Letter: More detail needed on bus cuts
The N45 Nice Bus at Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City. (Feb. 22, 2012) Credit: Chris Ware
While the editorial "Veolia Nassau bus cuts aren't severe" [Feb. 27] is correct in stating that no lines will be eliminated, the proposed cuts are certainly not "tame."
Nassau Inter-County Express is planning to reduce service, in one way or another, on more than 60 percent of its routes. Before we jump to conclusions that service cuts will be mild, NICE needs to tell the public exactly how many riders will be affected by the service adjustments and let the county's transit advisory committee vote on the reductions.
The point should not be to compare NICE service adjustments to service cuts proposed in 2011 by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, but to examine how the service adjustments will affect even the few midday riders who depend on the bus. On lines where riders now expect a 30-minute wait, some may see their wait extended to 60 minutes.
Furthermore, on the N45 and N51 lines, Saturday service is scheduled to be eliminated.
The real bottom line in this situation is that service cuts will continue to be inevitable unless Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano and county legislators find a way to fund the system. If the county doesn't pay its fair share, bus riders will likely see more cuts in their future.
Stephanie Sapiie, Woodside
Editor's note: The writer is a member of the Long Island Bus Riders Union, a watchdog group.
