New NICE Bus Service-Types to be Introduced June 26

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - June 21, 2016 - PRLog -- The first phase of a planned introduction of two new NICE bus service categories will roll out June 26 on routes serving Rockville Centre village area and Mercy Medical Center.  Buses serving Hicksville-Sunrise Mall will also begin running on that date. Additional service will be added in a second phase to begin in September.  Service is being established with additional operating funds made available by Nassau County.

NICE's services will include two new options using smaller vehicles designed to maximize efficiency and flexibility:  Community Shuttles, with fixed stops; and Flexi service, with both fixed stops and "on-demand" service.  NICE has purchased an initial fleet of eight, 26-foot buses with 20-passenger capacity.

"NICE has routes providing 15,000 rides per day, as well as 150 rides per day.  Designing service that maximizes efficiency is an important step toward making smaller routes sustainable.  It makes sense that some less-utilized routes have smaller, more efficient equipment while some others have larger equipment," said NICE Chief Executive Officer Michael Setzer.  NICE is also reviewing use of larger articulated buses with greater passenger capacity for the system's most heavily utilized bus transit routes between Nassau and Queens.

Beginning June 26, NICE will establish the Rockville Centre Community Shuttle, formerly providing service as the n14, and the Mercy Medical Center Community Shuttle, formerly providing service as the n17.  The shuttles will serve those routes Monday through Friday during morning and afternoon-evening peak hours.

The shuttles will make trips approximately every 20 minutes between the hours of 6:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. and again in the afternoon from 3:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m. These Arboc Spirit of Freedom low-floor buses will be fully accessible and offer customers the same payment and transfer options as full-size buses, including a fare box for coins, Metrocard, and Gomobile.  Shuttle fares will remain the same as large fixed route buses.

Service that was provided by the n80 and n81, two routes running between Sunrise Mall in Massapequa and Hicksville, will resume June 26.  Service is planned for Monday through Saturday.  Additionally, the summer n88 route has begun daily service to Jones Beach from Freeport. Exact hours of operation and route maps are available on the NICE bus website, www.nicebus.com.