Q65 (New York City bus)

q65 q65
Flushing–Jamaica Line College Point Line
A 2012 New Flyer C40LF CNG (602) on the Q65 en route to Jamaica, Queens.
Overview
System	MTA Regional Bus Operations
Operator	MTA Bus Company
Garage	College Point Depot
Vehicle	New Flyer C40LF CNG Orion VII NG HEV New Flyer Xcelsior XD40
Began service	April 7, 1891 (College Point Trolley)[1] December 2, 1899 (Flushing–Jamaica trolley)[1] August 10, 1937 (bus service)[1]
Route
Locale	Queens, New York, U.S.
Start	College Point – 110th Street
Via	College Point Boulevard, 164th Street
End	Jamaica – Sutphin Boulevard / LIRR station
Length	5 miles (8.0 km) (Flushing–Jamaica trolley)[1][2] 9.1 miles (14.6 km) (Q65)[3]
Other routes	Q25 127th St/Kissena Blvd/Parsons Blvd;Q34 Willets Point/Kissena/Parsons Blvds Q17 Kissena Boulevard/Horace Harding Expressway/188th Street
Service
Operates	24 hours[4]
Annual patronage	4,954,301 (2023)[5]
Transfers	Yes
Timetable	Q65
Route map College Point – 110th Street  Q65  Intermittent stops 110th Street / 15th Avenue 112th Street 114th Street 115th Street 118th Street 119th Street College Point Boulevard / 14th Avenue College Point Boulevard / 15th Avenue 18th Avenue 20th Avenue 23rd Avenue 25th Road 26th Avenue 28th Avenue / 123rd Street 30th Avenue 31st Avenue Whitestone Expressway 32nd Avenue Northern Boulevard / College Point Boulevard Main Street / Northern Boulevard Flushing – Main Street Station ​ Main Street / Kissena Boulevard / 41st Avenue Kissena Boulevard / Sanford Avenue Sanford Avenue / Bowne Street Local stops Bowne Street / Beech Avenue Bowne Street / Cherry Avenue 45th Avenue / Bowne Street Parsons Boulevard / Flushing Hospital Local stops 45th Avenue / 149th Street 45th Avenue / 156th Street 45th Avenue / 158th Street 45th Avenue / 162nd Street 46th Avenue / Flushing Cemetery Local stops Pidgeon Meadow Road / Laburnum Avenue 164th Street / Pidgeon Meadow Road Oak Avenue / Kissena Park Lithonia Avenue / Kissena Park Metcalf Avenue / Kissena Park Booth Memorial Avenue / Kissena Park 59th Avenue Horace Harding Expressway Local stops 65th Avenue 67th Avenue 69th Avenue Jewel Avenue 71st Avenue 72nd Avenue 73rd Avenue 75th Avenue Local stops 75th Road 76th Avenue 77th Avenue 77th Road 78th Avenue Union Turnpike Goethals Avenue  Q65  82nd Road / Queens Hospital Center Local stops 84th Avenue 84th Drive / Chapin Parkway 85th Avenue 86th Avenue Highland Avenue Hillside Avenue Hillside Avenue / Parsons Boulevard Parsons Boulevard / 89th Avenue Parsons Boulevard / Jamaica Avenue ​​​ Jamaica Center Bus Terminal ​​​ Jamaica Avenue / 153rd Street Jamaica LIRR Station – Sutphin Bl ​​​  Q65  Legend Local & Limited stops Local stops  Q65  Terminal  Q65  Part-time terminal  LTD  Limited buses make all stops north of 25th Road ​ Subway connection LIRR connection ← Q64  {{{system_nav}}}  Q66 →

The Q65 bus route constitutes a public transit line in Queens, New York City. The south-to-north route runs primarily on 164th Street, operating between two major bus-subway hubs: Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue station in Jamaica and Flushing–Main Street station in Flushing. It then extends north along College Point Boulevard to College Point at the north end of the borough. The route is city-operated under the MTA Bus Company brand of MTA Regional Bus Operations.

The bulk of the bus route between Jamaica and Flushing follows a former streetcar line known as the Flushing–Jamaica Line,^[1] Jamaica–Flushing Line,^[1][6] or 164th Street Line,^[7] operated by the New York and Queens County Railway from 1899 to 1937. The northern portion of the route follows a second line operated by the company called the College Point Line or Flushing–College Point Line,^[8] which began operation in 1891. Both lines, combined known as the Jamaica–College Point Line^[1] or Jamaica−Flushing−College Point Line,^[9] were replaced by bus service in 1937, operated by successor companies Queens-Nassau Transit Lines, Queens Transit Corporation, and finally Queens Surface Corporation until the route was taken over by the city in 2005.

The original Flushing–Jamaica Line, nicknamed the "Toonerville Express",^[10] began at the intersection of Broadway and Lawrence Street (now Northern Boulevard and College Point Boulevard respectively) at the northern edge of Downtown Flushing near Flushing Creek. It ran east to Main Street, then south along Main Street and Jamaica Avenue (now Kissena Boulevard) to Sanford Avenue. It then ran short distances east along Sanford, south along Bowne Avenue (now Bowne Street), east on Forest/Franconia Avenue (45th Avenue), and south on 162nd Street to Pigeon Meadow Road at the west edge of the Flushing Cemetery. The line proceeded south for five miles along an undeveloped right-of-way owned by the railroad, which would later become 164th Street, to what is now Normal Road, a few blocks north of Hillside Avenue. The line ran short distances west to a point between Parsons Boulevard and 153rd Street, south to 90th Avenue, and west to Washington Street (later 160th Street) ending at Jamaica Avenue in Downtown Jamaica.^{[1][6][11][12][13]} The line shared a terminal at 160th Street and Jamaica Avenue with the trolley lines of the Long Island Electric Railway, which operated streetcar lines to Far Rockaway, Brooklyn, and Belmont Park.^[2][6][14] On Sundays, a shuttle service ran to take passengers from Downtown Flushing to Flushing Cemetery.

The College Point line, consisting of two tracks, began in Flushing at a T-junction on Broadway and Lawrence Street with the Flushing–Jamaica Line and the Corona Line traveling west along Broadway (Northern Boulevard). It ran north along Lawrence Street, the College Point Causeway, and 122nd Street (all part of the modern College Point Boulevard) to 14th Road (northbound) or 15th Avenue (southbound). It then ran west to 110th Street and 14th Avenue at the edge of the East River.^[6] The line served the College Point Ferry or 99th Street Ferry, which ran to East 99th Street in the Upper East Side of Manhattan.^[1][15]

The current Q65 service begins at the College Point Line's terminal at 110th Street and 14th Avenue, and follows the former trolley route to Northern Boulevard. After running on Main Street and Kissena Boulevard, interchanging with the IRT Flushing Line subway at Flushing–Main Street, Long Island Rail Road's Port Washington Branch at Flushing–Main Street, and several other bus routes, it proceeds east along the former trolley route, and south along 164th Street to Hillside Avenue. It turns west on Hillside Avenue, then south on Parsons Boulevard, merging with the parallel Q25 and Q34 routes (also former Queens Surface routes). The routes proceed south to Jamaica Avenue, then west to Sutphin Boulevard. All three routes terminate at Sutphin Boulevard and 94th Avenue, underneath the Jamaica station for the LIRR and AirTrain JFK, and adjacent to the Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue–JFK Airport subway station.^[4][16][17]

During weekday rush-hours, the Q65 employs limited-stop service in both directions. Limited-stop buses make all stops north of 25th Road and College Point Boulevard.^[4]

On July 26, 1886, the Flushing and College Point Street Railway was incorporated, with the intent of building what became the College Point Line. The then-villages of Flushing and College Point granted franchises to the company in summer 1887, with the provision of only employing overhead trolley wire for five years before switching to battery power.^[1] The line began operation on April 7, 1891, running on batteries instead of overhead wire.^[1][18] Because of the expenses of battery power, the railroad went bankrupt and was sold at auction on April 4, 1892.^[1] The line was later equipped with overhead wire, improving profits and patronage.^[1] On December 31, 1896, the line became part of the New York and Queens County Railway system.^[1]

The New York & North Shore Railway Company was organized on March 13, 1897, as a subsidiary to the New York and Queens County Railway. At the end of the month, it proposed several new routes including the Flushing–Jamaica Line.^[1] The franchise for the line was awarded on December 31, 1897.^[10] Construction began in 1898 and continued through 1899.^[1][11] Service on the line began on December 2, 1899.^[1][2] Earlier that year on October 13, the Long Island Electric Railway (LIER), operators of the Jamaica−Far Rockaway Line, was purchased by the company.^[1][19] Track connections at 160th Street had been built during the construction of the Flushing–Jamaica Line in order to facilitate service between the two lines.^[1][11] On March 12, 1900, through service on the combined routes began between Flushing and Far Rockaway.^[2] This service ended on August 1, 1901 after the LIER was bought out by the Hogan Brothers, a group of trolley line surveyors who worked on both the Flushing and Far Rockaway lines.^[2] During the month of May in 1902, the Flushing–Jamaica Line was bought out by the parent New York and Queens company, through several complex proceedings and reorganizations.^[1] In 1906, it became part of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT).^[7]

The 99th Street Ferry in College Point ceased service in 1913.^[8]

In 1923, the line went into bankruptcy and the IRT relinquished ownership.^[7] By the mid-1920s, the Flushing–Jamaica Line was double tracked.^[1][7] On October 2, 1928, several months after the opening of the Flushing–Main Street subway station, Flushing–Jamaica through service was extended to College Point.^[1]

Around this time, many streetcar lines in Queens and the rest of the city began to be replaced by buses, particularly after the unification of city's three primary transit companies in June 1940.^[2][20] Many local civic organizations had been campaigning for a bus route along the Flushing–Jamaica Line, and the removal of the trolley route that ran in close proximity to private houses. The administration of Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia, and New York City Parks Commissioner Robert Moses, also desired to use the right-of-way to build the planned Grand Central Parkway (this highway would instead be built along the western end of Flushing Meadows–Corona Park).^[1] The College Point trolley, meanwhile, was cited for noise disturbances.^[2]

On December 18, 1936, the New York City Board of Estimate voted to motorize the trolley franchises of the New York and Queens County Railway.^[21] Bus service between Flushing − Main Street and 160th Street in Jamaica began on July 1, 1937^[22] under the designation "Q-65".^[23][24] On July 2, the railroad turned over the right-of-way of the Flushing–Jamaica Line between Flushing Cemetery and Jamaica to the city in order to create a proper 164th Street.^[25] Buses fully replaced trolley service on the Flushing–Jamaica Line on August 10, 1937.^[1][10][18] Initially, the route ran along Kissena Boulevard and Bowne Street between Horace Harding Boulevard and 46th Avenue, with 164th Street impassible by vehicles through Kissena Park.^[1][10] Service on the College Point trolley was abandoned on August 23 of that year, replaced by buses between 110th Street and Flushing.^[1][8][18] The Flushing-Jamaica buses were rerouted onto 164th Street after the road was paved and opened on August 10, 1938.^[1][9][26] The company's stock and property were transferred to its subsidiary Queens-Nassau Transit Lines company, which operated the buses.^[1][21] By 1940, the Q65 route ran between College Point and Jamaica. That year, the company applied for an extension of the route north along 122nd Street (College Point Boulevard), which was never implemented.^[23][27][28] Queens-Nassau would become the Queens Transit Corporation in 1957.^[29]

The bus company would become Queens-Steinway Transit Corporation in 1986, and Queens Surface Corporation in 1988.^[29] In 2004, the southern termini of the Q65, Q25, and Q34 were moved west one block along Jamaica Avenue, from 160th Street to Parsons Boulevard.^[30]

On February 27, 2005, the MTA Bus Company took over the operations of the Queens Surface routes, part of the city's takeover of all the remaining privately operated bus routes.^[31][32] Under the MTA, the Q25, Q34, and Q65 were extended from Jamaica Avenue to the Jamaica LIRR station on Sutphin Boulevard in 2007.^[33] Also in 2007, bidirectional limited-stop service was introduced on the Q65 during rush hours between Jamaica and Flushing–Main Street.^[34]

On April 15, 2013, Q65 Limited service began skipping two stops along College Point Boulevard, at 26th Avenue and the Whitestone Expressway, due to low ridership.^[35] In 2014, the 164th Street corridor along with the Parsons/Kissena corridor and Main Street corridor were evaluated for a potential Select Bus Service (SBS) route between Flushing and Jamaica.^[36][37] The Q65 Limited was not selected for conversion; the Q44 Limited became the Q44 SBS on November 29, 2015,^[38] and the Q25 Limited was studied for future conversion.^[39] In September 2015, as part of the Northeast Queens Bus Study, it was suggested to modify a small portion of the Q65 route near Flushing Cemetery, taking it off Bowne Street and moving it onto the wider Parsons Boulevard.^[39]

In September 2016, because Q65 buses frequently detoured to avoid traffic on the narrow 14th Road, the Q65 was rerouted to run via 14th Avenue in College Point. Six bus stops on 14th Road were discontinued and replaced by three stops on 14th Avenue.^[40]

In December 2019, the MTA released a draft redesign of the Queens bus network.^[41][42] As part of the redesign, the Q65 bus would have become a "neighborhood" route called the QT65. Rather than serve Flushing and College Point, the QT65 would have continued north along 160th Street to Beechhurst.^[43] The redesign was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City in 2020,^[44] and the original draft plan was dropped due to negative feedback.^[45] A revised plan was released in March 2022.^[46] As part of the new plan, the Q65 would still run to Flushing, but service to College Point would be replaced by an extension of the Q27 bus. The Q65 would also be extended south to Liberty Avenue and Farmers Boulevard in St. Albans, Queens, providing local service for the Q83 bus along Liberty Avenue, where the Q83 would run nonstop.^[47] A final bus-redesign plan was released in December 2023.^[48][49] The Q65 would run to Flushing, but service to College Point would be replaced by an extension of the Q26 bus, and the route would be modified in Murray Hill to avoid narrow streets. In addition, the Q65 would no longer be extended southward.^{[50]: 307–308}

• Media related to Q65 (New York City bus) at Wikimedia Commons
• MTA Regional Bus Operations. "Q65 bus schedule".
• New York and Queens County Railway and the Steinway Lines, 1867-1939, Internet Archive