Green Bus Lines
![]() Former Green Line Q40 MCI Classic in South Jamaica, Queens | |
Parent | GTJ Reit Incorporated |
---|---|
Founded | 1925 |
Defunct | 2006 |
Headquarters | 165-25 147th Avenue Springfield Gardens, NY 11434-5295 |
Green Bus Lines, also referred to as Green Lines, was a private bus company in New York City. It operated local service in Queens and express service to Manhattan until January 9, 2006, when the city-operated MTA Bus Company took over its routes. It was managed most recently by Jerome Cooper (1928–2015).
Green Bus Lines routes primarily operated in the Jamaica, Ozone Park, Howard Beach, South Jamaica, and the Rockaways areas of Queens, along with service to the passenger and cargo areas of John F. Kennedy International Airport.[1][2] At the time of its closure, Green Lines operated more local and limited bus routes than any other private company in the city.[1]
Stockholders of Green Bus Lines also held control of other private bus companies in Queens and Brooklyn as Transit Alliance. These companies were Triboro Coach, Jamaica Buses, and Command Bus Company, all of which were absorbed into the MTA Regional Bus operations.[3][4] The company reorganized as GTJ Reit Inc., a real estate investment trust, shortly after MTA takeover.
History
[edit]The company was incorporated on April 3, 1925, by William Cooper and Martin Klein to provide local service in certain boroughs. Cooper originally began operating a single bus line, a portion of today's Q8 101-Jerome Avenue route, in 1922.[5] The company was formed from several independently-operated bus lines, whose owners operated the buses, and would become stockholders and employees in Green Lines.[5][6][7][8]
The company acquired several Manhattan routes (including M22, M50, M79, M86, and M96) in 1933, but these were transferred to the Comprehensive Omnibus Corporation in 1935 and New York City Omnibus Corporation in 1936.[9] That year, Green Lines took over the operations of Liberty Bus, and the borough's bus system was divided into four lettered "zones", with each zone being served exclusively by one bus company.[10][11][12][13] Green Lines was awarded the rights to all of "Zone C" in southern Queens, which included Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, Ozone Park, Howard Beach, and the Rockaways.[10][11] With that move, Green Lines assumed the operations of seven other companies in the region.[6][7][10][14] Green also acquired the Manhattan and Queens Bus Corporation, which had operated the ex-Manhattan and Queens Traction Company Queens Boulevard Line into Manhattan (the Q60) since 1937, in 1943.[15]
Green stockholders acquired two other transit companies that continued to operate independently: Triboro Coach Corporation in October 1947, and Jamaica Buses in April 1949.[4][5] Jointly these three companies formed Command Bus Company in 1979 to take over the routes that had been previously operated by Pioneer Bus Corporation, which went out of the transit bus business following a bitter strike earlier in 1979.[4]
The QM23 was started in the 1950s to replace Long Island Rail Road service to the Brooklyn Manor station on the Rockaway Beach Branch.[16] It was discontinued in 2010. Four more express routes began operation in the 1970s.
Bus routes
[edit]Just prior to MTA Bus takeover, Green Bus lines operated the following routes, which mostly continued to be based in Far Rockaway Bus Depot and John F. Kennedy Bus Depot.[17] Hubs for Green Lines operations included 165th Street Bus Terminal in Jamaica, the Mott Avenue subway station in Far Rockaway, and several stations on the IND Queens Boulevard Line.[2][18][19][20][21]
Route | Terminal A | Major streets of travel | Terminal B | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Queens Local | ||||
Q6 | Jamaica 165th Street Bus Terminal Bays 14, 15, 16 |
Jamaica Avenue, Sutphin Boulevard, Rockaway Boulevard, North Boundary Road |
JFK International Airport North Boundary Road and Eastern Road, and USPS Airport Mail Facility |
|
Q7 | City Line, Brooklyn Euclid Avenue and Pitkin Avenue at Euclid Avenue ( A C trains) |
Pitkin Avenue, Rockaway Boulevard, 150th Street | JFK International Airport 148th Street and South Cargo Road |
|
Q8 | Jamaica 165th Street Bus Terminal Bay 17 and 18 |
Jamaica Avenue, 101st Avenue, Fountain Avenue | Spring Creek, Brooklyn Gateway Center Mall |
|
Q9 | Jamaica 165th Street Bus Terminal Bay 19 and 20 |
Jamaica Avenue, Supthin Boulevard, Liberty Avenue, 135th Street (Northbound), Van Wyck Expressway Service Road (Southbound), Lincoln Street. |
South Ozone Park Rockaway Boulevard and Lincoln Street |
|
Q9A | Jamaica 165th Street Bus Terminal |
Lincoln Street, Linden Boulevard, Merrick Boulevard | South Ozone Park Rockaway Boulevard and Lincoln Street |
|
Q10 | Kew Gardens 80th Road and Kew Gardens Road at Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike ( E F <F> trains) |
Lefferts Boulevard, Rockaway Boulevard, 130th Street, Van Wyck Expressway Service Road | JFK International Airport Terminal 5 |
|
Q11 | Elmhurst Queens Boulevard and Woodhaven Boulevard at Woodhaven Boulevard ( E F M R trains) and Queens Center Mall |
Woodhaven Boulevard, Cross Bay Boulevard, then:
|
|
|
Q21 | Woodhaven Boulevard, 155th Avenue, 157th Avenue, Cross Bay Boulevard | Howard Beach 164th Avenue and 92nd Street |
| |
Q21A | Far Rockaway Mott Avenue and Beach 20th Street at Far Rockaway – Mott Avenue ( A train) |
Edgemere Avenue, Cross Bay Boulevard, Pitkin Avenue, Linden Boulevard | East New York, Brooklyn Livonia Avenue and New Lots Avenue at New Lots Avenue ( 2 3 4 5 trains) |
Discontinued in 1990, due to poor ridership. |
Q22 | Beach Channel Drive, Rockaway Beach Boulevard | Roxbury Beach 169th Street and Rockaway Point Boulevard |
| |
Q22A | Mott Avenue | Bayswater | ||
Q35 | Midwood, Brooklyn Avenue H and Flatbush Avenue at Flatbush Avenue ( 2 5 trains) |
Flatbush Avenue, Newport Avenue | Rockaway Park Beach 116th Street and Newport Avenue |
|
Q37 | Kew Gardens Union Turnpike and Kew Gardens Road at Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike ( E F <F> trains) |
Park Lane South, 111th Street, 135th Avenue | South Ozone Park 135th Road and 131st Street |
|
Q40 | Jamaica Sutphin Boulevard and Hillside Avenue at Sutphin Boulevard ( F <F> train) |
Sutphin Boulevard, Lakewood Avenue, 142nd Street | South Jamaica 135th Avenue and 143rd Street |
Originally operated by Midland Coach, service began on February 5, 1934. |
Q41 | Jamaica 165th Street Bus Terminal Bay 22 and 23 |
127th Street, 109th Avenue, Cross Bay Boulevard | Howard Beach 164th Avenue and 92nd Street |
|
Q60 | East Midtown, Manhattan Second Avenue and 60th Street |
Queensboro Bridge, Queens Boulevard, Sutphin Boulevard | South Jamaica 109th Avenue and 157th Street |
|
Queens-Manhattan express | ||||
QM15 | Midtown Manhattan 6th Avenue |
Manhattan: 34th Street, 6th Avenue, 57th Street Queens: Woodhaven Boulevard, Cross Bay Boulevard |
Howard Beach 157th Avenue and 102nd Street |
|
QM16 | Manhattan: 34th Street, 6th Avenue, 57th Street Queens: Cross Bay Boulevard, Rockaway Beach Boulevard |
Jacob Riis Park Parking lot |
| |
QM17 | Manhattan: 34th Street, 6th Avenue, 57th Street Queens: Cross Bay Boulevard, Beach Channel Drive, Seagirt Boulevard |
Far Rockaway Far Rockaway-Mott Avenue subway station ( A train) |
||
QM18 | Manhattan: 34th Street, 6th Avenue, 57th Street Queens: Queens Boulevard, Lefferts Boulevard, 135th Avenue |
South Ozone Park 130th Street and 150th Avenue |
| |
QM23 | Midtown Manhattan 33rd Street and 7th Avenue at Penn Station |
Manhattan: 34th Street Queens: Woodhaven Boulevard, Jamaica Avenue |
Woodhaven 102nd Street and Jamaica Avenue |
|
Depots
[edit]Original Idlewild depot
[edit]Green Bus Lines' first southeast Queens depot (also known as Cornell Park) was located at 149th Street and 147th Avenue (148-02 147th Avenue)[50] in what was then South Ozone Park, Queens.[51] The facility, which contained an office building and a bus garage, opened in May 1939 at a cost of $250,000.[52] This area has since been de-mapped and is now on the grounds of John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Second Idlewild/JFK depot
[edit]Green Lines' second southeast Queens garage was located in Jamaica at 147th Avenue and Rockaway Boulevard (165-25 147th Avenue)[15] near JFK Airport.[1] The depot was built from 1951 to 1952 at the cost of $500,000.[53] It was the primary storage and maintenance facility for the company.[1] It is now the John F. Kennedy Depot (or JFK Depot) of MTA Bus.[15][54]
40°39′41″N 73°46′26″W / 40.661348°N 73.773916°W
Rockaway Garage
[edit]Green Lines operated a facility on the Rockaway Peninsula, situated on Rockaway Beach Boulevard and Beach 49th Street (49-19 Rockaway Beach Boulevard)[15][55] in the neighborhood of Arverne.[1] It was sometimes referred to as the "Rockaway Garage".[55] A satellite facility, it primarily housed buses serving the Rockaways and southern Queens, performing light maintenance work.[1][15] It is now MTA Bus' Far Rockaway Depot.[54]
40°35′35″N 73°46′47″W / 40.592950°N 73.779614°W
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f Urbitran Associates, Inc (May 2004). "NYCDOT Bus Ridership Survey and Route Analysis Final Report: Chapter 3 Transit System Characteristics" (PDF). nyc.gov. New York City Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e "Analysis of Routes and Ridership of a Franchise Bus Service: Green Bus Lines" (PDF). utrc2.org/. City College of New York. October 2000. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
- ^ Lueck, Thomas J. (April 23, 2005). "City to Buy Private Bus Company for Service in Three Boroughs". The New York Times. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
- ^ a b c "Company Profile". Jamaica Buses, Inc. Archived from the original on January 25, 2006. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
- ^ a b c "Big Bus System Started on Shoestring". Long Island Star-Journal. Fultonhistory.com. January 17, 1955. p. 31. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
- ^ a b "Green Line, Started by Jobless War Vets, Absorbed 7 Companies Under Mayor's Plan". Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. April 8, 1937. p. 1. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
- ^ a b "Jobless Vets Started Green Bus Lines". Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. April 8, 1937. p. 20. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
- ^ "The Green Bus Strike: It Jeopardizes Public Service". Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. October 24, 1939. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
- ^ "Local Bus Companies of Manhattan". May 17, 2006. Archived from the original on May 17, 2006.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b c "Bus Routes Changed By Zone Plan; Some Riders to be Forced to Transfer; Committee Takes Corona Line From North Shore, Gives It to Tri-Boro". Long Island Daily Press (Long Island Sunday Press). No. 316. Fultonhistory.com. January 12, 1936. p. 4. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
- ^ a b "Bus Franchises For Queens Are Granted by City: 12-Year Old Problem Is Solved by Action of Board of Estimate". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. September 24, 1936. Retrieved January 1, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Roess, Roger P.; Sansone, Gene (August 23, 2012). The Wheels That Drove New York: A History of the New York City Transit System. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 270. ISBN 9783642304842.
- ^ "Bus Committee Tries Again To Fix Up Jamaica Zone: Report on Queens Situation Published in Fall". Long Island Daily Press (Long Island Sunday Press). No. 316. Fultonhistory.com. January 12, 1936. p. 1. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
- ^ "Bus Committee's Report". Long Island Daily Press (Long Island Sunday Press). No. 316. Fultonhistory.com. January 12, 1936. p. 8. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e "Green Bus Lines, Inc., Triboro Coach Corporation, Jamaica Central Railways, Inc". sec.gov. GTJ Reit, Inc. February 9, 2007. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
- ^ Roger P. Roess; Gene Sansone (August 23, 2012). The Wheels That Drove New York: A History of the New York City Transit System. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 416–417. ISBN 978-3-642-30484-2.
- ^ Green Bus Lines, Inc. (accessed January 19, 2007)
- ^ a b c d e "Queens Merchants Win More Bus Service". The New York Times. March 17, 1989. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
- ^ "165th Street Mall Improvement Association Annual Report – Fiscal Year 2009" (PDF). 165th Street Mall. 165th Street Mall Improvement Association. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
- ^ Lucev, Emil (June 18, 2010). "Historical Views of the Rockaways: The old Far Rockaway Station Plaza, Mott and Central Avenues, 1922". rockawave.com. The Wave. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e "Queens Bus Map" (PDF). nycityhealth.com. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 1999. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 16, 2015. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
- ^ "mta.info | Planned Service Changes". April 27, 2010. Archived from the original on April 27, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
- ^ "Bus Company Committee Meeting February 2010" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. February 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 25, 2010. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
- ^ "2008 Annual Report Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the Year Ended December 31, 2008" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 31, 2008. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
- ^ "Upcoming 2014 Bus Service Improvements Include New Routes, Extensions: $4.9 Million in Enhancements Planned for Routes in All Five New York City Boroughs". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. August 26, 2014. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
- ^ MTA Bus Company Service Advisories (Metropolitan Transportation Authority; April 2008)
- ^ a b "Q89 Bus Schedule" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 30, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20101218020202/http://www.mta.info/news/pdf/MTAB_Revised_Service_Changes.pdf 2010 budget cut information-MTA Bus Company, archived February 25, 2011
- ^ a b c "Queens Bus Map: Notes" (PDF). mta.info. December 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 23, 2003. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
- ^ "mta.info | Planned Service Notices: JFK Airport Terminal 4 Bus Stop Relocation". May 31, 2012. Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
- ^ "MTA Bus Service Changes". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. June 2011. Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
- ^ a b c "Planned Service Changes: Effective Sunday, July 1, 2012". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2012. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ^ "Goldfeder Asks MTA For Q53 Public Input". Wave of Long Island. May 25, 2012. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ^ Gendron, Roger (June 8, 2012). "MTA Q11 Hamilton Beach service change". Leader-Observer. Archived from the original on December 31, 2015. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ^ "MTA Bus Service Changes". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 2008. Archived from the original on December 24, 2008. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
- ^ "MTA Bus Extends Q21 Route To Queens Boulevard". Wave of Long Island. September 5, 2008. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ^ a b Rafter, Domenick (May 18, 2012). "Queens Tribune – DOT Eyes New Bus Route To Rockaways". Arverne by the Sea. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
- ^ Briano, Nicholas (November 18, 2011). "MTA Creating Arverne Bus Service". Wave of Long Island. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ^ "Planned Service Changes: Q21 Rerouted to Arverne and Introduction of Weekday Peak Period Limited-Stop Service". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
- ^ Roberts, Richard (April 12, 1985). "THE BEST PLACES TO PERCH TO SEE THE BIRDS CHECK IN". The New York Times. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
- ^ a b New York Times, Rockaway Bus Line Extends Service, July 3, 1937, page 17
- ^ "Bus Route Is Extended" (PDF). The New York Times. November 19, 1941. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
- ^ a b "Appendix B: Route Profiles" (PDF). nyc.gov. New York City Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
- ^ a b Weir, Richard (May 2, 1999). "NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: FAR ROCKAWAY; Express Bus? Not by a Long Stretch, Riders Say". The New York Times. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
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- ^ a b Queens Courier Staff (April 19, 2011). "NEWS BRIEFS". Queens Courier. Archived from the original on October 7, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ^ Rosenberg, Miriam (August 24, 2007). "Extended Route For QM16 Bus Announced". Wave of Long Island. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ^ "Bus Timetable: QM16/QM1& Spring 2011" (PDF). arvernebythesea.com. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Spring 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2015. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
- ^ McCarthy, Ellen (December 16, 2011). "Move QM 16 Back". Wave of Long Island. Archived from the original on October 7, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ^ "Green Bus Lines, Inc. Keeps PACE with the...World of To-Morrow!". The Leader-Observer. Fultonhistory.com. April 27, 1939. p. 13. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
- ^ Moscow, Henry (July 21, 1947). "500 Queens Bus Drivers Stay Out; Mayor, Defied, Calls them 'Outlaws'". New York Post. Fultonhistory.com. p. 5. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
- ^ "Snipping $250,000 Worth of Ribbon". Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. May 29, 1939. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
- ^ "Building Plan Filed" (PDF). The New York Times. May 4, 1951. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
- ^ a b Silverman, Norman (July 26, 2010). "The Merger of 7 Private Bus Companies into MTA Bus" (PDF). apta.com. American Public Transportation Association, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2015. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
- ^ a b Green Bus Lines (November 2, 1944). "Greasers". The Wave of Long Island. Fultonhistory.com. p. 7. Retrieved March 27, 2016.