Transport Workers, riders protest LI Bus cuts in Mineola

Dozens of Transport Wokers Union members and riders of public transit gathered at the Mineola Long Island Rail Road station yesterday morning to protest proposed cuts in transportation funding by the MTA and plans by Nassau County to privatize county bus service.

Rally organizer Patricia Bowden, president of Transport Workers Union Local 252, was among several speakers.

"I'm hoping to get Nassau County and MTA to sit down and come to some agreement that will save my members' jobs," she said. "My fear is that we're going to get privatized.

"Most people who ride our buses are the less fortunate," Bowden said. "We should be improving transportation, not cutting it."

The Metropolitan Transit Authority has proposed cutting $100 million for Long Island Bus over the next four years. Nassau County is proposing privatizing the buses.

"Nassau County taxpayers can no longer afford the gross mismanagement and fiscal irresponsibility of the MTA," Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano said in a statement. "Should the authority eliminate funding for LI Bus, I will have no other choice but to explore privatization."

"Rather than rally against alternative bus service, workers should direct their anger where it belongs - at the feet of Jay Walder and the MTA," Mangano said.

Representatives of the MTA did not immediately return calls seeking comment last night.

Many protesters shouted chants, clapped and held signs that read "No MTA LI Bus Cuts," "Save Our Jobs" and "Don't Let Nassau County Take Away Your Transportation."

Dorothy Robertson, 78, of Hempstead, said she came to the rally to save Able-Ride, a door-to-door paratransit service for the disabled. "We need it," said Robertson, who is retired and uses the services for doctor appointments and grocery shopping. "When you're on a fixed income, it's hard. It's the only way I get around."

Bus operator Bernard James, 55, of Hempstead, said he fears jobs may be lost if bus service in Nassau is privatized. "I'm very nervous," he said. "I've been working 28 years and they're talking about layoffs?"

Cheryl Wimms, 44, of Rockville Centre, an MTA maintenance worker, said she helps support three children and five grandchildren. "To save my job, that's what brought me here," Wimms said.