EDITORIAL: Long Island Bus too vital to lose

Each day brings more news of the mounting difficulties in paying for public services. This week, Nassau County government and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority are once again fighting over how to fund Long Island Bus. Neither has any money, and in fact, both are running deficits.

But these combatants need to step back and remember their respective missions. Roughly 33 million rides are logged on Long Island Bus routes each year. This is needed transportation, a very basic and vital public service in the suburbs.

For a decade, Nassau has shrugged off its responsibility to pay its share. Powerful political forces supported the MTA picking up the tab, but the agency began to object as its budget tightened. Even though Nassau claims that it had a deal, no other New York county receives such a subsidy.

At the same time, it's brutal for the MTA to dump its full $40 million annual cost, all at once, on Nassau County. A gradual schedule of reduced payments should be considered. The most important focus should be maintaining a complete schedule for bus riders. Employers here do pay the MTA payroll tax to benefit the region where they do business.

County Executive Edward Mangano's response was to label the MTA dysfunctional. While there may be some truth to that, he should put more energy into sitting down with the MTA to find a joint solution. Both entities may be broke, but they're obliged to keep the buses rolling. hN