Green Bus Lines
Green Bus Lines, also referred to simply as Green Lines, was a private bus company in New York City, United States, managed most recently by the late Jerome Cooper (August 14, 1928 - May 20, 2015 aged 86), operating local service in Queens and express service to Manhattan until January 9, 2006, when the city-operated MTA Bus Company took over its routes. Green Bus Lines routes primarily operated in the Jamaica, Ozone Park, Howard Beach, and Rockaway areas of Queens, along with service to the passenger and cargo areas of John F. Kennedy International Airport.[1][2] At the time of its closure, Green Lines operated more local and limited bus routes than any other private company in the city.[1]
Stockholders of Green Bus Lines also held control of other private bus companies in Queens and Brooklyn as Transit Alliance. These companies were Triboro Coach, Jamaica Buses, and Command Bus Company, all of which were absorbed into the MTA Regional Bus operations.[3][4] The company reorganized as GTJ Reit Inc., a real estate investment trust, shortly after MTA takeover.
History
The company was incorporated on April 3, 1925 by William Cooper (1895-1985, aged 90) to provide local service in several boroughs. Cooper originally began operating a single bus line in 1922.[5] The company was formed from several independently-operated bus lines, whose owners operated the buses, and would become stockholders and employees in Green Lines.[5][6][7][8]
The company acquired several Manhattan routes (including the current M22, M50, M79, M86, and M96) in 1933, but these were transferred to the Comprehensive Omnibus Corporation in 1935 and New York City Omnibus Corporation in 1936.[9] In 1936, Green Lines was awarded the rights to all of "Zone C" in southern Queens (including Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, Ozone Park, Howard Beach, and the Rockaways). Green Lines assumed the operations of seven other companies in the region.[6][7][10][11][12][13][14] Green also acquired the Manhattan and Queens Bus Corporation, which had operated the ex-Manhattan and Queens Traction Company Queens Boulevard Line into Manhattan (the Q60) since 1937, in 1943.[15]
Green stockholders acquired two other transit companies that continued to operate independently: Triboro Coach Corporation in October 1947, and Jamaica Buses in April 1949.[4][5] Jointly these three companies formed Command Bus Company to take over the routes that had been operated by Pioneer Bus Corporation.[4]
The QM23 was started in the 1950s to replace Long Island Rail Road service to the Brooklyn Manor station on the Rockaway Beach Branch.[16] It was discontinued in 2010. Four more express routes began operation in the 1970s.
Bus routes
Just prior to MTA Bus takeover, Green Bus lines operated the following routes, which mostly continued to be based in Far Rockaway Bus Depot and John F. Kennedy Bus Depot.[17][18] Hubs for Green Lines operations included 165th Street Bus Terminal in Jamaica, the Mott Avenue subway station in Far Rockaway, and several stations in the IND Queens Boulevard Line.[2][19][20][21][22]
Route | Terminal A | Major streets of travel | Terminal B | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Queens Local | ||||
Q6 | Jamaica 165th Street Bus Terminal Bays 14, 15, 16 |
Jamaica Avenue, Sutphin Boulevard, Rockaway Boulevard, North Boundary Road |
JFK International Airport North Cargo Road and Eastern Road, and USPS Airport Mail Facility |
|
Q7 | City Line, Brooklyn Euclid Avenue and Pitkin Avenue at Euclid Avenue ( A C trains) |
Pitkin Avenue, Rockaway Boulevard, 150th Street | JFK International Airport 148th Street and South Cargo Road |
|
Q8 | Jamaica 165th Street Bus Terminal Bay 17 and 18 |
Jamaica Avenue, 101st Avenue, Fountain Avenue | Spring Creek, Brooklyn Gateway Center Mall |
|
Q9 | Jamaica 165th Street Bus Terminal Bay 19 and 20 |
Jamaica Avenue, Supthin Boulevard, Liberty Avenue, 135th Street (Northbound), Van Wyck Expressway Service Road (Southbound), Lincoln Street. |
South Ozone Park Rockaway Boulevard and Lincoln Street |
|
Q9A | Jamaica 165th Street Bus Terminal |
Lincoln Street, Linden Boulevard, Merrick Boulevard | South Ozone Park Rockaway Boulevard and Lincoln Street |
|
Q10 | Kew Gardens 80th Road and Kew Gardens Road at Kew Gardens – Union Turnpike ( E F trains) |
Lefferts Boulevard, Rockaway Boulevard, 130th Street, Van Wyck Expressway Service Road | JFK International Airport Terminal 5 |
|
Q11 | Elmhurst Queens Boulevard and Woodhaven Boulevard at Woodhaven Boulevard ( E M R trains) and Queens Center Mall |
Woodhaven Boulevard, Cross Bay Boulevard, then:
|
|
|
Q21 | Woodhaven Boulevard, 155th Avenue, 157th Avenue, Cross Bay Boulevard | Howard Beach 164th Avenue and 92nd Street |
| |
Q21A | Far Rockaway Mott Avenue and Beach 20th Street at Far Rockaway – Mott Avenue ( A train) |
Edgemere Avenue, Cross Bay Boulevard, Pitkin Avenue, Linden Boulevard | East New York, Brooklyn[43] | Discontinued in 1989 or 1990, due to poor ridership. |
Q22 | Beach Channel Drive, Rockaway Beach Boulevard | Roxbury Beach 169th Street and Rockaway Point Boulevard |
Originally owned by Long Island Coach Company, service began in 1912.[26] | |
Q22A | Mott Avenue | Bayswater | ||
Q35 | Midwood, Brooklyn Avenue H and Flatbush Avenue at Flatbush Avenue ( 2 5 trains) |
Flatbush Avenue, Newport Avenue | Rockaway Park Beach 116th Street and Newport Avenue |
|
Q37 | Kew Gardens Union Turnpike and Kew Gardens Road at Kew Gardens – Union Turnpike ( E F trains) |
Park Lane South, 111th Street, 135th Avenue | South Ozone Park 150th Avenue and 149th Avenue |
|
Q40 | Jamaica Sutphin Boulevard and Hillside Avenue at Sutphin Boulevard ( F train) |
Sutphin Boulevard, Lakewood Avenue, 142nd Street | South Jamaica 135th Avenue and 143rd Street |
Originally operated by Midland Coach, service began on February 5, 1934.[26] |
Q41 | Jamaica 165th Street Bus Terminal Bay 22 and 23 |
127th Street, 109th Avenue, Cross Bay Boulevard | Howard Beach 164th Avenue and 92nd Street |
|
Q60 | East Midtown, Manhattan Second Avenue and 60th Street |
Queensboro Bridge, Queens Boulevard, Sutphin Boulevard | South Jamaica 109th Avenue and 157th Street |
|
Queens-Manhattan express | ||||
QM15 | Midtown Manhattan 6th Avenue |
Manhattan: 34th Street, 6th Avenue, 57th Street Queens: Woodhaven Boulevard, Cross Bay Boulevard |
Howard Beach 157th Avenue and 102nd Street |
|
QM16 | Manhattan: 34th Street, 6th Avenue, 57th Street Queens: Cross Bay Boulevard, Rockaway Beach Boulevard |
Jacob Riis Park Parking lot |
| |
QM17 | Manhattan: 34th Street, 6th Avenue, 57th Street Queens: Cross Bay Boulevard, Beach Channel Drive, Seagirt Boulevard |
Far Rockaway Far Rockaway-Mott Avenue subway station ( A train) |
||
QM18 | Manhattan: 34th Street, 6th Avenue, 57th Street Queens: Queens Boulevard, Lefferts Boulevard, 135th Avenue |
South Ozone Park 130th Street and 150th Avenue |
| |
QM23 | Midtown Manhattan 33rd St and 7th Av at Penn Station |
Manhattan: 34th Street Queens: Woodhaven Boulevard, Jamaica Avenue |
Woodhaven 102nd Street and Jamaica Avenue |
|
Depots
Original Idlewild depot
Green Bus Lines' first southeast Queens depot was located at 149th Street and 147th Avenue (148-02 147th Avenue)[53] in what was then South Ozone Park, Queens.[54] This area has since been de-mapped and is now on the grounds of John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Second Idlewild/JFK depot
Green Lines' second southeast Queens garage was located in Jamaica at 147th Avenue and Rockaway Boulevard (165-25 147th Avenue)[15] near JFK Airport.[1] The depot was built from 1951 to 1952 at the cost of $500,000.[55] It was the primary storage and maintenance facility for the company.[1] It is now the John F. Kennedy Depot (or JFK Depot) of MTA Bus.[15][56]
40°39′41″N 73°46′26″W / 40.661348°N 73.773916°W
Rockaway Garage
Green Lines operated a facility on the Rockaway Peninsula, situated on Rockaway Beach Boulevard and Beach 49th Street (49-19 Rockaway Beach Boulevard)[15][57] in the neighborhood of Arverne.[1] It was sometimes referred to as the "Rockaway Garage".[57] A satellite facility, it primarily housed buses serving the Rockaways and southern Queens, performing light maintenance work.[1][15] It is now MTA Bus' Far Rockaway Depot.[56]
40°35′35″N 73°46′47″W / 40.592950°N 73.779614°W
Reorganization as Real Estate Investment Trust
Green Bus Lines, Inc. (incorporated April 8, 1925); Triboro Coach Corporation (incorporated April 21, 1931); and Jamaica-Central Railways, Inc. (incorporated March 22, 1926) were each owned by individual shareholders. Jamaica-Central Railways, Inc. had a wholly owned subsidiary, Jamaica Buses, Inc. (incorporated Apr. 24, 1931). Several subsidiary corporations were owned 40 percent by Green Bus Lines, Inc.; 40 percent by Triboro Coach Corporation; and 20 percent by Jamaica-Central Railways, Inc. These jointly owned subsidiary corporations included Command Bus Company, Inc. (incorporated October 3, 1979) and G.T.J. Co., Inc. (incorporated February 15, 1968 as Varsity Transit, Inc., and changed name on January 3, 1989 to G.T.J. Co., Inc.). Among the wholly owned subsidiaries of G.T.J. Co., Inc. was Transit Facility Management Corp. (incorporated May 18, 1998), which provided Access-A-Ride paratransit service using the name TFM Paratransit; Varsity Transit, Inc. (incorporated November 19, 1965 as Varsity Coach Corp., and changed name on January 3, 1989 to Varsity Transit, Inc.), which provided school bus service within the City of New York; and Varsity Coach Corp. (incorporated February 3, 1989), which provided school bus service outside the City of New York.
On June 23, 2006, GTJ REIT, Inc. was formed under the laws of Maryland as a real estate investment trust. Two weeks later, on July 7, 2006, three wholly owned subsidies of GTJ REIT, Inc. were formed: Green Acquisition, Inc.; Triboro Acquisition, Inc.; and Jamaica Acquisition, Inc.
A special meeting of the shareholders of Green Bus Lines, Inc.; Triboro Coach Corporation; and Jamaica-Central Railways, Inc. was held on March 26, 2007 for the purpose of obtaining the consent of a majority of the shareholders of each company to be merged into the GTJ REIT, Inc. subsidiaries. A majority of shareholders of each company voted in favor, and on March 29, 2007 Green Bus Lines, Inc. was merged into Green Acquisition, Inc.; Triboro Coach Corporation was merged into Triboro Acquisition, Inc.; and Jamaica-Central Railways, Inc. was merged into Jamaica Acquisition, Inc. Shareholders exchanged their old shares in the bus companies for new shares in GTJ REIT, Inc. Command Bus Company, Inc. and Varsity Coach Corp. were both dissolved on January 21, 2010. Jamaica Buses, Inc. was dissolved on May 13, 2010.
During 2011 and 2012, the Company underwent a process of shedding all businesses and assets that were no longer compatible with its real estate focus.
In January 2013, the Company closed on a transaction with a privately held joint venture in which the Company acquired ownership interests in a portfolio of 25 commercial properties located in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. As a result of subsequent acquisitions, the company owns 45 properties, approximately 5 million square feet and 338 acres of land.
GTJ REIT, Inc. is headquartered in West Hempstead, N.Y. Its portfolio of real estate investments includes the four garages once used for transit bus operations, all of which (Baisley Park Depot, Far Rockaway Depot's older building only. New annex owned by MTA/NYCTA, JFK Depot, and LaGuardia Depot) are leased to the City of New York for use as bus garages by MTA Bus Company.
On May 20, 2015 Mr. Jerome Cooper, the president and chairman of GTJ, REIT, Inc. died of sudden cardiac arrest (heart failure) during his sleep at his home at Long Beach, Long Island in New York, and was 86 years old. Mr. Jerome Cooper was the son of the late William Cooper who was the founder of Green Bus Lines Inc. along with his empire of other acquired bus companies that followed.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Urbitran Associates, Inc (May 2004). "NYCDOT Bus Ridership Survey and Route Analysis Final Report: Chapter 3 Transit System Characteristics" (PDF). nyc.gov. New York City Department of Transportation. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Analysis of Routes and Ridership of a Franchise Bus Service: Green Bus Lines" (PDF). utrc2.org/. City College of New York. October 2000. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
- ↑ Lueck, Thomas J. (April 23, 2005). "City to Buy Private Bus Company for Service in Three Boroughs". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
- 1 2 3 "Company Profile". Jamaica Buses, Inc. Archived from the original on 2006-01-25. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
- 1 2 3 "Big Bus System Started on Shoestring" (PDF). Long Island Star-Journal. Fultonhistory.com. January 17, 1955. p. 31. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- 1 2 "Green Line, Started by Jobless War Vets, Absorbed 7 Companies Under Mayor's Plan" (PDF). Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. April 8, 1937. p. 1. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- 1 2 "Jobless Vets Started Green Bus Lines" (PDF). Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. April 8, 1937. p. 20. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ↑ "The Green Bus Strike: It Jeopardizes Public Service" (PDF). Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. October 24, 1939. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ↑ "Local Bus Companies of Manhattan". 17 May 2006. Archived from the original on May 17, 2006.
- ↑ "Bus Franchises For Queens Are Granted by City: 12-Year Old Problem Is Solved by Action of Board of Estimate". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. September 24, 1936. Retrieved 1 January 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Bus Committee Tries Again To Fix Up Jamaica Zone: Report on Queens Situation Published in Fall" (PDF). Long Island Daily Press (Long Island Sunday Press) (316). Fultonhistory.com. January 12, 1936. p. 1. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
- ↑ "Bus Routes Changed By Zone Plan; Some Riders to be Forced to Transfer; Committee Takes Corona Line From North Shore, Gives It to Tri-Boro" (PDF). Long Island Daily Press (Long Island Sunday Press) (316). Fultonhistory.com. January 12, 1936. p. 4. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
- ↑ "Bus Committee's Report" (PDF). Long Island Daily Press (Long Island Sunday Press) (316). Fultonhistory.com. January 12, 1936. p. 8. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
- ↑ "NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT ROUTES". www.chicagorailfan.com. Retrieved 2015-12-31.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Green Bus Lines, Inc., Triboro Coach Corporation, Jamaica Central Railways, Inc.". sec.gov. GTJ Reit, Inc. February 9, 2007. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
- ↑ Roger P. Roess; Gene Sansone (23 August 2012). The Wheels That Drove New York: A History of the New York City Transit System. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 416–417. ISBN 978-3-642-30484-2.
- ↑ Green Lines #951, at the Rockaway Boulevard garage in 1988, by Mel Bernero (BusTalk U.S. Surface Transportation Galleries)
- ↑ Green Bus Lines, Inc. (accessed January 19, 2007)
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Queens Merchants Win More Bus Service". nytimes.com. The New York Times. March 17, 1989. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
- ↑ "165th Street Mall Improvement Association Annual Report – Fiscal Year 2009" (pdf). 165th Street Mall. 165th Street Mall Improvement Association. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
- ↑ Lucev, Emil (June 18, 2010). "Historical Views of the Rockaways: The old Far Rockaway Station Plaza, Mott and Central Avenues, 1922". rockawave.com. The Wave. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Queens Bus Map" (PDF). nycityhealth.com. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 1999. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-16. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
- ↑ "NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT ROUTES" (www.chicagorailfan.com)
- ↑ "mta.info | Planned Service Changes". 2010-04-27. Archived from the original on April 27, 2010. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
- ↑ "Bus Company Committee Meeting February 2010" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. February 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-25. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT ROUTES". www.chicagorailfan.com. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
- ↑ "2008 Annual Report Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the Year Ended December 31, 2008" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 31, 2008. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
- ↑ "Upcoming 2014 Bus Service Improvements Include New Routes, Extensions: $4.9 Million in Enhancements Planned for Routes in All Five New York City Boroughs". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. August 26, 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
- ↑ MTA Bus Company Service Advisories (Metropolitan Transportation Authority; April 2008)
- 1 2 "Q89 Bus Schedule" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
- ↑ http://www.webcitation.org/5wlPW150v 2010 budget cut information-MTA Bus Company, archived 2011-02-25
- 1 2 3 "Queens Bus Map: Notes" (PDF). archive.org. mta.info. December 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2003-03-23. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
- ↑ "mta.info | Planned Service Notices: JFK Airport Terminal 4 Bus Stop Relocation". 2012-05-31. Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved 2015-12-30.
- ↑ "MTA Bus Service Changes". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. June 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-06-15. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
- 1 2 3 "Planned Service Changes: Effective Sunday, July 1, 2012". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
- ↑ "Goldfeder Asks MTA For Q53 Public Input". Wave of Long Island. May 25, 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
- ↑ Gendron, Roger (June 8, 2012). "MTA Q11 Hamilton Beach service change". Leader-Observer. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
- ↑ "MTA Bus Service Changes". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-12-24. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
- ↑ "MTA Bus Extends Q21 Route To Queens Boulevard". Wave of Long Island. September 5, 2008. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
- 1 2 Rafter, Domenick (May 18, 2012). "Queens Tribune – DOT Eyes New Bus Route To Rockaways". Arverne by the Sea. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
- ↑ Briano, Nicholas (November 18, 2011). "MTA Creating Arverne Bus Service". Wave of Long Island. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
- ↑ "Planned Service Changes: Q21 Rerouted to Arverne and Introduction of Weekday Peak Period Limited-Stop Service". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on 2012-07-13. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
- ↑ Roberts, Richard (April 12, 1985). "THE BEST PLACES TO PERCH TO SEE THE BIRDS CHECK IN". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- 1 2 New York Times, Rockaway Bus Line Extends Service, July 3, 1937, page 17
- ↑ "Bus Route Is Extended". The New York Times. November 19, 1941. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
- 1 2 "Appendix B: Route Profiles" (PDF). nyc.gov. New York City Department of Transportation. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
- 1 2 Weir, Richard (May 2, 1999). "NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: FAR ROCKAWAY; Express Bus? Not by a Long Stretch, Riders Say". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
- 1 2 "Fewer Stops On MTA Rockaway Express Buses". The Wave of Long Island. August 11, 2006. Archived from the original on 2015-10-16. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
- 1 2 Queens Courier Staff (April 19, 2011). "NEWS BRIEFS". Queens Courier. Archived from the original on 2015-10-07. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
- ↑ Rosenberg, Miriam (August 24, 2007). "Extended Route For QM16 Bus Announced". Wave of Long Island. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
- ↑ "Bus Timetable: QM16/QM1& Spring 2011" (PDF). arvernebythesea.com. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Spring 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-10-16. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
- ↑ McCarthy, Ellen (December 16, 2011). "Move QM 16 Back". Wave of Long Island. Archived from the original on 2015-10-07. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
- ↑ "Green Bus Lines, Inc. Keeps PACE with the...World of To-Morrow!" (PDF). The Leader-Observer. Fultonhistory.com. April 27, 1939. p. 13. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
- ↑ Moscow, Henry (July 21, 1947). "500 Queens Bus Drivers Stay Out; Mayor, Defied, Calls them 'Outlaws'" (PDF). New York Post. Fultonhistory.com. p. 5. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
- ↑ "Building Plan Filed". The New York Times. May 4, 1951. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
- 1 2 Silverman, Norman (July 26, 2010). "The Merger of 7 Private Bus Companies into MTA Bus" (PDF). apta.com. American Public Transportation Association, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-10-16. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
- 1 2 Green Bus Lines (November 2, 1944). "Greasers" (PDF). The Wave of Long Island. Fultonhistory.com. p. 7. Retrieved 27 March 2016.