Committee On Transit To Discuss Rockland Commuter Services

Rockland County Legislator Harriet Cornell will convene a meeting of the Special Committee on Transit to discuss the state of two commuter services that Rockland workers have come to rely on.

Topic No. 1: NJ Transit has announced it will cancel two of four daily express trains to and from Rockland starting June 4 and continuing into next year. The company says it needs to install train safety technology, but news reports also note the company is grappling with declining resources, a shortage of equipment and failed safety tests.

For Rockland commuters, the trains have represented a lifeline into Secaucus Junction and Hoboken, N.J., where they can connect to another train to get into New York City.

Topic No. 2: Cornell is also seeking an update on the status of trans-Hudson bus service. The new bus service, which will be run by the state Department of Transportation, is known as the Lower Hudson Transit Link. It will replace the Rockland County-run Tappan ZEExpress.

The meeting is set for 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, in the Legislature’s Chambers in the Allison-Parris County Office Building, 11 New Hempstead Road in New City.

Cornell, who chairs the Special Committee on Transit, has invited experts to speak at the meeting: Doug Schuetz, Rockland County’s Acting Commissioner of Planning and Transportation; Randy Glucksman of West Nyack, MTA Board Member and Metro-North Railroad Commuter Council Chairman; and Orrin Getz of New City, the Rockland liaison to the New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers.