the Q58 and more service needs to follow,” said Farouk Abdallah, Straphangers Campaign field organizer.
The Q58 carries an average weekday passenger total of 22,991 and runs from Main Street and Myrtle Avenue along Fresh Pond Road, Grand and Corona avenues.
The Straphangers also said bunching of buses was still a problem.
“At times I wait a long time for a bus,” one passenger told Straphangers volunteers. “Then two or three buses show up at the same time.”
Other passengers wanted more overnight buses on the route.
The Straphangers said even more passengers — 74 percent — complained of crowding on the Q27 bus.
Abdallah said ridership on the Q27 had risen more than 10 percent in the past three years along with a 3.4 decrease in service.
More than half those polled also complained that announcements aboard the Q27 were inadequate.
The Q27, which runs between Jamaica Avenue and Main Street along 46th Avenue, Rock Hill Road and Springfield Boulevard, carries an average of nearly 19,000 passengers on a weekday.
Neysa Pranger of the Straphangers said the agency discussed the problems with the New York City Transit Authority.
Reach contributing writer Philip Newman by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 136.
