Queens Surface Corporation was a bus company in New York City, United States, operating local service in Queens and the Bronx and express service between Queens and Manhattan until February 27, 2005, when the MTA Bus Company took over the operations and renamed its facility to the College Point Depot. The company was known for its orange paint scheme, used since the company's inception in the late 1930s.

Queens Surface Corporation was privately held by the Gordon and Burke families. The Queens Surface Corporation facility was located at 128-15 28th Avenue in the College Point neighborhood of Queens.

History

New York and Queens County Railway The New York and Queens County Railway (NY&QC) became the largest trolley line in Queens in 1896, through the consolidation of four previous streetcar operators: Flushing and College Point Electric Railway, Long Island City and Newtown Railway, Newtown Railway, and the original Steinway Railway Company. It served Long Island City, Woodside, Astoria, North Beach, College Point, Jamaica, and even the Queensboro Bridge. Between 1903 and 1922, the NY&QC became an affiliate of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company.New York and Queens County Railway Waiting Room (Long Island Stations & Structures, by Paul S. Luchter; TrainWeb) On June 24, 1930, the Woodside Car barn was hit with a massive fire that destroyed much of their fleet, along with the fleet of their competitors, the Steinway Railway (see below).

Steinway Railway

The Steinway Railway operated in northwestern Queens in 1892, through the merger of the Rikers Avenue and Sanford Point Railroad and Steinway and Hunters Point Railroad, only to be acquired by NY&QC in 1896. As NY&QC faced bankruptcy in 1922, it began to sell off Steinway as a somewhat independent company. It was bought by the Third Avenue Railway System but was allowed to operate under its own name.

Bustitution and re-merging On February 19, 1926, NY&QC established a bus division called the Queens-Nassau Transit Lines. Queens-Nassau buses replaced all NY&QC trolleys by 1937, with the last being motorized on October 30 of that year. In the fall of 1938, the Steinway Railway was bought by Queensboro Bridge Railway Company and renamed as Steinway Omnibus. Steinway began operating buses over former Steinway Railway lines on September 29, 1939. Both companies were operated by the same management, and casually referred to as the "orange buses". Queens-Nassau was renamed Queens Transit Corporation in 1957, and Steinway Omnibus became Steinway Transit in 1959. The two companies merged again in 1986 to form the Queens/Steinway Transit Corporation. The joint company was owned by the H.E. Salzberg Company (scrap metal and short-haul railways) with father Harold Salzberg, son Murray M. Salzberg (1915-1984, aged 69) and grandson Harry Salzberg, which had ripped up the rails, running these two companies until 1988, when the Linden Bus Company acquired the routes from the aging grandson Harry Salzberg. Shortly thereafter and before operations commenced, Linden Bus Company changed its name to Queens Surface Corporation.

On February 27, 2005, the MTA Bus Company took over the operations of the Queens Surface routes, part of the city's takeover of all the remaining privately operated bus routes.

Bus routes Prior to MTA Bus takeover, Queens Surface operated the following routes that are now based in College Point Bus Depot, the LaGuardia Depot (the former Triboro Coach depot), and the Eastchester Depot (the former New York Bus Service depot in the Bronx).Queens Surface Corp: Employment (via the Internet Archive)

RouteTerminal AMajor streets of travelTerminal BNotes/HistoryFORMER QUEENS SURFACE CORPORATION BUS ROUTESBronx and Queens LocalQBx1FlushingMain Street and 39th Avenuenear Flushing – Main Street ()Whitestone Expressway, Hutchinson River Parkway,Bruckner Boulevard, Co-op City BoulevardCo-op City, BronxEarhart Lane and Erskine Place* Limited Stop Service; most service ran exclusively between Pelham Bay Park and Co-op City. Moved to Eastchester Depot in 2009. Interborough service relabeled to the and Co-op City shuttle service relabeled to the in 2010. Off-peak Q50 service to Co-Op City discontinued in 2022. Overnight Q50 service implemented in 2025.Queens LocalQ25JamaicaSutphin Boulevard and 94th Avenueat Sutphin Boulevard – Archer Avenue – JFK Airport () and Jamaica LIRR / AirTrain StationParsons Boulevard, Kissena Boulevard, 127th StreetCollege PointPoppenhusen Avenue and 119th StreetOriginally owned by Flushing Heights Bus Company, service began in 1928. Acquired by Queens–Nassau Transit, Inc. on May 25, 1933. Weekdays, Q34 also provided service between Flushing and Jamaica. The original Q25 terminus was in Flushing; it was combined with the then-Q34 route into College Point. Southern terminus moved from 160th Street and Jamaica Avenue to Parsons Boulevard and Jamaica Avenue in 2005; extended to Jamaica LIRR station on Sutphin Boulevard in 2006. Limited-stop service implemented in 2007; discontinued in 2025.Q34Parsons Boulevard, Kissena Boulevard, Union StreetWhitestoneWillets Point Boulevard and 149th StreetService began in April 1933. Weekday service only. The original Q34 route was the College Point segment of the Q25; it was later rerouted to Whitestone and Linden Hill and then extended along the Q25 route. Southern terminus moved from 160th Street and Jamaica Avenue to Parsons Boulevard and Jamaica Avenue in 2004; extended to Jamaica LIRR station on Sutphin Boulevard in 2006. Discontinued in 2025; Whitestone and Linden Hill service replaced by the . Q65164th Street, 45th Avenue,College Point BoulevardCollege Point14th Avenue and 110th StreetService started on August 10, 1937, to replace Flushing–Jamaica Line and College Point Line streetcar service. Southern terminus moved from 160th Street and Jamaica Avenue to Parsons Boulevard and Jamaica Avenue in 2004; extended to Jamaica LIRR station on Sutphin Boulevard in 2006. Limited-stop service implemented in 2007; discontinued in 2025 Northern terminus truncated to Flushing-Main Street in 2025.Q65AForest HillsQueens Boulevard and 71st Avenueat Forest Hills – 71st Avenue ()Jewel AvenueElectchester164th Street and Jewel AvenueService started in 1951. Renumbered as Q64 in 2007. Was at Baisley Park Depot from 2014 to 2025.Q66Long Island City28th Street and Queens Plaza Southat Queensboro Plaza ()and Queens Plaza ()21st Street, 35th Avenue,Northern BoulevardFlushingMain Street and 39th Avenuenear Flushing – Main Street ()Service started on September 5, 1937, to replace streetcar service. Original terminus was at 51st Street in Woodside; extended to Queens Plaza in 1989.Q6721st Street, Borden Avenue,55th Avenue, 69th StreetMiddle VillageMetropolitan Avenue and Fresh Pond RoadService started on October 30, 1937, to replace streetcar service. Original Middle Village terminal replaced by Fresh Pond Road terminal after the Metro Mall in Middle Village was built and opened in 1974. The mall sits on some of the side streets that were formerly used to turn buses, therefore the route was extended several blocks west to Fresh Pond Road, and uses Eliot Avenue to turn around back on to Metropolitan Avenue. Moved to LaGuardia Depot in 2010. Transferred to NYCT with northern terminus truncated to Court Square in 2025.Queens-Manhattan expressQM2Midtown Manhattan6th AvenueManhattan: 34th Street, 6th Avenue (or 3rd Avenue), 57th Street (Manhattan bound), 59th Street (Queens bound) Queens: Whitestone Expressway service road (weekdays only), Parsons Boulevard (weekends only), Cross Island Parkway service roadBay TerraceBay Terrace Shopping CenterBayside-Whitestone Express, via 6th Avenue or 3rd Avenue Operated by Queens Transit from 1969 until June 30, 1988. Operated by Queens Surface Corporation from July 1, 1988, until MTA takeover on February 27, 2005. Last Manhattan bound dropoff is at 57th Street and 3rd Avenue. Last Queens-bound pickup is on 59th Street and Lexington Avenue. Rerouted away from Whitestone Expressway Service Road to serve Parsons Boulevard on weekends on April 6, 2014. Rerouted away from 57th Street onto 59th Street in the Queens-bound direction on August 24, 2015. 3rd Ave route split off to QM32 in early September 2016.QM2AManhattan: 34th Street, 6th Avenue, 57th Street (Manhattan bound), 59th Street (Queens bound) Queens: Willets Point Boulevard, Utopia Parkway, 26th AvenueBay TerraceCorporal Kennedy Street and 23rd AvenueClearview, Linden & Mitchell Express Weekday service only. Operated by Queens Transit from 1971 until June 30, 1988. Operated by Queens Surface Corporation from July 1, 1988, until MTA takeover on February 27, 2005. Last Manhattan bound dropoff is at 57th Street and 3rd Avenue. Last Queens-bound pickup is at 59th Street and Lexington Avenue. Rerouted off of 57th Street and onto 59th Street in the Queens-bound direction on August 24, 2015. Renumbered to QM20 in September 2011.QM3Manhattan: 34th Street, 6th Avenue, 57th Street (Manhattan bound), 59th Street (Queens bound) Queens: Northern Boulevard, Little Neck Parkway.Little NeckLittle Neck Parkway and Horace Harding ExpresswayDeepdale-Douglaston Express Originally Operated by Queens Transit from 1970 until 1988. Temporarily operated by Caravan Transit from 1988 until 1990. Operated by Queens Surface Corporation from 1990 until MTA takeover in 2005. Last drop off is on 57th Street and 3rd Avenue. Last pick up to Queens is on 59th Street and Lexington Avenue. Queens-bound buses taken off 57th Street and put onto 59th Street on August 24, 2015. Discontinued in 2025.QM4Manhattan: 34th Street, 6th Avenue (or 3rd Avenue), 57th Street Queens: Jewel AvenueElectchester164th Street and Horace Harding ExpresswayJewel Avenue Express Operated by Queens Transit from 1971 until 1988. Operated by Queens Surface Corporation from 1988 until MTA takeover in 2005. Last dropoff is at 57th Street and 3rd Avenue. Former 3rd Avenue service relabeled to QM44 on July 5, 2016.FORMER STEINWAY TRANSIT BUS ROUTES (moved to LaGuardia Depot in 2009-2010)Queens LocalQ101East Midtown, ManhattanEast 61st Street and 2nd AvenueNorthern Boulevard, Steinway Street,20th AvenueSteinway77th Street and Hazen StreetService started on November 1, 1939, to replace Steinway Street Line streetcar service. Formerly operated by Steinway Transit until 1988, and then by Queens Surface Corporation until takeover in 2005. Original northern terminus was Rikers' Island; when the Q101R (now Q100) was created, service was truncated to 19th Avenue. Prior to the creation of the Q101R, this route was the local bus route to traverse three boroughs, since Rikers' Island is located in The Bronx. Traveled between Manhattan and Queens via the Queensboro Bridge until 2025. Northern terminus truncated to 38th Street and southern terminus rerouted to Hunters Point via Jackson Avenue on August 31st, 2025.Q101RLong Island City Jackson Avenue and Queens Plaza Southat Queensboro Plaza ()and Queens Plaza ()21st Street, 20th AvenueRikers Island, BronxStarted service in the 1980s. Formerly operated by Queens Surface Corporation until takeover in 2005. Renumbered as Q100 on April 6, 2008. Originally non-stop between Long Island City and Rikers Island parking lot. Limited-stop service along 21st Street began on February 1, 2009.Q102Roosevelt Island, ManhattanColer-Goldwater HospitalMain Street (Manhattan), Vernon Boulevard, 31st Street, 30th AvenueAstoria27th Avenue and 2nd StreetService started on September 29, 1939, to replace a Steinway Streetcar. Formerly operated by Steinway Transit until 1988, and then by Queens Surface Corporation until takeover in 2005. Travels between Manhattan and Queens via the Roosevelt Island Bridge. Newtown Avenue, Crescent Street, and Astoria Boulevard segment discontinued in favor of operating via 30th Avenue on June 29, 2014.