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| Westchester County (Lawrence Salley) opposes Bee Line-MTA Bus takeover (137092) | |||
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Westchester County (Lawrence Salley) opposes Bee Line-MTA Bus takeover |
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Posted by GOLD_12th on Thu Feb 12 15:04:19 2009 Westchester County’s Transportation Commissioner Lawrence Salley will say that Westchester opposes a plan that calls for the MTA to operate the county’s Bee-Line Bus System tomorrow when he speaks at a forum sponsored by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign and Regional Plan Association.Salley is scheduled to speak before the regional transportation planning group at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 13, at the Radisson Hotel in New Rochelle. “Consolidation into a Regional Bus Authority will cost Westchester taxpayers more and give our riders less,’’ said Salley. “We agree with many of the points in the Ravitch Commission report: that there should be more resources for bus services outside New York City and that those services should be better coordinated. We already share services with the MTA such as the MetroCard fare collection system and inter-system transfers. But consolidation of services will not be cheaper, nor will it be more efficient, and it certainly won’t be in the best interest of Westchester riders.’’ Salley said that contrary to some interpretations, the county does not believe that the Ravitch Commission Report calls for mandatory consolidation of local bus services into a single operating agency. He also disputed claims that there is feuding between counties over transportation funding and that a Regional Bus Authority would solve this problem as well as result in a more efficient and modern bus system. “Our system is better maintained, our fleet newer and our buses more technologically and environmentally advanced than those run by the MTA,’’ said Salley. “As far as feuding with other counties over funding, that is just not true. Westchester simply wants parity with Nassau when it comes to funding its bus system.’’ The Bee-Line Bus System, with 32 million riders annually, has 66 bus routes from The Bronx to Putnam County line as well as an express service to lower Manhattan. Salley said the county is not philosophically opposed to most of the recommendations made in the Ravitch commission report, which advocates for better coordination and more funding for regional systems. “We just do not believe that eliminating local control is in the best interest of our riders or that the MTA can operate a local system more efficiently or cost effectively that we can,’’ said Salley. To underscore his argument, Salley made the following points: * Westchester already shares services with the MTA and could expand those to include other areas such as joint procurement of buses and other equipment. * MTA operation would be less efficient and data indicates that costs would rise with consolidation. In 2007, the Bee-Line’s cost per mile was $9.80, the lowest among Metropolitan Area operators (Bee-Line, MTA Bus, Long Island Bus and NYCTA). In the three years following the 2006 MTA takeover of seven New York City private bus operators, the combined operating deficit rose from $223 million a year to a projected $341 million for 2009. * Safety would be potentially compromised since the MTA is not required to meet higher safety standards required by the NYS Department of Transportation. Bee-line has ranked number one in the metropolitan area in maintenance and employee safety training. * A regional bus system would hamper Westchester’s ability to use buses to help evacuate residents in the event of a natural or man-made disaster such as an incident at the Indian Point Nuclear Power plant. Source: Yonkers Tribune |
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