Q55 (New York City bus)

Route map:
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q55
Richmond Hill Line
Myrtle Avenue (East) line
A Ridgewood-bound Q55 bus in Glendale, Queens.
Overview
SystemMTA Regional Bus Operations
OperatorNew York City Transit Authority
GarageFresh Pond Depot
VehicleOrion VII NG HEV
New Flyer Xcelsior XD40
Ended serviceApril 26, 1950 (Trolley)
Route
LocaleQueens, New York, U.S.
Communities servedRidgewood, Glendale, Richmond Hill
StartRidgewood Intermodal Terminal
ViaMyrtle Avenue
EndRichmond Hill, QueensMyrtle Avenue and Jamaica Avenue
Length4.2 miles (6.8 km)
Other routesB54 (Myrtle Avenue West)
Service
Operates24 hours[1]
Annual patronage1,531,359 (2022)[2]
TransfersYes
TimetableQ55
← Q54  {{{system_nav}}}  Q56 →

The Richmond Hill Line is a surface transit line on Myrtle Avenue in Queens, New York City. Once a streetcar line owned by the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation, it was replaced on April 26, 1950 by the B55 bus route.[3][4][5] The trolley tracks were not removed until April 1955, when Myrtle Avenue was being repaved.[6] The bus was renumbered on December 11, 1988 as the Q55 Myrtle Avenue (East) bus route (as opposed to the B54 route on the western portion of Myrtle Avenue), operated by the New York City Transit Authority.[7]

Current route[edit]

The current Q55 route is identical to the route it used when it opened in 1950.[3] The Q55 begins at the Ridgewood Intermodal Terminal at the Myrtle–Wyckoff Avenues Subway station on the Brooklyn-Queens border. It then runs via Myrtle Avenue, cutting through Forest Park, and continuing to Jamaica Avenue and Myrtle Avenue in Richmond Hill, a few blocks west of the 121st Street subway station.[1]

In December 2019, the MTA released a draft redesign of the Queens bus network.[8][9] As part of the redesign, the Q55 would have been replaced by a "neighborhood" route called the QT55, which would have been extended to Jamaica using Jamaica Avenue.[10] The redesign was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City in 2020,[11] and the original draft plan was dropped due to negative feedback.[12] A revised plan was released in March 2022.[13] The planned changes to the Q55 were similar to those proposed in the 2019 plan.[14] A final bus-redesign plan was released in December 2023.[15][16] The Q55 was to be extended slightly eastward to 121st Street station.[17]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b MTA Regional Bus Operations. "Q55 bus schedule" (PDF).
  2. ^ "Subway and bus ridership for 2022". mta.info. August 3, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "New Bus Line In Queens: Trolley Coaches to be Restored to a Brooklyn Street" (PDF). New York Times. April 23, 1950. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  4. ^ Seyfried, Vincent F. (1950). "Full text of "New York and Queens County Railway and the Steinway Lines, 1867-1939."". archive.org. Vincent F. Seyfried. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  5. ^ "Brooklyn Trolley Depots". New York Division Bulletin. 51 (6). Electric Railroaders' Association: 7. August 2008. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  6. ^ "Repaving for Myrtle Avenue" (PDF). New York Times. March 27, 1955. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  7. ^ Archer Avenue Changes
  8. ^ Acevedo, Angélica (December 17, 2019). "MTA gives 'sneak peek' of transformative Queens bus network redesign plan". QNS.com. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  9. ^ "MTA Unveils Draft Proposal to Redesign Bus Network in Queens". Spectrum News NY1 | New York City. December 31, 2019. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  10. ^ "Draft Plan, Queens Bus Network Redesign". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 2019. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  11. ^ "Queens bus network redesign remains on hold amid COVID-19 pandemic: MTA". QNS.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  12. ^ Duggan, Kevin (December 15, 2021). "MTA to release 'totally redone' Queens bus network redesign draft in early 2022". amNewYork. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  13. ^ Duggan, Kevin (March 29, 2022). "FIRST ON amNY: MTA reveals new Queens bus redesign draft plan". amNewYork. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  14. ^ "Draft Plan, Queens Bus Network Redesign". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  15. ^ Brachfeld, Ben (December 12, 2023). "MTA unveils final proposal for Queens bus network redesign". amNewYork. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  16. ^ Shkurhan, Iryna (December 13, 2023). "MTA unveils final plan to overhaul Queens bus network for the first time in decades". QNS.com. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  17. ^ "Final Plan, Queens Bus Network Redesign". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2020.

External links[edit]

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