The MTA will be launching a new marketing campaign geared toward raising public awareness of the LaGuardia Link, the rebranded Q70 that will roll out this fall.
New buses, colored teal blue with Link branding, will hit streets this September as part of a Select Bus Service overhaul for the route geared toward improving and more clearly defining the authority’s bus that runs from Woodside to the Queens airport.
“Raising customer awareness is a critical component to increasing ridership of this fast, easy way to get to the airport,” said MTA Chairman and CEO Thomas F. Prendergast in a statement.
To promote the route, the MTA will supply backlit dioramas and wall wraps for the airport’s baggage claim areas; as well as marketing for inflight Wi-Fi and video services on Southwest Airlines and advertising in print publications on Delta, American, United, and Southwest airlines. The authority also said there will be an “extensive” social media campaign on travel sites like Expedia.
The Link will remain the cost of a MetroCard swipe, though the MTA reports that 76 percent of riders benefit from a free transfer.
The redesign comes from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plans to improve the bus experience. New Link buses are part of the MTA’s $1.3 billion capital commitment to add 2,042 new buses, equipped with Wi-Fi and USB charging ports, to its fleet over the next five years.
After the revamp, the Q70’s 4,300 weekday riders will benefit from off-board fare payment technology at its stops along the Woodside-61 Street 7 station, where a LIRR transfer is available, and the Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue 7,E,F, M and R train station.
