PinePower

Wonder if they will walk away? We all know Nassau County has to step up funding, but Mangano and everyone else in Mineola could care less.

Well if you want a laugh here's what the response from NICE was about the n20 not showing up at all on Tuesday. Thank you for contacting NICE bus we truly appreciate your feedback. Under our contract with Nassau County, we are obligated to operate within the budget the County provides. As a result, we have had to make difficult decisions regarding our service. We have done our best to provide the most coverage within Nassau and serve as many customers as possible. I will forward your email to the correct department for review. We thank you for your loyalty and hope to see you on board in the future. Kind Regards, NICE Customer Care

It's not a ridiculous amount, Westchester and Suffolk pay a similar amount of money toward operation of their privately operated bus systems. Veolia is doing it for less and what you get is obvious, low wage workers, poor maintanance, and no accountability. You think it's OK to have to wait another hour in the cold for a bus because the driver forgot to do his run? Or someone waiting at SUNY Old Westbury saw the bus pass right by without turning into the stop? What good is a bus schedule when it's not even adhered to most of the time? Here's an idea, ditch the car and take NICE Bus everyday for a month and then tell me how great it is. There's a reason why ridership has dropped, and it's because riders are getting fed up. You get what you pay for Nassau County!

They were closed down due to factors outside of buses.

If only I knew how good I had it...

No it wasn't NICE. There are less buses, they are more crowded, and they are more unreliable than they've ever been. And many riders must be pissed off because ridership is down. But thats the idea, drive down ridership so you can cut even more. Look at how they killed the n27. I was better off under the MTA. And I am praying and begging them to come back. I did at the MTA hearing and plan on doing even more this year, thats my New Year's resolution. NICE had their time, now its time for them to GO.

NICE way to start off the new year. The 5:27pm n20 from Hicksville to Flushing never showed up, leaving people, some of which were waiting since 5pm, to stand out in the cold till the 6:27pm n20. And that driver pulled into the n22 bus stop first before realizing her mistake, then she missed the bus stop at SUNY Old Westbury too (on weekends many drivers are skipping it even though they're supposed to stop there). Then on the way home the n20 at 8:22pm going east never showed up, gave up at 8:35pm and ran over for the LIRR at 8:45pm to the n22. They've had a year to get it right. Thats what you get for $15 an hour and no benefits. This is what was going to happen, we all knew it, the Hound told us. And don't say he is wrong, he's spend most of his life driving buses, I think he knows what he's talking about. What is it going to take to get the to come back, because I'm willing to do whatever it takes.

That's another thing, PW has direct LIRR service to Flushing. Glen Cove was isolated enough to begin with, then Veolia came along and decided to knock down one of it's only 2 bridges.

And this is a photo taken over the summer in early evening of all the riders who got off the n20 going to Glen Cove who had to wait for the next n27 and stand there for another hour. Certainly more than what would be on the n80 or n81!

Some earlier buses would certainly help. But I still think they'd get some usage on weekends. Or at the least have those n20s go to CW Post on Saturdays in addition to Sundays. All I'm saying is they cut too much service to Glen Cove, have them add an earlier n21 and have the n27 go to RF full time and I'll be alot happer. I used to be a regular n21 rider back when I lived in Sea Cliff before 2001, and the buses were rarely empty at any time east of Roslyn. We often had alot of workers that used the n21 between points in Great Neck, Manhasset, and Roslyn traveling to/from Glen Cove. Of course ridership could've dropped since then, but I have a hard time believing most n21's were empty east of Roslyn all the time outside of peak. On Saturdays, I believe, the n27 Roslyn-Glen Cove "shuttle to nowhere" actually uses the n20s that come into Roslyn, they could've actually had those run to Roslyn RR for a guaranteed transfer to an n27. The whole n20 to n27 thing isnt working on weekends because they miss their connections. I'm sorry but I'm with Yuki on this one, the current system for Glen Cove riders is a dismal failure. The money saved by getting rid of the n27 beyond Roslyn on weekends, and the n21 outside of rush hours, could've been made up by scaling back service on many other routes with lower ridership, like the SE Nassau Pork Routes (which is what I'm calling them from now on). If I were Veolia, I would have only trimmed the amount of n21 trips and the hours, n21 wouldn't run past 8pm weekdays, 7pm on Saturdays, and 6pm on Sundays. I would've left the n23 and n27 alone. I would've reduced the n80 and n81 to run every other hour on weekdays only bi-hourly n81 service Sat (hourly service Hicksville-Sunrise Mall), n74 eliminated, n73 skips Cornflower detour full time), n50 rush hours only, n19 every other trip ends at Sunrise. I know you say those n21 trips were empty, but since the changes the buses in Glen Cove are much more crowded, late, and often people miss their connections. If I was still stuck in Sea Cliff I'd be pwned, and an hour or more would have been added to my trip to Flushing. I know whats going on I'm in Greenvale every weekend and see the 15-20 ppl waiting for the n27, often standing there for the next bus because the n20 was late. Sadly I guess they aren't complaining to NICE, since NICE thinks this is working. I'm sorry having to wait another hour for the next bus on what used to be a single bus ride is unacceptable. Glen Cove riders are getting the BS from both ends, n27/n23 on weekends and n27/n20 to Flushing on weekends and off peak (particularly Sat when only n20 Hicksville serves Greenvale).

Well I've seen 15-20 people waiting to/from n27's in Greenvale, so I disagree. Today my n27 got crushloaded after Greenvale with people transferring from the n20 to get to Glen Cove. Surely there were more people taking those cancelled n21's than on your typical n80 or n81. On weekends when I'm on the n20 from Hicksville there's always at least 10 people, usually closer to 15, getting on in Greenvale. I know, on paper it looks good, they see Port Wash has no direct Flushing bus and does OK, but I think alot more people are dependent on the bus in Glen Cove than Port Wash, Glen Cove needs 2 full time bus routes, 1 isnt going to cut it. Glen Cove bus service should have been left alone, maybe a few less buses but that should've been it. Something else is at play here, NICE just wants to do everything to keep these light routes (n73,n74,n80,n81,n50,n51,etc) while squeezing riders on other routes. I'd just like to know what they are thinking, and if there's any money changing hands we don't know about.

Which is still too many, there should only be 2 buses on that route. Have them alternative every hour. I'm still very dissapointed NICE hasn't made more significant cuts to those routes, while riders in Glen Cove get shafted. Today I was on the 3:10pm n27 departure from HTC, left the mall already crowded and then had to pick up around 20 ppl getting off from the n20, so it got crushloaded. More people took those n21's they canned going all the way to Glen Cove than any of the n80 and n81. I just don't get their logic sometimes. At least they need an earlier eastbound n21 than the one that arrives in Glen Cove at 5:19pm.

It was probably due to a traffic backup on Ring Road West at the left turn light onto that very short road before Old Country Rd (the light across from Bloomingdales Furniture). The timing is messed up causing a backup, so they sent the buses on the east side so they can just make that right instead of waiting at the left turn signal. The timing has been changed to only allow one side at a time at the intersection of Ring Road and N.Gate, which has caused extra traffic delays on Ring Road W. I've complained to the mall and Nassau DOT about it, but nothing gets done. In the future, NICE should send all buses exiting RF via N.Gate to go via Ring Road E. Hopefully it will be made permanent. Its bad enough the situation with Glen Cove Rd n/b onto Jericho West, where you have to wait through 3 cycles just to turn. The traffic lights here are ridiculous.

I still think they need to come up with a Ronkonkoma LIRR - Riverhead service that would run down the LIE with a stop at Rt.112 (connect with the S61). The new Bolt Bus service that was started was a dissapointment, couldn't even buy tickets between Ronkonkoma and Riverhead. Route 58 is becoming a major tourist destination between Tanger and all the stores there, and with plans for another new shopping center with Costco and a Super-Walmart underway. The 110 Clipper carries air more or less, I'd can it and use the buses for the new Ronkonkoma-Riverhead service. Route would be Ronkonkoma LIRR-495-stop at Rt.112 and service road for 61 transfer-back on 495 to exit 73 and it would make all stops along Rt.58 and run to County Center via S58 route. I cant fathom why they havent done it yet, HJ and Bolt Bus are NYC-LI expresses, LIRR service to Riverhead is practically useless, someone at Suffolk Cty may be getting their pockets lined. If I had my own bus I'd run the service myself.

Yeah the n35 carries light from Westbury except rush hours, rush hours you get alot of ppl at the stops along Post Ave. Outside of rush hours the n35 should be hourly north of RF (or NCC). The n35 gets some ridership off Post but not enough to warrant more than hourly. One could argue to eliminate it completely outside of rush hours, but some NCC students use it to get to the LIRR at night, as well as the workers by Fairway going to Hempstead.The n15 does get some riders from Old Country, but not that many. Most wait by Country Glen, and those ppl can just transfer to the n22 or n22a, n24, n27, and n23 to the RFM bus stop. It can also be walked but its not easy crossing Ring Road.

Also n24 runs much later from Hicksville plus more trips. http://www.nicebus.com/_meta/Dec30pdfs/NICE-n24_Dec30Schedule.pdf

Yeah I noticed the n35 midday reduction, could be a problem with NCC I dont know if thats a busy time though. They do have the n16x trips though. Most buses between HTC and RF are busy, even nights and weekends, so I wouldn't cut n35 service further. Or one could have the n35's end at HTC (outside of rush hour) and extend the 16 up to Westbury (no more n16 at RF). But that may piss of ppl who use the n35 who transfer at RF to Jamaica bound buses. Then there's the college. And the n35 helps out taking a little load off the n22's coming to/from Westbury.

Where did you copy this from? According to NICE the n22x will be making all stops east of RF.

According to NICE the 22x will still make all stops east of RF. We got some mis-information and I got all worked up for nothing!

I cant seem to find it, though I do notice the "X" marks. This is a huge mistake, did they not learn anything from the n6x debacle? I already wrote them on this, but its up to the New Cassel riders to speak up when they get screwed. Gonna love to see their reaction while they wait for a jammed n22 local when a half empty express bus whizzes down Prospect!

People in New Cassel are not gonna like that and be packed on the n22s now. That seems like an error, but its quite bad since most n22 ridership comes into and out of New Cassel east of RF. I cant find where it says that on the site either. If they do that it should be quite interesting, especially since they will have to blot out all the n22x labels on the signs. As far as the other changes, they make sense, since no one used the n80/81/50 north of Hicksville LIRR, although I'm dissapointed that service levels weren't reduced and n27 riders still have to deal with a dead end bus in Roslyn.

I agree. Since most of the 1600s are here to stay for awhile they should. Many of them still ride better than those 1700s and those funky seats!

Southbound in the PM. Its like this every weekend. Especially Saturday. Many workers going back from the north shore to Hempstead. The n23 and n27 were busy routes before the April changes, and its never a good idea to merge 2 busy routes into 1. I told Veolia this last year, but they did this anyway. The n27 was always at least 75% full on weekends with the hourly service, then they put all those n27 ppl on n23's that are fairly busy themselves. So it gets overcrowded. Then add the holiday shopping on top of that. And the choice riders get fed up. Last Sunday I saw a crush loaded n27 in Greenvale headed toward Glen Cove, probably because it had 2 busloads since the prior n23 was late and missed its n27 connection. I remember being at the Uniondale Marriot last year when Veolia reps said their changes "affected people on only lighter routes". How could they possibly call the n23 and n27 light? Along with the n21. Yet the truly light routes got left alone. The BS has to stop. They should fix it and try to save some face. They came half-way in summer when they restored n27 weekday trips to RF, but they need to come all the way and have n27s run to RF on weekends to. The n23 can still go to HTC, but there needs to be 2 routes running from the "Gold Coast" down to Central Nassau at all times. The n23 cannot do it alone south of Roslyn.

I've seen the Dec.30 service change ads as well, but nothing on their website or Facebook. They may not be as major as the ones in April which they are having "meetings" for. They need to fix that n27 once and for all. The n23s were stuffed and very late today. The n27 needs to run to Roosevelt Field full time, between the workers and shoppers the n23s are getting hammered. They really need to right the wrongs with Glen Cove bus service by restoring the n21 and n27. Those changes can be paid for by reducing Hicksville-Sunrise Mall to every hour. Thats what I would've done in the 1st place and would've walked away if they wouldn't let my company make the changes that were fair to the riders.

I notice they tow them backwards, aren't they supposed to be hooked facing forward?