PinePower

Sadly many of these are just complainers. I'm not thrilled with Mangano and will show that when I vote. It's unfortunate that we dont have a strappies campaign here, and if LIBRU is all riders have to speak up for them, it's a sad state of affairs. I may complain but I take action about it, voicing my feelings with NICE and elected officials, and offering solutions to these problems, like more sensible schedules and better bus funding. Its funny I'm still awaiting a response from Tom Suozzi on Facebook from my question of how he'd have done things with regards to bus funding.....

Got to say they fixed that fast. Much better routing this way!

When LIB was around, the detour for the street festival had the n35 going down Union, to School St, in the last few years of them they even put up some temporary bus stop signs. As for the n22, it was detoured down Union to Post (the closure starts just north of the light after the LIRR bridge), then down Old Country to East Gate and would stop at existing marked bus stops on the n35 and n78/79 (which it was back then). People need to feel comfortable taking the service. They need reliability and convienence, which LIB wasn't great at, but was a heck of alot better than NICE. But remember a Cabbie sits on the TAC so I'm not stupid I know what's going on....I'm sure Saturday's business for area cab companies was brisk...stealing money from people who can afford it least..how low can you go?

How NICE, I guess they just expect people to walk a mile or so or take a cab. LI Bus never did this. Its stuff like this I dont like, plain and simple. Not a way to get new riders but just lose existing ones. So if the n22 ran along Old Country Rd it would not make any stops till East Gate Blvd, thats a hell of a walk...NICE! That's all I'm asking. MTA does this, or is supposed to...

Not only is there no information of alternate routing and bus stops, there's also a mistake! Took the LIRR today since I didn't know where to go to catch the bus. http://nicebus.com/Passenger_Information/Service_Alerts/index.html n22, n35 Westbury — Expect Route Delays Saturday, October 5, 6:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Due to street fair on Post Ave, there will be no n23 service on Maple Avenue between Union Avenue and Ellison Avenue. There will also be no n35 service on Post Avenue between Rockland Avenue and Railroad Avenue. Please allow additional travel time this day, to ensure that you arrive on time.

The idea is that the GPS would be monitored by a dispatcher to improve OTP and connections, but that's only if the dispatchers and the folks at Veolia know what they're doing....

I feel the same way. I'm not saying to kick NICE out and bring back the MTA right away, lets give them more money and see if they can do better. If not then maybe change companies. But the budget is the main problem, and that's all on Ed Mangano, who refuses to increase funding.

You got that right!

Yes the MTA had its problems for sure, but some of the things NICE has done are just assinine. When I hear what's going on with n27 on weekends I see no reason for it. Do we really need both the n80 & n81 running on Saturdays? If I was in their position, one of them would have been cut out and the buses used to restore the n27 at least to RF on weekends. And the irregular scheduling confuses passengers, they need to go back to a clockwork schedule people can understand. And the n6, as another poster pointed out and so many others have, should be restored to it's previous pattern with the n6L and more frequent service in evenings. MTA wasted money for sure, but NICE doesn't seem to know how to adequately serve riders. The news of another ridership decline this year was pretty much another reason. Instead of what they did to bus service a year and a half ago, I'd have changed the south shore routes which carry the least, like this. n14 would be eliminated (useless loop) n19 service between Sunrise Mall and Freeport, every 30 minuets, weekdays, and only every other run going to Babylon. n19 weekends would be every hour between Freeport and Babylon. n36 would have Saturday service eliminated, and run rush hours only n47 would be eliminated (useless loop) n50 would run rush hours only n51 would run rush hours only n62 would be eliminated (useless loop) n74 would run rush hours only (they did this) n80 would run rush hours only, no Saturday service Of course the reliability issue is another problem. The system really would do better with RBA, the Queens routes could share depots with MTAB and NYCT, which would be especially helpful if a bus dies in Queens. I'm really sorry to change my mind on this, it certainly wasn't this bad day alone, but combined with other stuff I've been seeing, hearing, and the ridership drop.

I should have taken the 3:27pm train to the 4:07pm Oyster Bay at Mineola and am going to do that next time.

Today I had a not so nice day, and it changed who I'm gonna be voting for. There was absolutely no excuse for the pathetic service I got from NICE today. I needed to be in Glen Cove by 5:30pm. So I figured getting the n22 that arrives in Westbury at 3:36pm, to the n27 that leaves RF at 3:57pm would give me enough time, as there's another n27 that leaves at 4:27pm if need be. Well the n22 didn't show up by 3:50pm, so I gave up on it knowing the next n22 didn't arrive in Westbury for awhile (the 3:57pm n22x from Hicksville) so I walked over to the train station. As I did that crush loaded n22 passed but I wasn't gonna squeeze on. I hopped on 3:58pm train but came at 4:01pm, no good, since I'd never get to Mineola in time for the 4:07pm train, so I got off at Carle Place before anyone checked my ticket, and just walked over to Glen Cove Rd since I wasn't gonna chance that n22 again. Then NICE strikes again, the n27 doesn't show up until 4:55pm, over 20 minutes late. The farebox had a transfer jammed in it so I got a free ride, and the engine alarm going off was giving me a headache. I don't arrive in Glen Cove until 5:45pm, 15 minutes late for an appointment that I left for 2 1/2 hours ago...I probably could've WALKED there faster. On the way I met some passengers, including one woman who works at the Burger KIng in Garden City Park, she told me earlier this week the n24 that she takes never showed up, and neither did the next one after that, she wound up walking all way from RF to her job, and not one n24 passed...WTF? Another couple told me they dont even bother going out on weekends, since the n23 always leaves Roslyn before the n27 arrives. They've written NICE and they said they'd look into it, they never do. How come this crap is still happening? It's been a year and a half since they made those changes to the n27 and they still haven't fixed the issue, it's clear they never will. I know I'm sure Yuki will love this post, and I really have been trying to give NICE the benefit of the doubt. I was hoping with the additional funding they've gotten that service would improve, but it's clearly not. The irregular schedules dont help, the n22 can have 40 minute gaps followed by 10-20 min gaps, it's a recipe for bunching. I'm allowed to change my mind and I have. I'm not a fan of Tom Suozzi, but Mangano's running the bus system on such a small amount of county subsidy, it's pathetic, it shows how little he regards us. At least with Suozzi there's a chance, I say a chance, that more money will be put into the bus system. And if more is and NICE still can't deliver reliable service, maybe its time to bring back the . I saw firsthand today why NICE is losing so many riders. That woman who works in Garden City Park said she's tired of allowing 4 hours to get to work and still being late, she's going to start taking the LIRR and walk from the Merillon Ave station. If someone asked me if I was better off with bus service when Tom Suozzi and the MTA were running things, my honest answer would have to be yes. I had the n35 every 20-30 minutes all times Mon-Sat. I had regular spaced n22 service usually every 20-30minutes. I had the n27 running its full route, full time. Enough of this express BS, just have limiteds, bring back what was around prior to Jan.1.2012, and call it a day.

They need to fix this. Met a few passengers today telling me the n23's are pulling out a few minutes early on weekends leaving them to wait another hour. It's not acceptable...period.

Big mistake...I just dont get why NICE reduces service on busy lines like that. It certainly doesn't help luring new riders or keeping existing ones. I know they have a limited budget, but the n6 should not be messed with, period. I'm guessing they made it 20 min headways to pay for the n6x going to NCC. Meanwhile the most unproductive routes on the system in southeast Nassau have had none of their service reduced. Its the one thing that still urks me. Thats what I like about NICE, they do listen, and respond to feedback, unlike the which never responds, or sends a form letter 3 months after your suggestion/complaint.

Rode a midday n35 from Westbury today, the 1:05pm trip and it's the first time I did so in quite awhile. The hourly service is not enough, by Merrick & Privado things were already getting crowded. Must've picked up 20 passengers along Post Ave alone...I got off at Privado, I'm sure it got crushed at NCC. They gotta restore 30 min headways middays on it. Its stuff like this that causes ridership to drop, ppl dont want to wait an hour for a bus and then be jammed and maybe not even get a seat.

Yeah its a bit of a walk!

You got that right. Most of the time Westbury only gets one train an hour. Too many trains skip it, but the LIRR doesn't seem to be interested in adding stops to some trains, even though the expense would be minimal. The n22 has seen large increases in ridership for sure, because it serves an ever more crowded (but yet still poor) New Cassel and connects up to major transfer points at Hicksville, RF, Mineola, and in Jamaica. I think Hawk service would do well on this route, heck, the n4 has it so why not the n22? True I know the n22 the best since I use it often, along with the n35, and I know there's worse crowding elsewhere in the system, esp with the n6. The thing is the n6 runs pretty often as it is, and I think it would be more cost-effective to invest in articulated buses for that route. The n6 is pretty straight, not too many turns, only fly in the ointment would be the terminals, so they'd have to stop outside of them. As I've said before, I already know the north part of the n35 is a little weak, and it seems to be getting weaker, which is why I still worry about it's elimination north of NCC, esp outside of rush hours, leaving Westbury only with an already crowded n22 (or n24 if you feel like walking down to Old Country, its not a short walk). Problem is the n35 ends in the middle of nowhere, but I'd like to see it extended up to Jericho Turnpike, it'd go up Post Ave, turn by Westbury HS and go to Jericho by Brush Hollow, there's lots of stores and businesses in that area and no bus service, save for the n48/49, weekdays only, at the Quad which is not a short walk away either. There's lots of new stuff coming to the area which is an opportunity to get new passengers, especially with the opening of the Theater downtown. So I hope NICE will consider some of these ideas, at least they seem more open than the MTA. The LIRR isn't interesting in adding stops at Westbury at all, and here's what's really screwed up, Cold Spring Harbor gets a train every 30 mins on weekends, yet there's hardly any pax there at those times, every Huntington train should stop at Westbury, we have way more passengers, but we're treated like Carle Place, even though we have more people. The LIRR refuses to listen. Just like with those Montauk trains that pass through, but do not stop, at Hicksville. A valuable connection but they won't accomadate us. NICE does listen, they have improved n22 service since the MTA days, we even have 20 min headways most of the day on Saturdays. I routinely see the n22x leave RF pretty full, even with standees. Last time I took it to Jamaica it was pretty full.

n22 has heavy ridership in New Cassel & Westbury and has to make all stops. A bus leaving Hicksville bypassing those areas would be empty and result in overcrowding on the next bus. With your idea you may as well start the n22x at RF because at least 75% of ppl on buses east of RF are going to New Cassel & Westbury. The buses are crowded enough as it is, if anything there needs to be hawk service in this area with 10 min headways rush hours and 20 min all other times middays & weekends. Its a poor area, most ppl do not have cars, trust me on this!

Seems to be only 8 or so minutes running time between Hofstra & HTC! With the traffic it should be at least 15 min. Of course the old 16x routing was faster, but it bypassed Hofstra. We'll see how many Hofstra students are using the n6x, if not many, just go back to the 16x routing. Hempstead Tpke in Uniondale is gridlock in the afternoons. May have to go back to via Westbury Blvd instead... Anything thru NCC gets packed school days, except for the n51.

Well I think it's working excellently. The n6x has taken the overcrowding situation away from the n16,n35, and n43. It provides a direct route to Jamaica and at the same time many transfer opportunities to other routes at HTC. The route has just begun, so expect lateness until the kinks can be worked out. I'm sure NCC students are thrilled with the n6x, but it seems anything NICE does you pick on. My only criticism is the failure to restore the n27 on weekends, I still see empty n27's from Roslyn which mean missed connections. Ridership on weekends has been decimated on that route, most people with standards won't put up with it and use the LIRR now or just dont travel at all on weekends, so you're only left with those who dont care. Since Glen Cove is almost the "Hempstead" of the north shore with alot of bus dependent riders, it needs 2 full time routes. Your LIBRU should focus on that one goal, getting the n27 restored to HTC full time and putting the n23 back to Mineola, instead of picking on every little change NICE makes.

Hard to tell from the pic, the windows are so shiny. Happened to me once, thought a bus was empty, because of the reflections, only to find out it wasn't so empty.

Aren't the headways already 15 min after 7:30pm? I agree there needs to be more buses on the n6 in evenings. Often the thinking is on weekends and evenings ridership drops off alot, but that drop isn't as big as it used to be. I looked at the new schedules and it does appear the headways have been lengthened eastbound out of Jamaica after 7:30pm to 15 min instead of 8pm. Seems there are more going west, probably because "reverse peak" numbers are usually higher. Perhaps they saw ridership levels drop at that point, I dunno, but if you must take the n6 make sure you get on one before 7:30pm. Otherwise take the 22 or 24 to Mineola or RF and transfer to other buses. The n6 needs artics and thats the bottom line. No matter how many buses they put on the line they will be packed. I once remember seeing 3 crush loaded n6's in Jamaica just minutes apart.

The crowding is the main reason I avoid the n6 and it has always been packed. In fact its been so long since I've been on it, the last time we were on it we had the Cummins powered V's and I had one of the 200s and it was jam packed. This route has been needing artic buses for the longest time. The traffic lights are serious problem, one that I have brought up to NICE on numerous occasions. But they are out the control of NICE, and are maintained by the NYS DOT on State Roads and the County on other roads. The NYS DOT signals happen to be the worst. It sounds like Hempstead Turnpike (NYS 24) is similar to Jericho Turnpike (NYS 25). For instance all the lights in Floral Park are out of sync, whenever I'm on the n24 we wind up stopping at nearly every one. Even if we leave Jamaica on time, we're 10-15 min in the hole by Mineola. In Suffolk County many of the lights have a sensor to turn green for emergency vehicles, I would like to see such a system in place in Nassau and be used by both emergency vehicles and buses. Traffic signal priority is now being used in NYC, and it needs to expand to all the major roads with the busiest bus lines. It is a win-win situation, buses move faster, cost savings in operation, and passengers are happier. But it's an uphill battle when the average politician cares more about the motorist than the bus rider. And the motorists dont think they should have to wait for buses. But at least have the friggin lights in sync. Having to stop every other minute results in traffic jams, extra pollution, and wear and tear on all vehicles. What is the benefit of the current traffic signal setup...I don't know. A central computer should control all the lights so traffic is moved along as quickly and safely as possible.

The N2/N8 had to be detoured today as a result of the mess. It was obvious the guy was knocking the wires down intentionally. I bet he was on drugs.

I have been told by SCT drivers that they have seen Veolia employees with NICE vests looking at and riding some of the buses, so it wouldn't surprise me if they did get the SCT contract. As far as the , they will not be back, I think anyone who believes so is dreaming. And I think we are better off without them. All this talk about NICE being unreliable is odd, because I ride it almost everyday and most of the time my buses have arrived within 10 min of schedule. I only average one "no-show" a month these days. Yes the floors are dirty but the passengers are pigs. The LIRR has been much worse, it has been late almost every time, and there's often catastrophic delays, like the train I was stuck for an hour in east of Jamaica because of a disabled train west of Jamaica. I really regretted not taking the n22 to the 179st subway. The runs the LIRR and lately they are doing a worse job than anyone else. The fares are high, the trains are late and they are filfthy. The subway is actually much cleaner and more reliable. The treats LI like a stepchild. The road with NICE has had some major bumps for sure, but we are getting better service, esp in the fall, they've done more for the n22 than the , it will now run every 20 min on Saturday! I can interact with NICE staff at the meetings, at the hearings the elite running the show are surrounded by security and you will not be able to interact, other than a speech which they will not pay attention to (remember Mrs. McCartney texting?). The is great for the city, but they treat LI'ers like crap. Metro-North for some reason isn't run as bad as the LIRR. Yes I think Nassau should pay more into their bus service, but we all know if we gave them the $36M, we wouldn't have the n87 back, we wouldn't have more frequent n22 service, we wouldn't have the new express routes either. Hey I was one of Veolia/NICE's biggest critics, but they were given a tough choice by Nassau, I know the would've done worse. By and far they've proved it, the LIRR has been one of the worst public transportation systems I've dealt with the past couple of years. I do not want those people running my buses again.

I haven't seen or had any breakdowns in awhile so I'm not sure I believe the heresay from that individual, and I ride NICE practically daily. On the other hand I've been hearing about and seeing way more breakdowns in Suffolk. The main buses that have had trouble (and always have) are the Orion V's which don't like summer period. But even there I haven't had much trouble with them, other than a very slow one quite a few weeks ago that stalled in Bellmore, but did start right back up again. Funny thing how things are reversed in Suffolk, from what I have been told (and heard over the radio) is alot of their Orion VII's are breaking down, at least at Suffolk Bus. And when I rode a city bus in Queens last week, the farebox was having problems reading people's Metrocards, so that problem isn't confined to NICE either. Aging fare collection equipment plus buses with lots of mileage are gonna have problems. I'm surprised NICE is able to have as many of the Orion V Greens on the road as they have, with over 13 years in service plus lots of mileage on 'em I have to say they must be doing something right keeping them running.