BusTalk

asdfasdf · Age: 78 Joined: 21 May 2007 Posts: 47

Looking through my roster notes, I came across this company - QT Express. They had six T8H5307A's from Triboro Coach that eventually went to Queens Surface.

Does anyone remember what route(s) they had or even what their reason for existence was?

Bob K

ripta42 · Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 1:21 pm Post subject:

If memory serves, the QT was a Triboro Coach route that used buses that were painted in a special livery. I think I have a brochure for it; I'll have to do some digging.

Mr. Linsky · Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 1:48 pm Post subject:

The 'QT' does mean Quick Trip and was created by Triboro Coach in 1990 under the name 'Two Borough Express' to fill a gap in transit service between the Queenbridge subway station in Long island City and LaGuardia Airport (Queensbridge being newly created as part of the 63rd. Street IND line).

The route was franchised as the Q57 but did not carry that designation on destination signs.

Service ran every twenty minutes from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. using six former Triboro GMD T8H-5307A's which were fitted with soft padded seats and specially painted featuring cream and red stripes.

Unfortunately, service ended in May of 1991 due to lack of ridership.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, NY

ripta42 · Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 2:12 pm Post subject:

Any chance that these are the buses that were numbered in the 1360 series at Queens Surface?

Mr. Linsky · Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 4:19 pm Post subject:

Michael,

In 1979 Triboro bought 15 new GMD T8H-5307A numbered 615 to 629.

Of those 15, six were eventually selected for refitting as Two Borough Express and they were #'s 616, 618, 620 622, 625 and 628 (they retained their original Triboro assignments).

At the same time, Queens Transit purchased 25 of the same model numbered 771 to 795.

The only mention of the then Queens/Nassau in the Triboro records would be 17 ACF model H-16-S's that the company bought used from Q/N between 1953 and 1954.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, NY

asdfasdf · Age: 78 Joined: 21 May 2007 Posts: 47

The six T8H5307A's retained their QT Express numbers when they were sold to Queens Surface.

The Queens Surface 1360's were ex-New York Bus Service 1361-1366 and 1374-1379 (T6H5308A's).

Bob K

ripta42 · Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 8:31 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the info; I updated the Queens Surface roster accordingly. Were Steinway Transit #606-630 (1976 T8H5308A) renumbered or gone by the time Queens Surface got the Triboro buses?

Waynejay · Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 11:27 pm Post subject:

Mr. Linsky · Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 12:11 am Post subject:

Ever since I've been in this bus historian business (so to speak) there has been one thing that has irked me;

Among most if not all of the rosters that I have seen both on the web and among the many issues of Motor Coach Age that I possess, none will tell you where the spent equipment of a company winds up.

The only information generally available is what ex's a company has purchased.

Fortunately, in the case of Green Bus Lines (NY), my work sheets from the company spell out exactly that information in detail.

Alan Bromberger, whose history of Green Line was a brilliant effort and is Biblical to me, had the same information sheets as I do and yet never published that data.

I believe that knowing where used buses went is just as important as knowing where used buses came from!

It could be argued that by 'reverse engineering' you could compile such records on your own with enough time and enough issues of Motor Coach Age - but that's a little ridiculous!

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, NY