QM8 Bus: Riders, Speed & Reliability
Glen Oaks - Downtown Express · Express · Report card from MTA open data, October 2025 – September 2026 · Not affiliated with the MTA · Live bus times on MTA Bus Time →
How busy is the QM8?
Average riders per hour on weekdays, Aug 26, 2026 – Oct 20, 2026. Riders are paid entries (OMNY taps and MetroCard swipes), so people who board without paying aren't counted; riders a day covers October 2025 – September 2026.
The QM8 carries about 271 riders a day (October 2025 – September 2026), #304 of 339 NYC bus routes. On weekdays it is busiest around 7 AM, with about 110 riders that hour.
Busiest stops
MTA estimates for September 2026 from passenger counters on the buses, both directions. They count everyone who boards, so they can run higher than fare-based ridership.
| Stop | Boardings on an average weekday |
|---|---|
| Water St/Gouverneur Ln | 73 |
| Church St/Fulton St | 33 |
| E 34 St/1 Av | 23 |
| Frankfort St/Pearl St | 19 |
| Park Row/Beekman St | 19 |
Speed and reliability
October 2025 – September 2026. Speed includes time at stops and lights. "Spacing" is the MTA's wait assessment: the gap between buses stays within a few minutes of schedule.
It averages 14.9 mph on weekdays, down from 15.1 mph the year before. 67.6% of its trips kept to their scheduled spacing (the MTA's "wait assessment"; local routes overall: 72.1%), and 89.2% of scheduled buses actually ran.
| QM8 | All local and SBS routes | |
|---|---|---|
| Average weekday speed | 14.9 mph | 7.5 mph |
| Trips that kept their scheduled spacing | 67.6% | 72.1% |
| Scheduled buses that actually ran | 89.2% | 94% |
| Extra time at stops vs schedule | 5.6 min | – |
| Extra time on board vs schedule | 5.4 min | – |
| Bus-lane camera violations (12 months) | – | 2,864,642 |
Other Express (Queens) routes
All routes QM15 QM5 QM2 QM20 QM6 QM24 QM7 QM34 QM11 QM4 QM25 QM17 QM16 QM63 QM35 QM68 QM32 QM1 QM12 QM64 QM10 QM18 QM65 QM42 QM31 QM40 QM44 QM21 QM36
Questions
How many people ride the QM8 bus?
The QM8 carries about 271 riders a day (October 2025 – September 2026), #304 of 339 NYC bus routes.
When is the QM8 busiest?
On weekdays it is busiest around 7 AM, with about 110 riders that hour.
How fast is the QM8 bus?
It averages 14.9 mph on weekdays, down from 15.1 mph the year before.
Is the QM8 bus reliable?
67.6% of its trips kept to their scheduled spacing (the MTA's "wait assessment"; local routes overall: 72.1%), and 89.2% of scheduled buses actually ran.
More NYC transit data
- NYC subway ridership: Busiest stations, find your station and an animated subway map, updated daily.
- NYC congestion pricing: Zone map, hours, cost and daily data on whether it's working.
- Every subway line ranked: Which line is the worst? On-time rates, delays and a report card for each line.
Let's talk about transit data
Found something surprising about your station? Have a question the data could answer, or an idea for what to dig into next (congestion pricing, a train line, an event)? I'd love to hear it, and I'm always up for talking about transit data.
Data (data.ny.gov): Bus Hourly Ridership, Bus Speeds, Wait Assessment, Service Delivered, Customer Journey Metrics, Stop Ridership Estimates, Camera Enforcement Violations. Updated Oct 28, 2026. The MTA's own charts: metrics.mta.info.
Source code: github.com/MantieReid/mta-data-analysis · Analysis by Mantie Reid II (CC BY 4.0).