Privatization of Nassau County Bus- A Dangerous Operation- Pt. 3 MV Transportation

[FamousNYLover]

Pt. 1: Veolia Transportation

 

Pt. 2: First Transit

 

MV Transportation

MV Transportation, is the largest privately-owned transit company in the entire United States. Based in Fairfield, California, the company operates in 24 states and employes 13,000 people. While MV Transportation is the largest paratransit operator in the United States, they have also been accused of violating the ADA and inadequate trainings and screenings for some of their driers.

 

Paratransit and Hasty Service

MV Transportation took over paratransit operations in Chicago in July of 2006, and immediately began cutting corners for disabled riders. To maximize "efficieny", the company refused to make mandatory stops for drivers who were feeling ill, instead focusing on getting to their next stop as quickly as possible.

 

As it turns out, getting "on time" has been the focus of the company, to the expense of disabled riders. The company has gone so far as to leave disabled riders at the stop, which is exactly what happened to Ken Lombardo, in California, who filed a discrimination suit against MV Transportation.

 

Howeer, Lombardo is certainly not alone. In Alachua County, Florida, filed a civil rights complaints against First Transit in October of 2006. The complaint was filed by the National Federation for the Blind.

 

In Belchertown, Massachussets, paratransit riders forced the cit to cut the contract with MV Transportation short because of the company`s poor treatment of disabled riders. In one case, a 78-year-old disabled rider was told to get off at the wrong bus stop, where she promptly fell down a flight of stairs and died.

 

Accidents

When MV Transportation took over at the University of California, they replaced nearly all of the old drivers who operated buses under the public system. Whereas the previous unionized drivers had over 10-years of experience on the job, MV Transportation hired new drivers and gave them only one month of training. Just two weeks after the takeover, an untrained driver nearly killed a bicyclist and hit another car.

 

MV Transportation has been known for its high accident count. In Washington D.C., after the company took over the public transportation system in 206, the number of accidents increased to by 172%.

[FamousNYLover]

Conclusion

All three of the private companies that have submitted Requests for Proposals Nassau County are incapable of serving Long Island with adequate, reliable, and safe bus service. Additionally, the County has yet to publicly release any information about the companies an the names of the Committee members remain unknown. Nassau County Administration must be transparent in its decisions and accountable to its residents, not deciding the future of Long Island behind closed doors.

[Q43LTD]

I hope Mangano looks at these findings and seriously reconsiders privatization

[dmouse]

Basically Privatization wasnt the way to go and now we can pretty much say goodbye to LIB.

[lilbluefoxie]

this is potential to be a danger for bus riders, motorists and pedestrians alike. If these companies are hiring incompetent or untrained drivers, not training them properly, and forcing them to work long hours and not properly compensate them, it could be very dangerous.

 

Now I am wondering, I dont remember the history becasue im honestly into trains more than buses. The MTA had a plan to operate Long Island Bus on only the money that NAssau gives them, and fares as well. That had a lot of routes cut but it didnt seem to serve the areas that need the buses the most in western and central nassau, and meanwhile eliminated and shortened routes where ridership wasnt high in eastern nassau.

 

What was the issue with taking that plan, if what I described was actually a plan, I dont know, I dont remember. How come that was quick to be taken off the table?

[aemoreira81]

At the same time, however, you have to give them time to see if it works out. It may or may not work out, but you generally need to see if it does.

 

BTW, I'm not sure that I would have a problem with a non-union workforce; most of Academy Bus is non-union. However, the issue is with the training time of drivers before they hit the road.

[lilbluefoxie]

At the same time, however, you have to give them time to see if it works out. It may or may not work out, but you generally need to see if it does.

 

BTW, I'm not sure that I would have a problem with a non-union workforce; most of Academy Bus is non-union. However, the issue is with the training time of drivers before they hit the road.

 

thats teh thing, noones indicated what the new route layout will be, whats staying, whats going, if theres any new surprises, etc.