FamousNYLover Posted July 26, 2012 Share #1 Posted July 26, 2012 Since qtrainjmaster made little damage on event section, so I put here. http://www.longislan...idersunion.org/ Media Release Report Card to Veolia NICE http://longislandbus...ew-7-26-122.pdf Enjoy it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burrstone Posted July 26, 2012 Share #2 Posted July 26, 2012 How many report cards did you give the on this same issue? The report card said (if remember correctly) that this is the 22nd anniversary of the ADA law? That means for the past 21 & 1/2 years the facilities were controlled by the and for the past 6 months controlled by Veolia. You say features were "outdated" outdated within the past 6 months, or outdated sometime in the past 21 & 1/2 years these facilitates were controlled by the ? So the union is very adamant that Veolia is doing a bad job because these updates have not been made in the past 6 months? How many times in the past has the Union demanded that the fix these same problems? Would the union agree that based on it's observations that Veolia was handed over violations and features that were outdated by the ? How did the do in last years report card compared to Veolia this past year, well half year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User Posted July 26, 2012 Share #3 Posted July 26, 2012 How many report cards did you give the on this same issue? The report card said (if remember correctly) that this is the 22nd anniversary of the ADA law? That means for the past 21 & 1/2 years the facilities were controlled by the and for the past 6 months controlled by Veolia. You say features were "outdated" outdated within the past 6 months, or outdated sometime in the past 21 & 1/2 years these facilitates were controlled by the ? So the union is very adamant that Veolia is doing a bad job because these updates have not been made in the past 6 months? How many times in the past has the Union demanded that the fix these same problems? Would the union agree that based on it's observations that Veolia was handed over violations and features that were outdated by the ? How did the do in last years report card compared to Veolia this past year, well half year? They're nitpicking at every little thing that the didn't have, so now they're putting the pressure on Veolia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BM5 via Woodhaven Posted July 26, 2012 Share #4 Posted July 26, 2012 IMO its too early to judge now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom909 Posted July 26, 2012 Share #5 Posted July 26, 2012 Why am I not surprised? Anyone with half a brain stem knew what the results would be.all you have to know is who is running Long Island Jobs With Justice. Her name is Charlene Obernauer. For you Facebook Users, here is a link to her page: https://www.facebook.com/charlene.obernauer Look at her Activities and Interests List. For people who dont have Facebook heres a list For the Birds Collective + Distro, Really Really Free Market NYC,NYC Punk, Bushwick Music Studios, Edu-Factory, Infoshop.org,Bound Together Books, Anarchist Writers, Vermont Workers' Center, Chicago Anarchist Film Festival, Working Families Party,SB Social Justice Alliance, Trophy Wife, Can this poodle wearing a tinfoil hat get more fans than Glenn Beck?, US Social Forum - Another World is Possible, Just Harvest USA, Long Island Jobs with Justice, El Enemigo Común, Workplace Project, Bail Out The People Movement, Desirae Barré Music™®©, A-Space Anarchist Community Center, Bluestockings Bookstore, Café, & Activist Center, Queers For Economic Justice, TODO LO QE ME GUSTA ES ILEGAL, INMORAL O ENGORDA ¬¬, Your MOM!,American Latino Museum, SoundProof Studios, Legislator Kate Browning, Long Island Bus Riders' Union, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, How will you die, New Paradise Laboratories, Ray Adell Media Enterprises, Inc, Angela Davis, Womyn of Color for Decolonization, From the Back of the Room Productions, Occupy Mineola, Occupy Wall Street, Workers Defense Project, Ruby,Student/Farmworker Alliance, Volley for Mission, Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, NYC Punk Community Events Calendar,Punk Island 2011, Community Farmworker Alliance - NYC,RDACBX, TWU Local 100, Trader Joe's Tri-Cities, Student Farmworker Alliance at NYU, Save Long Island Bus, Bad Cap City News, Trader Joe's: Fair Food Now, Wal-Mart Free NYC,Domestic Workers United she supports Anarchists and the Occupy Movement, I guess since she supports TWU Local 100 maybe thats why there were no report cards during the MTA years So this report card is totally biased and holds no credence Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User Posted July 27, 2012 Share #6 Posted July 27, 2012 Why am I not surprised? Anyone with half a brain stem knew what the results would be.all you have to know is who is running Long Island Jobs With Justice. Her name is Charlene Obernauer. For you Facebook Users, here is a link to her page: https://www.facebook...rlene.obernauer Look at her Activities and Interests List. For people who dont have Facebook heres a list she supports Anarchists and the Occupy Movement, I guess since she supports TWU Local 100 maybe thats why there were no report cards during the MTA years So this report card is totally biased and holds no credence Joe Part of the reason why I never went to these kinds of meetings. Waste of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User Posted July 27, 2012 Share #7 Posted July 27, 2012 Also, Newsday reported on this. Click on the link and watch the video and guess who's speaking. Also, it seems Veolia brought the average number of riders per bus up from when the ran the system. That's interesting. VIDEO LINK: http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/low-grade-for-nice-bus-disabled-services-1.3862349?qr=1 ARTICLE LINK: http://mobile.newsda...2349&nopaging=1 NICE Bus deserves a failing grade for not offering enough visual and audio announcements for disabled customers, according to a report released Thursday by a riders' advocacy group. The Long Island Bus Riders Union surveyed several NICE buses and stations to put together the report, "Unreliable and Inaccessible: A Report Card of Veolia's Service for Disabled Riders." The report, which coincides with the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act , looked at several areas concerning disabled riders and assigned letter grades. NICE is owned by Nassau County and has been privately operated by Veolia Transportation since Jan. 1. "NICE inherited an aging bus system with numerous maintenance and operational challenges," NICE chief executive Michael Setzer said in a statement responding to the report. "Since then, we have been actively improving the system, especially in areas that affect the disabled community." The company received its worst grade -- an "F" -- for its audio announcement and visual scrolling systems on buses. "We're very disappointed in this," union founder Charlene Obernauer said at a news conference at the Rosa Parks Transit Center in Hempstead Thursday morning. In a statement, NICE noted that many of its buses are more than 12 years old "and have unreliable announcement systems." The company said it is in the final stages of issuing a request for proposal for new and improved auditory announcement equipment for every fixed route bus. The Riders Union monitored 28 buses and found that 68 percent made no audio announcements, and 71 percent made no visual announcements. "Until they are installed, we will do our best to maintain the current annunciators and to require drivers to make verbal announcements when necessary," NICE said in the statement, which pointed out that the ADA does not require buses to have a visual announcement system. The report also gave NICE a "C" for accessible signage at stations, saying that more terminals need Braille signs; a "C" for its wheelchair lifts, which the report said malfunction too often; a "D" for offering disabled riders access to fixed route buses; and another "D" for the duration of Able-Ride trips. NICE got its best grades for its phone-based schedules and Able-Ride appointment system, its online presence, and the duration of fixed route trips. In those areas it scored a "B." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FamousNYLover Posted July 27, 2012 Author Share #8 Posted July 27, 2012 There was Verion Fios and one other channel that only comes to press conference. I think it was Channel#12 (Correct me) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FamousNYLover Posted July 27, 2012 Author Share #9 Posted July 27, 2012 Article/Video: From http://www.news12.com/articleDetail.jsp?articleId=328421&position=1&news_type=news NICE bus getting not-so-nice feedback from disabled riders (07/26/12) HEMPSTEAD - Nassau's NICE bus service is getting poor reviews from disabled riders who say the buses'accommodations just aren't up to speed. A coalition of disabled riders surveyed two-thirds of the 300-bus fleet and came up with poor reviews in several areas. The report card gives NICE a 'C' forwheelchair lifts that don't work, for overall safety and for reliability. Trips that take longer than they used to got the service a 'D' grade. The group gave NICE an 'F' grade in one area that's especially important to them: the buses don't announce stops visually or audibly, which is required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. A Veolia Transportation spokesman says the NICE operator has been actively improving the system, particularly in areas that affect disabled riders. However, many in the coalition argue that's just not true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinePower Posted July 27, 2012 Share #10 Posted July 27, 2012 Part of the reason why I never went to these kinds of meetings. Waste of time. I agree. What about looking at service from the view of most riders. Do I care about announcements? Not really. I do care if the bus breaks down, doesn't show up, or has no air on a hot day. They are too hard on Veolia, they have been given an underfunded bus system from the which didn't take the greatest care of their buses. The problem is Nassau County, it started with Gulotta, then Suozzi, and finished by Mangano. They simply do not believe the bus system is worth funding. And neither do many Nassau residents. That's the problem. Now I haven't been thrilled with alot of the changes Veolia made, but they do listen, and brought back alot of that n27 service that was cut just months after people spoke up. The would never do that! Now I do consider Yuki a friend and I hope he isn't offended by what I'm saying, but this Bus Riders Union is not going to get enough riders involved because of their approach and tactics. They paint Veolia as the enemy, but they seem to be missing the point, that the bus system has suffered for years because of NASSAU COUNTY, not Veolia, not the . Yes the was trying to improve things before Mangano pulled his antics, but that's the fault of Mangano. Like I said in another post, if I was in Mangano's shoes I'd deal with the deficit differently and would increase funding for the buses, not the $32M the wanted but around $18M, and would probably keep Veolia at least in the short term. It's just a shame we cant have a group like the Strappies out here, who look out for the commuters. If they are upset about service let then take it to Nassau County. Veolia, like the , is just a contract carrier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FamousNYLover Posted July 27, 2012 Author Share #11 Posted July 27, 2012 http://www.longislan...isabled-riders/ Report Blasts NICE Bus Service for Disabled Riders By Spencer Rumsey on July 27th, 2012 The new Nassau Inter-County Express, or NICE, a public-private partnership county that took over Long Island Bus on New Years Day. The private operator of Nassau’s bus system doesn’t make the grade for providing disabled riders with reliable and accessible service they can count on, say the Long Island Bus Riders’ Union, which released a report card on Veolia Transportation’s first six months of running the Nassau Inter-County Express—known as NICE—after taking it over from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The report, timed to coincide with the 22nd anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, faulted Veolia on several counts for its fixed-route bus service: lack of Braille at its major bus stops, absence of enough visual and auditory announcements for bus riders and dysfunctional wheelchair lifts. They also studied the Able-ride system, which is more expensive than the regular bus service and with a less flexible schedule. “There are many obstacles to the full integration of disabled riders into the fixed-route bus system, and that Veolia must correct them both for their own self-interest and to benefit bus riders,” the report reads. On accessibility the report gave NICE a D grade and noted that some bus drivers even banned guide dogs. “Access to transportation is fundamental to the independence and full community participation of disabled people,” summarized the report. “A bus system that does not provide optimal access, safety and reliability in service is restricting and harmful to disabled riders. This report card serves to highlight improvements that Veolia must make to its bus system.” The bus riders union studied more than 200 buses and found that 5.4 percent of the wheelchair lifts weren’t working. They monitored 28 buses and found that 67.85 percent “made no auditory announcements” and 71.4 percent had no visual announcements. The Braille signage at the Hempstead bus terminal, where the riders’ advocates held their press conference, was dated from when the MTA ran the system, says Charlene Obernauer of the Long Island Bus Riders Union, drawing an F. “What we’d really like to see is for the Braille to be updated and to be actually put in all the major bus terminals as a first step, and in the future be put on every bus stop,” he said. Mike Setzer, chief executive officer of NICE, says that Braille signs have “already been ordered for the Hempstead Transit center and we expect they will be installed in the next several weeks.” He said that bus terminals at Hicksville, Jamaica (165th Street) and Roosevelt Field—all found lacking by the bus riders union—are not under his company’s control but “we will make our best efforts to approach these property owners to have Braille signs place there.” When the bus riders group found that Veolia hadn’t provided NICE bus schedules in Spanish, says Obernauer, “they came out with bilingual schedules within a matter of weeks. I feel that having us out there monitoring the system does actually result in some changes for the positive.” “On January 1, NICE inherited an aging bus system with numerous maintenance and operational challenge,” Setzer said in a press release. “Since then, we have been actively improving the system, especially in areas that affect the disabled community. NICE announced today that by year’s end, it will replace the 45 oldest and least reliable fixed route buses in our fleet.” Ryan Lynch, associate director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a nonprofit advocacy group, pointed out that the federal funds for the bus purchase were allocated last year and “they’re just releasing it now. I think it’s an indication of the fact that the system has been underfunded for years and we’re reaping what we sowed.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burrstone Posted July 28, 2012 Share #12 Posted July 28, 2012 Mike Setzer, chief executive officer of NICE, says that Braille signs have “already been ordered for the Hempstead Transit center and we expect they will be installed in the next several weeks.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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