Suffolk Transit fare hike approved

[PinePower]

Still no Sunday service. If they are going to be asking for more than they need to do better than the sh*tty service they have. I'm going to be making route cut proposals, since the Suffolk Transit system and budget are bogged down by useless, go nowhere routes like the 5A, 6B, etc. Why can't these routes be eliminated? Is there some special interest group representing the 2 people that take the 5A?

 

Suffolk bus riders will soon see their first systemwide fare increase in two decades, after county lawmakers approved a plan to hike the cost of a ride on most lines by one-third.

 

In another change for Suffolk County Transit, the system has cut the number of companies operating its buses in half, resulting in some job losses.

 

Under a plan unanimously approved in December by the county legislature, fares will climb from $1.50 to $2 on most routes.

 

On the S92 and 10C, which already saw fares increase to $2 last year to fund summer Sunday service, the new fare will be $2.25. Student and senior fares will also go up by 25 cents.

 

The increase comes as Suffolk looks to increase fare revenue by $1 million this year to cover higher operating, labor and fuel costs. County officials said the increase will likely take effect in May after a public hearing, which has not yet been scheduled.

 

Legis. Jay Schneiderman (I- Montauk ) said 20 years "is a very long time to go without a fare increase.

 

"We are doing our best to keep it low," said Schneiderman, chairman of the legislature's Transportation Committee.

 

Lawmakers, he said, are "sensitive to the economic climate we're in and the struggle for working people to make ends meet."

 

At the Walt Whitman Shops in Huntington Station -- a major transfer point for Suffolk buses -- riders weren't happy to learn of the fare hikes, even if they understood they were necessary.

 

"I still think it's the best bargain around," said Dorothy O'Sullivan, of Selden , who travels for two hours on three buses, three days a week, to get to medical appointments in Huntington. "It's certainly a lot cheaper than driving."

 

Ryan Lynch, of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign , a nonprofit that pushes car alternatives, said he'd prefer that the fare hikes be phased in over several years.

 

Lynch, however, said Suffolk has done a "pretty decent job" of funding its bus system with little outside support.

 

In another effort to trim bus system costs, the county recently put its bus operating contracts up to bid and reduced the number of subcontractors from six to three.

 

CBS Lines, of Coram , which operated Suffolk buses for more than 20 years, was outbid by Suffolk Transportation Services Inc., of Bay Shore . As a result, CBS laid off 37 drivers.

 

Suffolk Transportation picked up all but eight of those drivers.

 

Another operator, County Motor Coach, lost its contract, and two others, Hampton Jitney and Sunrise Coach, have consolidated as Twin Forks Transit.

 

Officials at CBS and Suffolk Transportation did not return calls for comment.

 

Driver Joseph Cannizzaro found out he was losing his job of 22 years a few days before Christmas .

 

"I made a promise to myself that I wasn't going to let it affect my holidays, and that I would worry about it after the end of the year," said Cannizarro, 58, of Port Jefferson Station . "And that time is here. So it's time to start thinking about what I'm going to do."

 

Source: NEWSDAY

 

[qjtransitmaster]

Still no Sunday service. If they are going to be asking for more than they need to do better than the sh*tty service they have. I'm going to be making route cut proposals, since the Suffolk Transit system and budget are bogged down by useless, go nowhere routes like the 5A, 6B, etc. Why can't these routes be eliminated? Is there some special interest group representing the 2 people that take the 5A?

 

Suffolk bus riders will soon see their first systemwide fare increase in two decades, after county lawmakers approved a plan to hike the cost of a ride on most lines by one-third.

 

In another change for Suffolk County Transit, the system has cut the number of companies operating its buses in half, resulting in some job losses.

 

Under a plan unanimously approved in December by the county legislature, fares will climb from $1.50 to $2 on most routes.

 

On the S92 and 10C, which already saw fares increase to $2 last year to fund summer Sunday service, the new fare will be $2.25. Student and senior fares will also go up by 25 cents.

 

The increase comes as Suffolk looks to increase fare revenue by $1 million this year to cover higher operating, labor and fuel costs. County officials said the increase will likely take effect in May after a public hearing, which has not yet been scheduled.

 

Legis. Jay Schneiderman (I- Montauk ) said 20 years "is a very long time to go without a fare increase.

 

"We are doing our best to keep it low," said Schneiderman, chairman of the legislature's Transportation Committee.

 

Lawmakers, he said, are "sensitive to the economic climate we're in and the struggle for working people to make ends meet."

 

At the Walt Whitman Shops in Huntington Station -- a major transfer point for Suffolk buses -- riders weren't happy to learn of the fare hikes, even if they understood they were necessary.

 

"I still think it's the best bargain around," said Dorothy O'Sullivan, of Selden , who travels for two hours on three buses, three days a week, to get to medical appointments in Huntington. "It's certainly a lot cheaper than driving."

 

Ryan Lynch, of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign , a nonprofit that pushes car alternatives, said he'd prefer that the fare hikes be phased in over several years.

 

Lynch, however, said Suffolk has done a "pretty decent job" of funding its bus system with little outside support.

 

In another effort to trim bus system costs, the county recently put its bus operating contracts up to bid and reduced the number of subcontractors from six to three.

 

CBS Lines, of Coram , which operated Suffolk buses for more than 20 years, was outbid by Suffolk Transportation Services Inc., of Bay Shore . As a result, CBS laid off 37 drivers.

 

Suffolk Transportation picked up all but eight of those drivers.

 

Another operator, County Motor Coach, lost its contract, and two others, Hampton Jitney and Sunrise Coach, have consolidated as Twin Forks Transit.

 

Officials at CBS and Suffolk Transportation did not return calls for comment.

 

Driver Joseph Cannizzaro found out he was losing his job of 22 years a few days before Christmas .

 

"I made a promise to myself that I wasn't going to let it affect my holidays, and that I would worry about it after the end of the year," said Cannizarro, 58, of Port Jefferson Station . "And that time is here. So it's time to start thinking about what I'm going to do."

 

Source: NEWSDAY

 

WILL YOU STOP WITH THE DAMN CUTS!!!!!!!!!! all you do is bitch and complain about how service sucks yet you have the nerve to try and make it worse cmon. 5A could become very useful if extended to mastic beach and merged with S76 and parts of 7E/D please think about how you can make a route useful before thinking of cuts god you need to stop. 6B is shockingly used by ppl try splitting it into 2 but if you really want to hear what I think try PMing me. Ohh I will be at the hearing just watch what I have to say mr. whine

[PinePower]

WILL YOU STOP WITH THE DAMN CUTS!!!!!!!!!! all you do is bitch and complain about how service sucks yet you have the nerve to try and make it worse cmon. 5A could become very useful if extended to mastic beach and merged with S76 and parts of 7E/D please think about how you can make a route useful before thinking of cuts god you need to stop. 6B is shockingly used by ppl try splitting it into 2 but if you really want to hear what I think try PMing me. Ohh I will be at the hearing just watch what I have to say mr. whine

 

But even you see the need for things to change. All I'm trying to say is that money is limited, and it should be poured into improving service on the busier routes, not trying to keep struggling routes alive...

[qjtransitmaster]

But even you see the need for things to change. All I'm trying to say is that money is limited, and it should be poured into improving service on the busier routes, not trying to keep struggling routes alive...

 

I already see the need for change that part I am not refuting. However I think mergers over the highway may not be enough. I don't make proposals to keep struggling lines alive I reshape and reform them so they become more efficient to operate either via merger with busy line over highway or directly. Or via reroutes to attract ridership. I only kill completely duplicate lines however suffolk lacks that. The bus system needs to change it's image soon even if it means using coach buses from the operators on some runs if not enough buses are available.

 

I see the need for change all across the region from NJ to NYC to LI and all over. I try to link these places together by strengthening connections between local bus and regional services like LIRR and shortline(via rerouting SL stops) then improve services in the other areas linked by the points served by these regional modes. I understand your concern you will know who I am soon enough.