Feeling some MTA bus blues while scanning the new route changes taking effect this summer. I looked at an earlier draft of this maybe a year ago and do not remember such a blunt change to the Q102. It will no longer go to Two Coves in Astoria, and this leaves 31st Street from 36th Avenue to 30th Avenue not only without any bus at all but also with no accessible subway stations. Broadway N/W is a “Future Accessible” station but how far into the future is that? The Q102 basically got me right to my front door. The Q66 is a close match in that respect, as is the Q104. All told I do not use the Q102 more than a few times a month, and on top of that I rarely even take advantage of the fact that it leaves me right at my block, because I usually stop at 36th Avenue to get provisions. But it has been a nice fallback many times.
Other changes don’t really affect me much. The Q66 to Flushing will lose some stops, so it remains to be seen how that will impact my occasional hopping onto a Q66 along Northern Boulevard. The Q67, one of my favorites, will no longer leave from Queens Plaza, which is a bore. The Q39, another favorite, looks mostly unmolested. Awesome that the Q52 will remain as is. That was the bus I took a few days ago when I impromptu decided to go to St. John Cemetery. The Q53SBS, one of the rangiest rides I know of in the system, remains the same. The Q18, my frequent escape hatch from Maspeth back to Astoria, remains as is, mostly. The Q101 changes are surprising. No more Steinway Street to Midtown, although I always thought the Q101, Q60, and Q32 all serving that same area on 2nd Avenue was a bit redundant. A couple of Brooklyn lines are mentioned in the plan but the B32 is not. It runs a good deal of its route through Queens, most notably to me for its stops at the front gate of Old Calvary Cemetery. Since it’s not mentioned I guess it’s unchanged. The stop in front of Calvary has a very old sign that includes reference to an old bus route that was discontinued decades ago. The Q60, another mainstay for me, looks mostly unchanged. I could go on and on with this. I’m OK with change but that absence of accessible transit along 31st Street is a downer.