With the clock ticking down the Nassau County Legislature has agreed unanimously to approve a contract that will turn over the operation of the Long Island Bus service to the French-owned Veolia Transportation.
Just days before voting to approve the contract the Democrats in the Legislature expressed serious concerns about the contract. But with the contract with the MTA, which has run the busses for nearly 40 years, set to expire on Dec. 31, they backed County Executive Edward Mangano and voted in favor of the new contract.
Veolia Transportation will take over on January 1. The buses will be renamed NICE, the Nassau Inter-County Express. The new contract appears to represent a substantial savings for the county and comes with a promise to maintain existing service including Able-Ride. Current fares and routes will be kept as they are throughout 2012. But there are no promises after that.
Although we are relieved to hear that the buses that serve 100,000 riders in Nassau County will continue rolling, we have concerns about the stability of Veolia Transportation. The private company based in Illinois, is owned by a French consortium. The parent company, Veolia Environmental, reportedly is planning to “exit the transport sector as part of a sweeping restructuring plan” and will unload assets to reduce debt.
Caisse Des Depots, an enormous French company that dates back to the collapse of the Napoleonic Empire, is the major stakeholder in Veolia Environmental. Today Caisse Des Depots is as stable as the Euro and the European Union.
Veolia Transportation has given its assurance that problems with the parent company will not affect bus service in Nassau County. The county attorney said the county can opt of the contract in 90 days. That, of course, would leave the county without bus service.
The Transit Workers Union claims that the Veolia contract has “holes big enough to drive a bus through.” The union hasn’t been able to reach an agreement with Veolia and cannot even get a promise that the company will honor the contract it had with the MTA.
We hope that the Legislature will make certain the drivers and other workers will be treated fairly by Veolia. They have been negotiating for three years with the MTA and now it appears they are back to square one.
Despite these concerns we are impressed that the Legislature could reach an agreement on this very important issue. Mangano said he is hopeful that this will be the “first day of many days to come when we stand together, united as a county to do the right thing for the people of Nassau County.”
We also hope that’s true.
A Blank Slate Media Editorial
