The Q46 bus route constitutes a public transit line in Queens, New York City, running primarily along Union Turnpike.

Its western terminus is a major transfer with the New York City Subway's IND Queens Boulevard Line at the Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike station.

At its eastern end, the Q46 has branches to the Glen Oaks neighborhood of Queens and to Long Island Jewish Hospital (LIJ) in the village of Lake Success in Nassau County.

One branch, which only operates on weekdays, turns north onto 260th Street and terminates at Little Neck Parkway near the Queens County Farm Museum.

The full-time branch continues east on Union Turnpike until Lakeville Road, where the bus turns north, before briefly entering Nassau County and terminating at Long Island Jewish Medical Center (LIJ).

During the PM rush hour, Q46 locals terminate at Springfield Boulevard, while limiteds alternate between Glen Oaks or LIJ.

[3] Prior to World War II, the route was originally the Union Turnpike branch of the Q44, running between Queens Boulevard in Kew Gardens and 188th Street.

[11][12] On November 30, 1947, under city control, the Q44A was extended from Springfield Boulevard to Glen Oaks Village at Union Turnpike and 251st Street to serve new apartments there.

[19] In December 1950, the North Cunningham Civic Association advocated for the implementation of zone express service along the route in the peak direction during rush hours.

These buses ran in the peak direction and made transfer stops at Main Street and Utopia Parkway, and were expected to save 5 to 7 minutes.

[22] In 1974, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) began to study whether bus service could be sped up using computerized traffic signals.

Union Turnpike received computerized traffic signals before other streets, but it did little to cut travel times for bus passengers.

The average terminal-to-terminal speed of the zone expresses was better than 18 miles per hour (29 km/h)–significantly higher than on any other bus route in the city.

Seat availability increased by 40%, travel times were reduced by 24%, and passengers from the outer reaches of Eastern Queens could get to Midtown Manhattan in less than an hour.

[28] In April 1974, an extension of the Q44A to LIJ Hospital was approved, which made it the first city route to extend into Nassau County.

[29][25] The extension was approved by Queens Borough President Donald Manes and Nassau County Executive Ralph Caso, and it was first proposed by the Lost Community Civic Association of Floral Park.

Riders using the Glen Oaks branch would have to walk an average of 1,500 feet (460 m) to the nearest Union Turnpike bus stop.

[50][51] As part of the redesign, the Q46 would have been replaced by a "subway connector" route called the QT32, which would run nonstop from Kew Gardens to 188th Street.

[59]: 241–242  The Queens County Farm Museum branch would become a zone route called the Q48, which would operate only on weekdays and would also make few stops west of 188th Street.

[62] 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.