Veolia Transportation has signed a contract to operate Long Island Bus next year, a Nassau County spokesperson told Newsday today. But the details of the contract have been kept under wraps, even as the Nassau County Legislature prepares to vote on a 2012 budget that would cut county funding to the bus agency by 73%. (That vote will be preceded by a public hearing at 7 pm this Sunday at the county’s Executive and Legislative Building at 1550 Franklin Avenue in Mineola.) The county has not yet signed the contract, according to the spokesperson, who said it would be released to the legislature soon.
Delays in the public release of the details of the contract create an appearance that politics are driving the decision making process, rather than concern with providing the best service for LI Bus riders, workers and businesses. The privatization of LI Bus has become a serious campaign issue in the 2011 elections and County Executive Mangano and Presiding Officer Peter Schmitt appear concerned that the issue could affect who controls the Nassau County Legislature. By refusing to take up the contract, the two seem to be delaying a vote until after the November 8 election.
Nassau County taxpayers deserve better than an opaque process. This is especially true considering they are receiving contradictory information from the County Executive and Veolia Transportation. The County Executive has repeatedly insisted that fare hikes and service cuts are off the table in 2012, but Veolia’s public statements and website indicate otherwise.
This delay also weakens Nassau County’s negotiating position with Veolia. By delaying the vote on a contract, and having no “Plan B,” as some have indicated is necessary, the county has put itself in a position where it has no alternative to Veolia. Having a debate on the merits and drawbacks of the contract earlier on would provide the County with an opportunity to reengage the MTA in negotiations, which could prove fruitful in light of the recent appointment of Joseph Lhota to head the agency.
Angry residents, workers, and bus riders said they needed answers on the bus contract at a legislative budget hearing today, demanding to speak past the 30 minutes allotted for public comment until Presiding Officer Schmitt left the room.
Yesterday morning, NYPIRG, Long Island Jobs With Justice, New York Communities for Change, students, workers and clergy held a Halloween-themed rally at the Mineola Intermodal facility. Advocates decried the miniscule contribution of $2.5 million in the County’s budget proposal and declared that a vote for these cuts in the budget would be a vote for service reductions, fare increases and layoffs.
Photo: Ryan Lynch/Tri-State Transportation Campaign.
Veolia has not only already hired bus operators, they are already training them. That means they signed at least a month ago. Dirty politics.
Someone needs to report why the MTA has not been covering all the routes this past week. No buses, not enough drivers, people standing and waiting because nobody is keeping an eye on the degrading service.
Yesterday the 80 northbound didn’t run in the afternoon, the 73 south was MIA Weds, the 20 was missing entire runs today.
Are the senior staff retiring & leaving the MTA short staffed, drivers talking about the emergency funds to keep LI Bus solvent possibly running out before end of year, buses not maintained properly & causing them to not be sent out?
People are suffering, while the County fumbles.
Things will only get worse from here with Veolia. We, the people, are earnestly trying to get the company OUT of Pensacola,FL, as are many in Tempe & Phoenix AZ.
can’t you sue to disclose the contract?
This is total B.S. there is a lot of crap going on in NY area that Veolia is getting “secret” awards for without going thru the proper channels.
In Las Vegas too Greg.
As Operators have retired, they have not been replaced. This is so come January 1, the private company will not be on the hook for 13C to as many operators as they would if they hired them now. They are going to wait until after the new year, when they can hire new Operators at around $15 per hour with no to few benefits.
Also, the drivers asked what would happen to their sick time they have accrued during their careers. They where told since there is no clause in there contract saying they would get paid for it, they are calling in sick. What would you do if you where a loyal employee for 20 years and rarely called in sick? Would you come in after the County took away your time and your pension?
You can bet Al D’Amato is leading the way behind all of this, working to secure his commission for his Park Associates. It is my opinion that it is he who is running the Republican Party, along with co-conspirator Joe Modello, head of the county’s Republican Party. They are going to screw not only the employees of LI Bus, many who have been with this outfit for decades, but also the people, businesses and riders for their own personal profit. On Election Day, the voters of Nassau County should get rid of all Republicans, period. They’ve managed to really screw up Nassau County for decades and now wish to provide a second or third-class transportation “system” for it.
As the other reader said, many runs are being curtailed because many bus operators have retired. They dont have enough to make service. Today was a huge mess, and many people waiting in the cold for hours while buses went out of service or on lower ridership routes like the N80 and 81, while they stood in the freezing rain and snow for an eternity for an N20 or N22 at Hicksville.
I am a bus operator for Long Island Bus, I would rather not give my real name. As an operator I see customers throwing away remaining money on their metro cards and paying with another card because they didn’t have any change to cover the first card, throwing hundreds of dollars of unused fares back into the MTA’s pocket. This equates to millions of dollars. Passengers adding additonal money to a card of a dollar or less to pay the fare of 2.25 have to pay again on the subway because the paper transfer from the bus doesn’t get them on the subway. The farebox clocks are not all clocked with the same time, shaving off 5 to 10 minutes from the 2 hour time in between transfer points. In a nutshell I work for a corupt company that isn’t on the side of the customer. When the metro card first came out it offered customers an extra free ride, and the customer never had to worry about adding change to pay their fare. Instead it has become a delibrate attempt to scam the customers out of their loose change. Where is the money for these daily transactions? There is the money that could keep Long Island Bus alive with the MTA.
Tony–and you expected what? A clear and open deal did you? The county,the State,the whole country is well,lets just use an economist a Prof from Mass who said,in 2008 the country in general (hit the fan) so this and many other areas of concern will be going down hill.
As to this deal,know one realy knows what to expect,it has hurt the workers even if it does not go off as planned,how it effects the riders,well the M T A has already cut out lines,was expected to cut as I understand 57 per cent more. Seems to me we you cant win no matter who runs the place?
fedup, the reason they are cutting runs is that the County has and is only supplying 10% of their required funding. I am no fan of the MTA, but in this situation it is entirely the County, or to be more specific, Ed Mangano and his henchman Schmitt who are at fault. You need only to look to the East, like it says in the Veolia website to see how it can work. The only problem is, it is not the private operator that is the solution, but proper funding.
[…] Veolia Signs Secret Contract on LI Bus […]
Yeah, come January 1, if there’s no Veolia, there’s no nothing. We’ll be stuck for good. Time for us all to either rise up and fight (and vote Mangano and Schmitt out of office!), or just get up and leave Long Island altogether. Leave our homes…it will be sad and tragic, but Nassau County and the MTA is pretty much leaving us with no alternative.
N24s don’t run in the morning either….just another sign of things to come. We can’t stand for this anymore.
Provocative thoughts here. Are you certain this is the conscientious way to look at it though? My own personal experience is that we should pretty much live and let live because what one person surmises as just — another person simply doesn’t. Individuals are going to do what they want to do. In the end, they always do. The best we can wish for is to highlight a few things here and there that hopefully, allows them to make just a little better informed decision. Otherwise, great post. You’re definitely making me think! –Gui