COLUMNS Happy 59th Birthday To Public Transportation On Long Island

July, 2023 marks the 59th Anniversary of federal government support for public transportation. The success of public transportation can be traced back to one of the late President Lyndon Johnson’s greatest accomplishments which continues benefiting many Americans today. On July 9th, 1964 he signed the “Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964” into law. Subsequently this has resulted in the investment over time of several hundred billion dollars into public transportation.

Millions of Americans today on a daily basis utilize various public transportation alternatives. They include local and express bus, para transit vehicle, ferry, jitney, light rail, subway and commuter rail services. All of these systems use less fuel and move far more people than conventional single occupancy vehicles. Most of these systems are funded with your tax dollars thanks to President Johnson.

Today we have the MTA and its various operating agencies, including NYC Transit subway, bus and Staten Island Railway, Long Island Rail Road, Metro North Rail Road, MTA Bus along with Nassau County’s NICE bus system. Chartered by the State Legislature in 1965 as the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Authority, it was created to purchase and operate the bankrupt

LIRR. The MCTA changed its name to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 1968 when it took over operations of the NYC Transit Authority. Previously, in 1953, the old NYC Board of Transportation passed on control of the municipal subway system, including all its assets, to the newly created NYC Transit Authority.

In Nassau County, we have Nassau Inter County Express (NICE) and City of Long Beach bus systems. In 1973, Nassau County purchased equipment, routes and some facilities of numerous private bus operators most of whom were experiencing financial difficulties. These private bus operators, included Bee Line, Rockville Center Bus Corporation, Utility Lines, Schenck Transportation, Inc., Hempstead Bus Corporation,

Jerusalem Avenue Bus Lines, Universal Auto Bus, Roosevelt Bus Lines, Stage Coach Lines, Hendrickson Bus Corporation and others. Nassau County followed up that same year entering into a lease and operating agreement with the MTA to continue providing local bus service. This resulted in creation of the Metropolitan Suburban Bus Authority. MSBA was followed by Long Island Bus and as of January 1, 2012 Nassau Inter County Express. Many of the same routes operated by MSBA, LI Bus and NICE can be traced back to the various private bus operators. Suffolk County has Suffolk County Bus and Town of Huntington Area Rapid Transit (HART) Bus..

There is also New Jersey Transit, Port Authority Trans Hudson (PATH) subway, NYC Departments of Transportation Staten Island Ferry and Economic Development Corporation private ferries. Using MTA Metro or OMNY Cards provides free transfers between the subway and bus. This has eliminated the old two-fare zones making public transportation an even better bargain. Purchasing a monthly LIRR or MTA subway/bus pass reduces the cost per ride and provides virtually unlimited trips. Employers can offer transit checks which help subsidize a portion of the costs. Utilize this and reap the benefits. It