Jamaica Buses, Inc., also known as Jamaica Bus Lines or the Jamaica Bus Company, was a bus company in New York City, New York, operating local service in Queens and express service to Manhattan until January 30, 2006, when the MTA Bus Company took over its operations.
The president of Jamaica Buses, and GTJ Reit Inc. was the late Jerome Cooper (August 14, 1928 – May 20, 2015, aged 86).Jamaica Buses Incorporated (accessed January 19, 2007; archived June 4, 2015)Obituaries; Jerome Cooper (New York Times; May 21, 2015) Its facility was located on 114-15 Guy R. Brewer Boulevard in South Jamaica, Queens.
From 1954 to 1995, Jamaica Buses, also provided charter services.
History After the bankruptcy of the Long Island Electric Railway in 1926, the company's trolley lines in Nassau County were disestablished, however the ones in Queens survived, and the company was reorganized as the Jamaica Central Railways. This company would continue to operate streetcars for another six years. Upon reestablishment, the company purchased used trolley cars from companies such as the Empire State Railroad of Oswego, and the New York and Stamford Railway. Many of these cars dated back as far as 1911 and proved to be defective when used on the Far Rockaway Line. The conditions became so dangerous that by the Summer of 1930 the New York State Public Service Commission intervened and demanded that they trade the cars in for those from the Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway. Unfortunately, those cars proved to be inadequate, and that line was eventually abandoned. Cars on other lines inherited from the LIER did not suffer such misfortunes.
In 1930, the City of New York granted the company a bus franchise service named Jamaica Buses, a subsidiary of Jamaica Central Railways. Bus operation over all the former JCR trolley lines began on November 12, 1933; this coincided with the widening of Jamaica Avenue, and the removal of the trolley tracks on the former routes. The company was acquired by the stockholders of Green Bus Lines in April 1949 after financial troubles, but also continued to operate independently. The change in ownership took effect on April 13, 1949, with Green Lines paying $200,000. In 1971 the QM21 express route to Manhattan was initiated.
Bus routes
Just prior to MTA Bus takeover, Jamaica Buses operated on the following routes that are now based in Baisley Park Bus Depot, the former company facility.Jamaica Buses Incorporated (Internet Archive) All four local routes shared a northern terminal in Jamaica, Queens at the Parsons Boulevard subway station at Hillside Avenue. Old route designations can also be found in the local routes.
Route(Former)Terminal AMajor streets of travelTerminal BNotesQueens LocalQ110(A)Jamaica88th Avenue and Parsons Boulevardat Parsons Boulevard ()or179th Street and Hillside Avenueat Jamaica – 179th Street ()Jamaica Avenue, Hempstead AvenueElmontBelmont Park Original Jamaica terminus was 168th Street station, the former terminus of the surface line.New York Times, New Subway Line: Affords a Five-Cent Fare Between Manhattan and Jamaica, L.I., July 7, 1918, page 30 179th Street trips discontinued; rerouted from Hempstead Avenue to Floral Park via Jamaica Avenue in 2025.Q111(B)Jamaica88th Avenue and Parsons Boulevardat Parsons Boulevard ()Guy R. Brewer BoulevardRosedale147th Avenue/Hook Creek Boulevard- or - CedarhurstPeninsula Boulevard/Rockaway TurnpikeFull route rebranded to “Rush”; short-turns to Farmers Boulevard relabeled to Q115 in 2025.Q112(C)South Road, Liberty AvenueOzone ParkRockaway Boulevard/98th Streetat Rockaway Boulevard () Original Jamaica terminus was 168th Street station on the BMT Jamaica Line. Extended to East New York via Sutter/Pitkin Avenues in 2025.Q113(B); (D)Guy R. Brewer Boulevard, Rockaway Boulevard,Central Avenue, Beach 9th StreetFar RockawaySeagirt Boulevard and Beach 20th Street Original Jamaica terminus was at 168th Street station on the BMT Jamaica Line. Original Far Rockaway terminus was at the Far Rockaway LIRR station (site of the current subway station). Q113 local split off into Q114 in August 2014. Q114 converted from Limited Route to Rush route in June 2025. Queens-Manhattan expressQM21Gramercy ParkManhattan: 23rd Street, Madison Avenue, 57th StreetQueens: Queens Boulevard, Linden Boulevard,Guy R. Brewer BoulevardRochdale Village LoopManhattan Express
References
External links
NYCDOT - Privately Operated Bus Service (as of early-to-mid 2000s, accessed January 19, 2007) Jamaica Bus Photos (Bus:NYCSubway.org) Story of the Long Island Electric Railway and the Jamaica Central Railways, 1894-1933, Internet Archive