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Nassau Inter County Express (Nice) Discussion


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AGAIN very foolish to cut routes that carry period any reduction on that line is stupid as you will chase riders away reducing ridership due to inconvenience that reduced ridership will increase costs NOT decrease em. A reduction on a line no one uses saves money service cut to a line many ppl use and rely on is foolish and will actually increase costs. Therefore use N31 and N32 and say that in front of those ppl they will RIOT. The only thing you can really do is restructure inefficient routes to become more useful so ridership can grow thus reducing cost of operation. Crippling lines that carry well is counter productive. And joel and pinepower will agree with me that is not a good idea leave N31/32 alone. Very few routes are not needed the rest just need to have their routes adjusted to increase ridership.

 

So you're saying that every single run of the N31/N32 is jam-packed. Is that correct?

 

Doing that would apply only during times when there is space to reduce routes. At the times when both routes are completely crushloaded, the N32 would run at the combined headway. Outside of that time frame is when the headway can be reduced by that method (and if every single run is crushloaded, then leave it as is)

 

And this applies to any route where you have 2 branches like that.

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So you're saying that every single run of the N31/N32 is jam-packed. Is that correct?

 

Doing that would apply only during times when there is space to reduce routes. At the times when both routes are completely crushloaded, the N32 would run at the combined headway. Outside of that time frame is when the headway can be reduced by that method (and if every single run is crushloaded, then leave it as is)

 

And this applies to any route where you have 2 branches like that.

 

again don't mess with lines that go to queens

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Please leave N32 alone.

 

I am frequent rider of N32 when I visit Hewlett-Woodmere Library to meet my another librarian friend who is supporter of saving Long Island Bus.

 

Not all N32s are packed.

 

I remember during MTA Public Hearing at Hofras University, I had to stop by at Hewlett-Woodmere Library, so when I got on N32 Hempstead, it was packed all the way to Trinity Pl.

 

Another N32 trip are sometimes standees only.

Another N32 trip could be empty.

 

I have taken N31 one time and only N31 trip I took was only about 10 people.

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When I was Hempstead Transit Center, and I ask cab driver for direction to Hempstead Library and he thought I was going to ride taxi and said $4 but I said by walking!

It doesn't make sense to take taxi to library two blocks away.

 

At Hempstead Library, I made sign for public hearing for LIB Service.

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Please leave N32 alone.

 

I am frequent rider of N32 when I visit Hewlett-Woodmere Library to meet my another librarian friend who is supporter of saving Long Island Bus.

 

Not all N32s are packed.

 

I remember during MTA Public Hearing at Hofras University, I had to stop by at Hewlett-Woodmere Library, so when I got on N32 Hempstead, it was packed all the way to Trinity Pl.

 

Another N32 trip are sometimes standees only.

Another N32 trip could be empty.

 

I have taken N31 one time and only N31 trip I took was only about 10 people.

Last I took N31 it was actually packed I took it like 10 times
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For anybody who is interested, they have paper maps of the LIB system @ 347 Madison Ave, in the front with all the other bus maps.

 

First time ever seeing a LIB map there, it says Nassau bus btw, with the big N and the rainbow colors.

Awww man, I so want one of those, but I live in Queens and thats a trek to Manhattan. Can anyone here pick one up, send it to me, and I'll send you the cost back? Please, I've never seen an LIB paper map before.

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Please leave N32 alone.

 

I am frequent rider of N32 when I visit Hewlett-Woodmere Library to meet my another librarian friend who is supporter of saving Long Island Bus.

 

Not all N32s are packed.

 

I remember during MTA Public Hearing at Hofras University, I had to stop by at Hewlett-Woodmere Library, so when I got on N32 Hempstead, it was packed all the way to Trinity Pl.

 

Another N32 trip are sometimes standees only.

Another N32 trip could be empty.

 

I have taken N31 one time and only N31 trip I took was only about 10 people.

 

And if you had looked carefully, it was the N31 that would be eliminated, with the N32 having service added to it.

 

As you said, N32s are not always packed. That means that at certain times, the N31 could reasonably be eliminated with some service added back to the N32. It's up to Veolia to determine when those times are.

 

For anybody who is interested, they have paper maps of the LIB system @ 347 Madison Ave, in the front with all the other bus maps.

 

First time ever seeing a LIB map there, it says Nassau bus btw, with the big N and the rainbow colors.

 

Damn, I wish they had those when I was actually traveling to Manhattan. It would've made it easier for me to get one.

 

Maybe I'll be able to travel into Manhattan later this month to pick up a copy. Are the headquarters open on weekends or just weekdays?

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Well, I know I'm still anxious to hear about the MetroCard thing. If it's cut off, then I cut LIB service out of my life.

 

Some of you may know (or at least have heard of) Diana Brewster, who has been outspoken in her campaign against the MTA for screwing LI Bus riders like us. (She is the librarian from Hewlett library.) I met her once at the Hempstead Terminal and we had a pretty lengthy exchange about our common anger in the downhill slide of LI bus service, and so we kept in touch. Recently I designed a flyer for her that she'll try to post around in the coming days. She is reaching out to those of us "Riders in Despair". Look for it.

 

In the meantime, those of us who may have no other options besides LIB (or NICE *shudder*), let's cross our fingers and hope for the best regarding the hearings....

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Hicksville has maps. Ask at the ticket office. They're in a cabinet straight behind the agent at the central window.

 

checkmate/Brett: If you want me to send you one, I can (assuming they still have them, they had them 2 months ago)

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Hicksville has maps. Ask at the ticket office. They're in a cabinet straight behind the agent at the central window.

 

checkmate/Brett: If you want me to send you one, I can (assuming they still have them, they had them 2 months ago)

That would be great. You don't have to rush out of your way to get it though. I'm in no hurry. Just when you have the chance. Thanks!

 

Another time, I made friend with security at Mitchell Field Depot to ask if he has following LIB Schedules but he did not.

Really? Because security was very unkind when I was there last.

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Well, I know I'm still anxious to hear about the MetroCard thing. If it's cut off, then I cut LIB service out of my life.

 

Some of you may know (or at least have heard of) Diana Brewster, who has been outspoken in her campaign against the MTA for screwing LI Bus riders like us. (She is the librarian from Hewlett library.) I met her once at the Hempstead Terminal and we had a pretty lengthy exchange about our common anger in the downhill slide of LI bus service, and so we kept in touch. Recently I designed a flyer for her that she'll try to post around in the coming days. She is reaching out to those of us "Riders in Despair". Look for it.

 

In the meantime, those of us who may have no other options besides LIB (or NICE *shudder*), let's cross our fingers and hope for the best regarding the hearings....

She's my friend now.

I sometimes go all the way to Hewlett-Woodmere Library to inform her about public hearing.

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I can't believe they kept lines like the N2 and N14... I was in RVC one day in the summer and I saw 1636 operating on the N14 with two people on it, including the B/O.

 

The N45 and 51 are mostly used as either ways to get from NCC to either RF (when the N16 and N43 aren't around) or Hempstead Turnpike, and I've seen the higher-40s routes (N46-49) SRO right out of Hempstead. I did use the N51 in the Spring but then the N31/32 became my main route home again when the summer pick started.

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image.JPG

Photo credit: Newsday / Thomas A. Ferrara | Buses in front of the MTA's Garden City facility. (Nov. 30, 2011)

 

Newsday - Failures of state safety inspections -- required for Long Island Bus' planned privatization on Jan. 1 -- have meant tedious waits at stops, crowded conditions on board and longer rides for passengers in recent weeks, Nassau County officials said

 

Vehicles in the county-owned fleet, operated and maintained by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority , have been failing initial state Department of Transportation inspections at a rate of 50 percent since the once-overs began in early October, the county said. MTA officials said almost all of those buses passed after minor repairs were made.

 

The county and its newly hired private bus operator, Veolia Transportation, said many of the problems are serious and should raise concerns about the MTA 's maintenance practices. The state DOT must inspect and certify each of the 296 buses before Veolia begins running the system.

 

"I think it's in bad shape," incoming Nassau bus chief Michael Setzer said of the fleet. "Maintenance deferred can't be fixed very quickly. I think we're going to have a major task ahead of us."

 

 

Serious defects

Among 144 buses that state DOT inspectors combed over through Nov. 19, there were 146 defects considered serious enough for the buses to fail inspection, according to a county report. Those problems included damaged brake hoses and other brake system defects, a door that wouldn't open and an inoperable emergency escape hatch. Several less serious issues were reported, including horns that didn't work and broken seats.

 

Dennis McNeill, a bus maintenance expert based in Thousand Oaks, Calif., said any defects involving a braking system should be considered serious. He noted, however, that many problems caught in the inspections may have arisen since the MTA's last inspections and could have been identified and resolved the next time the MTA checked out the buses.

 

"I think that they have a good maintenance program in place," McNeill said of the MTA. "Things happen on buses that are heavily used."

 

MTA officials confirmed that many buses were in between their usual inspections, which are conducted every 6,000 miles. Of 182 buses inspected through Tuesday, 170 eventually passed, spokesman Kevin Ortiz said Wednesday. The remaining 12 vehicles failed and have been pulled from service pending repairs, he said.

 

"It's ironic that a county that has consistently failed to fund the bus system it's responsible for is now complaining about the condition of the bus fleet," Ortiz said. "The MTA invests $25 million annually to maintain safe and reliable buses, and we expect to transfer a well-maintained fleet to Veolia on Jan. 1 as requested."

 

Forty buses from elsewhere in the MTA's system have been shifted to Nassau to limit the effects on service, he said. Wednesday, LI Bus operated with 12 fewer buses than usual. The MTA also has adjusted schedules to run buses less frequently on some lines.

 

 

Trouble for riders

Riders bearing the brunt have taken notice, complaining to the county and to Newsday of waiting up to an extra hour for buses and jamming into crowded vehicles.

 

"I have never seen the service as erratic and chaotic as in the past two days," Rita Siermala-Hanley of Roosevelt wrote in a letter dated Nov. 17 to County Executive Edward Mangano. She described a "mob" of riders waiting at bus stops for the N40 in Mineola . "Not only is the commute becoming increasingly uncomfortable and less reliable, it's also getting longer."

 

The system, which has about 100,000 weekday riders, has been maintained and operated by the MTA since 1973. The agency has said the county has not met its obligation to properly fund the bus system -- including fleet maintenance -- for several years.

 

In June, Mangano chose Veolia Transportation, of Lombard Ill., to take over the system, which will be renamed Nassau Inter County Express Bus, or NICE. The contract with Veolia requires approval by the county legislature, which will hold a public hearing on it Monday, and the Nassau Interim Finance Authority.

 

Mangano, in a statement, blamed the service issues on the MTA's "poor maintenance practice."

 

Worsening the service problems is a shortage of drivers. The MTA has acknowledged that some LI Bus operators retired in anticipation of the system's privatization and others left to begin training under Veolia.

 

Officials with the MTA, Nassau and Veolia all say that they expect the Jan. 1 deadline for the system's privatization to be met. Doing so will require stepping up the rate at which vehicles are inspected and repaired.

 

Alida Padilla, 37, of Baldwin , was among riders Wednesday afternoon waiting at the terminal in Hempstead for the N16 bus.

 

"It just seems to get worse," she said. "How do you know it's worse? You wait and wait every day."

 

LI Bus checks wreak havoc on riders

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