Q70 (New York City bus)

LaGuardia Link Q70 Select Bus Service

Company type	Public transportation line
Industry	Public transit
Founded	September 8, 2013 (2013-09-08)
Headquarters	Queens, New York City , United States
Area served	Queens, New York City
Key people	MTA Regional Bus Operations (operator)
Products	Bus rapid transit service
Parent	MTA Bus Company

The LaGuardia Link Q70 Select Bus Service operates as a public transportation line in Queens, New York City, primarily traversing the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. This route establishes a connection between the 61st Street–Woodside station, which offers transfers to both the New York City Subway and the Long Island Rail Road, and Terminals B and C at LaGuardia Airport. Along the way, it stops at the Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street station and 94th Street. The service is managed by MTA Regional Bus Operations under the MTA Bus Company division.

Inaugurated on September 8, 2013, as a limited-stop bus line, the Q70 was introduced to facilitate quicker travel between Woodside, Jackson Heights, and LaGuardia Airport. It was later upgraded to a Select Bus Service route on September 25, 2016, adopting the LaGuardia Link name. To accommodate growing passenger numbers, articulated buses were added to the fleet in June 2020. Starting from April 2022, the Q70 has been operating without charging fares. Ridership expanded from nearly 1.2 million in its first full year of operation (2014) to roughly 1.95 million by 2019.

Route description and service

The Q70 initiates service in Woodside at the intersection of 61st Street and Roosevelt Avenue, linking with the Long Island Rail Road at Woodside station and the IRT Flushing Line () at 61st Street–Woodside station. It proceeds along Roosevelt Avenue to 74th Street, situated at the convergence of Woodside, Elmhurst, and Jackson Heights. Here, passengers can transfer to the Flushing Line () and the IND Queens Boulevard Line () at the bustling Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street station, which is the busiest stop on this route. The bus then travels nonstop along Broadway before merging onto the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and continuing via the Grand Central Parkway toward LaGuardia Airport. It serves Terminal C and Terminal B but does not stop at the Marine Air Terminal, consistent with the former Q33 segment it replaced. After looping through airport roadways, the route returns to Jackson Heights and Woodside, utilizing 75th Street and Woodside Avenue on its return trip between Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street and 61st Street–Woodside stations.

Operating around the clock every day, the Q70 is equipped with luggage racks designed specifically for travelers heading to or from LaGuardia Airport, enhancing passenger convenience.

Implementation of limited service

During Phase II of New York City's Select Bus Service (SBS) program in 2009, prioritizing expedited bus connections to LaGuardia Airport was identified as a key objective. The LaGuardia Airport Access Alternatives Analysis (2011–2012), conducted by NYCDOT, MTA Bus, New York City Transit, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, proposed establishing a bus route linking LaGuardia’s central terminals with transit hubs located in both Jackson Heights and Woodside. These hubs provide transfer options to subway lines, Long Island Rail Road services, and additional bus routes. This initiative addressed slow travel times on existing routes as well as on the former Q48. At that period, LaGuardia was unique among major NYC-area airports for lacking rapid transit access to Manhattan.

In October 2012, plans were announced for a new bus line connecting Woodside with LaGuardia via Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street station. This route was launched on September 8, 2013 as the Q70 limited-stop service, replacing the segment of the Q33 that served LaGuardia. Consequently, the Q33 was shortened to terminate at 95th Street and Ditmars Boulevard. Initially, standard buses operated on this route.

With ridership increasing, service frequency on the Q70 was enhanced in April 2016 to run every eight minutes during midday and evening peak periods. Weekend intervals were set at ten minutes, while overnight service improved from every thirty minutes to every twenty minutes.

Transition to Select Bus Service

While the Q70 was initially developed as a bus rapid transit initiative, it did not carry the Select Bus Service (SBS) branding during its first three years and lacked essential SBS components such as ticket vending machines, boarding through all doors, distinctively branded buses, and dedicated lanes. Regulatory constraints initially hindered the introduction of SBS elements, so the route functioned as a limited-stop service, utilizing highway segments and widely spaced stops to expedite travel.

The Q70 forms part of a trio of SBS routes envisioned in the LaGuardia Alternatives Analysis. The M60 transitioned to SBS status in May 2014, and plans existed to extend another route to LaGuardia, although funding has not been secured. These services were designed to deliver "short-term, cost-effective transit enhancements" for LaGuardia Airport. In comparison to the Q33 route that navigates congested local streets, the Q70 cuts travel time by 40%. However, this adjustment diverted direct airport access away from employees residing along the Q33 corridor. Despite this shift, daily ridership on the Q70 surged from 2,100 to 4,300 since its September 2013 debut.

In November 2015, the Riders Alliance suggested rebranding the Q70 as a free LaGuardia Subway Shuttle because 85% of its passengers transferred from subway lines, indicating no additional revenue for the MTA. Their recommendations included enhanced signage, increased service frequency with buses every ten minutes, installation of countdown clocks, and onboard announcements to improve passenger experience.

In December 2015, the MTA declared that Q70 SBS service would commence in September 2016 under the LaGuardia Link name featuring off-board fare collection. Unlike other SBS routes, Q70 buses showcase a teal blue livery adorned with cloud and airplane motifs and display symbols for connecting subway and LIRR lines to highlight multimodal connections. This rebranding effort sought to promote greater public transit use for airport access. Messaging inside the buses specifically targets air travelers.

On September 25, 2016, the Q70 Select Bus Service launched as the LaGuardia Link while maintaining its original Q70 route number. This represented MTA Bus's inaugural SBS route and resulted in an $870,000 annual increase in operating expenses. Future implementation of traffic signal priority along the corridor could further shorten travel times. The Woodside stop was moved eastward to share a stop with , and the Jackson Heights stop was relocated inside the Victor A. Moore Bus Terminal, improving subway connections by exchanging locations with . A comprehensive marketing campaign including airline print advertisements, social media efforts, in-flight Wi-Fi promotions, and wall wraps at LaGuardia baggage claim areas was introduced to raise awareness and encourage ridership.

Subsequent Developments

From 2016 through 2019, ridership on the Q70 SBS increased by 35%. In March 2020, MTA Bus proposed upgrading the Q70 fleet to articulated buses to meet rising demand. The southbound alignment between 75th Street and 61st Street was modified to avoid a tight turn and alleviate congestion; the route now terminates near the LIRR and subway station at Woodside Avenue and 61st Street. This adjustment also separated the Q70 terminus from that of the Q53 SBS since both routes utilize articulated buses requiring additional space. The planned implementation was postponed from April until June 28, 2020 due to delays caused by COVID-19-related installation challenges.

Enhancements to Bus Rapid Transit

In April 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul declared that starting May 1, 2022, the Q70 bus would operate without fares while alternative options to the proposed AirTrain LaGuardia were being evaluated. Prior to this, fares had been waived only during peak travel times, and many riders benefited from free transfers between the Q70 and the subway system.

Following a panel’s recommendation in March 2023, the AirTrain LGA initiative was discontinued. The panel suggested boosting the frequency of the Q70 service and introducing a new bus route connecting to the Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard station, managed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ). The proposal also included establishing a dedicated bus lane along a segment of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. The projected cost for these bus service enhancements is approximately $500 million. By June 2023, PANYNJ allocated $30 million toward design efforts for these planned upgrades.

In March 2025, state officials announced an investment of $160 million aimed at improving Q70 operations. This funding supports the creation of a dedicated bus lane on the BQE, implementation of traffic signal priority in Jackson Heights, construction of a new bus bay at LaGuardia Airport, and increased service frequency during midday hours. The MTA intends to begin increasing Q70 service frequency by mid-2025.

Queens Bus Network Redesign

The MTA introduced an initial draft for redesigning Queens’ bus network in December 2019. However, the plan was postponed due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and received considerable public criticism, resulting in its withdrawal. A revised version was released in March 2022. The Q70 route remained consistent with its 2019 alignment except for the Woodside Avenue rerouting implemented in 2020.

A finalized Queens bus redesign plan was presented in December 2023, retaining both the Q70 route and its westbound path along Woodside Avenue. Subsequent amendments did not alter this configuration. On January 29, 2025, the MTA Board approved this finalized design, with rollout scheduled in two phases during Summer 2025.

Ridership

During its inaugural full year of operation in 2014, the Q70 carried 1,185,485 passengers, increasing to 1,704,485 riders by 2018. This equated to an average daily ridership of approximately 5,090 on weekdays and about 7,280 on weekends. In 2022, average weekday ridership for the Q70 Select Bus Service was recorded at 1,016. Following the transition to fare-free service in 2023, the MTA discontinued tracking ridership based on fare transactions.