Q17 (New York City bus)

The Q17 bus route constitutes a public transit line in Queens, New York City, running primarily along Kissena Boulevard, the Long Island Expressway service road (Horace Harding Expressway) and 188th Street between two major bus-subway hubs in the neighborhoods of Jamaica and Flushing. It is one of the busiest local bus routes in Queens.[4] Operated by the North Shore Bus Company until 1947, the route is now operated by MTA Regional Bus Operations under the New York City Transit brand.

For additional information on the current bus services, see List of bus routes in Queens.

q17
Flushing−Fresh Meadows−Jamaica
A Jamaica-bound Q17 bus at Main Street near Roosevelt Avenue.
Overview
System	MTA Regional Bus Operations
Operator	New York City Transit Authority
Garage	Jamaica Depot
Began service	1928
Route
Locale	Queens
Communities served	Flushing, Fresh Meadows, Utopia, Jamaica Estates, Jamaica
Start	Flushing – 39th Avenue and 138th Street / Main Street station
Via	Kissena Boulevard, Horace Harding Expressway, 188th Street, Hillside Avenue
End	Jamaica – Archer Avenue and Merrick Boulevard
Length	5.5 miles (8.9 km)[1]
Service
Operates	24 hours[note 1][2]
Annual patronage	5,138,621 (2017)[3]
Transfers	Yes
Timetable	Q17
Route map Flushing – Main Street Station  Q17  ​ Main Street / 41st Avenue Sanford Avenue Maple Avenue Ash Avenue Beech–Cherry Avenues Local stops Elder Avenue 45th Avenue Holly Avenue Local stops Negundo Avenue Oak–Poplar Avenues Rose Avenue Booth Memorial Avenue Kissena Boulevard / H. Harding Expressway Local stops 156th Street Parsons Boulevard 160th Street 162nd Street 164th Street Local stops 166th Street 168th Street 170th Street 172nd Street Fresh Meadow Lane 64th Avenue 175th Place Utopia Parkway Local stops 183rd Street 185th–186th Streets 188th Street H. Harding Expressway / 188th Street  Q17  64th Avenue 69th Avenue Local stops 186th Lane 73rd Avenue 75th Avenue Union Turnpike Local stops 80th Drive Perth Road Midland Parkway Avon Road Grand Central Parkway Local stops Soho Drive Henley Road Wexford Terrace 187th Street Local stops 184th Street 182nd Street 178th–179th Streets ​ Local stops 175th Street 173rd Street 171st–172nd Streets 169th Street ​ 89th Avenue 90th Avenue drop-off only Jamaica Avenue Jamaica – Archer Avenue  Q17  Legend Local & Limited stops Local stops  Q17  Terminal  Q17  Part-time terminal  LTD  Limited-stop service ​ Subway connection ← Q16  {{{system_nav}}}  Q18 →

Route description and service

The Q17 begins at Archer Avenue and Merrick Boulevard at Jamaica Center in downtown Jamaica, just south of the 165th Street Bus Terminal. This terminus is shared with the Q20A/B and Q44 buses. The Q17 proceeds north along 168th Street to Hillside Avenue, then east along Hillside to 188th Street. The route continues north on 188th Street through Jamaica Estates and Utopia to the Long Island Expressway (LIE) at the Fresh Meadows shopping center. The segment on 188th Street between 73rd Avenue and the LIE is shared with the Q88.[5] Both routes turns west onto the LIE's service road, Horace Harding Expressway, until Kissena Boulevard, where the Q17 turns north. The Q88 continues along Horace Harding to Queens Center Mall. The Q17 proceeds north along Kissena, sharing the road with the Q25 and Q34 buses to Main Street in Downtown Flushing (also known as Flushing Chinatown).[5] The Q17 alights its final passengers on 39th Avenue, at the Main Street subway station.[2][5] Terminating Q17 and Q27 buses proceed east along 39th Avenue, lay over on 138th Street, then return along 37th Avenue to pick up southbound passengers at Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue.[4]

During weekday midday hours and weekday rush hours in the peak direction (AM to Flushing; PM to Jamaica), alternate southbound local service terminates at 188th Street and Horace Harding Expressway in Fresh Meadows. During weekday rush hours, bi-directional limited-stop service is operated along the full route between Jamaica and Flushing.[2]

The original Q17 route ran along Homelawn Street, Utopia Parkway, and Fresh Meadow Lane between Hillside Avenue and Horace Harding, passing by St. John's University.[6][7][8] This route is now covered by the Q30 (formerly the Q17A) and the Q31.[5][9][10]

History

A Jamaica-bound Q17 Limited (front) and local (middle) departing Downtown Flushing.

The Q17 was originally operated by the Flushing Heights Bus Company, which began operating circa 1928.[11] In 1931, the New York City Board of Estimate was deciding which bus route franchises would be given to which private operators. Along with thirty other bus routes, the Q17 was tentatively assigned to the North Shore Bus Company, as part of Zone B (Flushing and Northern Queens).[12]

The North Shore Bus Company acquired the franchises to the Flushing Heights Bus routes on September 22, 1935, but the two companies did not merge.[13][14] As part of the transaction, North Shore expected to get the franchises for both the Q17 and Q25 from the city. North Shore was only allowed to keep the Q17 route, and as compensation, the city assured them of a new route between Flushing and Jamaica via Main Street. This route would go into service when a bridge was built to carry Main Street over the Grand Central Parkway in 1938; this route is today's Q44.[15]

On July 1, 1939, the Q17 became interlined with the Q20, meaning that north of Flushing the bus would continue via the Q20 route to College Point.[6][16] The service was designated "Q17-20" or "Q20-17" and rollsigns would display Q17/20.[6][17][18][19] On December 16, 1940, the Q17-20 route's southern terminal was moved from the 165th Street Bus Terminal to the intersection of 168th Street and Jamaica Avenue, three blocks east.[17] The route been running to the 165th Street Terminal since North Shore took the terminal over in mid-1939.[20] Beginning on June 8, 1942 due to restrictions on gasoline and tire usage during World War II, the service was truncated to 14th Avenue and 122nd Street in College Point.[6][21] Service north of 14th Avenue was restored on February 4, 1946.[18] The Q20 was separated from the Q17 during off-peak "base period" hours on January 27, 1947.[22] In March of that year, North Shore Bus would be taken over by the New York City Board of Transportation (later the New York City Transit Authority), making the bus routes city operated.[23][24][25] The joint Q17-20 service later became popular among students of St. John's University, and residents from Jamaica Estates and Flushing Heights (now Kew Gardens Hills) shopping in Downtown Flushing.[8][10][26]

On February 3, 1957, the Transit Authority separated the Q17 and Q20 services at all times.[8][26][27][28] By 1960, the Q17 was rerouted onto 188th Street between Jamaica and Fresh Meadows.[10]

On December 11, 1988, when the Archer Avenue Line opened,[29][30][31] the Q17's southern terminal was moved one block east and south to Archer Avenue and Merrick Boulevard. Limited-stop service during peak hours began on September 8, 2003.[32] Limited-stop service was estimated to save riders traveling longer distances five minutes, and was provided by alternate Q17 trips. The locations of limited stops were made because they were in most case high volume transfer points, have high ridership and are spaced out to allow limited-stop service to run more quickly than local service. This change was announced in May 2003, and was presented to the NYC Transit Committee of the MTA Board on June 17, 2003.[33] In August 2014, the northern layover area of the Q17 and Q27 was shifted from Prince Street west of Main Street near St. George's Church, to 39th Avenue and 138th Street east of Main Street.[4]

Notes

1. Q17 Limited only operates bi-directionally during weekday rush hours

References

1. "54 Bus Routes Win Approval By City". nytimes.com. The New York Times. January 28, 1931. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
2. MTA Regional Bus Operations. "Q17 bus schedule" (PDF).
3. "Facts and Figures". mta.info. August 28, 2011. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
4. "Transit & Bus Committee Meeting July 2014" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. July 28, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
5. "Queens Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
6. "For the Convenience of A, B and C Car Owners" (PDF). Long Island Star-Journal. Fultonhistory.com. December 22, 1942. p. 7. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
7. North Shore Bus Company (July 29, 1942). "For the Convenience of Queens Bus Riders" (PDF). Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. p. 4. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
8. Mooney Jr., Joseph W. (February 1, 1957). "New Bus Schedules Will Force Some Riders to Transfer Twice" (PDF). Long Island Star-Journal. Fultonhistory.com. p. 6. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
9. "1975 Queens Bus Map". wardmaps.com. New York City Transit Authority. 1975. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
10. "TA Gets Plea To Reinstate Bus Route" (PDF). Long Island Star-Journal. Fultonhistory.com. December 19, 1960. p. 5. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
11. Annual report. New York State Transit Commission. 1933. p. 515. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
12. "Pick Tentative Bus Operators; Queens Objects". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. June 19, 1931. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
13. "North Shore Company Takes Over Rival's Routes". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. September 24, 1935. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
14. Sixteenth Annual Report For the Calendar Year 1936. Department of Public Service Metropolitan Division Transit Commission. 1937. p. 535.
15. "Harvey Sees New Bus Route As Spur to Queens Shopping: Ceremonies Mark Opening of Jamaica-Flushing Transit Line" (PDF). Long Island Daily Press. Section Two. Fultonhistory.com. March 23, 1938. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
16. "College Point Buses Ready" (PDF). Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. June 30, 1939. p. 26. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
17. "Estates Buses Abandon Jamaica Terminal Stop" (PDF). Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. December 16, 1940. p. 1. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
18. North Shore Bus Company (February 1, 1946). "To Our Riders" (PDF). Long Island Star-Journal. Fultonhistory.com. p. 20. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
19. Q17/20 Rollsign
20. "North Shore Buses Start From Terminal Today" (PDF). Long Island Star-Journal. Fultonhistory.com. June 25, 1939. p. 3. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
21. "Bus Schedules Revised to Save Gas and Tires: Transit Commission Order Goes Into Effect June 8 on Queens Routes" (PDF). Long Island Star-Journal. Fultonhistory.com. May 27, 1942. p. 1. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
22. North Shore Bus Company (January 24, 1947). "Notice of Change in Bus Schedules" (PDF). Long Island Star-Journal. Fultonhistory.com. p. 11. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
23. "City Takes Over Bus Line: O'Connor Selected to Operate North Shore System" (PDF). The New York Times. March 30, 1947. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
24. Sparberg, Andrew J. (October 1, 2014). From a Nickel to a Token: The Journey from Board of Transportation to MTA. Fordham University Press. ISBN 978-0-8232-6190-1.
25. "120-Passenger Vehicles Added For Next Week: 10 City Lines Will HAve All New Equipment by Wednesday" (PDF). Fultonhistory.com. Long Island Star-Journal. December 31, 1948. p. 2. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
26. Mooney Jr., Joseph W. (February 1, 1957). "New Bus Schedules Will Force Some Riders to Transfer Twice" (PDF). Long Island Star-Journal. Fultonhistory.com. p. 1. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
27. "College Point Backs Move to Curb TA" (PDF). Long Island Star-Journal. Fultonhistory.com. January 14, 1957. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
28. Mooney, Jr., Joseph W. (February 2, 1957). "Bus Cuts Begin at Midnight And Bayside Hills Won'y Like 'Em" (PDF). Long Island Star-Journal. Fultonhistory.com. p. 1. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
29. "All Aboard...Somewhere...for Subway Changes!". The New York Times. December 12, 1988. p. B1. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
30. Johnson, Kirk (November 12, 1988). "M.T.A. Refuses To Change Plan On Bus Routes". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
31. "Queens Merchants Win More Bus Service". The New York Times. March 17, 1989. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
32. Woodberry, Warren, Jr. (September 8, 2003). "TA Shifts Gears On Six Bus Routes". New York Daily News. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
33. Tendler, Lois H. (May 30, 2003). "Proposed Q17 Service Change". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Missing or empty |url= (help)

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