It runs between the 61st Street–Woodside station—with transfers to the New York City Subway and Long Island Rail Road—and Terminals B and C at LaGuardia Airport, with one intermediate stop at the Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street station.

The route continues via Roosevelt Avenue until it reaches 74th Street at the junction of Woodside, Elmhurst, and Jackson Heights.

The route then travels non-stop, running via Broadway before turning onto the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and the Grand Central Parkway towards LaGuardia Airport.

[2][8][9] Under the LaGuardia Airport Access Alternatives Analysis study, another SBS study which was conducted by NYCDOT in partnership with MTA Bus, New York City Transit, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 2011–2012, it was recommended that a bus route should connect the central terminals of LaGuardia and transit hubs in Jackson Heights and Woodside.

At these transit hubs, transfers could be made to the subway, Long Island Rail Road and buses from the new connector route.

[13] A new bus route running between Woodside and LaGuardia Airport via the Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street subway station was announced in October 2012.

[14][15] This was implemented on September 8, 2013, as the Q70 limited-stop route,[16] which replaced the portion of the Q33 local bus that went to LaGuardia Airport.

[26] According to the city government, the three routes "would provide "shorter term, lower cost transit improvements" for LaGuardia Airport.

[27] The Q33 runs on local residential and commercial streets, which are frequently congested, resulting in slower service.

The report mentioned that 85% of passengers using the Q70 already transferred to and from the subway, meaning that the bus brings no new revenue to the MTA.

Additional critiques made by the group are that the signage at LaGuardia for the Q70 is flawed and misleading, and that the bus stop locations on Roosevelt Avenue are not well marked.

Increased service, bus running every 10 minutes during all times, countdown clocks and on-board announcements were all suggested by the group.

[32] As opposed to other SBS routes, the Q70 was to be wrapped in a teal blue scheme with silhouettes of clouds and airplanes.

[35][36] The Q70 became MTA Bus's first SBS route; the change was expected to increase annual operating costs by $870,000.

[44] In April 2022, governor Kathy Hochul announced that the Q70 bus would no longer charge fares starting on May 1, 2022, while the New York state government studied alternatives to the planned AirTrain LaGuardia people-mover system.

The panel also suggested turning a mile-long section of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway into a dedicated bus lane.