ASTORIA — A bus that runs along an "arts corridor" of the western Queens waterfront will now have permanent weekend service.
The MTA started trial weekend service on the Q103 route beginning last June, but announced last week that the addition would now be permanent.
"There is so much happening throughout western Queens that our need for better methods of traveling between our neighborhoods has never been more pressing," said State Sen. Michael Gianaris, who has been pushing for expanded service on the line, in a statement.
The areas along the Q103 route, which runs along Vernon Boulevard between Astoria and Hunters Point, "have recently experienced tremendous population growth amid new residential developments," the MTA said in a statement.
The bus also runs past two major subway stations — the F train at 21 Street-Queensbridge and the 7 train at Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue — and is an important connector to several art and cultural institutions, including The Noguchi Museum, Socrates Sculpture Park and The Chocolate Factory Theater.
About 1,100 riders take the Q103 on weekdays, and about 300 riders on Saturdays and 250 on Sundays. The bus runs on weekends from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., according to the MTA.
Adding weekend service permanently will cost about $315,000 a year, the MTA said.
"We’re now on our way to making the accessibility of Western Queens on par with the growing vibrancy of its arts and cultural offerings," Socrates Sculpture Park director John Hatfield said in a statement, adding that the park sees 100,000 visitors a year.
