Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) is the public transit bus system in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island. NICE routes operate across Nassau County, with some routes serving destinations in Suffolk County and the New York City borough of Queens. NICE service is coordinated by the Nassau County government and operated by Transdev.
NICE is the successor of MTA Long Island Bus, which began operation in 1973 after Nassau County bought out ten private bus companies. MTA Regional Bus Operations operated Nassau County bus service until 2012, when the county switched operations to a private contractor after a funding dispute. NICE bus services connect to MTA services, including the Long Island Rail Road and New York City bus services, and NICE buses accept the regional MetroCard and OMNY fare systems.
History Private companies (pre-1973) In the mid-1960s, 17 private bus companies served Nassau County, which operated under franchises granted by the county. County operation was considered but not acted upon in 1963. On February 20, 1967, at the request of Nassau County Executive Eugene H. Nickerson, County Supervisor Michael N. Petito introduced legislation to the Board of Supervisors to allow Nassau County to take over the operation of the bus lines.
On August 22, 1970, the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) authorized Hempstead Bus Corporation, Schenck Transportation, Rockville Centre Bus Company, and Stage Coach Lines to take over the routes operated by Semke Bus Lines and Mid Island Transit effective August 24. Those two companies had ended operations on August 14 after the PSC had denied their requests to increase fares from 20 to 35 cents.
On April 13, 1971, the president of Hempstead Bus sent a letter to Nassau County Executive Ralph G. Caso saying that it might have to significantly reduce service, noting increasing costs for materials and labor, competition from cars, and the high interest rates needed to finance the 20 new buses it placed into service in August 1970. One of the routes that might need to be cut was an experimental route set up on August 21 between county office buildings in Mineola and the South Shore. Caso announced an agreement with the company on April 23 in which the county would purchase the 20 new buses the company had acquired in 1970 and lease them back to the company, which would have to repay the county within five years.
On May 22, 1971, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Chairman William J. Ronan committed to Caso that the MTA would conduct a thorough study of Nassau's bus transportation needs, focusing on cross-county routes, and routes that feed Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) stations. On August 20, 1971, Caso announced an agreement with the MTA to seek $500,000 from the state's supplemental budget to push off Stage Coach Lines' planned abandonment of its four routes, primarily to the Mid-Island Shopping Plaza that were set to begin that weekend. Schenck also planned to make cuts in evening and weekend service on September 1, 1971. Under the agreement, it would not make those cuts, and would take over Stage Coach's routes.
In his State of the County speech on February 7, 1972, Caso recommended having the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) take over the operations of some of the county's bus companies, and said a formal request to the MTA for a takeover would be made within 90 days. In April 1972, Schenck filed with the New York State Department of Transportation for a fare increase of about 30 percent, or 10 cents a zone for the first two fare zones, to take effect on July 3, 1973. The one-zone fare would go from 35 to 45 cents, and the two-zone fare would go from 50 to 60 cents, while three-zone trips would stay at 75 cents. The increase would replace state and county subsidies that were in place for the previous 18 months. The county was providing $256,000 for six months through June 30, while the state was providing $400,000 for a year. Schenck said it planned to eliminate all or most service after 9 p.m. and to eliminate weekend service. Saturday service on the N23, N25, and N57B, and Sunday service on the N22B, N24, N32C, N32W, and N33 would be eliminated.
Caso announced on June 14, 1972 that the county's 10 private bus operators would be taken over by a public agency for $10 million, and would either be operated by an authority set up by the county or the MTA. The takeover would be completed-either through condemnation or negotiated purchases-by the first quarter of 1973. After resisting for several years, Caso decided to push for public operation after the operators of the bus companies asked the county to continue and increase the subsidies they had been provided by the county for the previous six months to maintain service. Nassau had paid the ten operators $409,000 in the first six months of the year, and would pay $400,000 more through the end of 1972. Caso said he preferred a takeover by the MTA. $3 million of the $10 million for the takeover would come from the MTA and the state. The county was expected to have to cover the operation's deficit of $500,000 to $1 million a year. A report by the Nassau County Department of Transportation on the planned takeover said that Nassau's bus ridership had decreased by 112 percent in the previous year. The report said takeover would allow for the acquisition of new buses, including 50 new buses immediately, a revised fare structure including lower fares in many cases, and rationalized and expanded bus service, including the coordination of routes and schedules with those of the LIRR.
The County Board of Supervisors voted to take over ownership of the ten companies on October 30, 1972. The law did not specify whether the county or MTA would operate the bus routes. On December 27, 1972, Nassau County Executive Ralph G. Caso and MTA Chairman William J. Ronan announced the creation of a new MTA subsidiary, the Metropolitan Suburban Bus Authority, to take over the operations of 10 private bus companies by April 1, 1973. The Nassau County Transportation Commissioner Andrew G. Schiavone would lead the agency. The county was expected to pay $14 million to the companies in condemnation proceedings, with $9 million from Federal funds.
MTA Long Island Bus
During the first week of April 1973, Nassau County took over operation of four of the ten private bus companies (Bee Line, Rockville Centre Bus, Utility Lines, Stage Coach). This had been set to take place the previous week, but was postponed due to legal technicalities. The other six companies (Roosevelt Bus Line, Schenck Transportation, Branch Bus Corporation, Jerusalem Avenue Bus Line, Universal Auto Bus, Hempstead Bus Corporation) were expected to be taken over later in April. In March 1973, County Executive Caso said that an agreement had been reached with the Amalgamated Transit Union and the United Transportation Union following discussions in Washington that would allow the county and the MSBA to modify, eliminate, or add new bus routes, consolidate bus garages, and assign personnel to those routes and garages without needing to take into consideration the union or geographical areas the workers belong to. It would cost the county approximately $29 million over five years to purchase and operate the routes. The agreement with the MTA would be renewed every year, and both sides had the right to end the agreement on 60 days' written notice.
On May 30, 1973, Nassau County signed a contract to take over all ten private bus companies in the county. The county would subsidize service until it could become self-sustaining, and would have to pay $5.6 million by June 15, which was the original offer it had made to the companies for their capital assets. The county would lease its buses to the Metropolitan Suburban Bus Authority (MSBA), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The federal government would pay $9 million, which was about two-thirds of the capital cost. 18 new buses were ordered for $40,000 each. The MSBA started operating the system in June 1973. Of the 298 vehicles acquired, 50 required major repairs, and 24 were unusable. Nassau County implemented a half-fare program for the elderly during certain weekday hours and on weekends following county ownership.
In October 1974, the MSBA said it started a comprehensive study on how to improve bus service in the county. It was funded by a $108,000 grant from the MTA, and a $212,000 grant from the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA). The same month, the first 15 of 50 new buses were placed into service.
Service was eliminated on seven routes and cut on three other routes on January 5, 1975 due to the MSBA's budget crisis. Nassau had budgeted $5.2 million to fill part of the MSBA's potential deficit of $6.8 million in 1975. These cuts were expected to save $1 million. Headcount at the MSBA would have to decrease by 25. The MSBA hoped to use federal and state aid to cover the remainder. The N19 would be truncated from Patchogue to Babylon since it operated at a deficit, despite high ridership, and was used by a large number of residents of Suffolk County Suffolk County Executive Klein met with directors of four bus companies in the county to take over this route section. Three Saturday-only bus routes (N7, N72, N74) and two weekday-only routes (N20, N67), along with special event buses from Queens and Nassau to the Nassau County Coliseum would be discontinued. The N52 and N52B would terminate at the Hempstead bus terminal instead of running along Fulton Avenue or Broad Street in West Hempstead, and the N79 would be rerouted between the Walt Whitman Shopping Center and Mineola. N79 bus service would no longer run along Broadway to Old Country Road and Round Swamp Road, but would continue along Plainview Road to Old Country Road and Manetto Hill Road. Some late night and early morning trips on routes were also discontinued, as were some trips during the day. The need for cuts was announced by the MSBA on November 14, 1974. The executive assistant to the head of the MSBA had said that the cut in the N19 could have been averted if Suffolk was willing to give the agency $250,000.
A public hearing was held on March 24, 1976, on the MTA's proposed simplified fare structure, which would replace the system of zone fares that was in place before the MSBA takeover. Fares consisted of 25 to 40 cents for the first zone and a charge of 5 to 20 cents for each additional zone, and zones covered areas with distances anywhere between 1 and 10 miles apart. The MTA's proposal would have a flat fare of 50 cents for buses in Nassau, and 75 cents between Nassau and Suffolk. Fares from Queens would be 50 cents to the Nassau County line, 65 cents to Great Neck, Franklin Square, Lynbrook, Elmont, New Hyde Park, Valley Stream, and most of Roslyn and Mineola, and 75 cents to points further east. There would be free transfers in Nassau for up to two trips on buses in the same general direction. Student fares would be 35 cents on all routes, and 50 cents on routes into Queens. In addition, half fares would be implemented for the handicapped and elderly, and the UniTicket discount program for riders to and from Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) stations would be expanded to be available at all 43 stations on the LIRR served by the MSBA on Long Island, along with Far Rockaway in Queens. Unitickets had been available for sale on a pilot basis at Massapequa Park, Freeport, Little Neck, Great Neck, and Rockville Centre since fall of 1975. The fare structure would also include a lower 35 cent fare for short trips, such as between Point Lookout and Long Beach, and on short loops to the Massapequa Park, Freeport, Rockville Centre, and Great Neck LIRR stations. On May 17, 1976, a spokesperson for the MTA said the new fare structure would take effect on May 30.