Triboro Coach Corporation

**Triboro Coach Corporation** was a bus company in New York City, United States, operating local service in Queens and express routes to Manhattan until February 20, 2006, when MTA Bus took over all of its bus operations and services.

## History

Salvatore Fornatora began operating buses in Queens in April 1919 as the Woodside-Astoria Transportation Company, with his first route, the eastern part of today's Q19 route connecting the 103rd Street-Corona Plaza station on the recently opened Corona Line in Corona with Flushing. In 1928, the Corona terminal was extended westward, and moved to Astoria - 21st Street, completing the original formation of today's Q19 Astoria Boulevard bus route, when the Corona Line was extended to Flushing. The company was operating several other routes in the Astoria-Woodside-Maspeth area by 1930.

The new Triboro Coach Corporation was incorporated on April 10, 1931, running the Q18 and Q24 routes. On September 24, 1936, it acquired a city franchise for nine routes in northwestern Queens (the "Long Island City zone"). Triboro acquired the Q23 from the North Shore Bus Company, the Q29 from Kings Coach Company, the Q33 from Municipal Motor Bus Company, the Q38 from Affiliated Bus Transit Corporation, and the Q39 from National City Lines. After World War II during October 1947, Triboro was acquired by the stockholders of Green Bus Lines, after financial difficulties, but continued to operate independently. Its depot in East Elmhurst was opened on January 15, 1954. Major expansions were made in 1956 with an express bus route (now the Q53) between Woodside and Rockaway Park (replacing the Long Island Rail Road's Rockaway Beach Branch, out of service since 1950) and in 1961, when it acquired the Q72 (then the B72) from the New York City Transit Authority. Five express routes to Manhattan were initiated in the 1970s and 1980s: the QM10 & QM11 in 1970, QM12 in 1971, and QM22, QM24, and QM24W in June 1988. Triboro was the first private company in the city to initiate express operations with the Q53 Woodside-Rockaway Park Express bus line in 1956, at the request of the City of New York due to the loss of direct LIRR Rockaway service from Woodside.

In addition to diesel powered buses, Triboro housed a Methanol, and compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling facility, along with several CNG powered buses at its final facility in East Elmhurst. The methanol fuel station was installed in 1989 for six General Motors-built methanol buses. In the early 1990s, three Triboro-operated RTSbuses were fitted with special Detroit DieselSeries 92 engines that ran on methanol provided by Air Products & Chemicals. CNG fueling was installed in 1994 to be used for orders of TMC RTS-06 CNG buses and later Orion V CNG buses that were ordered in conjunction with identical buses used by Command Bus Company and Queens Surface Corporation (now Spring Creek Depot and College Point Depot respectively).

On February 2, 2006, the operations of Triboro Coach were taken over by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) under the MTA Bus Company brand, the final part of the city's takeover of all the remaining subsidized privately operated bus routes. As part of the takeover, the former Triboro Coach garage became the LaGuardia Depot.However, the facility was severely damaged in April 2006 (only 2 months after the MTA Takeover) following an explosion within one of the natural gas lines and destroyed a former Triboro/ ex-Jamaica Bus RTS-04 (see below). All of the ex-Triboro CNG buses were transferred to Spring Creek and College Point Depots and ran from there up until their retirement.

## Bus routes

Just prior to MTA Bus takeover, Triboro Coach operated the following routes. Most of these continue to be based out of the company's former facility in East Elmhurst.

Triboro also operated the Q57 express bus from Queensbridge, Queens at 21st Street and 41st Avenue to LaGuardia Airport in 1990. Nicknamed the "QT (Quick Trip) LaGuardia Express" bus route, it was discontinued in May 1991 due to lower than expected ridership. The service ran every 20 minutes, getting to the airport in 25 minutes, and stopping at all terminals. The route travelled via 21st Street and Astoria Boulevard to get to the airport. Service ran from 21st Street between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. and from LaGuardia between 6:35 a.m. and 11 p.m.. The fare was $5, in addition to the $1.15 subway fare. The buses had luggage racks, air conditioning and padded seats.

## References

1. ↑ Q47 and Q49 Revise Route in Jackson Heights Q45 and Q47 Routes Combine. Metropolitan Transportation Authority (September 2, 2011). Retrieved on September 30, 2015.
2. ↑ TRANSFER POINTS UNDER HIGHER FARE; Board of Transportation Lists Stations and Intersections for Combined Rides. *The New York Times* (June 30, 1948). Retrieved on October 27, 2015.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 1946 Triboro Coach Map. Triboro Coach (1946).
4. ↑ Template:Cite news
5. ↑ Error on call to Template:cite web: Parameters **url** and **title** must be specified. New York City Transit Authority (1990).