Nassau County Legislators are set to hear testimony on County Executive Ed Mangano’s proposed 2015 budget at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, October 1, at the County Legislature in Mineola. Most of the attention surrounding the release of the $2.98 billion budget earlier this month has been centered on the County Executive’s proposed property tax hike. But another issue seems to have gone unmentioned: it appears the County Executive is reneging on his commitment to increase funding for Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE).
In order to help fill a 2014 NICE funding deficit of $3.3 million, Nassau County agreed last spring to increase its funding for the bus system by $1.8 million. This 70 percent increase in funding would bring the County’s total contribution to NICE up to roughly $4.4 million. According to the recently released budget proposal, however, the County’s contribution remains stagnant at $2.5 million a year. Instead, the budget estimates that the system will generate $51.4 million in farebox revenue — a nearly 13 percent increase over NICE’s 2014 farebox revenue estimate of $45.6 million.
How this revenue jump will occur is not outlined in the budget, and seems far-fetched given that NICE annual ridership in 2013 was at a 15 year low, according to the National Transit Database. And through July, ridership is only slightly higher than that of 2013.
What is clear is that the County Executive seems to be trying to get out of his commitment by relying on a 4 percent fare hike anticipated in 2015. A 4 percent fare hike would, according to a Tri-State estimate, raise $1.8 million: the exact amount of revenue that Nassau County committed to providing to NICE.
It wouldn’t be the first time the County Executive relied upon fare hikes as a way to balance NICE’s shoestring budget. Cash-paying riders saw their fares increase by 25 cents and MetroCard using riders were hit with a similar fare hike in 2013 as well.
It’s time for Nassau County to stop balancing the budget on the backs of bus riders and do more to support a system that accounts for almost $200 million in economic output a year and supports nearly 1,500 jobs.
[…] unrelenting fare increases and unmet service needs, while the County Executive completely reneges on a commitment to help fill the NICE Bus deficit. State legislators ignored pleas from elected […]
Just raise the fare to $3 and cut 90% of the routes.
We have bus service on LI?
Nassau County has bus service since old days.
Private bus companies weren’t doing very good, so MTA took over bus service under Long Island Bus until 36-years before Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano made bad choice privatizing Nassau County Bus operation under new name, NICE Bus, aka Nassau Inter County Express on New Years 2012 and you can use MetroCard.
http://www.nicebus.com
[…] But while Suffolk is making small strides toward ditching car culture, Nassau County is farther behind. Residents want their legislators to prioritize drivers’ rights over the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians, while Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto’s tendency to oppose anything that threatens the community’s single-family home aesthetic is now posing a threat to the success of the Hicksville LIRR station redevelopment. And although Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano has enacted a countywide Complete Streets policy and expressed support for TOD projects in Mineola and Farmingdale, he has yet to embrace a multi-faceted approach to connected, walkable communities. If Nassau County wants to reduce the cost of living for existing residents while attracting more young people, county leaders should strengthen their commitment to Complete Streets and dedicate more funding for transit. […]
[…] stinginess has led to ever rising fares — County Executive Ed Mangano has repeatedly relied upon riders to fill NICE’s budget, with fare hikes in each of the last four years — and even more […]