Quote:
Originally Posted by loribell38
News12 was there as they did show a bit about it last night. Guess they were not visible much. Guess they cut routes that they did not see as "profitable" enough for them to bother continuing it. LI is just not for people that rely on Public Transportation. It is a private for profit company now isn't it? So not surprised at all if it is cutting routes that are not getting enough shall we say "customers" for them. Hopefully where you are in Westbury there are enough people utilizing the buses. Or they will look to cut there too eventually.
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Well, the stupid thing is that instead of getting better, public transportation is getting
worse on Long Island. Suffolk County just approved a budget that will take $10 Million away from buses there, so cuts will be coming there as well unless the state were to increase its operating assistance.
Yes the company operating NICE is a for profit company called Transdev (formerly Veolia) based in France. They kept claiming they could operate the same level of service that the MTA did at a much lower cost to the county. But as anyone who has taken the bus knows, the MTA was far more reliable and frequent. The kicker is that Al D'amato's law firm represented Veolia when the County decided to put the bus system up for bidding.
You'd think it would have raised red flags, but no one intervened, Cuomo was in on the whole thing.
As far as service in Westbury, it has already been impacted. Under the MTA, the buses were scheduled to come more often. The n22 ran every 15-20 min in rush hour, now there can be a 30-40 min wait (if the bus shows up at all). The n35 used to run half hourly all day to Westbury, with 20 minute service for large portions of the day. Now there's only one bus an hour middays and only a short span of time with 20 min service.
Now I am quite concerned with the n35 (I'm near the last stop in Westbury). That is a route I depend on to avoid having to walk down Post Ave at night (particularly in summer). It still runs till 11pm Mon-Sat. But I have noticed ridership dropping off, the buses used to have 15-20 ppl on them at night (say after 7pm), now there's only around 5 once it leaves RF Mall. The College students seem to be using their cars more or getting rides, they got fed up with the buses not showing up & breaking down. The n35 runs from Baldwin Harbor via Grand, through Hempstead, Roosevelt Field, NCC, and up Post Ave in Westbury. An important route, but I can see NICE cutting it at night and just telling NCC students to take an n43 to the n22. The n35 does get more ridership going south from NCC toward RF & HTC so maybe that will keep the route alive at night (there's always at least 15-20 students waiting at NCC for southbound n35's at night) Now the n22 HAS NOT seen ridership drop, in fact, buses seem more crowded than ever. This is due to the n22's route, it follows Westbury/Maple Ave, and travels to Hicksville via Union/Prospect/W.John through New Cassel and you can imagine the crowd that takes it...which is why I don't prefer using it as it obviously serves New Cassel (which gets boatloads of new ppl every month), I always opt for the n35 instead if I'm traveling from Roosevelt Field (I avoid traveling thru Hempstead whenever possible).
Also using the n22 means I still have to walk down Post Ave...so why bother? There's also the n24 bus on Old Country, thats a mile from where I am though.
Basically NICE will eventually only run jammed buses, as this will be the only way those routes can stay afloat. I will admit I have been riding alot less, as it seems whenever I take NICE the bus doesn't show up or it breaks down while I am on it. I just take the LIRR. If I'm traveling within Nassau or even to W.Suffolk it does not cost that much more than the bus. The problem is the LIRR doesn't go north-south, if you want to travel to the South Shore, you have to backtrack to Jamaica at extra time & expense.
There is a Central Branch connection between Bethpage and Babylon, but most of the trains that use it run express in Nassau, shutting out any Nassau users who may consider it. There's only a few Patchogue trains that stop at Mineola/and or Hicksville.
The bus system was so much better under MTA. It is hard to believe that it is being run into the ground, it was once one of the best suburban bus systems in the nation. Basically this is becoming a place for rich people. If you're not rich, you don't count and will not be recognized by the local government. Since most who take the bus are on the poor side, we don't count.
And these cuts are just the beginning. I will have to get used to taking the LIRR more often (it is already up to 50% of the time now). The problem is summer when all the hoodlums are hanging around town, if I'm still here, I may have to take a cab that I really can't afford.
This may be the straw that breaks the camel's back and the end of the road for me on Long Island.
I don't even feel like I belong here anyway.
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