I found an article from 2011 when the Nassau County Bus was gonna change to NICE Bus which it was owned by Veolia Transportation, a French-based company with American headquarters in Illinois that is one of the mates world’s largest private providers of nects transportation. Nassau County, New York: Veolia won a contract to operate Long Island Bus (renamed Nassau Inter-County Express) in place of the MTA effective January 1, 2012. The old Long Island Bus was delivered to a bus company in Colorado while Veolia a French based Company took control and brought brand new buses for the NICE Bus fleet in first couple of years. I found an old article that has proved the issue of The Long Island Bus to NICE.
THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS
are far from Robert Coles mind as he strides purposefully across the parking lot at Long Island Bus’s huge depot on Commercial Avenue in Garden City. With his sharp angular features, piercing gaze and earnest demeanor, the 56-year-old bus operator looks a bit like Gary Cooper about to corner some outlaw in an old cowboy Western instead of a veteran employee eager to speak his mind about the uncertain future of Nassau County’s transit system. For almost 22 years, this Colorado native, a former cop in a Denver suburb, has been behind the wheel, picking up a portion of the 100,000. daily passengers that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority estimates ride the buses. On weekday afternoons, Cole drives the N22, which connects Roosevelt Field Mall to Jamaica Station and Hicksville. “Every one of my trips is jam-packed- all the 22s are like that,” he says.
Robert Cole walks briskly across the parking lot of the massive Long Island Bus depot on Commercial Avenue in Garden City, his thoughts clearly distant from his thoughts. The 56-year-old bus operator appears more like Gary Cooper about to corner some outlaw in an old cowboy Western than a seasoned worker eager to voice his opinions about the uncertain future of Nassau County’s transit system, with his sharp, angular features, piercing gaze, and earnest demeanor. This Colorado native, a former police officer in a Denver suburb, has been operating the bus for nearly 22 years, picking up some of the 100,000 passengers a day that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority estimates use it. Cole travels the N22 on weekday afternoons, connecting Roosevelt Field Mall to Jamaica Station and Hicksville. “Every one of my trips is jam-packed- all the 22s are like that,” he continues.
Cole resides in Selden with his wife and his two kids in eastern Suffolk, while he commutes to work from there. “It’s a hike,” he remarks. He gets there early so he can have a leisurely lunch in the cafeteria. “I come here to eat!” Cole grinned as he told the Long Island Press. “They’ve got some great teriyaki chicken right now.” He acknowledges that he misses Colorado’s hunting and fishing when pressed. He states that “I miss seeing those mountains in the morning,” above all else. The grandest sights you have ever laid eyes upon.” However, a more dire future lies ahead for him and other union workers on Long Island Bus; it may even be worse for the current ridership. on January 1, 2012, Veolia Transportation, a French-based company with its American headquarters in Illinois and one of the largest private providers of nects transportation in the world, will take over the MTA, which has been running the county’s bus service for 38 years, as a result of a decision made by Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano. Cole feels concerned about what might happen to his future healthcare coverage and pension. He was reluctant to seriously think about changing careers or contemplating retirement early, but now he’s beginning to second-guess whether he should operate an enormous bus in New York City.
Cole declares, “This is really stressful.” “I’m in a situation where my options are limited: either I act or not. I want to maintain my current level of medical benefits.” impacts on the amount of riders. Veolia Transportation will take over all routes and rename the bus company N.I.C.E. (Nassau Inter County Express).
The Time when Long Island Bus to NICE
Following Veolia’s takeover of the system, Mangano and Veolia announced in November 2011 that the service would be renamed Nassau Inter-County Express, or NICE. In order to reflect the change, a new paint scheme would be applied to all buses, including Able-Ride vehicles. The Veolia contract was unanimously approved by the legislature on December 12, 2011, and on December 22, 2011, the state-run Nassau County Interim Finance Authority (NIFA) approved it. Veolia started functioning on January 1, 2012. During contentious county public hearings, Long Island Bus passengers and staff voiced their disapproval of the Veolia proposal.
Veolia announced changes and service reductions in February 2012, with an effective date of April 2012. Although no routes were canceled, approximately $7 million in route reductions were planned, starting in the spring of 2012, with service reductions and route concentrations planned for routes primarily serving northern and eastern Nassau County, with resources diverted towards busier routes. In the end, however, these cuts lead to fewer services being provided on thirty routes, which includes fewer services on weekends and fewer services during the midday on seven routes.
Critics claimed that these cuts occurred too soon—just six weeks after the service began.The cuts drew harsh criticism from the transit advocacy group Long Island Bus Riders Union, which said that “many of the NICE bus service cuts appear to be in low income communities where more people rely on public transportation to get to work and to access the few available health care centers that serve their needs,” that “the announcements of service adjustments on the [NICE bus] website were very unclear,” and that service to numerous health and social service centers was discontinued.
The Orion V 05.501 diesel buses from 1997 to 2000, the Orion V 501 GNG from 2004 to 2009, and the Orion VII Next Generation Models from 2009 to 2010 were all formerly operated by Nassau County Public Buses. However, the company decided to add the Orion Buses from New York City while ordering new buses for the NICE Company in late 2011, when Nassau County Bus had a low inventory and was not operating as much.
On the other hand, Able Ride is a paratransit business that offers trips to individuals with disabilities who are unable to drive themselves but still wish to travel. The company then operated 10 passenger Navistar International IC 3200 Eldorado minibuses with 1 or 2 handicapped seats. However, after NICE took over, the company acquired Dodge Grand Caravans with wheelchair-accessible interiors, Ford F350 minibuses, Ford F450 minibuses and large buses like Chevy Express Cutaway Van 4500.
The idea was the buses have changed over the years but changing the company name hasn’t helped much after the take over of Long Island Bus to NICE on the other hand caused declines in service and passengers using the bus to places.
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