MTA Long Island Bus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Metropolitan Suburban Bus Authority (d/b/a MTA Long Island Bus) |
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 A typical Long Island Bus on the N21 |
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| Company Slogan | Going Your Way |
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| Parent Company | MTA |
| Founded | 1973 [1] |
| Headquarters | 700 Commercial Avenue Garden City, New York |
| Locale | Nassau County |
| Service Area | Eastern Queens County, Nassau County, and western Suffolk County |
| Service Type | Local bus service |
| Routes | 60 |
| Fleet | 336[citation needed] |
| Daily Ridership | 105,329 (average weekday)[2] |
| Fuel type | Compressed natural gas |
| Operator | MTA |
| Chief Executive | Neil S. Yellin |
| Website | Official Website |
MTA Long Island Bus (properly, the Metropolitan Suburban Bus Authority (MSBA)) is the name of the subdivision of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority that provides 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, 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) Earlier, Semke Bus Line had been absorbed into Hempstead Bus Corp in 1970, 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 417 buses running 54 routes covering 995 miles (1,601 km).
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 Shopping Mall in Valley Stream, Roosevelt Field Shopping Mall in Garden City, Broadway Mall in Hicksville, Sunrise Mall in Massapequa, and Walt Whitman Mall in Huntington). It also serves numerous colleges such as Nassau Community College, New York Institute of Technology (Old Westbury Campus), SUNY Old Westbury, SUNY Farmingdale (it in fact travels onto campus, and Hofstra, as well as the popular summer destination Jones Beach, theaters, parks, and government agencies.
In keeping with the MTA bus system for New York City, all bus routes carry the N route desginator.
[edit] Fare
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 pennies) 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).
[edit] Environment
Long Island Bus began replacing its diesel bus fleet in 1991 with buses operating on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) technology.
Now, the Long Island Bus fleet is made up entirely of clean air, CNG Orion V 05.501s. Combined with the efforts of the New York City Transit division of the MTA, New York has the cleanest public transportation system in the United States outside of California. Some diesel buses, however, remain on property as a backup fleet.
[edit] Currently operated bus depots
MTA Long Island Bus operates two bus depots in Nassau County, New York as follows:
[edit] Mitchel Field Depot
The Mitchel Field Bus Depot or Senator Norman J. Levy Maintenance Facility is located on 700 Commercial Avenue in Garden City in Nassau County, New York. Mitchell Field Depot manages compressed natural gas operation (CNG) to fuel the 40 footer Orion V CNG bus fleet. When Rockville Centre Bus Depot closes on weekends, Mitchell Field Depot operates all bus routes on weekends.
[edit] See also
[edit] Rockville Centre Depot
The Rockville Centre Bus Depot is located on 50 Banks Avenue in Rockville Centre in Nassau County, New York. Rockville Centre Depot manages compressed natural gas operation (CNG) to fuel the 40 footer Orion V CNG bus fleet. The depot operates on route N1, N2, N3, N4, N8, N14, N19, N25, N31, N32, N36, N37, N62, N65 and N88 only on weekday schedule.
[edit] Current fleet of buses
MTA Long Island Bus runs only Orion V 05.501 CNG buses at this time (40 feet long, 102 inches wide), 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] Reserved fleet
| Year | Diesel engine | Transmission | Numbers | Seats | Fleet Total | Notes |
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| 1989 | Detroit Diesel 6V92TA | Allison HT | 579-599 | 45 | 0 | 592 remains on property as a guard bus. These buses were made by Ontario Bus Industries. |
| 1991 | Detroit Diesel 6V92TA | Allison HT | 601-655 | 45 | 15 | 600-601, 606-608, 611, 614, 616-617, 625, 629, 645, 648-649, and 653 are used for LIRR shuttle bus situation. Some of the buses are stored at Mitchell Field, with seats being used to reseat some buses at MTA Bus. These buses were made by Ontario Bus Industries. |
[edit] Active fleet
| Year | CNG engine | Transmission | Numbers | Seats | Fleet Total | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Cummins L10G | ZF Ecomat HP-500 | 100-105, 109-113, 115-117, 119, and 121-141 | 45 | 25 | 106-108, 114, 118, and 120 were re-numbered to 125-130. 109, 111, 113, 115-116, 119, 122-123, 126, and 128-129 are scrapped or out of service. |
| 1997 | Cummins L10G | Allison B400 | 142-245 | 45 | 103 | 221 has been written off after being in a major accident |
| 1998 | Cummins L10G | Allison B400 | 270-287 | 45 | 18 | |
| 2000 | Detroit Diesel 50G | Allison B400R | 288-395 | 44 | 108 | These buses have Luminator MAX 3000 signs. Some of these buses have the APC system from CleverDevices |
| 2004 | Detroit Diesel 50G (except 399) John Deere 6801 CNG (399 only) |
Allison B400R | 396-462 | 44 | 67 | These buses have Luminator Horizon orange signs. |
| Active and reserve fleet grand total: | 336 | |||||
[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, the N6 in the entire system. In addition, buses run "closed-door" in Queens, meaning that no intra-boro travel (trips begin/end in Queens) is permitted. In order to get around this, many passengers get off at the stop closest to the City Line, and often double back in the opposite direction.
[edit] Able-Ride
Able-Ride is run by MTA Long Island Bus, it is a 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.
[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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| Bus | NYC Transit • MaBSTOA • Long Island Bus • MTA Bus |
| Heavy rail | New York City Subway • Staten Island Railway |
| Commuter rail | Long Island Rail Road • Metro-North Railroad |
| Roads | MTA Bridges and Tunnels |
| Police | MTA Police |
| Fleet | New York City Subway • New York City Bus, MaBSTOA, and MTA Bus |
| Other | Fares • MetroCard • New York City Transit Authority • NYC Subway History |
Categories: Articles lacking sources from March 2007 | All articles lacking sources | Articles with unsourced statements since March 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | 1973 establishments | Bus transit | Long Island | Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York | Transportation in New York | Bus transport in New York City
