The Q111, Q113, and Q114 bus routes constitute a public transit line between the Jamaica and Far Rockaway neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, running primarily along Guy R. Brewer Boulevard.
The Q113 and Q114 provide limited-stop service between Jamaica and Far Rockaway, connecting two major bus-subway hubs, and crossing into Nassau County.
The Q111 provides local service exclusively within Queens, with the exception of select rush-hour trips to or from Cedarhurst in Nassau County.
The Q111 and Q113 would be operated under a subsidy of the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) until January 2006, when Jamaica Buses was absorbed by the MTA Bus Company.
[11] The terminal was later moved east to what is now 168th Street when the New York City Subway's BMT Jamaica Line was extended to the area in 1918.
Since June 2019, the Q114 operates along the same route as the Q113 between Jamaica and the Nassau Expressway, because of flooding problems along southern Brookville Boulevard.
[25] Both the Q113 and Q114 are direct successors to the streetcar line,[12][26][27] and make limited stops along Guy R. Brewer Boulevard in Queens.
Select weekday runs of the Q111 continue past Rosedale into Nassau County, turning south and west via Peninsula Boulevard and ending at Rockaway Turnpike in Cedarhurst.
On October 11 of that year, the company applied for a line between the then-Long Island towns of Jamaica, Hempstead, and Far Rockaway.
[16][35][36] As originally planned, the line would have been long and circuitous south of 147th Avenue, traveling east into Rosedale and Valley Stream, then back west towards Far Rockaway.
The more direct Rockaway Turnpike route was ultimately selected, after the company secured exclusive rights to use the road.
[7][8] The interest of IRT owner August Belmont, Jr. (builder of Belmont Park served by another LIER line) originated from the popularity of the Far Rockaway line during summer months to the resorts on the Rockaway peninsula, and its service to the Jamaica Race Course in modern-day Rochdale Village, Queens.
[8] Much of the rest of the route had yet to be paved or settled, with trolleys stopping at major farmhouses and fields as opposed to intersections.
The tracks along Rockaway Boulevard were susceptible to washout due to marshy land and the tidal conditions of Hook Creek.
[8] In 1917, the line would receive automatic block signaling and iron trolley poles to replace the original wooden ones.
[8] Following labor and material shortages due to World War I, the line and its rolling stock fell into disrepair, leading to complaints from passengers, increased headways between trips, and high employee turnover.
[25][44] On October 10, 1938, overnight service was initiated on the route, running between Jamaica and either Farmers Boulevard or the Nassau County line at Hook Creek.
[20][30][56][57] On March 12, 2007, the limited-stop service was expanded to midday hours and Saturdays, and limited stops were added to the route along Guy R. Brewer Boulevard.
[1][63] The 2007, 2011, and 2014 changes had originally been proposed in a Urbitran Associates study for the New York City Department of Transportation in 2004, when the bus routes were privately operated.
[66][67][68] In August 2016, the MTA announced plans to eventually convert the Q113 into a Select Bus Service (SBS) route;[69][70] this had been previously proposed by the Pratt Center for Community Development.
[71][72] In April 2017, the MTA announced its intention to modify the Q114's route in Nassau County in order to speed up service.
[91] On January 29, 2025, the current plan was approved by the MTA Board, and the Queens Bus Redesign will go into effect by Labor Day.