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Tuesday, March 1, 2011

The Buses Keep Rolling... For Another Month At Least

As an update to my previous post, Big Loss For North Shore Commuters, it appears that there is hope afterall. The following message was recently sent by the good people at Long Island Transit to their riders:

Dear Loyal Patrons of Long Island Transit:
We wanted to let you know that on March 1, 2011, Long Island Transit representatives will be meeting with Edward P. Mangano, the County Executive for Nassau County.  We are hopeful that the concerns raised in yesterday's message can be resolved at that time, if not sooner.  LIT will also be inviting representative members of its ridership to voice any concerns that they may have at that and other meetings.  While nothing has yet been resolved, an open dialogue is a very good first step, and LIT is cautiously optimistic...
It is gratifying to see when government actually works for the people. I applaud the efforts by Mr. Mangano and as well as the other public officials that have been contacted and are working on a long term solution. I hope that today's meeting will be fruitful in saving this much needed service.

I think that recent actions by the MTA proves that additional commuting options are necessary for Long Island to continue to prosper. To be captive to the whims of any monopoly especially those run by the government is not consumer friendly. Take for example the MTA's implementation of a $10 fee for ticket refunds. So, if I want to return a $7.50 ticket, I would have to pay more than the value of the ticket for a refund? Imagine if one of those big box stores tried to implement such a policy, the politicians would be all over themselves to condemn it. Why then does the MTA get a pass on this?

That's why government should continue to encourage the private sector to assist in these areas. Perhaps by relieving the MTA of some of it's burden it can find ways to operate more efficiently. We see it in all other sectors, competition creates innovation. Perhaps when the MTA can longer just write blank checks and needs to compete for riders, maybe then we will see them really begin to become efficient.

In the mean time, I wish the Long Island Transit Company every bit of success. I hope that the actions taken today lead to expansion and profit for them. Hopefully with their success, we will see a real choice in commuter options on Long Island.

1 comment:

  1. UPDATE:
    The good people at Long Island Transit sent the following encouraging message today:

    "As you will recall from our previous update, we met yesterday with Edward P. Mangano, the County Executive for Nassau County. The results of the meeting were encouraging, and we remain cautiously optimistic that a long term solution can be worked out. LIT is in the process of supplying Mr. Mangano's office with information that was requested during the meeting so that Mr. Mangano's team can further explore some of the ideas that we discussed. Also, since our last bulletin, Mayor Ralph Suozzi's team at the City of Glen Cove has advised that certain state subsidies are now in the works. All of the foregoing gives LIT sufficient confidence to announce an extension of LIT's express bus service through the end of April 2011.

    One of the items discussed was the identification of other areas in Nassau County where LIT's park-and-ride formula might work. If you have a suggestion for a location that offers a convenient route and available parking for commuters, please let us know.

    LIT wishes to extend its gratitude to County Executive Mangano and Mayor Suozzi for their and their and their teams' efforts so far. LIT also wishes to thank its riders for their continued support, and in particular, to Vincent Spoto, Susan Hoffman, and Joanne Yee, who attended yesterday's meeting and who very effectively presented the concerns and desires of LIT's riders."

    This is great news! It is encouraging to see government at work for the people and resolving issues.

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