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NICE Planned Service/Schedule Changes


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Source: Newsday.com NICE Bus defends planned cuts, faults MTA

Recent changes in Nassau's bus system go beyond service cuts unveiled last week and include investments geared toward efficiency, punctuality and cleanliness, NICE Bus officials said.

 

Officials with Veolia Transportation, the private operator that began running the bus system Jan. 1, said some of the changes already have saved Nassau County millions of dollars and spared passengers time and aggravation during their commutes.

 

NICE bus chief executive Michael Setzer said much of Veolia's job is making up for what he called years of neglect by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operated the bus system for 37 years.

 

"There are a lot of bad habits here that have been going on for years and years," Setzer said. "It's still got a way to go and I'm far from being satisfied."

 

Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano in June 2011 chose Veolia to take over the bus system. The MTA had voted to terminate its agreement with the county amid a funding dispute.

 

Last week, NICE Bus revealed plans to cut service on 30 lines to help fill a $7.3-million budget gap. The details met with mixed reviews from riders.

 

Joseph Smith, president of MTA Long Island Bus from 2007 to 2010, disputed assertions that the MTA failed to make the system a priority. He said the agency was constantly wrestling with Nassau County for funding to make improvements, but the county "did not want to go for one extra penny for anything."

 

Mangano has said the MTA was wasteful and inefficient in operating the system.

 

MTA board member Mitchell Pally, of Stony Brook, defended the MTA's management of Long Island Bus. He said it was unfair of Veolia to compare its current efforts against those of the MTA when that agency knew it was losing the system.

 

"We were not going to make maintenance improvements to a system we were no longer going to have," Pally said. "In the short term you can do things that you can't do in the long term. . . . Let's see where they are in 2014."

 

Setzer said that even while having to cut costs, he believes Veolia has been able to improve service to Nassau bus riders. As an example, he said, Veolia completed every bus run in its schedule in January. So far in February, Veolia missed operating one bus, officials said.

 

The MTA, in its final months running the system, was unable to complete all runs because of staffing problems and buses being pulled for inspection ahead of Veolia's takeover.

 

Setzer acknowledged that on-time performance remains a big challenge, citing a combination of lax supervisory practices, outdated schedules and failing technology as contributing factors.

 

As an example, Setzer said about half of the GPS systems installed on the county's fleet don't work, making it difficult to track and manage vehicles. Veolia aims to eventually replace the systems, but he said that would cost more than $8 million.

 

Similarly, about half of the "mobile data terminals" used to track Able-Ride buses don't work, Setzer said, causing inefficient scheduling of pickups and drop-offs of disabled riders. At its own expense, Veolia has ordered nearly 100 new electronic tablet devices to replace the terminals.

 

In an effort to improve on-time performance, Veolia is changing published arrival and departure times on some routes to better reflect how long it takes to get from point A to point B during varying traffic conditions.

 

Although Setzer said improvements have been plentiful, several bus riders interviewed last week said they haven't noticed much difference since Veolia took over on New Year's Day. And some even said the changes they have noticed haven't been for the better.

 

"I take it every day and I think that it's worse," said John Koskotas, 27, of Brooklyn, who commutes to Mineola for his media job. "I think the buses are fewer and far between."

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I have gotten on the 36 whenever it popped up to avoid that horrific N4... the n4 has gotten better under NICE since the bus operators actually get moving, but the 36 does get quite a few riders near the Freeport-Baldwin border. The ride along Atlantic is also quite scenic.

 

LOL@Horriffic. Were you going to/from the N35? It doesn't bypass that much of the N4.

 

Question. When is the Next schedule change? Is it April 8th or is it earlier? Also does anyone think that N78/79 Times are going to be changed. And What I mean is all 79's start at WWM at 10 after the hour 7 days a week.

 

The next scheduled change is supposed to be April 8th but they will release the schedules around the middle of March, so everyone has a chance to review and plan their trips. The site says that the N78/79 times will change on Sat and Sun. It doesn't mention weekday, but they might.

 

Being that the N79 is your route how do you feel about the changes?

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Question. When is the Next schedule change? Is it April 8th or is it earlier? Also does anyone think that N78/79 Times are going to be changed. And What I mean is all 79's start at WWM at 10 after the hour 7 days a week.

 

The main question is will the N79 schedule be coordinated with the N24 schedule? If the answer is yes, the N24 schedule will be built first and N79 second. If it doesn't make a difference, then the N79 can be scheduled at any time.

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That was last semester when I had morning classes and the N43 was the only thing that would come by, so I'd take it to the N4 for the N25 home. About 3 out of every N4s I ever rode were either packed or late. Miraculously, the worst bus I ever had to ride home on one was an old Cummins unit which stalled once when it got into Lynbrook and that was gone the second the first NG arrived.

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Why would the N78/N79 be coordinated with the N24, as opposed to the N22, N22L and N22X? Varying traffic conditions would make it almost impossible to coordinate exactly. Passengers can take whatever bus to Hicksville that benefits them. It's impossible to coordinate the N78/N79 with all the different bus lines that go to Hicksville.

 

The N24 is EXCRUCIATINGLY slow and usually takes well over an hour to get from 179th St subway just to Roosevelt Field mall during rush hour. And that's reverse peak without all the peak direction traffic.

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Why would the N78/N79 be coordinated with the N24, as opposed to the N22, N22L and N22X? Varying traffic conditions would make it almost impossible to coordinate exactly. Passengers can take whatever bus to Hicksville that benefits them. It's impossible to coordinate the N78/N79 with all the different bus lines that go to Hicksville.

 

The N24 is EXCRUCIATINGLY slow and usually takes well over an hour to get from 179th St subway just to Roosevelt Field mall during rush hour. And that's reverse peak without all the peak direction traffic.

 

I preferred the N22a now I don't even have that option anymore.

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The N24 is EXCRUCIATINGLY slow and usually takes well over an hour to get from 179th St subway just to Roosevelt Field mall during rush hour. And that's reverse peak without all the peak direction traffic.

It most certainly is, that's why the n22 gets higher ridership between Jamaica and Roosevelt Field. I've taken the N24 a couple of times to/from Jamaica, I've learned my lesson.

 

I preferred the N22a now I don't even have that option anymore.

Now you can take the N22L/N22X

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It most certainly is, that's why the n22 gets higher ridership between Jamaica and Roosevelt Field. I've taken the N24 a couple of times to/from Jamaica, I've learned my lesson.

 

 

Now you can take the N22L/N22X

 

Thats too recent and the n22l now only goes 3x per direction per peak service time. Olden times u only had N22 N22a and N24 non rush hours I took it to Mineola during rush to RF

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Why would the N78/N79 be coordinated with the N24, as opposed to the N22, N22L and N22X? Varying traffic conditions would make it almost impossible to coordinate exactly. Passengers can take whatever bus to Hicksville that benefits them. It's impossible to coordinate the N78/N79 with all the different bus lines that go to Hicksville.

 

The N24 is EXCRUCIATINGLY slow and usually takes well over an hour to get from 179th St subway just to Roosevelt Field mall during rush hour. And that's reverse peak without all the peak direction traffic.

based on the meeting the N24 idea recieved stiff opposition I doubt they would go through with it.

 

I preferred the N22a now I don't even have that option anymore.

Try the N22L or the NEW N22X

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Why would the N78/N79 be coordinated with the N24, as opposed to the N22, N22L and N22X? Varying traffic conditions would make it almost impossible to coordinate exactly. Passengers can take whatever bus to Hicksville that benefits them. It's impossible to coordinate the N78/N79 with all the different bus lines that go to Hicksville.

 

The N24 is EXCRUCIATINGLY slow and usually takes well over an hour to get from 179th St subway just to Roosevelt Field mall during rush hour. And that's reverse peak without all the peak direction traffic.

 

I may have misread the docket. According to the current map, the N22 doesn't operate along Old Country Road (OCR) between Hicksville and Roosevelt Field. With the planned N78/79 cutback, service would be lost along OCR. The N24 extension would cover the gap. That's how its advertised in the docket.

 

Passengers can transfer now between the N78/N79 and N22 at Hicksville.

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Only ME! No really takes the 79 from East of Hicksville to West of Hicksville.

 

True. At Hicksville, most riders get off the bus. Then other people get on the bus. At the most 5 people stay on the bus at Hicksville. Same for the Q47. Most people just off the bus at Roosevelt Avenue to take the train. At max 4 riders stay on the bus. I wonder if the N23 will be interlined with another bus line or if it will not interline anymore since the N23 is interlined with the N79 currently. The N79 was made at first to serve areas without the LIRR to connect to the LIRR. That's bascially why NICE and SCT are about.

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True. At Hicksville, most riders get off the bus. Then other people get on the bus. At the most 5 people stay on the bus at Hicksville. Same for the Q47. Most people just off the bus at Roosevelt Avenue to take the train. At max 4 riders stay on the bus. I wonder if the N23 will be interlined with another bus line or if it will not interline anymore since the N23 is interlined with the N79 currently. The N79 was made at first to serve areas without the LIRR to connect to the LIRR. That's bascially why NICE and SCT are about.

 

They Probably will make Short turns. Do you think there will be N79 shorturns anymore?

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They Probably will make Short turns. Do you think there will be N79 shorturns anymore?

 

I think NICE wants to convert those short trips into 78's or extend it to WWM

People at New Cassel can now wait less for a bus along Old Country Road. Originally N78/N79 frequency:30 minutes

New N24 frequencies:15 minutes

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True. At Hicksville, most riders get off the bus. Then other people get on the bus. At the most 5 people stay on the bus at Hicksville. Same for the Q47. Most people just off the bus at Roosevelt Avenue to take the train. At max 4 riders stay on the bus. I wonder if the N23 will be interlined with another bus line or if it will not interline anymore since the N23 is interlined with the N79 currently. The N79 was made at first to serve areas without the LIRR to connect to the LIRR. That's bascially why NICE and SCT are about.

 

I'm surprised the 23 is interlined with the 79. The 23 arrives Mineola at :16 and :46 leaves at :29 and :59. The 79 arrives at :17 and :47 and leaves at

:55 and :25. Since the arrival times of 23 and 79 are only one minute apart and their departures are within four minutes of each other, I don't understand the need to interline.

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I'm surprised the 23 is interlined with the 79. The 23 arrives Mineola at :16 and :46 leaves at :29 and :59. The 79 arrives at :17 and :47 and leaves at

:55 and :25. Since the arrival times of 23 and 79 are only one minute apart and their departures are within four minutes of each other, I don't understand the need to interline.

 

It not all runs some run on some days I think 7902 On M-F is one but M-W 7902 does 2 roundtrips. Thursdays and Friday it does only 1 I think. Indecently 7902 driver wasn't in to so they had a fill in (who knew they had fill ins available LOL).

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I think NICE wants to convert those short trips into 78's or extend it to WWM

People at New Cassel can now wait less for a bus along Old Country Road. Originally N78/N79 frequency:30 minutes

New N24 frequencies:15 minutes

 

Kinda sorta. N24 frequencies will be 15 mins to/from Jamaica but that's a combination of both branches. Each branch will be on 30 min headways. 30 mins to Hicksville and 30 Mins to East Meadow.

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It not all runs some run on some days I think 7902 On M-F is one but M-W 7902 does 2 roundtrips. Thursdays and Friday it does only 1 I think. Indecently 7902 driver wasn't in to so they had a fill in (who knew they had fill ins available LOL).

 

This implies that interlining is done on the 23 operator's RDO. For some reason, a relief assignment doesn't take the 23 operator's work and it's covered by interlining.

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They Probably will make Short turns. Do you think there will be N79 shorturns anymore?

 

Where could they short-turn them? The hospital?

 

I think NICE wants to convert those short trips into 78's or extend it to WWM

People at New Cassel can now wait less for a bus along Old Country Road. Originally N78/N79 frequency:30 minutes

New N24 frequencies:15 minutes

 

Service will alternate between East Meadow and Hicksville, so it's 15 minutes from Jamaica to the RFM, and 30 minutes for the two branches.

 

I agree with everybody who says that it's best to keep things as is. Right now, the N22 covers service from Jamaica to Hicksville/Westbury, and the N78/79 cover service from the Plainview area to Hicksville/Westbury. Under this plan, they lose direct service to Plainview. (Yes, I know the LIRR tracks are in between, but there are a few areas where you can cross them)

 

Admittedly, it might come in handy if there's a major delay on one of the routes, but the thing is that they don't have anything like BusTime out there, so unless they're at Hicksville itself, they won't be able to take advantage of the redundant service going to/from Jamaica.

 

Now, of course, going back from Jamaica it could be helpful, but is it really worth screwing over Plainview riders?

 

But I guess the one advantage is that Plainview riders don't have to worry about traffic along Old Country Road. But still, maybe there aren't a whole bunch of riders who pass through Hicksville, but I think it would help those residents more if they had access to the Plainview area rather than Jamaica.

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Where could they short-turn them? The hospital?

 

 

 

Service will alternate between East Meadow and Hicksville, so it's 15 minutes from Jamaica to the RFM, and 30 minutes for the two branches.

 

I agree with everybody who says that it's best to keep things as is.

 

They already short turn a few at Mantetto Hill Road and Woodbury road.

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