Random Thoughts Thread - Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE)

[Mtatransit]

On 9/12/2021 at 3:27 PM, User said:

Could an XN40 clear an underpass that is marked as 10'6 in height?

I heard NYS is one of the only states that do not measure height of bridges by its asphalt to bridge. Only an absolute clearance is from ground-bridge. 

I think they measure top of curb to the bridge height, or around 1 foot. The rumor is to anticipate snow buildup

12 hours ago, Cait Sith said:

Maintenance in Nassau County has been shit long before Transdev took over.....

Before NICE even took over, MTA sent V CNGs from Brooklyn & Queens to Long Island to get the Long Island Bus Orions ready for DOT approval. A bunch of LIB CNGs went to College Point, Spring Creek, ENY and Zerega to get worked on. Those buses might've only looked good on the outside, but everywhere else had other underlying problems.

As for buses catching on fire, that's not always a result of bad maintenance, other issues can occur such as overheating. Even with perfect maintenance, something can happen on a route along the way with xxxx bus on xxxx route.
 

I doubt Nassau cares who runs the service, as long as there is some resemblance of service, and its cheap. There are many Nassau residence who would love to see the whole system gone.

Maintenance briefly improved when the Orion 7s enter service, but quickly went downhill when the  started playing chicken with Nassau

Besides, the  is downright expensive. If we were to improve service, I would rather give more money to NICE than pour money into the black hole that is the  

Edited September 17, 2021 by Mtatransit

[Cait Sith]

1 minute ago, Mtatransit said:

I heard NYS is one of the only states that do not measure height of bridges by its asphalt to bridge. Only an absolute clearance is from ground-bridge. 

I think they measure top of curb to the bridge height, or around 1 foot. The rumor is to anticipate snow buildup

I doubt Nassau cares who runs the service, as long as there is some resemblance of service, and its cheap. There are many Nassau residence who would love to see the whole system gone.

Maintenance briefly improved when the Orion 7s enter service, but quickly went downhill when the  started playing chicken with Nassau

Besides, the  is downright expensive. If we were to improve service, I would rather give more money to NICE than pour money into the black hole that is the  

Nassau owed the MTA 106 million, the same amount of money that they put into NICE. Nassau refused to pay, so MTA decided to cut down on maintenance and service in some areas. Then, when NICE took over, Ed Mangano started slashing away at that thinking that he can reduce the funding while keeping the same level of service and maintenance, the joke was on him, hence what NICE became over the past 9-10 years.

[RSMG106]

I wanted to know on what you think of NICE's equipment?  Just last Wednesday, I rode on 1867, and it sounds like a beast! It sounds close to a Cummins L10G engine. It was my second time riding with NICE, and I felt vibes about riding with the agency for some time now. I know that there was a previous comment about the fleet,  whether or not I may be wrong.

[trainfan22]

The other day I fanned the N54 or 55? from Hempstead to Sunrise Mall, cool route but man Sunrise Mall is a ghost town. Mall was practically empty, yea it was an weekday but I went Roosevelt Field during the week before and it was fairly busy. Sunrise Mall food court only has two restaurants... I'm not joking it really only has two restaurants.

 

Walked around the mall to kill time as I had planned to take the N71 back to Hempstead... Which I did. Sunrise mall bus terminal was also a ghost town.

 

[Mtatransit]

5 hours ago, trainfan22 said:

The other day I fanned the N54 or 55? from Hempstead to Sunrise Mall, cool route but man Sunrise Mall is a ghost town. Mall was practically empty, yea it was an weekday but I went Roosevelt Field during the week before and it was fairly busy. Sunrise Mall food court only has two restaurants... I'm not joking it really only has two restaurants.

 

Walked around the mall to kill time as I had planned to take the N71 back to Hempstead... Which I did. Sunrise mall bus terminal was also a ghost town.

 

They actually improved the appearance of Sunrise Mall. Used to look worse. They have a sears in there which is interesting, because they are all gone at this point

The "terminal" is terrible. I'm not even sure if people use the bus to go the the Sunrise anymore

All the n54/55s trips I taken were empty by the time it got to Uniondale Ave, and all the n71s I taken were empty after Farmingdale. There is some SCT ridership but I would argue that the ridership is negligible on both the S33 and the S20 to the mall. 

Edited October 12, 2021 by Mtatransit

[R10 2952]

If that Sears is anything like the other few remaining stores, I bet it's also got half-empty shelves, merchandise scattered over the floor, half the lights burnt out, and two cashiers max working the entire store.

Shame because Sears and its products used to be fairly decent.  All the bikes I had growing up were secondhand Sears store-brand bikes from the '70s.  Good times.

[MTABusTransitFanner]

NICE Updates:

2042 & 2045 spotted in Pennsylvania or New Jersey(these units might have been delivered already)

2051, 2053 and and unknown Gillig in the 2040s or 2050s is currently on the way

2040, 2043-2044, 2046, 2048-2050, 2052 are built

confirmed Gilligs delivered as of 10/15/2021: 2000-2039, 2041, 2047(042)

 

[BreeddekalbL]

Now that Laura Curran Lost, What is Blakeman's views on NICE

[Cait Sith]

46 minutes ago, BreeddekalbL said:

Now that Laura Curran Lost, What is Blakeman's views on NICE

If he's gonna be anything like Mangano, NICE will be in trouble.

[BreeddekalbL]

25 minutes ago, Cait Sith said:

If he's gonna be anything like Mangano, NICE will be in trouble.

I take it he hasn't showed his cards?

[67thAve]

13 hours ago, Cait Sith said:

If he's gonna be anything like Mangano, NICE will be in trouble.

I think NICE will be fine. I don't think that Blakeman, much like the majority of Nassau residents, really thinks much about NICE at all, and therefore won't go out of his way to slice it into tiny pieces.

[Mtatransit]

3 hours ago, 67thAve said:

I think NICE will be fine. I don't think that Blakeman, much like the majority of Nassau residents, really thinks much about NICE at all, and therefore won't go out of his way to slice it into tiny pieces.

Thats the precise reason why NICE will have its budget cut. Majority of Nassau County residents don't care, so when the county runs out of money through various tax cuts/lack of spending cuts, NICE bus will be the first to have it's budget cut back to the minimum 2 million again

And of course there will be some residents that are supportive of this cut in the name of "I see empty buses all the time" 

[User]

If there is a budget gap, what do you think the first routes to be cut will be?

[Lex]

1 hour ago, User said:

If there is a budget gap, what do you think the first routes to be cut will be?

I'd immediately expect what's left of the N19 and N78/79 to get canned. Maybe Hempstead Turnpike east of its namesake would see span reductions and the n15 would only run as far north as Hempstead.

[67thAve]

11 hours ago, User said:

If there is a budget gap, what do you think the first routes to be cut will be?

Easily the n57 and the Port Washington Shuttle. As far as I'm concerned, the former has a completely different ridership base than the rest of the network and is not a "socially necessary" service, and therefore should be the first service eliminated in a time of crisis.

I can also see the n26 getting cut if the Queens bus redesign does end up with an MTA route serving North Shore Hospital, which would essentially kill its primary reason to exist.

 

[MTABusTransitFanner]

Ima be fr here, NICE has to get rid of the n80 and restore the n81, when the n81 used to exist, it served more LIRR stations unlike the n80 and the n81 went through areas where bus service was useful like Stewart Avenue in the Bethpage area, because of that route being gone I now have to walk 30 minutes to Hempstead Turnpike to the n70, n71 and n72, I have LIRR but the thing is, I don’t want to rely on the LIRR ever single time I have to go to Hicksville. The n81 would have been very useful for kids that go to Bethpage High School.

[B35 via Church]

On 11/17/2021 at 8:11 PM, User said:

If there is a budget gap, what do you think the first routes to be cut will be?

I don't think there would be a sequence to it (e/g, round 1 = the n78/79 & the MMS is gone.... round 2 = the n80, n49, & the Elmont Flexi is gone, etc. etc.)...

The next string of cuts would likely feature the affected routes in one shot.

 

[trainfan22]

 

 

This might be really old news, but this is dated November 17th 2021 and I didn't see this posted so...

Confirmed NICE will be getting XE40s, I found this by mistake as I was looking for pics of New Flyer's factory in Minnesota lol.

 

Quote

New York’s NICE orders up to 36 zero-emission Xcelsior CHARGE NG™ transit buses from NFI’s New Flyer

NICE becomes New York State’s seventh agency to purchase New Flyer zero-emission buses

St. Cloud, Minnesota, USA – November 17, 2021: (TSX: NFI, OTC: NFYEF) NFI Group Inc. (“NFI” or the “Company”), a leading independent bus and coach manufacturer and a leader in electric mass mobility solutions, today announced that its subsidiary New Flyer of America Inc. has received new contract from the Nassau Inter County Express (“NICE”) for six battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE NG™40-foot transit buses. The five-year contract includes options for up to 30 battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE NG™ 40-foot transit buses.

With the order, NICE becomes the seventh agency in New York State to purchase zero-emission buses from New Flyer. NICE is the local bus system serving Nassau County, parts of western Suffolk County, and eastern portions Queens, New York, providing over 20 million passenger trips per year.

“NFI is steadily increasing its EV presence on the east coast, and this is directly due to aggressive zero-emission leadership and action by transit agencies across New York State,” said Paul Soubry, President and Chief Executive Officer, NFI. “NICE is an established leader in sustainable mobility and continues to build momentum. Since 2015, NFI has delivered 115 low-emission compressed natural gas buses to NICE. Together, through the transition from low to zero-emission mobility, we’re building cleaner, quieter, more livable communities across Long Island – with the added benefit of each EV delivering up to $125,000 in maintenance savings and up to $400,000 in fuel savings over its 12-year vehicle lifespan. This is smart mobility in motion.”

New Flyer’s Xcelsior CHARGE NG™ battery-electric buses provide up to 525kWh of power and 250 miles of range on a single charge. Introduced in 2021, the Xcelsior CHARGE NG™ bus incorporates three distinct technology advancements, including high-energy batteries that extend range up to 13%, advanced protective battery packaging for easy install and simpler serviceability, and a new lightweight electric traction drive system with up to 90% energy recovery. For more information, visit newflyer.com/ng

“Nassau Inter-County Express has selected New Flyer as our new battery-electric bus vendor,” said Jack Khzouz, Chief Executive Officer, NICE. “We plan on deploying these energy-efficient vehicles for the launch of our new bus rapid transit (BRT) system, which will provide Nassau County with zero emissions travel between new lifestyle and employment centers. They will help NICE improve accessibility and connectivity within Nassau County.”

NFI is a leader in zero-emission mobility, with electric vehicles operating (or on order) in more than 80 cities in five countries. NFI offers the widest range of zero-emission battery and fuel cell-electric buses and coaches, and the Company’s vehicles have completed over 50 million EV service miles.

Today, NFI supports growing North American cities with scalable, clean, and sustainable mobility solutions through a four-pillar approach that includes buses and coaches, technology, infrastructure, and workforce development. NFI also operates the Vehicle Innovation Center (“VIC”), the first and only innovation lab of its kind dedicated to advancing bus and coach technology and providing workforce development. Since opening late 2017, the VIC has hosted over 300 interactive events, welcoming 4,000 industry professionals for EV and infrastructure training.

 

 

Link: https://www.newflyer.com/2021/11/new-yorks-nice-orders-up-to-36-zero-emission-xcelsior-charge-ng-transit-buses-from-nfis-new-flyer/

 

Edited November 23, 2021 by trainfan22

[danielhg121]

I’m curious what exactly the launch of the New BRT system means. I doubt we’ll see a similar SBS style BRT transit and even then those are lackluster at best without proper enforcement. Will NICE Bus actually provide that express bus into Manhattan that they proposed at a meeting (I think it was in 2017.).

[Mtatransit]

On 11/17/2021 at 8:11 PM, User said:

If there is a budget gap, what do you think the first routes to be cut will be?

The n57, n19, n78/79, n81, El Flexi, MM Shuttle and maybe even the n16, n33, n48, n58, n26, n27 and n21. I don't see both the n55/54 surviving the next rounds of cuts as well.

n22/24 will have its combined service reduced east of Mineola, and n15 north of Hempstead, Frequency reductions along all corridors.

 

 

That being said, NICE bus operators are absolutely ruthless when it comes to people paying the fare. If the passenger gets a Metrocard that has no money on it, they simply don't get a ride. I rarely see courtesy rides in Nassau. Compared to Staten Island, where no one pays and the excuse is "we are too far from a MVM"... give me a break

 

[User]

A couple of updates:

1) The contract with Veolia has been extended to 2024 by Nassau County - no community meeting held to vote on that. "It was extended per the emergency of the pandemic" - Jack Khzouz

2) No service to Manhattan with NICE is planned anytime soon. That proposal/study that came out a few years back is not being actioned at this time.

3) Mitchel Field is being outfitted with charging stations in collaboration with New Flyer and ABB. One station can charge two buses.

4) The plan is that, even though the XE40s are slated for 240 miles of range on paper, NICE will count on 180 miles of range for a day of service which should cover a shift. There will also be a service vehicle with a charger added to the maintenance department to use if the bus loses a charge out in the field.

5) Per the CEO, NICE is looking to get additional articulated buses next year (they are "pleased" with the New Flyers) and expand them onto the n4 route as well.

------------

Also, a random note since there was discussion about cut routes above, in this evening's community meeting, PinePowerLI asked for the n45 to be restored.

[Mtatransit]

On 12/9/2021 at 7:45 PM, User said:

Also, a random note since there was discussion about cut routes above, in this evening's community meeting, PinePowerLI asked for the n45 to be restored.

From a network perspective, it’s better to add service on the n43 than restore the n45.

Pinepower probably prefers the n45 because it goes directly to Bellmore 

 

 

On the Veolia contract, no complaints from me. I feel like NICE as an agency is generally much more responsive than the MTA. 

Bringing back LIB would be a downgrade (esp in terms of dollars vs service provided) . One could argue that maybe MV or First Transit would do a better job, but I think transdev is doing fine

Edited December 11, 2021 by Mtatransit

[Bx41 boi]

why doesn't NICE have 60 Footers?

[GojiMet86]

7 minutes ago, Bx41 boi said:

why doesn't NICE have 60 Footers?

 

It has 5 (1965-1969) and it's thinking about ordering some more.

[Bx41 boi]

2 hours ago, GojiMet86 said:

 

It has 5 (1965-1969) and it's thinking about ordering some more.

what models are they?