MTA & NYCT Bus: Old + New Queens Bus Routes Meet In Flushing (Redesign Phase I Transition Period)

Taken on 6/29/25. Video of buses operating on the old and new Queens routes simultaneously through Flushing within the first two hours after Phase I of the Queens Bus Redesign was enacted. At midnight on June 29th, Phase I of the new Queens bus network was officially in place. This phase primarily included route and stop changes in eastern Queens, in addition to the neighborhoods of Corona, Elmhurst, and Ridgewood. The old route network however, did not automatically end at midnight. Operators on all old routes operated until the end of their runs on the scheduled day. Depending on how runs were structured, the last bus departed as late as 3:00 AM. On the flip side, the new Q20 route officially started on June 28th as the first scheduled trip of each day is the 11:50 PM departure from College Point. This was one of the two new routes officially starting before midnight, the other being the Q12. As a result, during the early hours of June 29th, one would be able to catch buses on the old and new routes meeting up and/or operating together. The Flushing hub made it easy to catch many of these instances. The Q12, Q27 and Q65 were operating both the new and old runs together, providing two buses for each departure for some time after midnight. Additionally the last Q65 to College Point passed through around 1:30 AM, so there was an overlap between Q26 shuttle and Q65 buses to/from Jamaica running minutes from each other, north of Roosevelt Avenue. The Q15, Q16, Q20A, Q27, and Q48 operated until the end of their service days. The last Q27 via Kissena Blvd/Holly Avenue departed at 2:10 AM. The first Q27 via Sanford/Parsons was the 1:40 AM trip, followed by the 3:10 AM trip. On the Q50, the conversion to 24/7 service made the midnight trips the first trips of the day instead of the last. Since both old and new runs were being operated, there were two buses for some of the post-midnight trips. The one bus route seemingly lost in all of this was the Q13, which was nowhere to be found. Here's a rundown of the video: 0:00 Nova Bus LFS 8778 on First Q20 With New Flyer C40LF 209 on Q65 to College Point & Nova Bus LFS 8009 on Q27 Local via Kissena/Holly @ Main St & Roosevelt Ave (1212 AM) 1:51 New Flyer C40LF 558 on Last Q65 Ever From College Point Stops at Main Street & Roosevelt Avenue (1216 AM) 2:59 New Flyer XD40 7409 on Q48 Terminating & Reentering In Service In Flushing (1221-1225 AM) 4:08 New Flyer C40LF 539 on First Q26 Ever Operated By MTA Bus Enters Service to College Pt. at Main Street & Roosevelt Ave + Nova Bus LFS 8941 on Last Q15 via 154th Street Entering Service For Final Time (1227-1230 AM) 5:59 Last Scheduled Q16 Ever via Francis Lewis Blvd Branch Enters Service @ 39th Ave & Union St, Nova Bus LFS 8949 (1241 AM) 8:10 First Q28 Rush and Q28 Operated By MTA Bus Ever Enters Service @ 39th Ave & Union St, New Flyer C40LF 236 (1245 AM) 9:44 Two 2023 New Flyer XD40s on Q50 Scheduled For Same Trip Terminate @ 39th Ave & Main St Close Together, Due to Old & New Runs Operating Simultaneously (1253-1254 AM) 12:09 New Flyer XD60 4727 on New Q12 via Northern Blvd + New Flyer C40LF 651 Entering Service on New Q65 via Sanford Ave Meet New Flyer 657 on Old Q65 to College Pt @ Main St & 39th Ave (1258 AM) 12:55 Final Q20A Ever Passes Through Main St & Roosevelt Ave Towards College Point, Nova Bus LFS 8938 (101 AM) 13:27 Nova Bus LFS 8881 Not In Service + New Flyer XD40 9374 on Q50 LIMITED to Pelham Bay + Nova Bus LFS 8430 on Old Q27 Local via Kissena Blvd/Holly Ave Pass Through Main St & Roosevelt Ave (108 AM) 14:23 Nova Bus LFSs 8905 on Old Q48 & 8662 on Final Old Q27 via Kissena Blvd/Holly Ave From Cambria Heights + New Flyer C40LF 539 on New Overnight Q26 Shuttle Arriving at Flushing Terminal (115-116 AM) 16:04 Nova Bus LFS 8958 on Final Old Q48 Entering Service @ Main St & Roosevelt Ave to LaGuardia Airport For Last Time (122 AM) 16:31 New Flyer C40LFs 539 on New Q26 Enters Service + 606 on Q25 Stop @ Main St & Roosevelt Ave (127-129 AM) 18:03 Final Ever Q65 to College Point on Old Route, New Flyer C40LF 612, Stops @ Main Street & Roosevelt Ave, Followed By First Ever Q27 on New Sanford Ave/Parsons Blvd Route Terminating, Nova Bus LFS 8790 (131-133 AM) 20:36 New Flyer C40LF 628 on New Q65 Route via Sanford Ave Terminates at Main St & Roosevelt Ave (136 AM) 22:22 Nova Bus LFS 8790 Heads to Turnaround In Order to Start First Trip Ever on New Q27 via Sanford Ave/Parsons Blvd from Flushing (~140 AM) Thanks for watching! Like and subscribe for more content!