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NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: FAR ROCKAWAY

NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: FAR ROCKAWAY; Express Bus? Not by a Long Stretch, Riders Say

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May 2, 1999, Section 14, Page 10Buy Reprints
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Riders of an express bus from Far Rockaway to Manhattan say there is nothing express about it. After making 13 stops in the Rockaways and crossing the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge, the QM17 bus then makes 15 more stops, including 8 on a stretch of Woodhaven Boulevard north of Ozone Park that is already served by 28 express buses a day.

''It's not being run as an express bus, but we are paying the $3 express fare,'' said Florence Ferguson, an insurance executive who commutes to midtown Manhattan.

Riders who complain that their express, operated by Green Bus Lines, is more like a local have banded together to form a group called Far Rockaway Allied Commuter Association, with the goal of getting more direct service, and more buses.

Two QM17 buses serve the Far Rockaway-Rockaway Beach area weekday mornings, one starting its route at 6:42 and the other at 7:10, arriving in Manhattan at 7:47 and 8:15, respectively.

''If I miss the second bus, there is no other,'' said one rider, Sharon Hamlin. Her preferred alternative is to take two local buses to the subway in Rego Park, a trip that adds half an hour to her commute.

Last October, the commuter association met with Green Bus Lines, which operates the express bus under a contract with the city, using city buses, and then with Borough President Claire Shulman and officials of the city's Department of Transportation.

Since then, two more bus stops have been added in the Rockaways to make the service more convenient. And on the evening return trip, the QM17 is no longer diverted from Cross Bay Boulevard to local streets of the Lindenwood housing development to let off passengers.

Ms. Ferguson said many Far Rockaway residents do not know there is an express bus to Manhattan. The commuter group posted signs in January and February at some bus stops and subway stations listing the schedule. According to figures from the bus company, there were 2,723 QM17 trips in January. In March, the total was 3,457.

A spokeswoman for Green Bus Lines, Felice Farber, acknowledged that additional service is needed in the Rockaways and other parts of Queens. The company now has 227 buses, with 198 in service during peak periods, she said. That means 12 percent are off the road, either for maintenance or to be used as backups when other buses break down, Ms. Farber said, adding that the industry standard is 20 percent.

''We are working closely with the Department of Transportation to get additional buses,'' Ms. Farber said. ''Until we do, our hands are tied.''

A Transportation Department spokesman, Mark Patterson, agreed that Far Rockaway needed better express bus service. ''We will give them more buses and improve service,'' he said, if the City Council allocates money for that purpose.

RICHARD WEIR

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section 14, Page 10 of the National edition with the headline: NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: FAR ROCKAWAY; Express Bus? Not by a Long Stretch, Riders Say. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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