Changes coming to Nassau's most popular bus route, starting Sunday

Passengers load and unload onto a NICE bus at the stop on the Corner of Meacham Ave. and Hempstead Tpke. in Elmont, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
The Nassau Inter-County Express N6 line, the county's most popular bus route, will do away with a published timetable in favor of a new frequency-based scheduling system.
Starting Sunday, rather than arriving at a published, specific time, buses on the NICE route — which runs between Hempstead and Jamaica — will arrive at stops every 10 minutes during weekday daytime hours, every 15 minutes during evening hours, and every 30 minutes overnight.
NICE began experimenting with the subway-inspired “headway management system” on some routes last year, and will roll it out on some of its busier lines this year. The N6 carries about 20 percent of NICE’s 100,000 average weekday riders. The agency eventually plans to use frequency-based scheduling on about 40 percent of its routes.
NICE officials said the new system improves the rider experience by creating predictable arrival times and reducing both the “bunching” and long gaps in bus arrivals that can happen on a busy route.
"NICE Bus is committed to responding to the changing needs of Long Island's transportation landscape,” NICE chief executive officer Jack Khzouz said in a statement. “Thorough data and boots-on-the-ground observations, we have been able to identify and deploy time-sensitive strategies to improve the overall rider experience."
To make the new system work, NICE is positioning supervisors on each end of the affected bus routes to address issues and make sure buses begin their runs at regular intervals.
Other bus service changes affecting 18 routes will allow “for better connections and a more convenient rider experience,” NICE officials said. The changes include the introduction of new weekday shuttle service along West Shore Road in Port Washington.
For more information, customers can visit www.nicebus.com.

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