Suffolk bus riders voice worries with planned system overhaul

Suffolk bus riders expressed concern over a county plan to overhaul the transit system by boosting service on its busiest routes while leaving some communities with no service at all.

At a pair of public hearings Wednesday and Thursday, residents sounded off on the county’s “Reimagine Transit” initiative, which aims to give the bus system its first comprehensive redesign in more than 40 years.

After surveying riders, the county proposed a system that would concentrate on increasing bus frequency and reducing wait times on its busiest routes, while reducing or eliminating bus service on lesser-used lines. The county estimates that, under the new model, the average county resident would be able to reach 48% more jobs within an hour as compared to the existing bus network.

While the plan would cut in half the number of bus routes in the county, from 42 to 21, it would add weekend service on nearly every route. 

Maria Rodriguez, of Brentwood, said she’s depended on Suffolk County Transit since sustaining an accident last year and fears the prospect of losing service.

“[For] most of the people that use the service, it’s because we need. It’s the only way that we can get around, to have a better life, to go to work,” said Rodriguez, who testified virtually during Thursday’s public hearing. “I don’t think cutting service is the right answer.”

The county’s transportation consultant, Scudder Wagg, said densely populated areas like Babylon, Central Islip and Brentwood would see big increases in service, but acknowledged that other communities, like Smithtown and Sayville, would be “much further from service” and “may not be able to reach transit anymore.”

“Overall, this network drastically expands access to opportunity,” Wagg said at Wednesday’s hearing, held in Riverhead and streamed online. “But it does have that trade-off of a bit less coverage in those less-dense, less-busy parts of the county.”

Among the lines on the chopping block is the S62, which stretches from Hauppauge to Riverhead. Wagg called it one of the county’s “lowest performers” when comparing ridership to costs.

Isobel Breheny-Schafer, who works at Stony Brook University, uses the line regularly and said she often sees people with disabilities, and senior citizens, on the bus.

“I can’t imagine taking the 62 route away,” Breheny-Schafer said. “I don’t think taking away service will be helpful. But I do understand that . . . to increase something, you have to lose something.”

John Michno, who uses Suffolk County Transit to visit parks and wildlife preserves, said the proposed changes favor southwestern parts of Suffolk, while neglecting “a whole swath of Suffolk County from east of Port Jefferson to Rocky Point."

“How are people supposed to survive there? It’s not all rich people over there,” Michno said. “I appreciate what you guys are trying to do, but it’s going to mess up a lot of people’s lives.”

While agreeing that the elimination of the S62 route creates “a pretty big gap to leave uncovered,” bus rider George Kaufer approved of many of the proposed changes, especially extending hours on most routes during the early morning and evening hours, and into the weekends.

“I think there’s a lot of good stuff,” Kaufer said. “Overall, I definitely think it’s a good step in the right direction. And, with just a few tweaks, I think it should be pretty good.”

Suffolk officials said they will consider the public's feedback before coming up with a final plan later this year and could make revisions. The county hopes to have the changes in place by the summer of 2023.

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.