The Penelope Avenue route was originally started by the
Affiliated Bus Transit Corporation on June 17, 1934, given the designation "Q-38" by the fall of that year. The original Q38 route began in
East Elmhurst near
Flushing Bay, running south down 108th Street, west on 62nd Drive and Apex Place. It then followed the current Q38 route through Rego Park, Forest Hills and Middle Village via 63rd Drive, Penelope Avenue, and the "zig-zag" pattern ending at the Metropolitan Avenue station. Affiliated Bus operated the route on several temporary permits, before being granted a five-year contract from the city in November 1934. The route was acquired in 1936 by
Triboro Coach Corporation, as part of the company's takeover of all routes within "Zone A" of Queens' four-zone bus system, covering greater Woodside. Affiliated Bus was not compensated for the takeover, as their equipment was considered obsolete. At the time, the roads along the route were much rougher and more difficult to traverse than in other parts of Queens; furthermore, the route received spotty service via Triboro Coach's oldest buses since it was deemed unprofitable. By 1946, the route was renamed the Q50 (distinct from the current between Flushing and the Bronx). In June 1947, Triboro Coach promised to extend the Q45X along Eliot Avenue between 69th Street and Myrtle Avenue by September. The Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce again recommended an extension of the Q45X from 69th Street and Eliot Avenue to Metropolitan Avenue and Eliot Avenue in April 1948 to provide connections to the
Q39, the
Metropolitan Avenue trolley, and the
Flushing–Ridgewood trolley. The extension would also reduce the distance Grover Cleveland High School students would have to walk to school. In July, the president of Triboro Coach said his company was preparing an application for a franchise modification to the New York City Board of Estimate (NYCBOE) for this extension. The director of the Bureau of Franchises stated that the Chairman of the Board of Transportation had forwarded the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce's request to his department. Triboro Coach made the application in September 1948. Local civic groups had been pushing for the extension for eight years. In January 1949, president of Triboro Coach announced that the expected arrival of ten new buses by the end of the month could make it possible for the extension to be implemented, contingent on a temporary permit. Triboro was also asking the Board of Estimate to legalize an extension on its northern end to the Rego Park Emergency Veterans Housing Project at 98th Street and 59th Avenue that had been operating on a temporary permit. In addition, the route would be renumbered from Q45X to Q50. Around 1948 the route was extended north past Queens Boulevard to Corona in modern
LeFrak City, and south to 60th Place and 62nd Avenue near Metropolitan Avenue. March 10, 1949 was set as a date for a Board of Estimate public hearing on the two proposed extensions of the Q45X in February 1949. On July 3, 1960, the Penelope and Eliot Avenue routes were combined into a C-shaped loop service, with the Q38 designation retained for the entire route. It was nearly a full loop, as its terminals at
Corona and
Forest Hills were less than apart and located within a block of the
Long Island Expressway to the north and south respectively. Before 1975, the Corona end of the route was extended east to Otis Avenue. On February 2, 2006,
Triboro Coach ceased operations and the Q38, as well as all other routes operating under Triboro Coach, were picked up by the
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Fare structures were converted to those of the MTA. The former Triboro Coach depot in East Elmhurst became the LaGuardia Depot under MTA Bus. As part of the redesign, many parts of the Q38's route would have been discontinued. The Eliot Avenue section would have been replaced with the QT77, a "neighborhood" route running from Elmhurst to
Long Island City, while the Penelope Avenue/63rd Drive section would have become the QT82, running from Glendale to
East Elmhurst. The redesign was delayed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in New York City in 2020, and the original draft plan was dropped due to negative feedback. A revised plan was released in March 2022. The Eliot Avenue/Corona branch of the Q38 would be split into a new route, the Q14, running from the
Fresh Pond Road station in
Ridgewood to Ditmars Boulevard in East Elmhurst. The Q14 would also take over part of the
Q23 in Corona. The Q38 designation would still apply to the Rego Park branch, which would terminate at Metropolitan Avenue and Fresh Pond Road. In Middle Village, the Q38 would be straightened, running along Juniper Boulevard South from 69th Street to Dry Harbor Road. A final bus-redesign plan was released in December 2023. The Eliot Avenue/Corona branch of the Q38 would be split into a new route, the Q14, which would be similar to the original Q14 proposal with minor changes. It would no longer connect with the
M train in Ridgewood and would instead terminate at Fresh Pond Road/Eliot Avenue. On December 17, 2024, addendums to the final plan were released. Bus stops on both routes were rearranged, and the Q14 received two more changes. Its southern terminal was extended to the
Forest Avenue station to restore the southern connection with the M train, and its northern terminal was cut back to 31st Avenue since the would continue to run on Ditmars Boulevard. On January 29, 2025, the current plan was approved by the MTA Board, and the Queens Bus Redesign went into effect in two different phases during Summer 2025. Both routes are part of Phase I, which began on June 29, 2025. Under the redesign, the Q38 was transferred from MTA Bus Company to MTA New York City Transit. ==Connecting bus routes==