Just one day after a heated public hearing on the proposed privatization of Long Island Bus, a surprise announcement has raised even more questions about the proposal’s viability.
Earlier today, Veolia Environnement—the European conglomerate whose subsidiary is vying to take control of Nassau County’s bus system—announced plans to get out of the transportation game altogether. The heavily indebted French company with holdings in energy, water services and waste management, is looking to sell its 50% share of the company’s transit wing, Veolia Transdev.
Monday’s public hearing clarified the considerable public opposition to the proposed Veolia takeover. Despite the 1pm hearing’s inconvenient scheduling and a delay of almost two hours, some 200 Long Islanders stuck around to voice concerns about the privatization. By Newsday’s account, citizens were skeptical of the Veolia deal:
Speakers expressed concern that in its goal to make a profit, Veolia will cut service, raise fares and cut benefits and pay for workers.
Michael Ricca, who takes various buses to visit his girlfriend and mother, said if one of his lines was cut, he’d be left with few options.
“I’m left with walking, a skateboard or a mule,” Ricca, of Mineola, said.
Veolia Environnement’s planned divestiture only adds to the community’s well-documented concerns about the privatization deal, which will likely come to a vote on December 19th. The MTA has said that it can continue operating Long Island Bus into next year, which could give legislators more time to vet the contract.
At this point, does Veolia/NICE even have enough staff to start bus and paratransit operations on 1/1/12? They have tons of job listings out there and from what I’ve heard they are interviewing but not hiring right now. With the sale of the transit operation and the lack of a signed contract, might it be 50/50 that Veolia backs out of the deal, leaving Nassau in the lurch? It’s been done before….
Hey Vito, how is that job looking now?
let’s say a company owns two smaller ones. Let’s say the parent company decides to elaborate a product technically and decides to make both the small companies built this product and sell it. Then the small ones make profit. but CAN the parent company take a percentage of this profit to make its own profit (because if it can’t… then it can’t have profit right?) PLEEEEASE ANSWER!!!^^ thks
its time to kill nassau’s private bus deal with veolia transportation!
nassau lawmaker and nifa should veto it!
essage body
38 years ago Long Island Bus was private and it didn’t work. The MTA came into the picture and bailed them out, providing us reasonalble reliable transportation the community can count on.
We have over 600 operators that serve us each year and their pay and pensions are on the line with possible takeover. Their jobs are very stressful, yet professional with the MTA at their helm providing that training. We have 14 years or more operators on the job. Seasoned because there is an incentive to stay and provide us with that level of service. If you change that with a private company where’s that incentive for life long operators who really care about the work they do each day ? When they leave to find other work, all we will have left is a huge turn over rate of operators who really don’t give a hoot about the service they are providing to us each and every day, and that means the quality of operations too will go down. Bringing us with them in the process. So I think we need to rethink the long term and keep MTA running the show. Otherwise we may be calling them back like we did 38 years ago.
essage body
38 years ago Long Island Bus was private and it didn’t work. The MTA came into the picture and bailed them out, providing us reasonalble reliable transportation the community can count on.
We have over 600 operators that serve us each year and their pay and pensions are on the line with possible takeover. Their jobs are very stressful, yet professional with the MTA at their helm providing that training. We have 14 years or more operators on the job. Seasoned because there is an incentive to stay and provide us with that level of service. If you change that with a private company where’s that incentive for life long operators who really care about the work they do each day ? When they leave to find other work, all we will have left is a huge turn over rate of operators who really don’t give a hoot about the service they are providing to us each and every day, and that means the quality of operations too will go down. Bringing us with them in the process. So I think you need to rethink the long term and keep MTA running the show. Otherwise we may be calling them back like we did 38 years ago.
Hope someone reads this who has some influence contacting Veolia Transportation. Please don’t allow this Company in.
I’m in Toronto, Canada and there has been an eight week strike. Veolia has refused to bargain, they just say this is what we are offering take it or leave it. The drivers, when they were first hired, were told they would have benefits and a pension but that was not true. They are also paid seven dollars less than any other transit company.
Don’t let this company in.
[…] this month, Veolia Environnement announced that it would be selling off its transportation assets in an effort to cut its debt. The company aims to drop $5 billion in […]
Veo-lier runs service in Phoenix AZ. And they are a bunch of French Bastards. Don’t let them ruin your town’s transit operation. The bus drivers here are on the verge of a strike because they gone 19 months without a contract from these douches. Not to mention a butt load of unfare labor practice suites filed against them. Don’t trust them!
That’s good news, because they have bus operators who just can’t drive, many of thier drivers drive a bus like old ladies.