Riders to get details on privatized LI Bus

Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano is expected to release new details Thursday of what the county's bus system will look like after a private company begins running it in January, county officials said Wednesday.

Mangano and representatives from Veolia Transportation -- the private company picked to take over Long Island Bus -- are expected at a news conference to offer long-awaited details of their plan for the service that will supplant Long Island Bus, the county system operated for 38 years by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Veolia Transportation, based in Lombard, Ill., is scheduled to take over LI Bus on Jan. 1. The county has said that its contract with Veolia is complete, but it has not been released.

The contract must be approved by the county legislature and the Nassau Interim Finance Authority. The county also has said it will hold a public forum.

County spokesman Brian Nevin said last month that Mangano "will present the legislature with a plan that saves taxpayers over $30 million a year while providing riders with quality service."

Transit advocates and bus riders -- some of whom gathered Wednesday afternoon outside the Garden City Hotel in Garden City -- said more information can't come soon enough.

Inside, Veolia officials were meeting with Long Island business leaders to discuss the newly privatized county bus system.

The small group outside demanded answers on what the system will look like. Hotel staffers blocked them from entering the building and participating in the meeting.

"We just want to get information about what's going to be happening in a couple [of] months," said Kate Slevin, executive director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a nonprofit advocacy group.

Long Island Bus has had an annual budget of $141 million under the MTA.

Mangano announced in June that he had chosen Veolia to run LI Bus. At the time, county officials said the new operator would not increase fares or cut service in 2012. However, on a recently launched website, Veolia suggested both options are on the table.

The site, libusinfo.com, said there may be "changes in routes or timetables as of January 1, 2012" and that "there are currently no plans" to increase fares.