The Q5, Q85, Q86, Q87, and Q89 bus routes constitute a public transit corridor running along Merrick Boulevard in Southeastern Queens, New York City, United States. The routes run from the Jamaica Center transit hub and business district to Rosedale, with continued service to the Green Acres Mall shopping center in Nassau County. The Q4 and Q84 buses also serve the northern portion of the corridor, before diverging east along Linden Boulevard and 120th Avenue respectively.
The Q4, Q5, Q84, and Q85 routes were operated by Bee-Line Inc. and later the North Shore Bus Company until 1947. The four routes were later taken over by MTA Regional Bus Operations under the New York City Transit brand. On June 29, 2025, all weekday Q5 service began terminating at 233rd Street, and all weekend daytime service began running to Green Acres, with its Rosedale branch replaced by the Q86. Weekday service to Green Acres is provided by the Q87, and the Q85’s Green Acres branch was spun off into the Q89. All of these routes are operated by MTA Regional Bus Operations.
Route description and service
The Q5, Q85, Q86, Q87, and Q89 share most of the Queens portion of Merrick Boulevard (also known as Floyd H. Flake Boulevard), which runs southeast towards the Nassau County border. The routes run from the Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer bus terminal to either Rosedale near the Nassau County border or Green Acres Mall in Nassau County. The Q5 makes local stops on the corridor, while the Q85, Q86, Q87, and Q89 are rush routes, making limited stops along the corridor and local stops elsewhere. The routes on the corridor mainly serve as feeder routes to New York City Subway services at Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer station. Buses along the corridor operate out of the Jamaica Bus Depot on Merrick Boulevard near Jamaica Center.
Q5
The Q5 begins at Bay A of the Jamaica Center Bus Terminal, traveling southeast down nearly the entire length of Merrick Boulevard in Queens. On weekdays, Q5 buses terminate at 233rd Street, Merrick Boulevard (near Francis Lewis Boulevard, Brookville Boulevard and the Belt Parkway) with weekday service to Green Acres Mall being provided by the Q87 east of that point. On weekends, Q5 buses run to Green Acres Mall when it is open and to the Rosedale LIRR station when the mall is closed. The Q86 does not run on weekend nights, and the Q87 does not run at night on any day of the week. At the county line, the route turns south along Hook Creek Boulevard to Conduit Avenue. The Green Acres branch travels east along Conduit Avenue, which becomes the Sunrise Highway in Nassau County, then makes a clockwise loop around the Green Acres Mall, terminating at the parking structure at West Circle Drive. The Rosedale branch travels west along Conduit Avenue and ends at Francis Lewis Boulevard, with service heading back to Jamaica via Brookville Boulevard.
When school is in session, four extra trips run to Jamaica from three different points of origin. Two buses depart from 108th Avenue near P.S./I.S. 116 William C. Hughley at 2:30 and 2:32pm; one bus departs from 233rd Street at P.S./I.S. 270 Gordon Parks at 2:25pm; and one bus departs from Springfield Boulevard near I.S. 059 Springfield Gardens at 2:40pm.
Q86 and Q87 The Q86 and Q87 begins Bay B making limited stops on the portions of the routes that operate on Merrick Boulevard; the Q86 and Q87 make local stops on Merrick Boulevard east of Springfield Boulevard. At Brookville Boulevard, the Q86 turns south, running to Francis Lewis Boulevard and turning southeast. At Conduit Avenue–243rd Street, the Q86 then runs along 243rd Street, sharing the street with the Q85. While the Q85 terminates at 147th Avenue, the Q86 continues farther into Rosedale. The Q86 terminates at the intersection of 253rd Street and 149th Avenue. The Q87, meanwhile, continues east past Brookville Boulevard to the intersection of Merrick and Hook Creek Boulevards, where the route turns south along Hook Creek Boulevard to Conduit Avenue. It then turns east to serve Green Acres Mall.
Q85 and Q89
The Q85 and Q89 begins at Bay C of the Jamaica Center Bus Terminal, running down Merrick Boulevard to Baisley Boulevard and 120th Avenue in St. Albans. They then turn south along Baisley Boulevard and run Bedell Street (adjacent to the tracks of the Long Island Rail Road's Montauk Branch near Rochdale Village), and 140th Avenue to Springfield Boulevard. The Q85 and Q89 routes then turn south along Springfield Boulevard to Conduit Avenue, then east along Conduit Avenue, along the former Brooklyn-Freeport Line streetcar route. At Francis Lewis Boulevard near the Rosedale LIRR station, the Q85 and Q89 split. The Q85 turns south along 243rd Street and terminates at the intersection of 147th Avenue and Huxley Street, with a transfer to the to continue farther east along 147th Avenue. The Q89 continues a short distance east along Conduit Avenue/Sunrise Highway into Nassau County, terminating at Green Acres Mall.
When school is in session, several Q85 buses operate to Jamaica from three different points of origin. Three buses depart from George Washington Carver High School at 144th Avenue between 2:36 and 3:02pm; two depart from the Rosedale LIRR station at 2:34 and 2:36pm; and two depart from MS 355 CAMS and St. Francis College at 145th Avenue, heading straight on Springfield Boulevard to its regular route. In addition, one extra trip departs from Jamaica Center at 2:05pm and terminates at Huxley Street without using the turnaround in Brookville.
Other routes
Merrick Boulevard is also served by the following: The and rush routes provide additional service south of Archer Avenue, making limited stops on Merrick Boulevard and local stops elsewhere. At Linden Boulevard, the Q4 turns east towards Cambria Heights. At the intersection of Baisley Boulevard and 120th Avenue, the Q84 turns east along 120th Avenue towards Laurelton near the Montefiore Cemetery. The Jamaica-bound , n6/n6X, n22/n22X, n24, and select n1 and n26 buses use the one-way stretch of the boulevard from Hillside Avenue to Jamaica Avenue. The n4 local and the n4X express services of the Nassau Inter-County Express also run along Merrick Boulevard from Jamaica to the county line, continuing along Merrick Road to Freeport in Nassau County. These buses, however, only make pick-ups towards Freeport and drop-offs towards Jamaica within Queens.
Express bus service The express bus begins in Rosedale, and runs along Francis Lewis Boulevard (the former Q5S route), 249th Street, Hook Creek Boulevard, and Merrick Boulevard to Linden Boulevard. It then turns west along Linden Boulevard towards Midtown Manhattan.
History
Early history
On August 9, 1921, the Orange Bus Line began service along Merrick Road from Freeport in Nassau County to Rosedale in Queens near the county border. On September 15, 1921, the route was extended west and north to the Jamaica business district. In 1922, Republic Motor Truck Company dealer Henry B. Carter sold two truck chassis fitted with bus bodies to the operators of the Orange Line. On February 13, 1922, the Orange Line ceased operations, and the buses reverted to Carter's ownership. Carter's new Bee-Line Bus Company operated its first bus, without a franchise, on February 19, between the Rosedale station and Jamaica. This was the predecessor to the Q5. With only two buses, the route originally operated on half-hour headways. In addition to Jamaica-Rosedale service, on April 3, 1926, Bee-Line began operating service along Merrick Road between Jamaica and Freeport, Long Island, replacing the eastern portion of the Brooklyn-Freeport Line streetcar. Bee Line originally operated from 163rd Street and Jamaica Avenue in the Jamaica business district. On October 1, 1930, the Bee Line routes began terminating at the newly constructed Jamaica Union Bus Terminal near its former terminus. The new bus terminal was located at Jamaica Avenue and New York Boulevard (now Guy R. Brewer Boulevard), adjacent to the now-closed Union Hall Street Long Island Rail Road station.
The Q5A services were first operated by Transit Coach Corporation in 1931. By 1937, Schenck Transportation operated the route. By 1938, the Q5A was operated by the North Shore Bus Company.
On August 11, 1936, the Bee-Line routes were moved to the newly opened 165th Street Bus Terminal (then the Long Island Bus Terminal). In May 1939, Bee-Line relinquished its Queens routes. These routes began operation from the terminal under North Shore Bus Company on June 25, 1939, as part of the company's takeover of nearly all routes in Zone D (Jamaica and Southeast Queens). The Queens-Nassau County Merrick route was retained by Bee-Line; it is now the n4 of the Nassau Inter-County Express. The northern terminus of the Q4, Q4A (predecessor to the Q84), Q5, and Q5A was moved once again to Hillside Avenue and 168th Street, near the 169th Street station of the IND Queens Boulevard Line, on October 27, 1939. In 1941, the Q5A Farmers Boulevard service was extended from the Higbie Avenue station on the Long Island Rail Road to Springfield Boulevard.
NYCTA operation On March 30, 1947, North Shore Bus would be taken over by the New York City Board of Transportation (later the New York City Transit Authority), making the bus routes city operated.
On November 29, 1956, the NYCTA approved a large slate of cuts in bus service citywide to take effect January 22, 1957. Initially, the Q5S route was planned to be discontinued as part of the changes. However, due to requests by the Queens Borough President and civic groups, the cut was averted. Instead, free transfers were made available at the terminal in Laurelton. Sunday service was discontinued on February 3, 1957, but was restored on August 4. On August 24, 1957, the NYCTA announced that this service would be discontinued on September 8 if ridership did not increase. The NYCTA had lost $30 each Sunday the service was operated.
The Bedell Street branch of the Q5A began operation on August 9, 1964, to serve Rochdale Village and reduce congestion on the other routes along Merrick Boulevard. This branch would start at Bedell Avenue and 133rd Avenue, run along Bedell Avenue, Baisley Boulevard, Merrick Boulevard, 168th Street, 88th Avenue, and 168th Place, and then would run via Hillside Avenue east of 167th Street. Service would return by Hillside Avenue, Merrick Boulevard to the 165th Street bus terminal, Merrick Boulevard, Baisley Boulevard and Bedell Street. This service, which was requested by Queens Borough President Mario J. Cariello, would run weekdays between 6 a.m. and 12 a.m., and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends and holidays. Rush hour service would be every ten minutes, and every 20 minutes during weekdays off-peak, and Sundays and holidays, and every 15 minutes on Saturdays. Early morning service on this branch was added at some point afterwards.
On September 10, 1973, to better serve Rosedale, Q5A service was scheduled to be extended to 253rd Street and 149th Avenue, and Jamaica-bound service was rerouted off of Brookville Boulevard and onto 243rd Street. The new route had been approved by Community Board 13 in December 1972. On September 14, 1973, members of the Rosedale Block Association, who had refused to let buses travel along Huxley Avenue between 147th Avenue and 149th Avenue met with Queens Borough President Manes. Residents claimed that the street was too narrow for buses and that the street was too prone to flooding after rainstorms. By this date, Q5A buses did not attempt to use the new route, and the NYCTA did not plan to do so until an agreement was reached with residents.
On April 20, 1975, to cut costs, service on the Farmers Boulevard branch to Huxley Street between 1:15 a.m. and 5 a.m. was eliminated. Early morning service via Bedell Street was maintained.