Q104 Bus

I mainly use the Q104 after school to catch the 7 train, and I honestly like this bus. The best thing is that it runs on streets that arent as popular as others, and the drivers take advantage. The only problems that I can find is that MTA underestimates how much service the route requires. For a line that connects 3 subways, there are too little buses running during rush hour, and the depot it is based out of (LGA depot) does not keep their buses in clean conditions (aside from what schoolkids cause). If that can get improved, I may give the bus a 5 star rating

Before I learned about car service and ZipCar, this was my savior for all Costco (
) related runs without having to hike my way from the train. No one wants to walk a mile with warehouse sized purchases, but this review is less about first world problems and all about the Q104.
First things first, the route is awesome. From the deep skirts of Vernon in upper LIC, rumbling through east and west side of Broadway in Astoria, to the heart of Sunnyside, it’s a perfect bus for exploring western Queens. Beats switching from the N to the 7 and vice versa.
Punctuality is an issue. No buses are perfect and this bus is either ridiculously early or lagging and late. The other issue is the buses themselves. It’d be hard to expect every bus to be a NOVA Bus (
) but the condition of these old buses are questionable. Sticky floors, stained seats, and overall poor ventilation makes for a subpar ride.
Looking forward to a well deserved upgrade.

The bus is helpful when the N and the Q trains are causing problems and you need to get over to Steinway to get on the R. Sometimes if I am coming back from the Forest Hills area to Astoria, I will take the R and then jump on this bus to avoid the long walk on Broadway or changing trains twice to get on the N, Q line. The problem is they don’t run too frequently over the weekends or at night.