Groups launch ads against LI Bus changes

A coalition of public transit advocacy groups, including the union representing Long Island Bus drivers, is taking aim at Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano with sharply worded statements and an advertising campaign decrying the proposed service cuts and privatization of the county's public bus system.

"Mangano knows that there are solutions other than destroying public bus transportation on Long Island," Patricia Bowden, president of the Transport Workers Union Local 252, said in a statement Thursday. "Privatization of public transportation is a proven loser that may provide temporary budget relief, but in the long run will cost the county in jobs and growth opportunities."

Nassau County officials announced Wednesday that they would turn the bus system over to a private operator, ending their relationship with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which has run the bus system for nearly four decades.

Earlier this month, the MTA announced plans to eliminate more than half of the system's 48 lines, blaming inadequate contributions from Nassau toward the $140-million annual Long Island Bus budget. The proposed cuts would affect about 16,000 of the system's 100,000 daily riders.

In a statement Thursday, Mangano cited the county's financial troubles, which led a state watchdog agency in January to take over the county's finances.

"The union's statements against my administration are misguided and should be redirected toward the MTA, who has demanded that Nassau taxpayers contribute another $17 million annually to their coffers," he said.

His only other choice, he said, would be increasing property taxes -- an option he rejects.

The advertising campaign, coordinated by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, begins Friday with a 30-second spot on Cablevision, which owns Newsday, and an ad in Long Island Business News, followed next week by a banner ad on newsday.com and a three-minute video distributed through social media networks.

Next week's ads will respond specifically to Wednesday's privatization announcement, said Ryan Lynch, Long Island coordinator for the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.

"The county executive has no idea what this privatization means for higher fares and service cuts," he said. "I don't think it's realistic."

The MTA has been subsidizing the county's $9.1-million annual LI Bus contribution by $17 million. Mangano now plans to slash the county's contribution by more than half, to $4.1 million.

Mangano, noting the high salaries of some MTA employees, said a private operator "will run bus service more efficiently and effectively."