Residents Plead With County Not to Cut 'Lifeline' Bus Lines

In wheelchairs and with canes, the blind and physically challenged made their way with determination to the podium at the county center in Riverside Thursday, imploring the Suffolk County Legislature not to cut bus lines that some say are literal lifelines.

Suffolk County is looking to slash eight bus lines to close a $78 million budget gap, and held one public hearing at the Evans K. Griffing building in Riverside Thursday, with a second to follow Friday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Hauppauge Legislative Auditorium, W.H. Rogers Legislative Building, 725 Veterans Memorial Highway in Smithtown.

At Thursday's session, a long line of physically challenged, seniors, elected officials and students painted verbal pictures for the Legislature of the enormous toll the service cuts would take on 400 riders' lives, some of whom would be left with no transportation at all for vital doctors' appointments, trips to the pharmacy, rides to school, and visits to the supermarket and other shops.

Bus routes impacted are the S71, 7D/E, S35, S90, 5A, 1B, 10A and the 10D/E.

Residents from all corners of the county turned out to plead that the routes be saved.

The hearing began with a presentation by Darnell Tyson, deputy commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Public Works.

The proposed routes to be cut, he said, are eight of the "least used" routes that comprise two percent of the ridership. Slashing the routes would mean a savings of $4 million per year.

In some cases, alternatives might be proposed or existing routes might be altered to service affected areas.

If the cuts go through, the routes will be discontinued as of Monday, October 3.

He also outlined how many riders utilize each route, with certain routes costly: While an average ride costs the county $7.73 for one trip, some are much higher. For example, the 10 D/E, that services East Quogue and Hampton Bays, has a daily ridership of 12, with a cost of $82 per ride, he said.

And the S71, with a route that includes Stony Brook, Selden, Farmingdale, Brookhaven Town Hall, Yaphank and Mastic, has 159 riders per day, at a cost of $20 per rider, or a savings of $996,000 per year if discontinued, Tyson said.

But elected officials and residents alike said the cost on human lives would be just too high.

"Bus transportation is critical," said Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine, who, when serving as county legislator with former County Legislator and now-Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman, advocated tirelessly for Sunday bus service.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone's premise is "Connect Long Island," Romaine said, something that he believes "made a great deal of sense."

"All of these cuts will have real impacts on the mobility of people in Suffolk County and it's something you should think long and hard about, before you do," Romaine said.

The S71, he pointed out, provides the only bus service to Brookhaven Town Hall.

In addition, Romaine said, Suffolk County will still have to honor its collective bargaining agreements with union employees laid off by the cuts, meaning limited cost savings. "This is a decision that is poorly thought out," he said.

Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming agreed and said the savings proposed "do not tell the complete story," or human impacts of the cuts. With the cuts, many riders might qualify for Suffolk County Accessible Transportation, or SCAT services, meaning additional costs that will "further erode estimated savings," she said.

Fleming said conversations with bus drivers who operate buses on the affected routes are critical and added she was disappointed they hadn't happened sooner.

Modifications might be the answer, or seasonal solutions, as well as smaller buses and other efficiencies, she said.

Of the residents who turned out, Fleming said, "We cannot leave them in the lurch. We must make sure people have a way of getting around. It's our duty as a government. Wholesale cuts are not going to work for the folks in my district."

Added Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker, who turned out to voice opposition to the proposed elimination of the 5A route, which would mean that the entire Sound Beach community, as well as a number of senior villages, would be completely cut off from public transportation; business owners already struggling would also feel the impact, she said.

She asked that routes be modified to strike a balance between elimination and cost reductions. "This is an opportunity for Suffolk County to make a transition and restructure existing routes and provide for greater efficiencies," Anker said.

Suffolk County Legislator Al Krupski said he attended to try and hear everyone's concerns and said it was important to try and strike a balance.

Tyson explained that Suffolk County actually contributes more toward transportation than most counties in the state but said funding from other sources has not increased much, and "the county has had to pick up a larger and larger tab."

This year, Tyson said the county contacted New York State and worked on a bill that would have recouped a portion of the mobility tax Suffolk County pays the MTA, but the Legislature closed on June 17 without action on that legislation, he said. "That is when this issue became real for us," he said, adding that the county is looking to go back to the state and request additional funding.

"This whole deal has been done with the intent of trying to affect the smallest number of customers," Tyson said, adding that Sunday service and SCAT service, used by "some of our most vulnerable", are not affected.

No fare increases are expected, Tyson said. Down the line, he added, the county could look to restore some routes. "We do understand this creates a hardship and we'd like to do what we can," Tyson said.

He also outlined positive efforts, including mid-sized and hybrid bus purchases, automatic passenger counters, automatic vehicle location status technology and a bus location app.

Despite the new app discussed, some said that many residents and seniors do not have smart phones or computers.

Pleas for help

Brian Rossi, who lives in Ridge, is legally blind and used the SCAT bus to get to the hearing, is the vice chair of the Green Party of Suffolk County. "I hear about these shiny new gadgets with GPS. What's the point of that if you don't have a bus to use the darned apps for?"

Rossi, who lives on Middle Country Road, said the cuts will deprive people of transportation, a basic right, and mean a loss of jobs. "This is not a smart or good move, it's a harmful, destructive move," he said. "Budgets must not be balanced on the backs of the elderly and disabled. No culture has ever succeeded by cutting its infrastructure."

He added that the cuts affect "real people, with dreams and hopes." The cuts come with a human cost, he said.

Marilyn Tucci of the Suffolk Independent Living Organization, said Suffolk County "complains that we don't have enough ridership to warrant additional funding, yet we're going to cut 400 daily riders from the Suffolk County bus system." She wanted to know where the other $74 million would come from, to meet the $78 million deficit. "These cuts affect everyone," she said.

Students, seniors, the disabled, those hoping to get to work, to the hospital — all stood up and begged for another solution.

Schneiderman said the cuts "disproportionately affect the East End", with its seasonal population and that fact not represented in the ridership figures.

Schneiderman, who led the charge passionately for years for Sunday bus service, said, "We fought pretty darned hard to expand public transportation and get Sunday routes going. I didn't think I'd be up here talking about shrinking public transportation."

Looking around, he asked, "Where are all the legislators? This is a big issue"

Schneiderman said the economy would be impacted by the cuts, with employers unable to find laborers; riders would now be unable to get to college, Southampton Town Hall, the county center, and the new clinic. "The way you guys approached this was flawed from the beginning," he said.

Schneiderman said he'd be happy to sit down and find savings elsewhere. "People are going to be hurt," Schneiderman said. "We have to think of ourselves as one county, not hurting one area. This is bad for Suffolk County, bad for the economy. It's balancing the budget on the backs of some of the poorest people in the county and it's the wrong thing to do."

The supervisor added he hoped his time wasn't wasted by speaking out. "I hope this bus hasn't left the station."

One woman handed in a petition signed by 115 riders, saying they'd be forced to pay $7 taxicab fares without the buses. "Please don't leave us in the lurch," she begged.

A large group turned out from the Sound Beach Civic Association, saying the 5A was the only bus in the community and was a lifeline.

"Please don't make a cut where you have residents with no options, even if the number of residents is small," SBCA president Bea Ruberto said, adding that they would like to see routes modified.

"You are picking on a small group because you think they have a small voice," said Ernestine Franco of Sound Beach.

Another man with multiple sclerosis said the 5A bus means the only way he can be freed from the confines of his apartment. "We love the 5A for what it provides us, to get out, and be a part of the neighborhood. Please don't take it away."

College careers, interrupted

Dave Bergen, associate dean of the Suffolk County Community College Culinary Arts and Hospitality Center, said in order for economic development to occur, students need to graduate and find employment. Cutting the bus service, including the 10A, 10D, and S90 would make it "difficult, if not impossible" for students to get to their 8 a.m. classes at the Riverhead and Ammerman campuses on time, he said.

Students at the hearing said they've already enrolled for fall classes and the Oct. 3 date proposed for slashing bus lines would mean they may have to drop those classes, lose tuition and financial aid, and possibly be unable to take courses they needed for their majors.

One mom, whose daughter is a college student living in Mastic, said some students might have to drop out of school, leading to possible issues among young people such as teen pregnancy or drug use.

Her son, a young boy, pleased with the county so that his sister could still take the bus to college.

Others said, with young people leaving Long Island in search of jobs, public transportation in Suffolk County should be expanded, not cut. And buses are a boon to the environment, others added.

Vicky Velsor, who lives in Speonk, said she lives on a fixed income and needs the S90 desperately for shopping, errands and doctor appointments. "I have no idea what I will do without the bus. And there are other people on the line in the same fix," she said, handing in a petition signed by riders. "We need this bus, very much," she said.

On the East End, the 10A takes riders from Southampton to Sag Harbor and North Haven and the 10D/E brings riders from Hampton Bays to East Quogue, while the s90 transports passengers from Center Moriches to the Riverhead County Center.

Some residents in Riverside are devastated by the news. Without the 10A, one man, who asked not to be identified, said, he will be unable to get to his job and won't even be able to ride a bicycle when snow and inclement weather make it impossible.

Others suggested raising bus fares or taxes rather than cutting lines.

Members of the public, Fleming said, are encouraged to attend the remaining hearing or submit written testimony to Suffolk County Transit, 335 Yaphank Avenue, Yaphank, NY 11980.