Suffolk bus riders don't have real-time info since cyberattack

Suffolk bus rider Justin Wright had relied on mobile apps to track schedules and bus locations so he could be on time to see patients for his job as a home health aid.

Then came the cyberattack that crippled much of Suffolk County's computer system.

"All of a sudden it went missing," said Wright, 36, of Amityville.

Without the real-time info, Wright said, he’s had to wake up and head out earlier to make sure he doesn’t miss a passing bus.

The cyberattack that crippled much of Suffolk’s computer systems has also left thousands of transit riders questioning when the next bus will arrive, officials acknowledged.

Two months after Suffolk County Transit announced over Twitter that “real time bus location updates are unavailable due to a system network outage,” scant information about the problem has been available to the county’s 9,000 daily bus riders.

Not only has the transit system’s website been down since September,  several mobile apps that relied on GPS technology to track buses’ locations in real time also have not been functioning. That includes the county's TransLocRider app.

Wright counts on the S1 line to visit patients, and said for what it costs to live in Suffolk, he believes he "should be able to just easily find my [bus arrival] time, like in Nassau."

He said he has been left in the dark.

"It’s very unsettling, because I have to get on a bus, and I have to get to work,” Wright said as he waited to make a transfer at the Walt Whitman Shops in Huntington on Monday.

County spokesperson Marykate Guilfoyle confirmed in an email Wednesday that bus scheduling information was among the casualties of the “containment measures the county took following the cyber intrusion on Sept. 8th.” County officials have not said when they expect issues stemming from the hack to be resolved.

She wrote: “While riders cannot currently track buses on apps such as Moovit or TransLoc, riders are still able to call 631-852-5200 for bus information 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday.” An operator at that number confirmed she could provide scheduling information over the phone, or mail printed timetables to those who request them.

Guilfoyle also noted that schedule information is available at suffolkcountyny.gov/bus_schedules.html. 

Suffolk rolled out real time bus tracking in 2017 following the lead of other transit systems, including New York City’s MTA and Nassau County’s NICE bus system. The functionality is available on several apps relied on by commuters, including "Transit" and "Moovit."

Lisa Tyson, director of the Long Island Progressive Coalition, a nonprofit advocacy group, noted that bus riders are among Suffolk’s most vulnerable residents, and rely on the “critical service” provided by the county bus system and the technology that supports it.

“It’s low-income people and seniors who have to take a bus, who have no alternatives,” Tyson said. “This is how they get to health appointments, jobs. This should be one of the first priorities for the county to address. … It’s been too long and it has too much of an impact on people’s personal lives.”

The cyberattack also has made it more complicated for those looking to sign up for Suffolk County Accessible Transit, or SCAT, which provides door-to-door paratransit rides for people with disabilities. Marilyn Tucci, outreach coordinator for the Suffolk Independent Living Organization, an education and advocacy group, said prospective SCAT service users have had trouble contacting county officials to apply or renew the service. 
Potential riders “couldn’t do anything online. They were calling there for a long time, and their phones weren’t working. And people didn’t know what to do,” said Tucci, whose group has been providing people with printed copies of SCAT applications that would have to be mailed to, or dropped off at, county offices. 

County officials said the hack has not affected the routing or dispatching of SCAT vehicles.

Tucci said she told the county "if people are calling, please refer them to us.” 

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.