Q10 Bus

Trade in your approximately 25 minutes of life for saving $ 5 JFK air train fare. I took it several times after seeing friends off at JFK airport. The bus stop is at terminal 5 and it always has a seat there.

We have taken this bus to the subway many times as a cheap way to get out to JFK. I think the E & F trains are the most reliable and for the most part the Q10 bus is reliable. One time my daughter & i missed our connecting flight in Toronto coming back to NYC so our luggage was misplaced. We arrived at JFK around 11:30pm and since we had no luggage I could not bear to spend $$$ on a cab or express bus for 2 pple. So we braved the Q10 and were lucky. I came within 5 mins and since it was not crowded it got us to Kew Gardens in good time. We then got the F to Manhattan. That station was well lit and had more passengers than you would have thought at that hour — well past midnight. We got to the Upper West Side from JFK in just under an hour. It was record time. Usually it is a good 1.5 hr with traffic and waiting for transfers.

I like saving money, and pinch pennies where I can. Who wants to pay $ 5 for the AirTrain when you can take the bus/​metro to JFK airport? I’ve ridden the Q10 from Kew Gardens with a metro-​to-​bus transfer multiple times, and the time it takes from riding the E/​F to the Q10 is about the same as riding the E/​F to AirTrain to JFK (Terminal 5). While it can get very packed on weekdays during rush hour, on all other hours, the ride is pretty decent. Buses come fairly often and there’s usually a place for you and your luggage.
The best way to get to JFK on the Q10 is to take the E or F train to Kew Gardens. Follow the signs to the exit which says Q10. Go up the stairs and make a right under the underpass, passing the bakery, and you’ll see the stop for buses headed in the JFK-​direction.
I had the mistake of catching the Q10 from Kew Gardens (to JFK) a few weeks ago on a weekday at 3PM as the bus was packed with high schoolers. The bus hadn’t arrived when I exited the subway station, and the queue to wait/​board the bus was probably at least 40 – 50 people long. With a bus packed with so many people around me, it made the bus ride a bit stressful, especially given that I was cutting it close to plane boarding time!
My word of advice is to avoid taking the bus during rush hour on weekdays, unless you don’t mind a noisy bus ride. In this case, I would probably take the subway all the way to Jamaica and transfer to the Air Train there. At all other hours/​days, the Q10 ride will be much more pleasant.

The Q10 always passes fast but because in both directions they go to big destinations, it is always packed.

Wow, this is truly a love-​hate relationship. Sometimes I want to give three cheers for the Q10, but most times I don’t. Why can’t it be consistent? In theory, there should be a bus every 5 – 7 minutes. Except if you need to be somewhere. Then you can’t rely on it. Or at least you shouldn’t.
On occasion, when it’s operating as it should it’s nice. Sometimes you even get a friendly driver who will crack a smile. Other times, they’ll close the door on you *at the stop* and drive away. I never understand why they do that. Either way, I have to take it almost all the time. Since I run around the city six days a week, I look forward to a brief bus ride to make my life easy. It’s unfortunate that sometimes all it does is elevate my blood pressure. It’s a good thing I do yoga!

This bus line runs pretty regularly. It connects to the A, J, E, F and the LIRR. It’s also an inexpensive way to get to JFK Airport. At night, after 11pm, you will have to wait much longer for this bus. Sometimes the busses will play leap frog and arrive at each stop 3 at a time. That can be annoying, but in general, its a very good bus line.
Most of the drivers are very nice. My favorite bus driver on this route is an older Black lady who tells passengers to quite down because she is working and doesn’t want to hear their mess. LOL love it. On a bitterly cold evening recently, she’s even got some passengers at the front of the bus to help wipe the window clear of steam so she could see better. People behave well on her watch. In general, people on this bus are polite too.

The cheapest way to/​from JFK … via this Q10 bus and the E/​F-​trains from the Union Turnpike/​Kew Gardens station.
I remember growing up and doing this subway-​to-​bus transfer with my dad a few times picking my mom up from JFK.
I’ve definitely done it a few times since, though with the new AirTrain which is lots faster the occasions to use the Q10 have diminished quite a bit.
There’s even a Q10 Limited which will get you where you need to go faster … and for the same free-​transfer or $ 2.25 initial fare (or use unlimited Metrocard).
Note: When exiting the subway at Kew Gardens so thru the building after walking up the stairs to the sidewalk in order to find the bus stop.

Love seeing this bus come down the street when I am lazy and do not feel like walking up the hill when trying to get to the LIRR or E/​F trains. But I hate when the bus gets closer and it ends up being a limited one and I am truly disappointed. I then take a deep breath and begin my journey up the hill instead of waiting for the next bus, which is supposed to be close behind the Limited, but most of the time it is not.
To make things worse, I’ve seen 4 buses go right by me multiple times without stopping because they are «limited,» or «out of service.»
Like the J train, this bus can be clutch when getting off the E/​F late in the night and you are in no condition to walk home. But that is never the case because 99% of the time I am waiting for a good 15 minutes.

It’s a bus. It has a free transfer with my MetroCard and I can catch it at Lefferts Blvd on the A Train. It stops near my house (sometimes, I’ll explain later). It runs rather frequently. I can also transfer at Union Turnpike/​Kew Gardens station for the E and F trains. No matter what time of day, or what transfer point you switch at, there is always a long line of people waiting to board the Q10.
This is because the MTA had the genius idea to make FOUR DIFFERENT Q10S! One is a «Limited» which terminates at Rockaway and Lefferts Boulevards, one is a regular that also terminates there. One route goes straight down Lefferts Blvd to the Conduit. Another turns down Rockaway Blvd, and then turns again at 131^st Street towards JFK. Tourists and regular riders alike are thoroughly confused by this. If you get on the wrong Q10, you lose your transfer and have to pay again to get on the right Q10. And, the BUS SIGNS ARE OFTEN WRONG, which you will only discover after the bus does or does not turn off at Rockaway. For someone like me, who needs ONE SPECIFIC Q10, I have to wait even longer because people that COULD take another one are boarding the one I need instead. (The «Via Rockaway» clears out at Lefferts and Rockaway, where two other Q10 lines terminate. People that need the Via Rockaway can’t take the ‘terminating’ buses unless they want to walk)
These multiple routes stop running during late night hours, and buses ONLY turn down Rockaway Blvd… so forget about riding down Lefferts after 10PM. The good news is, late night, Q10s run one every half-​hour. They run more frequently during the day BUT EACH LINE runs about one per 25 minutes… its just that there are four lines running at once, that you will see 8 or 10 buses in an hour.
This is a much cheaper alternative to the ridiculously overpriced AirTrain, so you’ll notice a lot of airline employees riding this bus. Also, the major transfer points (Lefferts & Liberty by the A and Kew Gardens by the E/​F) always have people waiting at them, so it’s not desolate even at 4AM. This bus transfers to a lot of other buses to go across Queens, mostly on Avenues or Boulevards (not many side-​street transfers), switching buses is pretty safe along the route.
If it was clearer WHICH bus was which, and if they were less crowded overall, this bus would have gotten a four-​star review. It’s clean and runs frequently enough, and it serves my end of Queens (South Ozone Park) well.

All aboard the bus to the airport!
Passengers origination from Union Turnpike, Kew Gardens can board Q10 Bus directly to John F. Kennedy (JFK) Airport. This bus serves airport employees as well as passengers which connects to J, Z trains and A Lefferts Boulevard train. Thus when short of cash, one can catch the Q10 Bus at the standard fare of $ 2.25 to board one’s flight at Kennedy Airport. The bus stop on Liberty Avenue and Lefferts Boulevard is nasty everyday plasted with feces and other rubbish on this corner intersection.
N.B. There are two routes of this Q10 Bus:
* Q10 Limited (service to JFK Airport Central Terminal 4)
* Q10 (last stop at 150^th Avenue and 130^th Place in South Ozone Park near the NYC Department of Sanitation)