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

[GojiMet86]

10 minutes ago, Bx41 boi said:

what models are they?

XN60

IMG_8332 by GojiMet86, on Flickr

[User]

3 hours ago, Bx41 boi said:

why doesn't NICE have 60 Footers?

51 minutes ago, Bx41 boi said:

what models are they?

Related information from myself is posted above your questions:

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

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.

[Bx41 boi]

1 hour ago, GojiMet86 said:

XN60

IMG_8332 by GojiMet86, on Flickr

nice

[Cait Sith]

On 12/11/2021 at 3:58 AM, Mtatransit said:

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

When the right person is the county exec, that is. I'm very curious with how the new county exec will handle transit service and funding.

They haven't been this responsive with anything until Ed Mangano was booted AND got the boost in funding they desperately needed. They've only become more transparent AFTER he got the boot. Prior to that, it's mostly been about service cuts without much reasoning...

Edited December 20, 2021 by Cait Sith

[Mtatransit]

23 hours ago, Cait Sith said:

When the right person is the county exec, that is. I'm very curious with how the new county exec will handle transit service and funding.

They haven't been this responsive with anything until Ed Mangano was booted AND got the boost in funding they desperately needed. They've only become more transparent AFTER he got the boot. Prior to that, it's mostly been about service cuts without much reasoning...

I think they were pretty transparent when they first started out as well. The first April cuts meeting, they had shuttle buses to their public hearings! They did however make some poor decisions in their first years (n6x fiasco). 

The main problem was that during Ed Mangano tenure, the only thing NICE could think about was cuts. Then some restoration, then some more cuts again. Bring back some routes as shuttles was directly because some community requested it. Unfortunately, the budget simply was not there the next year. Hard to plan for anything sustainable when Nassau feels like pitching in whatever they feel like, and there is no stable budget 

 

What's extremely sad is that the vocal advocacy that used to be on Long Island protesting about LIB (and I'm not talking about LIBRU either (they are gone as well)) is simply not there anymore. I remember during the last days of LIB, many people would show up to the public hearings and that number would get lesser and lesser until in 2017 little to no people would show up. What that means is that the people who currently rely on NICE bus HAS to rely on NICE Bus and the discretionary riders (however few there were) in the final years of LIB is gone. 

Based on NTD data Nassau county once again only pitched in 5.4 million dollars, still less than what the MTA received in 2011

Edited December 21, 2021 by Mtatransit

[Cait Sith]

24 minutes ago, Mtatransit said:

I think they were pretty transparent when they first started out as well. The first April cuts meeting, they had shuttle buses to their public hearings! They did however make some poor decisions in their first years (n6x fiasco). 

The main problem was that during Ed Mangano tenure, the only thing NICE could think about was cuts. Then some restoration, then some more cuts again. Bring back some routes as shuttles was directly because some community requested it. Unfortunately, the budget simply was not there the next year. Hard to plan for anything sustainable when Nassau feels like pitching in whatever they feel like, and there is no stable budget 

 

What's extremely sad is that the vocal advocacy that used to be on Long Island protesting about LIB (and I'm not talking about LIBRU either (they are gone as well)) is simply not there anymore. I remember during the last days of LIB, many people would show up to the public hearings and that number would get lesser and lesser until in 2017 little to no people would show up. What that means is that the people who currently rely on NICE bus HAS to rely on NICE Bus and the discretionary riders (however few there were) in the final years of LIB is gone. 

Based on NTD data Nassau county once again only pitched in 5.4 million dollars, still less than what the MTA received in 2011

It was there, Mangano kept taking part of their funding away every year, to a point where they were proposing that some routes would run hourly/bi-hourly. Him largely being anti-transit didn't make things any better.

When he was in court, it was said that he used funding from NICE to fund his own personal pet projects, even took away funding for fixing the roads. He clearly was not for the people(except those that were in his circle).

Edited December 21, 2021 by Cait Sith

[R10 2952]

7 hours ago, Cait Sith said:

It was there, Mangano kept taking part of their funding away every year, to a point where they were proposing that some routes would run hourly/bi-hourly. Him largely being anti-transit didn't make things any better.

When he was in court, it was said that he used funding from NICE to fund his own personal pet projects, even took away funding for fixing the roads. He clearly was not for the people(except those that were in his circle).

Sadly, Mangano was probably the tip of the iceberg when it comes to suburban politicians who are simultaneously anti-transit and corrupt.

If flies on the wall could talk, they'd probably have much to say not just about Nassau County, but also Suffolk, Westchester, NJ, CT, Massachusetts and beyond...

[Orion 7]

Seems that nobody has mentioned this, but all the 2008-2009 Orion 7.501 NG CNGs have been retired except for bone uses #1785 and #1797. Can anyone confirm if those buses are still system reserve buses?

[danielhg121]

NICE updated their destination signs. The font looks better, I think they enlarged the readings to make it more legible from a further distance. Also, on drop-off only portions, the signs will automatically change to “NICE” followed by “Drop Off Only” and “Masks Required”. They put more effort into this than providing decent service…

[B35 via Church]

On 1/8/2022 at 8:39 PM, danielhg121 said:

NICE updated their destination signs. The font looks better, I think they enlarged the readings to make it more legible from a further distance. Also, on drop-off only portions, the signs will automatically change to “NICE” followed by “Drop Off Only” and “Masks Required”. They put more effort into this than providing decent service…

I noticed that, specifically on the "n24 Jamaica" signage that the font looks different... Agreed that the new/updated font change looks better.

it would be nice if there were more uniformity with the font faces (or w/e you wanna call them) & the font sizes.... The signage specifically for the n40/41 they need to fix like, yesterday... And I'm not even talking about the whole n40/41 bit - I'm referring to how the verbiage is displayed on the top & on the bottom lines....

[NewFlyer 230]

It’s awesome how it’s possible to catch three different bus fleets in Nassau County. 
Just today I caught a Orion VII 3G, a 2020 New Flyer XD40 and a new BRT Gillig on the n4 the three times I used it today. 

[Orion 7]

14 hours ago, NewFlyer 230 said:

It’s awesome how it’s possible to catch three different bus fleets in Nassau County. 
Just today I caught a Orion VII 3G, a 2020 New Flyer XD40 and a new BRT Gillig on the n4 the three times I used it today. 

Yeah, that this is the most variety they had since the late 1990s and early 2000s.

And you mean XN40, as NICE don't have any XD40s.

[Mpn4179]

On 1/7/2022 at 12:46 PM, Orion 7 said:

Seems that nobody has mentioned this, but all the 2008-2009 Orion 7.501 NG CNGs have been retired except for bone uses #1785 and #1797. Can anyone confirm if those buses are still system reserve buses?

I can't confirm anything about #1785 and #1797, but the retirement of the 2008-2009 Orion 7.501 NG CNGs was already mentioned back on December 23. It was mentioned on the "NICE to get 60 Gillig buses to replace Orions" thread.

[B35 via Church]

On 1/10/2022 at 6:27 PM, B35 via Church said:

The signage specifically for the n40/41 they need to fix like, yesterday... And I'm not even talking about the whole n40/41 bit - I'm referring to how the verbiage is displayed on the top & on the bottom lines....

The day after I made this post, they changed the font on the n40/41 destination sign... The font on both lines of the destination sign are the same size & the same font face.... Looks MUCH better.

This aint no coincidence, there's a NICE representative{s} lurking on this forum... Good job dude/chick... LOL !

[N6 Limited]

Nassau County issues RFP for local bus franchise

https://www.thelirrtoday.com/2022/01/nassau-county-issues-rfp-for-local-bus.html

[NewFlyer 230]

I was looking at old Long Island Bus maps and it’s just shocking to be reminded as to how bare bones the system is today compared to for example 2006. Routes like the LI Bus version of N2, N14, N36, N50, N51, N52, N62, N65, N66, N73/74 N93 and so on that don’t exist anymore. Northern Blvd had tons of N20/N21 service whereas today it’s all broken up. 
I work right off of the n1 in Valley Stream and if we had the LI Bus system of pre 2010 the N1 could take me straight to Jamaica during the PM hours without having to transfer. Now throughout most of the day the n1 in my opinion feels like a useless shuttle dropping people off in Elmont forcing whoever to transfer to the n6 which a lot of the times are packed. 
Looking back at the situation with LI Bus/NICE and even the MTA it just goes to show that how politics can really destroy a good thing and at the end of the day it’s not about the people and serving their needs it’s always about the money. 

[Missabassie]

On 11/24/2021 at 2:39 AM, Mtatransit said:

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

 

And that's the way it should be.

[User]

On Saturday morning, before service was suspended for the afternoon, NICE was only running Gilligs, and only very few of them, across the entire system:

Quote

The New York area is expecting up to 18" of snow today.  As a result, we will have significant systemwide delays and detours and possible service suspensions due to dangerous/unpassable road conditions.  Please plan extra time for your trip and use the GoMobile app for real time arrival at your bus stop 

8:00 am 
Currently we are experiecing SIGNIFICANT systemwide delays...as a result we are running HOURLY HEADWAY SERVICE ON EVERY ROUTE (1 bus per hour).  PLEASE USE THE GOMOBILE APP FOR ARRIVAL AT YOUR BUS STOP. 
n20.  buses will NOT make stops at the Roslyn Clock tower due to impassable roads
n23.  buses will NOT make stops at the Roslyn LIRR due to road conditions
         buses will NOT make stops in Port Washington between the LIRR station on Main Street and Manorhaven.
n25   buses will NOT make stops on Community Drive due to impassable roads
n21:  service is SUSPENDED from Northern Boulevard to Glen Cove due to road conditions. 
n31:  buses will NOT make stops West Broadway due to road conditions 
n54.  buses will NOT make stops on Washington Avenue 

On Saturday evening, very limited service was re-instated:

Quote

5:30 pm
Based on current road conditions we are reinstating hourly service on the following routes, please use the GoMobile app for real time arrival at your stop. 
n4
n6 (no service at Hempstead Terminal due to road conditions) 
n22 and n24 (please note buses are bypassing Roosevelt Field, as the terminal has not been plowed yet)
n25
n40 (no service at Hempstead Terminal due to road conditions)

[B35 via Church]

NICE does it again....

I notice on the WB intercounty buses , the second that buses enter into Queens, the destination signage changes to where it reads NICE (first frame, single line) DROP OFF (second frame, top line) ONLY (second frame, bottom line).... Clearly GPS driven.... The route number isn't displayed at all when that transition happens (not on the front/main signage, not on the signage on the right side, nor the sign on the back of the bus that shows the route number (IINM, it just says "NICE"))...

But yeah, way to be innovative/think outside the box to use technology to an advantage...

 

 

Edited February 5, 2022 by B35 via Church

[Joyjliradio]

I think we need nice bus route to oyster bay! From Hicksville 

[MTABusTransitFanner]

14 hours ago, Joyjliradio said:

I think we need nice bus route to oyster bay! From Hicksville 

That idea doesn’t sound that bad, I proposed a route like that too! It should run every 30 minutes and serve South Oyster Bay Road. Bus service must come back to South Oyster Bay Road and Woodbury Road again, why? Because there’s a huge shopping center at that intersection, it used to be serviced by the N94 which was a loop route that went from Hicksville LIRR to those business places(Clever Devices Ltd HQ is located there) at the end of NY-135 North(exit 14) unfortunately this route has been discontinued by MTA due to the 2010 budget cuts. This route should also serve Syosset LIRR as well.

[Joyjliradio]

8 minutes ago, MTABusTransitFanner said:

That idea doesn’t sound that bad, I proposed a route like that too! It should run every 30 minutes and serve South Oyster Bay Road. Bus service must come back to South Oyster Bay Road and Woodbury Road again, why? Because there’s a huge shopping center at that intersection, it used to be serviced by the N94 which was a loop route that went from Hicksville LIRR to those business places(Clever Devices Ltd HQ is located there) at the end of NY-135 North(exit 14) unfortunately this route has been discontinued by MTA due to the 2010 budget cuts. This route should also serve Syosset LIRR as well.

Yes 👍 

[NewFlyer 230]

I wish NICE would add PM service to Jamaica on the n1. After taking the n1 for the last few weeks I’ve noticed that there are usually a few people including myself who end up transferring to Queens bound n6 buses. I don’t think the n1 necessarily needs to go all the way to 165th street but at least 179th street and turn around. The other day there were about 8 people who got off the n1 at Hempstead Turnpike who ended up having to race across the street to catch an n6 that was already at the stop. Had they missed that bus they would have needed to wait a good 12-15 minutes for the next one and a lot of times those n6 buses are packed. 
NICE needs to stop playing and either make the n6 more frequent or order more artic buses. 

[Joyjliradio]

This is pretty bad

do you think about this 

[B35 via Church]

On 2/7/2022 at 12:34 PM, NewFlyer 230 said:

I wish NICE would add PM service to Jamaica on the n1. After taking the n1 for the last few weeks I’ve noticed that there are usually a few people including myself who end up transferring to Queens bound n6 buses. I don’t think the n1 necessarily needs to go all the way to 165th street but at least 179th street and turn around. The other day there were about 8 people who got off the n1 at Hempstead Turnpike who ended up having to race across the street to catch an n6 that was already at the stop. Had they missed that bus they would have needed to wait a good 12-15 minutes for the next one and a lot of times those n6 buses are packed. 
NICE needs to stop playing and either make the n6 more frequent or order more artic buses. 

Yeah, there's always been a sizable amt. of ppl. xferring from the short turn n1 to the n6.... With that said, forget about more artics on the n6... They can't pickup/dropoff pax inside 165th & there's even less space for them on that corner of 89th/Merrick than there is along the Jackson st. side of HTC...