Second Ave. Sagas

Report: MTA threatens to pull LI Bus funding

Written by

Benjamin Kabak

in

As the MTA Board prepares to receive a proposal for the 2011 budget and upcoming fare hikes, the agency could pull its funding for Long Island Bus, Newsday reports today. Alfonso Castillo reports:

According to transit advocates and Metropolitan Transportation Authority sources, the MTA, as part of its preliminary 2011 budget, will demand that Nassau County and/or New York State come up with $40 million more to keep Long Island Bus running.

Without the MTA’s subsidies, which account for nearly a third of the overall LI Bus budget, the system “would literally be obliterated to almost nothing,” said Ryan Lynch, spokesman for the nonprofit Tri-State Transportation Campaign, which advocates for regional bus service.

The MTA already axed 11 Long Island Bus lines this year to save $1.6 million toward its $800-million deficit. Transit advocates say without the $40 million the MTA had been paying toward the system, LI Bus could afford to operate only a small number of its 47 current lines…

Nassau County, which owns LI Bus, pays just $9.1 million toward the agency’s $133 million budget. The state pays around $44 million, and the MTA and fare-paying customers pick up the rest of the tab. The Suffolk County Transit bus system received no financial aid from the MTA.

Out on the Island, transit advocates fear for the future of this vital service that keeps tens of thousands of cars off the roads. If these cuts go through and if the state and county do not foot the bill, entire bus routes could be lost. “[The cuts] would be a couple of routes here and there,” Lynch said. “It really raises the question as to whether Nassau County is even going to have a bus system anymore.”

Mitchell Pally, a Long Island representative on the MTA Board, hedged his bets. “The relationship between the MTA and Nassau County is continuing to be re-evaluated by both sides,” he said. “The ability to be able to come to an agreement is very, very important to everyone.”

While the Nassau County Executive slammed the MTA and the “job-killing payroll tax,” the truth remains that the MTA is paying far more to operate this service than Nassau County or the state of New York. Without operating assistance of higher fares, the service will not be feasible, and someone must step in to save it.

Comments

10 responses to “Report: MTA threatens to pull LI Bus funding”

  1. SEAN

    Oh you must be kidding. Making Nassau County pay more for it’s bus system? They don’t want to pay the $9,100,000 they already do. If the service goes away, that’s $9,100,000 cut from the budget.

    Westchester pays $30,000,000 in county funds, an equal share from tax payers & the rest comes from state & federal funds with no help from the MTA.

    Reply
  2. Larry Littlefield

    No one wants to pay anything, and everyone wants everything.

    I used to object, but now that an institutional collapse seems inevitable in any event, it’s harder to make the argument.

    BTW do the people who matter in Nassau County really care about those who ride the buses?

    Reply
    1. petey

      “BTW do the people who matter in Nassau County really care about those who ride the buses?”

      a good question

      Reply
  3. Scott E

    The irony of this whole thing is that not long ago, neighboring Suffolk County was trying to entice the MTA to run their bus system, since the MTA knows how, and is in the business of transportation, while the county government is not.

    But I do agree that the finances for the suburban county-owned bus system should be raised by that suburban county (who is free to solicit funds from the state, feds, rich uncles, or whomever). The MTA is being brought in merely to operate it.

    Reply
  4. Jonathan

    The big question here resembles the bus-passes-for-students issue. Why are MTA riders in the city and on the railroads, and tollpayers at MTA bridges and tunnels, paying to maintain bus service in Nassau county? I think I’ve taken the Nassau bus twice in my life.

    Reply
    1. pete

      Illegals can’t drive. They need public buses. Therefore in Hempstead, Westbury, and Freeport, LI Bus get heavy utilization.

      Reply
  5. Ronald

    Should this not be something that is brought up at the state level as well. Obviously, funding is stretched just about everyday which makes the problem worse, but ,the state would be affected overall as well.

    Reply
  6. John

    The thing about cutting bus service on Long Island is that, unlike in NYC where residents are no more than 1/2 mile from a bus, in Long Island, eliminating inefficient lines would leave whole neighborhoods isolated from public transit-not isolated like NYC politicians like to claim about the NYC service cuts, but REALLY isolated.

    Reply
  7. Nassau County exec calls for Walder’s resignation :: Second Ave. Sagas

    […] this summer, word leaked out that the MTA may cut sever its Long Island Bus service. Owned by Nassau County, the bus routes just east of Queens are operated at a tremendous loss by […]

    Reply
  8. james

    why does li need the mta in the first place,it might be cheeper to cut out the middle man. And if li doesnt know how 2 mgnt 1,they should learn how.

    Reply

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