Riding the buses in Nassau County is anything but NICE this summer. Many of the older buses are suffering from the poor maintanance the most, and are dropping like flies. I've been told many have had to run with no air conditioning despite the extreme heat, because otherwise the engines will overheat. It's no wonder, since Ed Mangano and the Nassau County Legislature headed by Peter Schmitt (who has no problem spending taxpayers money on having County Police fix his flat tire) puts so little into the bus system. The new company, Veolia, has cut maintanance personnel, many of the older buses aren't even getting the parts they need. So in the end buses are dropping like flies, and frankly, a danger to operate. And now the breakdowns are getting so numerous, many runs are going missing, leaving passengers waiting in the hot sun to try and squeeze onto the next bus.



How much longer can Mangano and Nassau County get away with treating the bus system, riders, and employees, like this? And how can Veolia have money to install cameras on every bus, at $700-$800 per bus, but not for maintanance so these buses don't break down? These breakdowns are a hidden, sneaky service cut. Just today, June 22, 2012, 3 buses broke down. Two on the busy n27 bus route never even arrived, leaving people to wait and wonder.



One thing's for sure, it's gonna be a long, hot, miserable summer for NICE bus riders.