Rapid Travel Chai

It took decades to add luggage racks to (some of) the M60 buses plying the Manhattan to New York LaGuardia (LGA) route so any change is bound to be incremental. And no, no subway connection in the offing.

The NYT reported today on plans to introduce Select Bus Service for the M60, plus a new Queens route to be faster than the Q33 (see new service map). These changes will appear sometime in 2013 or 2014.

I know the M60 far too well. There are three main areas of delay. First is the airport itself, unlike many airport buses, arrivals and departures are at the same stops, so there is constant crowding and delays for people to get on/off. Heading to Manhattan from the first stop, Delta, it often takes 20+ minutes to finish the circuit of the airport. Next are the local stops in Queens for which there is always a lone airport employee to use every stop. The bulge comes at the N train stop, the last in Queens and then the 4/5/6 train stop over in Manhattan, both where many travelers and employees transit. From there it is mostly local short-hop service over to the Upper West Side. The Select Bus Service appears to segregate the low-traffic, high frequency stops in Queens from the bulk heading to the subways.

I have still never tried either of the Queens buses, the Q33 or Q48, though whenever waiting for the M60 it seems I have to wait through several of each before 2-3 M60s roll up on top of each other.

My preferred route is the N train to Astoria Blvd, stopping at the Neptune Diner if time allows, and then the M60. Picking up the M60 back in Manhattan from the 4/5/6 trains is much slower due to the extra stretch on the bus.