NICE Bus Plans to Eliminate 10 Routes, Reduce Others Due to Lack of Funding

NICE Bus, the transportation provider for Nassau County, announced on Monday that it plans to cut 10 routes and reduce service on four more because of a $6.8 million budget gap it says was created when the county decided to reduce funding for the service. The changes would go into effect in April.

NICE plans on cutting routes mainly on the South Shore to make up its budget gap. It says it is facing a total budget gap of $11.8 million, but that the service was able to find savings to make up the $5 million through closing facilities, layoffs, holding off on raises and more.

But Transdev, the company that partnered with the county to run the NICE Bus, says that it can't make up the $6.8 million.

"Unless additional county fudning can be found, we will be forced to recommend elimination of eight bus routes entirely and significant reductions to four others," NICE CEO Michael Setzer wrote in a letter to the county Legislature. "There are many other routes that will be affected too, but the adjustments do not rise to the level of require [Bus Transit Committee] approval."

The first routes to be eliminated would be the Freeport, Hicksville-Wantagh and Rockville Centre shuttles. The three shuttle routes were created last year after an outcry from residents and lawmakers when NICE proposed cutting those low-ridership routes to save money.

In addition, NICE is now also proposing eliminating:

• N19 Freeport-Sunrise Mall
• N36 Lynbrook-Freeport
• N45 Bellmore-Roosevelt Field
• N47 Hempstead-Bellmore
• N51 Roosevelt Field-Merrick
• N57 Great Neck Loop
• N78/78 Hicksville-Plainview

Major reductions would be made to the Elmont Flexi, the N27 Roslyn-Glen Cove, the N70/71/72 Hempstead-Babylon and the N80/81 Hicksville-Sunrise Mall.

NICE's Able Ride service, which provides transportation for disabled riders, will remain unchanged.

Under the agreement NICE signed with the county, the bus service is required to have a balanced budget every year, so it cannot operate at a deficit.

Another part of the problem, NICE Bus says, is that the state doesn't give a fair amount of money to non-MTA transit services. According to NICE, the latest state budget allocates $5 billion for transit assistance: $4.5 billion will go to the MTA, while the rest will be divided among all the other transit authorities in the state.

"Without a dedicated funding stream for Long Island's transit system, continuality of operations and needed expansions will again be in question, jeopardizing the livelihood of some of Long Island's most vulnerable -- especially as the only state funding for Nassau and Suffolk are at risk of being reduced due to cuts to the system, perpetuating a downward spiral," NICE officials wrote in a release.

The only thing that could save the routes at this point, NICE says, is the county restoring the $6.8 million it cut to the service, or an appropriation in the state budget.

Photo: Patch