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Hi our family has been thinking about buying a home in Great Neck and because of high cost of homes walkable the train station and the LIRR monthly pass itself, we were thrilled by the fact that you could pick up something near Northern Blvd and use the N20/N21 bus to Flushing, then subway to Midtown.
You only need a single unlimited metro card and you get the benefit of no NYC income taxes, which easily makes up for the higher real estate taxes. Our monthly cost is similar to Queens and we get the benefit of Great Neck schools. In fact as our income gets higher it may even be cheaper than living in say Bayside, Little Neck etc where homes are more expensive per sqft and that 3.5% NYC city income tax starts to make a bigger difference.
Anyone rely on this commute and how long does it take in real rush hour? Only thing we have to go by is Google and it is roughly 25-30 minutes. Add another 30 minutes or so on the 7 train it is 1 hour commute. I will do a few real trips to see how it is.
With the NICE taking over for MTA, it throws a monkey's wrench in our plan but we are glad this happened before we made the purchase. Anyone taking NICE can comment on the service quality vs MTA days?
It is a very high chance for them to cut off the unlimited metro card thing and cut services? It is frustrating but it feels like we must now have train station as a back up choice, if not the primary choice. The bus service was underfunded by Nassau to begin with, a private company will make cuts a lot quicker . . .
I'm on other forums related to transit, and there are people who live out in Long Island. So far, they have no complaints, and some are actually saying that the buses are more punctual with the MTA than Veolia. Veolia claims it sent out every bus it was supposed to with no major delays.
Of course, I'm sure Veolia is trying to make a good first impression, so only time will tell if they'll keep up the good service. Their budget is around $102 million, whereas the MTA had a budget of something like $140 million, so we'll see if they can actually run a good system with a smaller budget (and not have to raise the fare or reject Unlimited MetroCards and transfers)
However, I heard that they run a system in Las Vegas (and somewhere else in the Southwest) and there were problems. Try and look up anything about that.
But the good thing about Great Neck is that the N20/N21 run very frequently compared to other routes on Long Island. During rush hours, I think you can get a bus to Flushing every 5 minutes, so it's unlikely they'll cut the lines completely (though of course, if they reduce the service, you might not be able to fit on the bus, and the schedule might say a bus comes every 10-15 minutes, but because you keep getting flagged, you end up waiting 30 minutes).
And somebody else on these forums said that they live in Great Neck and it is usually more than an hour. More like an hour and 15 minutes at least.
The routes going to Queens generally run pretty frequently, so in the event of cuts, they'd probably be the last to go (N4 on Merrick Road, N6 on Hempstead Turnpike, N20/N21 on Northern Blvd, and N22/N22A/N22L/N24 around Jericho Turnpike/Hillside Avenue. The N31/N32 go from Far Rockaway to 5 Towns, but you don't want to commute from there)
Hmm. Democrats and JIW were screaming that we weren't gonna have any bus service come 2012.. .. guess it was all fear-mongering, as suspected. Yes, you can rely on it. It's running better than it was before--at $40 Million lower cost.
Found this on JIW's other channel. I think the pinepower channel got shut down over a video in which a crazed man was interrogating and harassing two Hispanic males at a bus stop.
I'm on other forums related to transit, and there are people who live out in Long Island. So far, they have no complaints, and some are actually saying that the buses are more punctual with the MTA than Veolia. Veolia claims it sent out every bus it was supposed to with no major delays.
Of course, I'm sure Veolia is trying to make a good first impression, so only time will tell if they'll keep up the good service. Their budget is around $102 million, whereas the MTA had a budget of something like $140 million, so we'll see if they can actually run a good system with a smaller budget (and not have to raise the fare or reject Unlimited MetroCards and transfers)
However, I heard that they run a system in Las Vegas (and somewhere else in the Southwest) and there were problems. Try and look up anything about that.
But the good thing about Great Neck is that the N20/N21 run very frequently compared to other routes on Long Island. During rush hours, I think you can get a bus to Flushing every 5 minutes, so it's unlikely they'll cut the lines completely (though of course, if they reduce the service, you might not be able to fit on the bus, and the schedule might say a bus comes every 10-15 minutes, but because you keep getting flagged, you end up waiting 30 minutes).
And somebody else on these forums said that they live in Great Neck and it is usually more than an hour. More like an hour and 15 minutes at least.
The routes going to Queens generally run pretty frequently, so in the event of cuts, they'd probably be the last to go (N4 on Merrick Road, N6 on Hempstead Turnpike, N20/N21 on Northern Blvd, and N22/N22A/N22L/N24 around Jericho Turnpike/Hillside Avenue. The N31/N32 go from Far Rockaway to 5 Towns, but you don't want to commute from there)
Hi our family has been thinking about buying a home in Great Neck ...
The Village of Great Neck or one of the several communities, such as University Gardens ("Great Neck, NY 11020 & 11021" mailing address) that are much closer to the North Hempstead Turnpike (colloquially referred to as Northern Boulevard)?
When you do find a house that you like, you can find out in which community (city, village or CDP) that house is actually located, which is oftentimes different from the community named in that house's mailing address, by using the Census Bureau's online address search function. (CDP, or Census Designated Place, is the Census Bureau equivalent for a hamlet in Nassau and Suffolk Counties.)
And, very importantly, among other things, the Census Bureau's online address search function also indicates in which school district an address is located.
Hi our family has been thinking about buying a home in Great Neck and because of high cost of homes walkable the train station and the LIRR monthly pass itself, we were thrilled by the fact that you could pick up something near Northern Blvd and use the N20/N21 bus to Flushing, then subway to Midtown.
You only need a single unlimited metro card and you get the benefit of no NYC income taxes, which easily makes up for the higher real estate taxes. Our monthly cost is similar to Queens and we get the benefit of Great Neck schools. In fact as our income gets higher it may even be cheaper than living in say Bayside, Little Neck etc where homes are more expensive per sqft and that 3.5% NYC city income tax starts to make a bigger difference.
Anyone rely on this commute and how long does it take in real rush hour? Only thing we have to go by is Google and it is roughly 25-30 minutes. Add another 30 minutes or so on the 7 train it is 1 hour commute. I will do a few real trips to see how it is.
With the NICE taking over for MTA, it throws a monkey's wrench in our plan but we are glad this happened before we made the purchase. Anyone taking NICE can comment on the service quality vs MTA days?
It is a very high chance for them to cut off the unlimited metro card thing and cut services? It is frustrating but it feels like we must now have train station as a back up choice, if not the primary choice. The bus service was underfunded by Nassau to begin with, a private company will make cuts a lot quicker . . .
Thanks!
You might be taking a risk if you purchase a home in Great Neck and plan on using the bus service. Nassau County residents and politicians for the most part loath the bus service and those who use the bus service, even for work reasons. This is a county that is in the process of downsizing, i.e., balancing the budget on the backs of the poor.
While you might not be poor, bus riders are seen as expendable. Fares for the NICE bus will remain flat for 2012, but there are no guarantees for 2013 and beyond. Personally, I would recommend the Bayside area if you can afford it. Suburban quality of life plus guaranteed access to transportation.
Hmm. Democrats and JIW were screaming that we weren't gonna have any bus service come 2012.. .. guess it was all fear-mongering, as suspected. Yes, you can rely on it. It's running better than it was before--at $40 Million lower cost.[/i]
Didn't they just take over a couple weeks ago? Kind of early to make a judgment like that. And no one but JIW was screaming we weren't going to have bus service, only that, practically, the only way for a private operator to reduce costs would be to cut service, raise fares, or skimp on costs like equipment/trained drivers vs. idiots paid the minimum wage.
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.. guess it was all fear-mongering, as suspected. Yes, you can rely on it. It's running better than it was before--at $40 Million lower cost.
