MTA customers now have new options for travel in Brooklyn and Queens, including a faster way to get to LaGuardia Airport. This new and extended service was first announced last summer as part of a $29 million investment by the MTA.

“We always want to better serve our customers by strengthening service whenever we have sustainable resources to do so,” said MTA Chairman and CEO Thomas F. Prendergast. “These new and extended routes will go a long way towards providing better service to our customers in Brooklyn and Queens and provide a new, fast and reliable bus connection between LaGuardia Airport and regional transit hubs.”

Q70/Q33

Starting this Sunday, September 8, a new Q70 Limited route will operate as a full-time limited-stop service providing a fast and reliable bus connection between LaGuardia Airport and regional transit hubs. The new Q70 Limited will serve the Woodside-61st Street Long Island Rail Road and subway station (both local and weekday peak direction express service) and the station at the Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Av hub, then travel non-stop to and from LaGuardia Airport via the limited-access Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and Grand Central Parkway.

At the airport, the Q70 Limited will serve all central airport terminals currently served by the Q33 (Terminals B, C and D). The Q70 will not serve the remote and lightly-used Marine Air Terminal (Terminal A); passengers may continue to access this terminal to/from Jackson Heights via the Q47. The Q70 Limited is designed to provide an attractive service for airport passengers and workers by reducing travel time by more than 40% from Jackson Heights (compared with the current Q33), as well as improved reliability and new regional connections via the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and train at Woodside.

Travel times between Midtown Manhattan and LaGuardia Airport connecting at Woodside or Jackson Heights are estimated to be as fast as 35 minutes. Direct connections with the LIRR at Woodside will facilitate regional transit access to LaGuardia Airport from the eight LIRR branches that currently have no access, making travel to the airport more convenient for Long Island Rail Road customers.

The Q70 Limited will operate 24 hours, seven days a week, the same hours of service as the current Q33. Initially, the Q70 Limited will run on a 12-minute frequency during most of the day, with 15-minute and 20-minute headways during early morning and late evening periods; and 30 minute headways during overnight periods.

As a result of the changes to the Q70, the Q33 will terminate outside LaGuardia Airport on 95th Street at Ditmars Boulevard. This shortens the Q33 and will avoid redundant service between LaGuardia Airport and Jackson Heights. It will also allow the Q33 to better serve its primary ridership in the local communities to and from the intermodal hub at Roosevelt Avenue-74th Street, separate local community ridership from airport ridership and the associated luggage, and improve reliability on the Q33 by providing scheduled recovery time at both ends of the route.

The amended Q33 will retain its current hours of service operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There will be minor modifications in the Q33 frequency during the AM peak and weekend periods based on changes in ridership levels due to the re-distribution of most of the current LaGuardia Airport customers to the new Q70 Limited.

The MTA has been working closely with the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) to analyze transit access alternatives to LaGuardia Airport.

B67

Effective Monday, September 9, the B67 will extend to the Brooklyn Navy Yard from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays. The northern terminal for the B67 trips that do not serve the Navy Yard will be located on Sands Street, on the far side of Jay Street. This extension of the B67 will serve the Brooklyn Tech Triangle which is a growing cluster of interconnected economic activity in Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO, and the Brooklyn Navy Yard. In addition this extension will serve Vinegar Hill and the York St station. These areas expect to add significantly more jobs and residents in the next few years, and this new investment will improve previously limited transportation options.

The route will operate along its current route from Kensington to Downtown Brooklyn, travel along Jay Street, Front Street, Bridge Street, York Street, Gold Street, Sands Street, through the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and exit onto Kent Avenue to continue to its northern terminal on Division Street at Wythe Avenue, where it will connect with the B62. Southbound, the route will travel along Wythe Avenue, Clymer Street, through the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Sands Street, Gold Street, York Street, Pearl Street, Sands Street, and Jay Street to resume the existing route to Kensington.

B32

Effective Sunday, September 8, the MTA will also implement a new B32 bus route between the Williamsburg Bridge Plaza and the Court Square-23 St station in Long Island City. The new bus route will serve waterfront areas in Williamsburg and Greenpoint and Long Island City. Over the past years, these areas have experienced significant growth.

The B32's southern terminal at Williamsburg Bridge Plaza will provide connections to the Marcy Avenue station and the B24, B39, B44, B46, B60, B62, Q54, and Q59 bus routes. Northbound, the B32 will travel along Broadway, Kent Avenue, Franklin Street, Green Street, McGuinness Boulevard, across the Pulaski Bridge, 11th Street, and terminating at 21st Street and 44th Drive adjacent to the Court Square- 23 St station. Southbound, the B32 would travel along 21st Street, Jackson Avenue, 48th Avenue, 11th Street, across the Pulaski Bridge, McGuinness Boulevard, Freeman Street, Franklin Street, North 14th Street, Wythe Avenue, and Broadway.

This route will operate seven days a week on 30 minute headway from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. It will be monitored closely and adjustments will be made if necessary.

For additional information on all 2012-2013 service investments, click here.

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