Central Queens riders have been paying a premium fare to stand shoulder to shoulder on their morning bus into Manhattan. On June 24, their council member decided to make the MTA prove what, if anything, it has done about it.

Council Member Phil Wong filed a Freedom of Information Law request demanding the agency turn over its internal data on overcrowding and service on the QM25, QM34 and other express bus routes that serve Ridgewood, Maspeth, Middle Village, Glendale, Rego Park and Elmhurst, according to QNS, which reported the filing.

The FOIL escalates a fight that had stalled for months. Wong joined Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, state Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr., and Assemblymembers Andrew Hevesi and Jenifer Rajkumar earlier this year in pressing the MTA over crowding on the QM25, QM34 and nearby express routes, coverage first reported by the Queens Chronicle, per QNS. The coalition asked the agency to review ridership data, restore trips it had previously eliminated, evaluate service gaps and consider adding peak-hour buses to meet demand. Riders had been reporting long waits, jammed buses and standing the whole ride into Manhattan.