It is no surprise that the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) admitted once again that no private operator bid to operate the old Q79 Little Neck Parkway bus route leaving riders permanently stranded.
The TLC failed to take any steps making this service more attractive for customers and financially viable so that a van operator would consider applying for a permit. A van operator must survive on sufficient riders providing fare box revenues as there is no city subsidy.
Extending this service three blocks beyond Jericho Turnpike to the Floral Park Long Island Rail Road Station could provide connections to Jamaica and Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn not available on the Port Washington branch.
In the past, residents of Floral Park practiced the NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) philosophy refusing to grant permission extending the Q79 to their LIRR Station. Floral Park residents didn’t want large 40 foot NYC Transit buses on their streets. Perhaps they will accept smaller commuter vans.
Larry Penner
Great Neck
