Bus network redesign; How has it affected QHSS’s students’ sleep and routine?

“It makes the ride quicker than before,” says a student. While another states, “they’ve gotten rid of or combined a lot of routes, so it makes it inconvenient to get around.” The new redesign has been widely discussed, especially among students who take the bus. Their views on the redesign are extremely mixed, but how have these changed routes really affected students when it was time to start school? 

As of late January 29, 2025, the bus route redesign was approved to improve efficiency and reliability. The plan aimed to remove stops from the original routes to save time, as well as implementing “straighter routes with fewer turns to reduce delays”, which is stated on the official MTA website. The plan was originally pitched by the then-NYC Transit President, Demetrius Crichlow, and actively advocated by the MTA Chair/CEO Janno Lieber. These drastic changes began on June 29, the first phase of bus route redesigns. Phase one modified 67 existing routes and launched 16 new routes, whereas Phase two–which began on August 31st–modified 37 existing routes and added one new bus route. This plan mainly affected buses such as the Q65, the Q Although, its new routes may not have accommodated the issue of transfer time. According to the results of a recently published survey, it isn’t surprising that students’ opinions are mixed and vastly different. When students were asked if the redesign affected them, 64% of responses said “yes”. While considering the responses to what bus students take, the survey listed various buses, such as the Q48, Q76, Q30, Q44, etc. This could mean that the bus a student takes is an important factor that would alter their bus experience. 

One response states, “The new bus routes led to me having to transfer buses on my way to school. Having to account for transfer time means I have to wake up earlier, and has extended my commute time from an hour to anywhere upwards of an hour and thirty minutes.” Moreover, in an interview with an anonymous student, they state that after the redesign, they have to transfer from the Q1 to the Q43, which they claim that they were one of the students who were negatively impacted by the plan due to transfer time. 

However, the redesign has also made its contributions, including the reduction in the amount of stops for more reliability. Many students have reported that they do find the new routes better because of the buses they take and because it decreases the waste of money and resources. The decrease in waste is primarily due to less fuel being used because of fewer stops. For example, one student says “I think it makes my bus ride a lot smoother and faster, especially because it doesn’t stop as often in Jamaica which is the most traffic-heavy section of my bus ride.” Overall, the bus network redesign has caused mixed opinions among students, which is through various factors that may or may not alter their bus experience.