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Read the press release here.

Select Bus Plan Would Speed Commutes in Jamaica and Flushing, City Says

 Downtown Flushing and Jamaica would get Select Bus lanes under new plans.
Downtown Flushing and Jamaica would get Select Bus lanes under new plans.
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DOT

QUEENS — Commutes for 42,000 bus riders would speed up with the rolling out of Select Bus Service along the Q44 route, which links Jamaica, Flushing and the Bronx.

The service would include improved bus stations, seats and real-time information on arrivals, as well as fare collection before boarding, according to the Department of Transportation.

It would also add bus lanes in downtown Jamaica and Flushing. The lanes, however, would not be implemented in the neighborhoods along the rest of the Select Bus Service route after locals opposed them, officials said.

The bus lanes are proposed for portions of the 14-mile Q44 bus route which serves about 42,000 riders on a daily basis. The new lanes will be installed on Main Street between Northern Boulevard and Reeves Avenue in Flushing and on Sutphin Boulevard, Archer Avenue and Hillside Avenue in downtown Jamaica, according to the DOT.

The bus lane design and hours are still being developed, the agency said. 

In some of those areas, parking in the bus lanes would be allowed during off-peak hours, the agency said.

Straphangers have complained for years about slow bus services along Main Street and Sutphin Boulevard, which they say are often severely congested, according to the DOT.

The new route would improve travel between Flushing and Jamaica, two “growing commercial districts where public transportation is essential,” the DOT said in a statement.

In downtown Flushing, 79 percent of shoppers use transit or walk, and less than one in five drive, according to the DOT.

The Select Bus Service speeds up travel by 15 to 23 percent, officials said.

Select Bus Route Proposed for Jamaica and Flushing

“This concept provides faster and more reliable bus service, allowing buses to travel free from turning or parking conflicts,” the agency said.

Simone Price, executive director of the Sutphin Boulevard BID, said that the new lanes seem like a “great program that would help to speed up the bus service along Sutphin Boulevard.”

“The potential concern,” she noted, “is the delivery times in which deliveries are made to retail establishments.”

Price said she will be reaching out to local business owners to get their opinions about the proposal.

The DOT hopes to implement the proposal, which is expected to cost approximately $1 million, later this year, the agency said.