Union Turnpike express buses

An eastbound QM8 "Super Express" bus turning onto Union Turnpike

The QM6 and QM36 begin service at the North Shore Towers apartment complex in Glen Oaks, Queens, on the border with Lake Success, Nassau County. The routes run east along Marcus Avenue (the eastbound service road for the Grand Central/Northern State Parkway at this location) to Lakeville Road in Lake Success, then south along Lakeville Road past Long Island Jewish Medical Center to Union Turnpike. The routes then travel west through Queens along Union Turnpike, parallel to the Q46 local bus route.[6][2][3]

The QM5, QM8, and QM35 routes begin service at 260th Street and Union Turnpike in Glen Oaks, intersecting with the Q46, QM6, and QM36. These routes, however, travel a circuitous route through Northeast Queens, running north on 260th Street and Little Neck Parkway into Little Neck, then west along the Horace Harding Expressway service road through Bayside and Oakland Gardens. The routes turn south onto Springfield Boulevard, then west again onto 73rd Avenue. After entering Fresh Meadows, the routes turn south onto 188th Street, merging with the QM1, QM7, and QM31 routes, and then turn west at Union Turnpike, meeting the QM6 and QM36.[6][2][3]

The QM1, QM7, and QM31 routes begin service at 188th Street and Horace Harding Expressway, at the Fresh Meadows Shopping Center and the Fresh Meadows Houses apartment complex. They run south down 188th Street before turning west onto Union Turnpike and meeting the other routes of the corridor.[6][2][3] There are only three stops along 188th Street that are served exclusively by the QM1/QM7/QM31 corridor.[8][9] During off-peak hours, the QM5 serves two of these stops, turning north from 73rd Avenue onto 188th Street, then making a U-turn using a roundabout at 64th Avenue.[6][2][8][10]

West of 188th Street, all eight routes share Union Turnpike, making pickups westbound or drop offs eastbound, until Main Street in Kew Gardens Hills near the Kew Gardens Interchange. Here, the routes begin non-stop express service along Queens Boulevard. Near Woodhaven Boulevard in Rego Park, all of the midtown routes' westbound buses turn onto the Long Island Expressway (LIE) and utilize the Queens–Midtown Tunnel to enter Manhattan, as do numerous other express routes from Queens. Except for the QM7 and QM8, eastbound buses travel from Manhattan via the Queensboro Bridge and Queens Boulevard. The QM7 and QM8 use the Midtown Tunnel in both directions, as they run via Lower Manhattan via the FDR Drive.[6][2][3][11]

Manhattan-bound QM8 super express service runs along the normal QM8 route to 188th Street. Buses then turn north on 188th Street and then onto the LIE, bypassing the Union Turnpike portion of the route. Queens-bound super express buses follow the normal QM8 route within Queens to 188th Street, then run north to Fresh Meadows (via the QM5 off-peak route) before turning east towards Glen Oaks.[3][11]

A QM1 bus on 6th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.

A QM7 bus in Lower Manhattan.

After exiting the Midtown Tunnel, the QM1, QM5 and QM6 begin making drop offs while traveling west along 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan. The routes turn north along Sixth Avenue, then turn east along 57th Street in Upper Midtown. Terminating Manhattan-bound buses end service at 57th Street and Third Avenue. Queens-bound buses begin service at 36th Street and Sixth Avenue. Buses looping to-and-from Queens run open-door service between 36th Street and 57th Street/Third Avenue.[7][2][12]

The QM31, QM35, and QM36 make their first stop in Manhattan at Third Avenue and 38th Street, and proceed north on Third Avenue through East Midtown to 55th Street. Queens-bound buses begin service at 38th Street.[7][2][13]

The QM7 and QM8 do not serve Midtown Manhattan, instead traveling south down the FDR Drive to the Brooklyn Bridge exit. The routes turn south onto Pearl Street, making their first stop at Peck Slip; this is where Queens-bound buses begin pickups. They continue down Pearl Street, which becomes Water Street, to Whitehall Street in Battery Park at the Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal. They then turn north onto State Street, then onto Greenwich Street, which becomes Trinity Place and later Church Street, to Park Place near New York City Hall. The routes circumscribe City Hall via Broadway and Park Row, then proceed east along Frankfort Street back to Pearl Street. Frankfort Street and Pearl Street is the last drop off in Manhattan; Queens-bound buses proceed back onto the FDR towards Queens.[7][3][11] This loop through Lower Manhattan is referred to and signed on buses as the "Downtown Loop".[11] Queens-bound QM8 super express buses make a single pick up stop at Water Street and Gouveneur Lane near Wall Street, then turn directly onto the FDR towards Queens.[3][11]

The QM1 and QM31 only operate during rush hours in the peak service direction: to Midtown mornings, and to Queens during PM hours.[2] The QM7 and QM8 also operate only in the peak direction, with Downtown Manhattan-bound service ending at 9:20 AM, and Queens-bound service beginning at 2:15 PM. QM7s and QM8s alternate in frequency during rush hour periods, with only QM7s running at the end of the AM period and the beginning of PM service hours.[3] Three QM8 Super Expresses operate during both AM and PM periods.[3]

The QM5 and QM6 are the only buses of the corridor to operate seven days a week, and operate in both directions during morning, midday, and evening hours between Midtown and Queens. The QM6 also ran during late nights as of May 2020 but has since been discontinued in October 2020 due to low ridership. Their Third Avenue counterparts, the QM35 and QM36, however, only operate during rush hours in the peak direction.[2]

On February 27, 2005, the MTA Bus Company took over the operations of the Queens Surface routes, part of the city's takeover of all the remaining privately operated bus routes.[27][28][29] At this time, eight different route combinations were operated under the QM1/QM1A designation. The QM1 operated between Fresh Meadows and Midtown or Downtown weekdays only, primarily during peak hours. The QM1A operated to/from Glen Oaks or North Shore Towers weekdays and weekends, with some weekday and all weekend Glen Oaks trips operating via Fresh Meadows to replace QM1 service.[27] On June 27, 2010, the QM5, QM6, QM7, and QM8 designations were created from the QM1A to better allow passengers to identify their desired route.[5][27]^: 45–56[30] On January 4, 2016, midday service on the QM1 was discontinued, replaced by the QM5.[31] In September 2016, the Third Avenue variants of the QM1, QM5, and QM6 were respectively renamed QM31, QM35 and QM36. This change was done in order to minimize passenger confusion, and to avoid the need to wait for the front sign to scroll to determine whether the bus was going via Third or Sixth Avenue.[32]

Overnight service on the QM6 briefly operated between May 6, and June 2, 2020, to supplement service due to an overnight subway shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City.[33] The QM6 made additional pick-ups and drop-offs along Queens Boulevard at daytime QM18 stops, in order to replace IND Queens Boulevard Line to/from Manhattan. A pick-up was also made at Woodhaven Boulevard & Hoffman Drive, with a corresponding drop-off made at Queens Boulevard & Woodhaven Boulevard.[2]

In December 2019, the MTA released a draft redesign of the Queens bus network.[34][35] As part of the redesign, the Union Turnpike express routes would have been replaced by new express routes: the QMT105 (188th Street–Financial District), QMT115 (188th Street–Hudson Yards), QMT134 (Glen Oaks–Third Avenue), QMT135 (188th Street–Third Avenue), QMT165 (Glen Oaks–Sixth Avenue), QMT166 (188th Street–Sixth Avenue), and QMT167 (North Shore Towers–Sixth Avenue). The routes originating in Glen Oaks would have also been diverted to use the Long Island Expressway rather than Union Turnpike west of 188th Street.[36] The redesign was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020,[37] and the original draft plan was dropped due to negative feedback.[38] A revised plan was released in March 2022.[39] Under the new plan, the express routes will largely keep their existing paths, but the QM5, QM8, and QM35 will use the LIE instead of Union Turnpike.[40]