BZGuy Posted November 1, 2013 Share #1 Posted November 1, 2013 This pretty much spells the end for Red and Tan. I feel bad that those guys are in so much limbo about their future.A state Supreme Court judge on Wednesday dismissed Coach USA’s case against Rockland County and Brega Transport Corp., clearing the way for Brega to take over operations of Rockland County’s TOR and Tappan ZEExpress bus systems. The transition is set for Sunday morning and would mark the end of a process that has dragged on for years. County officials said the changeover isn’t expected to affect bus routes, schedules or fares for the thousands of riders who depend on the buses. “Our primary goal is to reinforce to the commuter that the service is going to be there for them,” said Ron Levine, spokesman for Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef. “When you go into a transition, you try to hope for the best and plan for everything.” As of Wednesday, a county public transportation official said Brega had 86 drivers under contract to operate the two bus lines — 52 people who drive TOR and Tappan ZEExpress buses and 34 drivers who are new. Rockland Transit Corp., a subsidiary of Coach USA, had asked the court to throw out the five-year, $70 million contract awarded to Brega and force the county to re-bid the contract, which it has exclusively held since 1976. It had also obtained an order preventing the transition from occurring. Ultimately, Justice Francis Nicolai did not rule on the issues that Rockland Transit raised in its Article 78 proceeding. He essentially found that the company filed its case too late — not within the four-month window following the Legislature’s decision on Oct. 16, 2012. “Subsequent litigation, bid protests and resolutions of the County Legislature in May 2013 did not serve to reset the Statute of Limitations,” Nicolai, whose court is based in Putnam, wrote in his six-page ruling. It was not clear if Rockland Transit would appeal the ruling or whether it would seek another temporary restraining order to prevent the switch to Valley Cottage-based Brega from taking place. A top company official said they were weighing their options and would make a decision shortly. Burt Dorfman, the lawyer for Brega Transport, said an appeal would be “frivolous” and doubted Rockland Transit could hold up the transition. Rockland Transit also raised the issue of the $48,000 in campaign contributions made by Brega employees and associates to Rockland County Legislator Ilan Schoenberger in his bid in the Democratic primary for county executive as further grounds to terminate the Brega contract. In denying the request, Nicolai wrote that the first political donations were made in April after the contract award was final. He also noted the court did not have jurisdiction to address potential election law violations. Collectively, Transport of Rockland and Tappan ZEExpress provide 3.4 million rides a year. http://www.lohud.com/article/20131030/NEWS02/310300051/Judge-dismisses-lawsuit-Brega-takeover-TOR-Tappan-ZEExpress-buses-Sunday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BM5 via Woodhaven Posted November 1, 2013 Share #2 Posted November 1, 2013 Whp the hell is Brega? Lol, I'm so confused now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion VII 4 Life Posted November 1, 2013 Share #3 Posted November 1, 2013 Whp the hell is Brega? Lol, I'm so confused now. Local company that got the contract for TOR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qjtransitmaster Posted November 2, 2013 Share #4 Posted November 2, 2013 This pretty much spells the end for Red and Tan. I feel bad that those guys are in so much limbo about their future. A state Supreme Court judge on Wednesday dismissed Coach USA’s case against Rockland County and Brega Transport Corp., clearing the way for Brega to take over operations of Rockland County’s TOR and Tappan ZEExpress bus systems. The transition is set for Sunday morning and would mark the end of a process that has dragged on for years. County officials said the changeover isn’t expected to affect bus routes, schedules or fares for the thousands of riders who depend on the buses. “Our primary goal is to reinforce to the commuter that the service is going to be there for them,” said Ron Levine, spokesman for Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef. “When you go into a transition, you try to hope for the best and plan for everything.” As of Wednesday, a county public transportation official said Brega had 86 drivers under contract to operate the two bus lines — 52 people who drive TOR and Tappan ZEExpress buses and 34 drivers who are new. Rockland Transit Corp., a subsidiary of Coach USA, had asked the court to throw out the five-year, $70 million contract awarded to Brega and force the county to re-bid the contract, which it has exclusively held since 1976. It had also obtained an order preventing the transition from occurring. Ultimately, Justice Francis Nicolai did not rule on the issues that Rockland Transit raised in its Article 78 proceeding. He essentially found that the company filed its case too late — not within the four-month window following the Legislature’s decision on Oct. 16, 2012. “Subsequent litigation, bid protests and resolutions of the County Legislature in May 2013 did not serve to reset the Statute of Limitations,” Nicolai, whose court is based in Putnam, wrote in his six-page ruling. It was not clear if Rockland Transit would appeal the ruling or whether it would seek another temporary restraining order to prevent the switch to Valley Cottage-based Brega from taking place. A top company official said they were weighing their options and would make a decision shortly. Burt Dorfman, the lawyer for Brega Transport, said an appeal would be “frivolous” and doubted Rockland Transit could hold up the transition. Rockland Transit also raised the issue of the $48,000 in campaign contributions made by Brega employees and associates to Rockland County Legislator Ilan Schoenberger in his bid in the Democratic primary for county executive as further grounds to terminate the Brega contract. In denying the request, Nicolai wrote that the first political donations were made in April after the contract award was final. He also noted the court did not have jurisdiction to address potential election law violations. Collectively, Transport of Rockland and Tappan ZEExpress provide 3.4 million rides a year. http://www.lohud.com/article/20131030/NEWS02/310300051/Judge-dismisses-lawsuit-Brega-takeover-TOR-Tappan-ZEExpress-buses-Sunday Red and tan runs separate lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
46Dover Posted November 2, 2013 Share #5 Posted November 2, 2013 Red and tan runs separate lines. Red and Tan aren't part of TOR- totally different company. However, I notice there have been a lot of drivers from R&T coming over to Lakeland though.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BZGuy Posted November 3, 2013 Author Share #6 Posted November 3, 2013 Red and Tan/Rockland Coaches is the same company. The drivers cover both the Westwood and Valley Cottage garages.....or at least they did. This was a massive loss to them....all that are left are the New York (PABT & GWB) runs. They won't survive with just that......rumors are that they will be folded into ShortLine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B35 via Church Posted November 3, 2013 Share #7 Posted November 3, 2013 BZ, Thanks for bringing this to my (well, our) attention.... ----------- Will TOR see changes to its routes (much like NICE did, post LIB)?... I'll admit I've (also) never heard of Brega..... As far as what would be left, no way would they maintain fort w/ just PABT/GWB trips, a lot of which are only rush hour services AFAIK..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theaveragejoe Posted November 5, 2013 Share #8 Posted November 5, 2013 Red and Tan/Rockland Coaches is the same company. The drivers cover both the Westwood and Valley Cottage garages.....or at least they did. This was a massive loss to them....all that are left are the New York (PABT & GWB) runs. They won't survive with just that......rumors are that they will be folded into ShortLine. Makes more sence for Coach USA to move all the operations over to Shortline. Guess this is the end of the Mahwah garage? Glad I was able to visit during the BHA convention in April. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traildriver Posted November 9, 2013 Share #9 Posted November 9, 2013 Local company that got the contract for TOR. While I can certainly feel for the displaced driver's (who I'm sure will have little trouble finding employment elsewhere within their corporation or outside), it is certainly a surprise that a local company has outbid a global giant...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarob1020 Posted November 10, 2013 Share #10 Posted November 10, 2013 Suburban just interviewed quite a few drivers from Rockland/Red and Tan. They may be able to survive for a little while since the runs that are left are NJT contracted lines....wishing the drivers over there luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qjtransitmaster Posted November 11, 2013 Share #11 Posted November 11, 2013 Red and Tan/Rockland Coaches is the same company. The drivers cover both the Westwood and Valley Cottage garages.....or at least they did. This was a massive loss to them....all that are left are the New York (PABT & GWB) runs. They won't survive with just that......rumors are that they will be folded into ShortLine. If they were why didn't they act like it by making transfers interchangeable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAC1 Posted June 21, 2014 Share #12 Posted June 21, 2014 Does anybody know the current status of the negotiations between Brega Transport and UTU/SMART? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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