Long Island Bus
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 #460 runs on the N16 line in Uniondale. |
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| Slogan | Going Your Way |
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| Parent company | Metropolitan Transportation Authority |
| Founded | 1973 |
| Headquarters | 700 Commercial Avenue Garden City, NY 11530 |
| Locale | Nassau County, New York |
| Service area | Nassau County, New York |
| Service type | Local bus service |
| Routes | 60 |
| Hubs | 8 major bus connection, 48 LIRR stations, and 5 New York City Subway stations[1] |
| Fleet | 333[2] (2005) |
| Daily ridership | 105,329 (average weekday)[3] |
| Fuel type | Compressed natural gas |
| Operator | Metropolitan Transportation Authority |
| Chief executive | Joseph A. Smith |
| Web site | Long Island Bus |
Long Island Bus is the brand used by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority for bus service throughout Nassau County and some stops along the western border of Suffolk County and the eastern border of Queens in New York City.
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[edit] History
Founded in 1973 under the name Metropolitan Suburban Bus Authority by the combination of ten privately-chartered bus companies, including Bee-Line, Inc. (founded 1922) and its subsidiaries, Rockville Centre Bus Corp. (started 1927) Utilities Lines, Inc, (started 1926, under Bee Line since 1952), and Stage Coach Lines; Schenck Transportation Co (originally a Great Neck livery stable), Semke Bus Line, (started 1918) Jerusalem Ave Bus Line, Hempstead Bus Corp (started 1926), Roosevelt Bus Line, Branch Bus Corp (started 1949), and Hendrickson Bus Corp. (started 1949, its only route from Glen Cove to Oyster Bay has been abandoned, but the name Hendrickson survives today as a charter carrier) Nassau Bus Line and Universal Auto Bus (organized 1921) had been acquired by Schenck in the 1960's, Checker Bus Corp had been reformulated into Stage Coach Lines in the 1960's. Star Bus became Mid-Island Transit in 1966, and then became part of Stage Coach Lines. The system now consists of approximately 340 buses running on 54 routes.
According to MTA figures in 2005, an average of 104,750 weekday riders use Long Island Bus to commute around Nassau County and parts of western Suffolk county. Many continue their trip into New York City by utilizing the system's five connections to the New York City Transit subway system or the 46 connections to the MTA Long Island Rail Road. Since 1998, with the use of MetroCards, transfers are free between NYCT and Long Island Bus.
The bus system serves seven major shopping malls in Nassau and western Suffolk (including Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream, Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, Broadway Mall in Hicksville, Westfield Sunrise in Massapequa Park, and Walt Whitman Mall in Huntington Station). It also serves numerous colleges such as Nassau Community College, New York Institute of Technology (Old Westbury Campus), State University of New York at Old Westbury, State University of New York at Farmingdale (in where it enters the campus), Molloy College, and Hofstra University, as well as the popular summer destination Jones Beach, hospitals, museums, industrial and recreational parks, and government agencies.
In keeping with the MTA bus system for New York City, all bus routes carry the N route designator.
In spring 2008, operations of Long Island Bus were officially folded into the operations of New York City Bus and MTA Bus Company. The Long Island Bus name for operations in Nassau County will continue to be used.[4]
[edit] Fare
- See also: New York City transit fares
The current MTA Long Island Bus base fare for one-way local and limited stop buses is US$2.00. For seniors and disable, the base fare is US$1.00. Children under 44 inches tall ride free when accompanied by an adult. There is a limit of three children per adult. Students with ID, the fare is US$1.80.
Exact fare is required when you board the bus, payable with coins only (excluding half dollar coins) and accepts all types of MetroCard. Bus transfers are US$0.25 for adults and Student with ID, and US$0.10 for Seniors and Disabled when you board a bus and pay with coins in 2 hour time limit. This transfer is granted on up to two connecting Long Island Bus route or one connecting Suffolk Transit or Huntington Area Rapid Transit (HART) buses, and is NOT granted on New York City Transit buses (Exception: The MetroCard Bus Transfer issued on these Long Island Bus routes are granted on these New York City Transit bus routes: N4 to Q3, N25 to Q46, and N26 to Q46). Transferring from bus to bus, subway to bus or bus to subway are free with MetroCard (within MTA buses or subways only). These transfers are for up to two connecting Long Island Bus routes or one connecting New York City Transit buses or subway. Note that when the 1st transfer is used on Long Island Bus and then connecting to New York City Transit, the 2nd transfer is invalidated and you must pay an additional US$2.00 (the next transfer is included at no additional charge), as per New York City Transit's transfer policy (one per payment). [5]
[edit] Environment
The Long Island Bus began replacing its diesel bus fleet in 1991 with buses operating using CNG fuel. It is made up mostly of clean air, Orion 05.501 CNG-fueled bus fleet. It has the largest of all natural gas-fueled bus fleets in the country and its Senator Norman J. Levy Transit Facility hosts the largest compressed natural gas refueling station on the East Coast.[6] Combined with the efforts of the New York City Transit division of the MTA, New York City and Nassau County have the cleanest public transportation system in the United States outside of California. Some diesel buses, however, remain on property as part of the backup fleet, for LIRR replacement service, for the N53 Merrick Shuttle route (which navigates streets that an Orion 05.501 CNG bus cannot), and on the N69 to Point Lookout, which is operated under contract by the City of Long Beach bus company.
[edit] Bus depots
MTA Long Island Bus operates three bus depots in Nassau County, New York as follows:
[edit] Rockville Centre Depot
The Rockville Centre Bus Depot is located on 50 Banks Avenue in Rockville Centre.[7] The Rockville Centre Depot uses CNG tanks to fuel the 40 footer Orion V CNG bus fleet. The depot operates several runs on most routes along with Senator Norman J. Levy normally on a weekday schedule only although the depot will occasionally open on Weekends and Holidays for special occasions.[citation needed]
[edit] Senator Norman J. Levy Transit Facility
The Mitchel Field Bus Depot or Senator Norman J. Levy Transit Facility is located on 700 Commercial Avenue in Garden City.[8] The majority of Norman J. Levy's fleet requires CNG fuel for its Orion V CNG buses and the depot is equipped with CNG gas tanks while the remainder of the depot's fleet requires Diesel fuel for its Diesel Orion V buses (only used on special occasions) and Ford Vans (only used on the N53 Merrick Shuttle). When the Rockville Centre Depot closes on weekends, Norman J. Levy operates all of the routes.
[edit] Stewart Avenue Depot
The Stewart Avenue Depot is located on 947 Stewart Avenue in Garden City. Stewart Avenue manages a fleet of 25 feet accessible vehicles. The depot only operates paratransit service for the disabled, and elderly. [9]
[edit] Current fleet of buses
Except for the N53 line, which uses small van-based buses, and a single plug in hybrid ElDorado Transmark (#1100), MTA Long Island Bus runs only Orion V 05.501 CNG buses at this time (40 feet long, 102 inches wide) in regular route service, although some older diesel Canadian Ontario Bus O5 buses are in storage. All buses (including those in storage) are fully ADA compliant. Orion (as Ontario Bus Industries) has been the exclusive supplier of transit buses to Long Island Bus since the Orion V model debuted in 1989. Previous buses comprising the fleet include former New York City Transit Authority's GMC RTS-04 and New Look buses, along with Grumman-Flxible 870-B and New Look and Gillig Phantom buses. The Gillig Phantom was the last model ordered before MTA Long Island Bus began operating Orion V's exclusively.
[edit] Reserve fleet
These buses were manufactured by Ontario Bus Industries.
| Year | Diesel engine | Transmission | Numbers | Seats | Fleet Total | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Detroit Diesel 6V92TA | Allison HT747 | 601-655 | 45 | 15 | These buses are used only on LIRR bus substitution in Nassau County. These buses do not have fareboxes. |
[edit] Active fleet
| Year | CNG engine | Transmission | Numbers | Seats | Fleet Total | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Cummins L10G |
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100-105, 109-113, 115-117, 119, and 121-141 | 45 | 25 |
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| 1997 | Cummins L10G | Allison B400R | 142-245 | 45 | 103 | 221 has been written off after being in a major accident. |
| 1998 | Cummins L10G | Allison B400R | 270-287 | 45 | 18 | |
| 2000 | Detroit Diesel 50G | Allison B400R | 288-395 | 44 | 108 |
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| 2004 | 396-398, 400-462 (Detroit Diesel 50G) 399 (John Deere 6801 CNG) |
Allison B400R | 396-462 | 44 | 67 | These buses have Luminator Horizon orange signs. |
| Active and reserve fleet grand total: | 336 | |||||
[edit] Future fleet
The MTA Long Island Bus has awarded the contract to Daimler Buses North America for 60 new Orion VII Next Generation Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) transit buses in 2008-2009. The contract also includes option of buying 40 additional buses.[10]
[edit] Routes
At bus stops in the Queens and Suffolk County, the routes are prefixed with a "N" to signify "Nassau County" to fall in line with other nomenclature used by the MTA. They also documented as such in various MTA and New York City Government media. There is only one 24 hour route in the entire system, the N6 (which runs between Hempstead and Jamaica). In addition, all bus routes run "closed-door" in Queens (except parts of the N8 and the N24), meaning that no intra-boro travel (trips begin/end in Queens) is permitted. Nevertheless, passengers living close to city limits often take the bus to the first stop across the border.
[edit] Able-Ride
Able-Ride is run by MTA Long Island Bus, it is an accessible ride bus offers curb-to-curb service to individuals with disabilities and handicapped. Able-Ride is available to Nassau county residents who are unable to use the public bus service of their destination trip. It is designed to cater and accommodate the disabilities who cannot ride public bus. Able-Ride buses are wheelchair accessible and it is a share ride service. Reservations can be made in advance. The fare is US$3.50 payable with pre-paid ticket, cash and exact change for ADA eligible rider and companions. Personal care attendants traveling with and assisting an Able-Ride customer ride is free.[11]
[edit] References
- ^ http://mta.info/libus/connections/connections.htm
- ^ NTD Program filing for MTA Long Island Bus, 2005
- ^ MTA - Transportation Network
- ^ MTA bus operations combined
- ^ MTA Long Island Bus fare
- ^ Long Island Bus operations
- ^ Rockville Centre Depot location
- ^ Mitchel Feild Depot location
- ^ Stewart Avenue Depot
- ^ MTA Long Island Bus orders Orion VII NG (CNG) buses
- ^ Able-Ride fare information
[edit] See also
- New York City Subway
- Staten Island Railway
- New York City Buses
- Long Island Rail Road
- Metro-North Railroad
- MTA Bus
[edit] External links
- Metropolitan Transportation Authority - Long Island Bus Official website
- Long Island Bus system-wide bus map (PDF file)
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