The MTA will get $500,000 to study bus service in northeastern Queens, state lawmakers will announce Thursday..
State Sen. Tony Avella said the goal is to show where bus routes are most needed in neighborhoods without nearby access to the subway. The study, which must be done in a year, will look at the effects of the MTA’s 2010 service reductions and solicit community opinion, according to Avella.
“The MTA significantly cut back on bus service and we were already underserved to begin with,” Avella said.
Following the cutbacks, the MTA has added about $40 million citywide in restoring or adding service since 2012, an MTA spokesman said. This week, the MTA announced that two Queens buses, the Q31 and Q77, will get better weekend service as part of a $7.9 million package. The MTA recently studied bus use in the Co-op City section of the Bronx..
