Q64

The eastbound Q64 starts at the Forest Hills–71st Avenue subway station in Forest Hills on the north side of Queens Boulevard at 71st Avenue. Then the bus route turns onto Jewel Avenue, crossing over the Grand Central Parkway, Flushing Meadows – Corona Park, and Van Wyck Expressway. The bus then travels through Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, and passes by Queens College. Eastbound buses turn south onto Parsons Boulevard, then run east along 71st Avenue, terminating at 164th Street. Buses lay over on the east side of 164th Street before reentering service on Jewel Avenue.^[5][6]

The westbound Q64 essentially follows the same route until just west of the Van Wyck Expressway, where the westbound Q64 turns slightly north onto 69th Road, which runs parallel to Jewel Avenue. The westbound Q64 continues along 69th Road until the intersection with 108th Street, where buses turn left and continue four blocks to Queens Boulevard. Buses lay over at the west side of 108th Street between Queens Boulevard and 70th Road.^[5][6]

QM4

Eastbound QM4 service via Sixth Avenue begins at Sixth Avenue and 36th Street. The route then picks up passengers along Sixth Avenue. Sixth Avenue service turns onto 57th Street. Afterwards, the service moves onto 59th Street, and then turns onto the Queensboro Bridge crossing over the East River into Queens. Once in Queens, the bus continues along Queens Boulevard making no stops until it reaches Jewel Avenue. The bus drops off passengers along Jewel Avenue, and turns onto 164th Street, with its final stop at the Horace Harding Expressway.^[5][6]

Westbound QM4 service begins at 164th Street and the Horace Harding Expressway, and then turns onto Jewel Avenue picking up passengers. Once the route reaches Queens Boulevard, the bus stops picking up passengers. The bus route then continues via Queens Boulevard until it turns onto the Long Island Expressway. It then goes under the East River through the Queens Midtown Tunnel. Once in Manhattan the bus goes via Sixth Avenue. The bus drops off passengers and then turns via 57th Street, terminating at Third Avenue.^[5][6][3]

QM44

Eastbound QM44 service begins at Third Avenue and 39th Street. The route then picks up passengers along Third Avenue. Afterwards, the service moves onto 59th Street, and then turns onto the Queensboro Bridge crossing over the East River into Queens. Once in Queens, the bus continues along Queens Boulevard making no stops until it reaches Jewel Avenue. The bus drops off passengers along Jewel Avenue, and turns onto 164th Street, with its final stop at the Horace Harding Expressway.^[5][6][3]

Westbound QM44 service begins at 164th Street and the Horace Harding Expressway, and then turns onto Jewel Avenue picking up passengers. Once the route reaches Queens Boulevard, the bus stops picking up passengers. The bus route then continues via Queens Boulevard until it turns onto the Long Island Expressway. It then goes under the East River through the Queens Midtown Tunnel. Once in Manhattan the bus goes via Third Avenue until its last stop at 56th Street.^[5][6][3]

QM44 service only operates during rush hours in the peak direction.^[3]

MTA takeover

On February 27, 2005, the MTA Bus Company took over the operations of the Queens Surface routes as part of the city's takeover of all the remaining privately operated bus routes.^[18][19] On September 2, 2007, the Q65A was renumbered to the Q64.^[20][21] Until 2010, the Q64 operated out of College Point Depot (the former Queens Surface garage), but has since been operating out of the Baisley Park Depot (the former Jamaica Buses facility) in South Jamaica. In January 2020, the QM4 and QM44 routes were moved back into College Point Depot due to lack of express buses in Baisley Park Depot. On September 8, 2013, overnight service was added making the Q64 a 24/7 bus route and eliminating the 90 minute gap in service between 2:30 AM and 4:00 AM.^[22]

On July 5, 2016, the branch of the QM4 along Third Avenue was relabeled as the QM44 as part of the renumbering of Queens express routes' Third Avenue branches.^[23][24]

Queens bus redesign

In December 2019, the MTA released a draft redesign of the Queens bus network.^[25][26] As part of the redesign, the Q10 and Q64 buses would have been replaced by a high-density "intra-borough" route, the QT14, running from Electchester to the Lefferts Boulevard station of the AirTrain JFK. The QM4 and QM44 would have been replaced by one express route, the QMT162.^[27] The redesign was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City in 2020,^[28] and the original draft plan was dropped due to negative feedback.^[29]

A revised plan was released in March 2022.^[30] As part of the new plan, the Q64 would be discontinued, but the Q10 would be extended to Electchester along the Q64's route, using the same path as the QT14. The QM4 and QM44 would remain with only minor changes to their non-stop sections.^[31] A final bus-redesign plan was released in December 2023.^[32][33] The final plan called for the Q10 and Q64 to remain separate routes; although the Q64's routing would remain unchanged, there would be modifications to stop spacing and headways.^{[34]: 303–304} The QM4 and QM44 would retain their existing routings, with only changes to stop spacings and frequencies.^{[34]: 428, 524}