On Wednesday, July 9 at 2PM and 5PM the Nassau County Bus Transit Committee will be holding two public hearings regarding fare changes on the NICE bus system. The Committee is required to hold an open meeting for public comments before it makes any decisions on the final fare changes, and NICE has ensured that the “hearing location is accessible to people with mobility impairments.” However, getting to the hearing space in the first place is a challenge.
First, holding the hearings at 2PM and 5PM on a weekday is limiting, given that a typical 9-to-5 work day conflicts with both of the hearing times.
What’s more, we have found that accessibility to the hearing via NICE bus is also incredibly limited. The hearings are to be held at the NICE Office Facility at 700 Commercial Avenue in Garden City, NY. The closest NICE bus stop to this location is only two tenths of a mile away at the corner or Stewart Ave and Quentin Roosevelt Blvd, and while it is served by four bus lines, three of those four lines only stop once every hour; the fourth stops once every half hour. Other bus stops in the area are also served only by hourly buses.
While the proposed fare increase will only affect those paying with cash, it is close on the heels of last year’s MetroCard fare hike and it also precedes another anticipated fare hike for next year. These successive fare increases will undoubtedly affect how people use the bus system, and those who need the service most should not have to contend with timing and accessibility obstacles to voice their needs at the public hearings. It is high time the County stepped up and took responsibility for covering the transportation needs of its residents and stop relying on the State and especially the bus riders to foot the bill.
Hi Lauren I actually DID make the meeting yesterday and I DID take the bus but it wasn’t easy. I work at 600 Community Drive by North Shore Hospital in Manhasset. I had to take off time from wotk and left at 12:30 to catch the N25 to Lynbrook that staops outside my building at 12:41. It didn’t get there til almost 1. I just barely made the connection to the N24 to Roosevelt Field about 1:30 and WALKED from Roosevelt Field to the NICE meeting. I got there just as they were about to start only to be stopped by security at the door so that they could go through my back pack. The meeting was pretty much a waste of time. Veolia can’t run the service for what they said they could – mainly because they low balled the bid so they could get the contract. Maybe I’m cynical but you know that they had already decided to raise the fares and cut some of the services before this meeting even took place, it was just a formality so they could say that they invited public input before they made their decision. But I’ll still go to the meetings whenever I can because at least that way I know that someone who actually takes the bus is making their opinion heard and a part of the public record.