NICE bus draws rider, worker frustration

During its first workday service, Nassau's new bus system did not miss a single trip, but did miss the mark with some riders.

At the Rosa Parks Transit Center in Hempstead Tuesday, frustration was apparent among riders and workers as Veolia Transportation handled its first true morning rush hour since taking over the system on Sunday.

Some riders complained they couldn't find a new printed timetable for their route. One bus driver showed up to work in his own clothes because he never got his new NICE Bus uniform.

"I think everybody was expecting this," Stacey Lachiana, 44, of Oceanside, said of the confusion around her as she waited for the N16 bus. Lachiana said she had been satisfied with the MTA running Nassau's bus system and remains skeptical that new operator Veolia Transportation will be an improvement. "We'll see, I guess. Talk is cheap."

Before Sunday's switch to the privatized system, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority had operated the county's buses since 1973. Veolia, one of three bidders to take over operations, was named in June to run the system that serves 100,000 weekday riders.

NICE Bus chief executive Michael Setzer said that the new system's first big test "went as well as it could have." NICE Bus ran 100 percent of its scheduled buses Tuesday -- something the MTA had not done in months because driver and vehicle shortages.

Setzer acknowledged some hiccups, including an incomplete delivery from its uniform vendor, and a programming glitch on its customer service phone number that resulted in some callers getting busy signals or messages that the agency was closed. The remaining uniforms are expected to arrive in the next several days, and the phone problem has since been repaired, Setzer said.

Veolia also made some changes to schedules to better reflect the actual time it takes for buses to get around, and had some bus operators driving routes that they were not accustomed to, Setzer said. All contributed to some bumps in the road for NICE Bus, and Setzer said he expects Wednesday will go more smoothly.

"It would be surprising for me if nobody had any issues or nobody had troubles in any way," Setzer said. "It will get better day by day."

Some riders said they already had noticed an improvement since Veolia took over. Gayle Marin, 41, of Freeport, thought "the bus drivers are much nicer" than when the system was operated by the MTA.

And Joseph Debrosse, of Roosevelt, who waited at Mineola for the N40/41, said buses appeared to be more punctual and orderly than in months.

"So far, I can't complain," said Debrosse, who travels by bus to his training as a medical assistant in Mineola. "Maybe when they raise the fare I'll be complaining."

NICE Bus has committed to keeping the current base fare of $2.25 through 2012.