Fight for 76 Bus Continues Tuesday

The fight over the cancellation of the 76 bus line continues at a public hearing on Tuesday night at Rye City Hall. County boss Astorino nuked the Milton Point portion of the line during Christmas time and local Arthur Stampleman, pol Judy Myers and others have being fighting since to get service restored.

Here are the details on Tuesday's hearing:

Public Hearing Re Bus Service in Rye Tuesday, April 24, 7 pm – Rye City Council Room

Called by the Budget & Appropriations Committee and Government Operations Committee of Westchester County Legislature

Purpose:
To consider the cancellation of Bus 76 and the Liberty Lines application to the state Department of Transportation (DoT) to Extend their Bus 13 route to cover part of the route previously served by Bus 76.

Background:
For years the Port Chester Rye Transit Co. operated Bus 76 service between Milton Point, Rye Station and Port Chester. County Executive Astorino reduced service hours in September and notified the Route 76 bus line on December 26, 2011 that its service contract would not be renewed; service officially stopped December 31. Notices that the service was being cancelled were issued December 26, but at a time when many were taking a winter vacation. Removing the bus route on short notice left people dependent on public transportation to make quick adjustments to their lives. While they knew of a dispute between the County Executive and the County Legislature on whether the 76 should continue, they knew the Legislature provided $243,000 for the bus in the 2012 budget and were surprised it was cancelled.

The county administration arranged for Liberty Lines to expand its existing Port Chester-Ossining Bus 13 route into Rye on January 1st, to cover part of the route of the former Bus 76. The expanded route for Bus 13 goes between Port Chester, Rye Station and Playland. It does not serve the area south of Playland Parkway and Milton Point previously served by Bus 76. The service cut is especially hard on senior citizens who can't drive, caregivers who depend on the bus to get to where their clients reside, commuters who are unable to get parking permits at Rye RR station, and workers employed in the area that depend on the bus to get to their jobs.

The absence of the service may be a health and safety issue for aging residents and caregivers in
the co-op apartments toward Milton Point. County 2009 bus statistics (the latest available) show Route 76 carried 56,088 passengers. Service was cut in 2011 reportedly because of low ridership and the size of the subsidy required to operate the route. However, the same statistics indicate there are other routes that are even less economic than Bus 76, but no other route was cancelled. The county's Bee Line bus service, operated largely by Liberty Lines, gets significant county subsidy support.

Liberty Lines is operating its Bus 13 route extension in Rye temporarily but has applied to the DoT for permanent authority to operate the route. The county administration recommended approval. Objections have been filed by the Board of Legislators and over 100 citizens. The county legislators invite the public's comments on the above issues.