By Juan Soto
All aboard!
The new Q114 bus is rolling, and straphangers in southeast Queens are glad to see additional public transportation reaching their communities.
“I will save a tremendous amount of time with this new bus line,” said Joyce Denny, a Rochdale Village resident, who was present at the official launching of the Q114 in downtown Jamaica Sept. 5. “I have been fighting for this for a long time.”
The new line, which began operating Sept. 1, travels along the route of the Q113 between Jamaica and Guy R. Brewer Boulevard and 147th Avenue, but it will make 27 fewer stops.
“Cutting 27 stops will make the commute for our residents much faster,” City Councilman Donovan Richards (D-Laurelton) said. “I wish I had the Q114 when I went to college and I had to take the Q113. It took me hours to get home.”
The new service from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority now connects riders from Rosedale and Far Rockaway to subway stations in Jamaica faster.
The Q114 serves the same limited stops as the Q113 between Jamaica and Guy R. Brewer Boulevard and 147th Avenue, but it only makes two limited stops on 147th Avenue, at Guy R. Brewer Boulevard and 222nd Street, adjacent to Springfield Lane.
“This is a great day because the lives of residents in Rosedale and Far Rockaway are a little easier now,” Richards said. “They now have a shorter commute.”
There is also the Q111, which provides service on Guy R. Brewer Boulevard between Springfield Gardens and Jamaica, South Jamaica and Rochdale Village. At 147th Avenue, the Q111 heads to Rosedale, while the Q113 goes to Far Rockaway.
Darryl Irick, president of MTA bus operations, said the Q111 and Q113 transport an average of 25,000 passengers on weekdays.
Irick and state Sen. James Sanders (D-South Ozone Park) were also at the launching of the Q114 in Jamaica.
“The Q114 line is a step in the right direction,” the councilman said. “Today is just the beginning.”
Richards pointed out he hopes to hear soon from the MTA about plans to have more buses on the Q5 line, which runs between Jamaica and Rosedale, and expand service on the Q52 in Far Rockaway.
The Q52, which goes to Elmhurst, ends at Beach 67th Street in Arverne.
“The Q5 needs more buses,” the lawmaker said. “It has to have more frequent service for the riders.”
Richards added that he and the community are working “closer with the MTA” to offer more services in southeast Queens, a part of the city “with the longest commuter times in the city, even if the riders move only within Queens.”
The lawmaker said, “I think we are going to hear good news soon.”
Reach reporter Juan Soto by e-mail at jsoto@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.
