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Bus systems unite

BY JENNIFER MALONEY | jennifer.maloney@newsday.com

May 8, 2008

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Aiming to create a seamless regional bus system, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority yesterday announced that it will combine the operations of Long Island Bus with two New York City bus agencies.

The three systems, including New York City Transit Bus and Queens-based MTA Bus, will retain their separate identities but will be run as a single, streamlined operation. No service changes are planned, but officials said the move eventually should result in better coordination of routes and timetables, particularly for travel between Queens and Nassau.

The reorganization is also a major step toward a long-awaited MTA takeover of Long Island Bus from Nassau County, officials said.

Long Island Bus President Neil Yellin, who will be promoted to senior vice president for administration at the Long Island Rail Road, called the change "a step forward in terms of the evolution of transportation here on Long Island."

"People who go to work have no regard for where Nassau begins or ends, so this is a chance to give them the services that they need," he said.

Long Island Bus, one of the busiest suburban bus systems in the country, serves all of Nassau and a few parts of Queens and western Suffolk. Under a 35-year-old agreement, it is owned by Nassau County and operated by the MTA.

As Long Island Bus ridership has soared over the past several years, Nassau and the MTA have argued over who is responsible for funding the cash-strapped system.

An MTA takeover would require state legislation and a resolution of the disagreement over funding.

The MTA's long-term goal is to create a seamless regional transportation network, spokesman Jeremy Soffin said.

"We'll be piloting a one-seat [train] ride from the northern suburbs to Giants Stadium next year," he said. "This is a big step in the same direction on the bus side."

The consolidated bus system will be headed by Joseph Smith, senior vice president for buses at NYC Transit; he will hold the additional title of president for Long Island Bus and MTA Bus.

Changes will include installing high-performing NYC Transit Bus spark plugs in the other systems' buses and creating a single traffic center to inform bus drivers of collisions and tie-ups.

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