Port Authority board OKs $160M for faster bus service between LaGuardia Airport, trains

The Port Authority Board of Commissioners approved $160 million in funding Thursday to create faster bus routes to link the Q70 bus line from LaGuardia Airport to the subway and Long Island Rail Road.

Commissioners for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey approved funding for the Q70 bus improvements during their board meeting Thursday in New Jersey,

The plan, unveiled by Gov. Kathy Hochul, Port Authority and the MTA, will add new bus lanes and increase bus service between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., starting June 1.

The Q70 bus runs nonstop from LaGuardia to the subway station at Jackson Heights. The average time, depending on traffic, takes about 10 to 30 minutes. LaGuardia Link is free for passengers.

Officials hope the route will increase bus ridership for commuters to LaGuardia, taking the bus to the LIRR in Woodside or the subway in Jackson Heights. Hochul scrapped plans two years ago for a $2.4 billion AirTrain to LaGuardia, going from Penn Station to Willets Point.

The proposal calls for prioritizing bus service by syncing traffic lights on Roosevelt Avenue and Broadway, according to the Port Authority. It also calls for a bus lane for the route on the shoulder of the northbound Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, between Northern and Astoria boulevards.

The MTA and Port Authority are expected to improve lighting and directions to Woodside and Jackson Heights stations, as well as making a new bus stop for pickups and drop-offs at LaGuardia’s Terminal C.

Officials said new traffic lights could be implemented this year, while the primary bus lane on the BQE and airport construction would be completed by 2027.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.