More Customers Wait For Q103
Following pronouncements that previously cut transportation services in western Queens would not be restored, State Sen. Michael Gianaris is calling on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to expand Q103 bus line hours of operation.
He sent a letter to MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota requesting a review of the Q103 line for possible expansion to night and weekend service.
The Q103 bus is currently operational on weekdays only, with service terminating shortly before 7 p.m.. It travels between Astoria and Hunters Point in Long Island City, along which a burgeoning arts corridor in western Queens has been established,
Gianaris said.
According to the senator, the bus is already well-utilized and demand for increased service hours will only grow as this arts corridor further develops and the community prepares for construction of the Cornell-Technion Applied Sciences Campus on Roosevelt Island.
The only bridge connecting to Roosevelt Island empties directly onto the Q103 route between Astoria and Long Island City.
“Western Queens has experienced a population and development boom, and it is important that mass transit keeps pace with that growth,” Gianaris said. “The emergence of our LIC arts community and the opening of the Cornell-Technion Campus on Roosevelt Island make an expanded Q103 service a necessity.”
In July, Gianaris also called on the MTA to include the W subway and the QM22 bus on its list of service restorations. The senator believes Queens is in need of more transportation options, particularly as previously cut services are not restored.
