LI Bus checks wreak havoc on riders

Failures of state safety inspections -- required for Long Island Bus' planned privatization on Jan. 1 -- have meant tedious waits at stops, crowded conditions on board and longer rides for passengers in recent weeks, Nassau County officials said

Vehicles in the county-owned fleet, operated and maintained by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, have been failing initial state Department of Transportation inspections at a rate of 50 percent since the once-overs began in early October, the county said. MTA officials said almost all of those buses passed after minor repairs were made.

The county and its newly hired private bus operator, Veolia Transportation, said many of the problems are serious and should raise concerns about the MTA's maintenance practices. The state DOT must inspect and certify each of the 296 buses before Veolia begins running the system.

"I think it's in bad shape," incoming Nassau bus chief Michael Setzer said of the fleet. "Maintenance deferred can't be fixed very quickly. I think we're going to have a major task ahead of us."

Serious defects

Among 144 buses that state DOT inspectors combed over through Nov. 19, there were 146 defects considered serious enough for the buses to fail inspection, according to a county report. Those problems included damaged brake hoses and other brake system defects, a door that wouldn't open and an inoperable emergency escape hatch. Several less serious issues were reported, including horns that didn't work and broken seats.

Dennis McNeill, a bus maintenance expert based in Thousand Oaks, Calif., said any defects involving a braking system should be considered serious. He noted, however, that many problems caught in the inspections may have arisen since the MTA's last inspections and could have been identified and resolved the next time the MTA checked out the buses.

"I think that they have a good maintenance program in place," McNeill said of the MTA. "Things happen on buses that are heavily used."

MTA officials confirmed that many buses were in between their usual inspections, which are conducted every 6,000 miles. Of 182 buses inspected through Tuesday, 170 eventually passed, spokesman Kevin Ortiz said Wednesday. The remaining 12 vehicles failed and have been pulled from service pending repairs, he said.

"It's ironic that a county that has consistently failed to fund the bus system it's responsible for is now complaining about the condition of the bus fleet," Ortiz said. "The MTA invests $25 million annually to maintain safe and reliable buses, and we expect to transfer a well-maintained fleet to Veolia on Jan. 1 as requested."

Forty buses from elsewhere in the MTA's system have been shifted to Nassau to limit the effects on service, he said. Wednesday, LI Bus operated with 12 fewer buses than usual. The MTA also has adjusted schedules to run buses less frequently on some lines.

Trouble for riders

Riders bearing the brunt have taken notice, complaining to the county and to Newsday of waiting up to an extra hour for buses and jamming into crowded vehicles.

"I have never seen the service as erratic and chaotic as in the past two days," Rita Siermala-Hanley of Roosevelt wrote in a letter dated Nov. 17 to County Executive Edward Mangano. She described a "mob" of riders waiting at bus stops for the N40 in Mineola. "Not only is the commute becoming increasingly uncomfortable and less reliable, it's also getting longer."

The system, which has about 100,000 weekday riders, has been maintained and operated by the MTA since 1973. The agency has said the county has not met its obligation to properly fund the bus system -- including fleet maintenance -- for several years.

In June, Mangano chose Veolia Transportation, of Lombard Ill., to take over the system, which will be renamed Nassau Inter County Express Bus, or NICE. The contract with Veolia requires approval by the county legislature, which will hold a public hearing on it Monday, and the Nassau Interim Finance Authority.

Mangano, in a statement, blamed the service issues on the MTA's "poor maintenance practice."

Worsening the service problems is a shortage of drivers. The MTA has acknowledged that some LI Bus operators retired in anticipation of the system's privatization and others left to begin training under Veolia.

Officials with the MTA, Nassau and Veolia all say that they expect the Jan. 1 deadline for the system's privatization to be met. Doing so will require stepping up the rate at which vehicles are inspected and repaired.

Alida Padilla, 37, of Baldwin, was among riders Wednesday afternoon waiting at the terminal in Hempstead for the N16 bus.

"It just seems to get worse," she said. "How do you know it's worse? You wait and wait every day."

With William Murphy