 Former Green Line Q40 MCI Classic inSouth 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 asGreen Lines, was a private bus company in New York City. It operated local service inQueens and express service toManhattan until January 9, 2006, when the city-operatedMTA Bus Company took over its routes. It was managed most recently by Jerome Cooper (1928–2015).
Green Bus Lines routes primarily operated in theJamaica,Ozone Park,Howard Beach,South Jamaica, and theRockaways areas of Queens, along with service to the passenger and cargo areas ofJohn 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 asTransit Alliance. These companies wereTriboro Coach,Jamaica Buses, andCommand Bus Company, all of which were absorbed into the MTA Regional Bus operations.[3][4] The company reorganized asGTJ Reit Inc., a real estate investment trust, shortly after MTA takeover.
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 andNew 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 includedWoodhaven,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 (theQ60) since 1937, in 1943.[15]
Green stockholders acquired two other transit companies that continued to operate independently:Triboro Coach Corporation in October 1947, andJamaica Buses in April 1949.[4][5] Jointly these three companies formedCommand 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 replaceLong Island Rail Road service to theBrooklyn Manor station on theRockaway Beach Branch.[16] It was discontinued in 2010. Four more express routes began operation in the 1970s.
Just prior to MTA Bus takeover, Green Bus lines operated the following routes, which mostly continued to be based inFar Rockaway Bus Depot andJohn F. Kennedy Bus Depot.[17] Hubs for Green Lines operations included165th Street Bus Terminal in Jamaica, theMott Avenue subway station in Far Rockaway, and several stations on theIND 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 atEuclid 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 atKew 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 atWoodhaven Boulevard ( E F M R trains) andQueens 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 atFar Rockaway – Mott Avenue ( S train) | Edgemere Avenue, Cross Bay Boulevard, Pitkin Avenue, Linden Boulevard | East New York, Brooklyn Livonia Avenue and New Lots Avenue atNew 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 atFlatbush 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 atKew 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 atSutphin 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 atPenn Station | Manhattan: 34th Street Queens: Woodhaven Boulevard, Jamaica Avenue | Woodhaven 102nd Street and Jamaica Avenue |
|
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 thenSouth 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 ofJohn F. Kennedy International Airport.
Green Lines' second southeast Queens garage was located inJamaica at 147th Avenue andRockaway Boulevard (165-25 147th Avenue)[15] nearJFK 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″N73°46′26″W / 40.661348°N 73.773916°W /40.661348; -73.773916
Green Lines operated a facility on theRockaway Peninsula, situated onRockaway Beach Boulevard and Beach 49th Street (49-19 Rockaway Beach Boulevard)[15][55] in the neighborhood ofArverne.[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″N73°46′47″W / 40.592950°N 73.779614°W /40.592950; -73.779614
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
