1 1 2 NASSAU COUNTY BUS TRANSIT COMMITTEE 3 May 9, 2024 4 6:30 p.m. 5 6 7 PUBLIC MEETING 8 9 A P P E A R A N C E S: 10 11 PATRICK GALLAGHER, Deputy County Attorney 12 JOEL BERSE, Committee Member 13 JEAN DUROSEAU, Committee Member 14 LIVIO ROSARIO, Committee Member 15 JACLENE D'AGOSTINO, Committee Member 16 DAWN FALCO, Committee Member 17 JACK KHZOUZ, NICE CEO 18 19 20 21 DEBRA SMITH, Court Reporter 22 23 24 25 DS 2 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 MR. KHZOUZ: Thank you, everybody, 3 for joining us tonight. I appreciate 4 everyone being here. My name is Jack 5 Khzouz, the CEO of NICE Bus and 6 Able-Ride. 7 Tonight we have a short 8 presentation about our operating budget 9 for 2024 and our capital plan and then 10 some additional information about 11 service that will start here at the end 12 of May. 13 In the room, we have a full 14 contingent of board members, and I 15 certainly appreciate all your service 16 and you being here today. It's an 17 important day for us here. 18 We also have a large contingent of 19 staff directors and managers from our 20 team that's been helping me answer any 21 questions that you might have. 22 So, if it's okay, Mr. Gallagher, I 23 can go ahead and start the 24 presentation, if that's okay with you. 25 MR. GALLAGHER: Okay. I will call DS 3 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 the meeting to order and I will just do 3 the roll call. 4 Jaclene D'Agostino. 5 MEMBER D'AGOSTINO: Present. 6 MR. GALLAGHER: Dawn Falco. 7 MEMBER FALCO: Present. 8 MR. GALLAGHER: Livio Rosario. 9 MEMBER ROSARIO: Present. 10 MR. GALLAGHER: Jean Duroseau. 11 MEMBER DUROSEAU: Present. 12 MR. GALLAGHER: Joel Berse. 13 MEMBER BERSE: Yes. 14 MR. GALLAGHER: We have a quorum 15 and we may conduct business. 16 MR. KHZOUZ: Excellent. Good to 17 hear. 18 I have a short presentation. At 19 the end of the presentation, I will 20 certainly be able to take questions and 21 comments from the board and then we 22 will move on with a couple of 23 resolutions that we need for the FTA 24 approval process. 25 So, again, we're going to talk DS 4 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 about the 2024 operating budget, 3 capital plan review, our Q1 score card, 4 and our service updates. I did print a 5 copy for the board so that you can see 6 things a little clearer than what I 7 have printed up here. 8 The 2024 operating budget and 9 capital plan. So, some good news from 10 Albany. We saw about almost a 11 6 percent increase in state operating 12 systems funding, which ensures that we 13 will be able to continue to operate at 14 the current level we are and actually 15 add some service. So, that's great 16 news for everyone. 17 In 2023, here is how our revenue 18 hours break out for the year. So, in 19 2023, in paratransit, we offer 216,000 20 operating, 216,000 hours of service on 21 the paratransit side. This year, we're 22 projecting to offer 255 hours. That's 23 an 18 percent increase. 24 Why so large? Because this year, 25 we had to extend our service across the DS 5 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 border into Queens and into Suffolk. 3 In previous years, we did not have to 4 do that. The FTA is requiring us to do 5 that, and that's why you see the extra 6 hours there in paratransit. 7 On the fixed route side, last year 8 we offered or performed just over 9 900,000 hours of service. This year, 10 I'm happy to report we are planning 922 11 hours, about a two and a half percent 12 increase. 13 Two and a half percent doesn't 14 sound like a lot but 20,000 hours extra 15 does actually translate into a lot of 16 hours. So, we'll see that in a second. 17 This is the way the operating 18 budget, the funding comes out this 19 year. New York State operating 20 assistance from our state government, 21 $118 million this year, by far the 22 biggest part of our state funding pie. 23 So, you can see it's 71 percent of 24 our funding comes from the state. That 25 was almost a 6 percent increase. So, DS 6 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 we are very fortunate to have our state 3 senators and assembly people and the 4 governor behind public transit. 5 The Nassau County required state 6 match $2.5 million. The next two lines 7 are FTA assistance that's still left 8 over from Covid that still continues to 9 help us. So, that comes out to about 10 $13 million. 11 Passenger revenue is up and 12 continues to project up -- we're going 13 to talk about that in a minute -- at 14 almost $32,200,000, quite a significant 15 portion of our budget. 16 The biggest secondary item in 17 there, 19 percent in fares. 18 Nationally, fares, fare recovery, is 19 quite a bit less than that as a 20 percentage. Usually, fare recovery is 21 about half of that. So, again, we're 22 running a very efficient system. 23 And then nonuser revenue, that's 24 basically advertising and some 25 leaseholds that we hold just under, you DS 7 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 know, $720,000 it comes out to. 3 So, again, we have two separate 4 types of billing rates that we bill the 5 county. There's a fixed rate and a 6 variable rate. The fixed rate is for 7 assets such as the building here. For 8 example, building maintenance, Rosa 9 Parks, things like that. 10 So, as you see in 2023, this 11 $4.1 million -- in 2023 is 12 $4.1 million. We're projecting it's 13 going to be about 4.7, and I'll get 14 into why that increase is in a little 15 while. 16 On the rate side of things, 17 though, on the fixed route side, you 18 really don't see much movement there. 19 It's about $102. Last year it was 20 $101.85. So, there is not a 21 significant change there. 22 On the paratransit rate, there is 23 a $58 -- last year it was $58 an hour, 24 this year is $62. That is a little bit 25 of a bigger jump than normal. Again, DS 8 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 the difference here is all the service, 3 we have to go all the way into Queens 4 to deliver. 5 So, our paratransit vehicles now 6 are traveling all the way to Jamaica, 7 Flushing, Far Rockaway to deliver 8 service. That's a long -- for those of 9 us in transit, that's a long deadhead 10 one way, right? Very, very 11 inefficient. And, unfortunately, it 12 means a higher rate. But that is a 13 mandated service that we had to 14 provide. 15 The detail -- I've gone over this 16 for quite a few years now, so let's go 17 through the detail on this so we can 18 kind of see how things lay out. 19 Operator wages jump a little bit, 20 as you can see there. That's because 21 we have a new labor contract both on 22 the paratransit and fixed route side, 23 and it reflects that in the wages for 24 the year. 25 Maintenance wages and everything DS 9 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 else also reflects the same type of 3 increase. It's not as big of an 4 impact. It's a much smaller footprint 5 in the total employee base. Other 6 wages, administration and things like 7 that, you can see took a little bit of 8 a jump there too. We're adding some 9 other positions to continue to fuel 10 growth. 11 Benefits were pretty flat. So, 12 pretty happy about the way that lined 13 up. Services jumped. As secondary 14 services, we added on to some 15 subcontractors on the paratransit side 16 to help us achieve some of these longer 17 deadheads, so that added some costing 18 there. 19 Fuel pricing as opposed to 2023, 20 we took some advantage -- fuel actually 21 dropped as we locked it in, so we took 22 some advantage of that, which was good. 23 Parts and repairs are basically flat. 24 Materials and supplies are basically 25 flat. Marketing, legal, flat. DS 10 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 Utilities took quite a bit of a 3 decrease. And, again, we took some 4 opportunities to lock some rates in 5 there so we were able to take advantage 6 of that. Very good. 7 Casualty and liability is our 8 biggest one item jump, and that is 9 claims that we pay out every year, 10 unfortunately, on accidents, especially 11 passenger injuries. 12 These are projected numbers. 13 They're not actual numbers. These are 14 accruals that we have to reserve for 15 potential future issues, unfortunately. 16 This is a national issue, it's a county 17 issue, it's a transit issue, and it's 18 across the board unfortunately. 19 Depreciation, we can talk a little 20 about that. It did increase a little 21 bit because there's some fixed assets 22 that we brought on this last year. So 23 there's accrued depreciation over time. 24 Corporate overhead, what we pay 25 our corporate team to help us run DS 11 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 payroll and safety programs and things 3 like that, it jumped, but as a 4 percentage it's the same number. So, 5 that number is just based on the 6 revenue projection. So, that number 7 grows as a number but not as a 8 percentage. 9 Margin at risk jumped -- dropped 10 down a little bit. We have some -- 11 with the new contract starting, there 12 is a ceiling that we can earn 13 potentially, and that ceiling got 14 lowered, so that's why you see a change 15 there. 16 So, in 2024, budget goes from 17 152.9 to 167, and, again, the majority 18 of that is made up by the additional 19 paratransit service. But we're going 20 to see how it manifests itself in the 21 fixed route side here in a second. 22 So, on the capital plan side, I'm 23 going to show you -- the capital plan 24 is in your -- you are going to see it, 25 it's in your decks, the detail. These DS 12 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 are the highlights, the capital plan. 3 The interior renovation, Rosa 4 Parks, we're doing all new surfaces on 5 the interior, all new doors, ADA, air 6 conditioning, curtains, a lot of 7 different interior work. That's the 8 last phase. It will be done probably 9 in the spring of next year. 10 Battery electric bus charging 11 stations. The secondary charging 12 station here on the back side of this 13 property, we have 15 new paratransit 14 vehicles coming in. We have 41 new 15 compressed natural gas buses starting 16 to be delivered Q4 of this year. 17 The CNG island here is going to 18 get an upgrade. The island has never 19 been upgraded since it was installed. 20 So, the island will have an upgrade 21 including digital monitors to track 22 mileage and bus refueling, so that will 23 be a big upgrade for us. 24 On the maintenance side of things, 25 there is an exhaust system that needs DS 13 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 to be completely rebuilt and methane 3 detectors have to be rebuilt. Digital 4 bus signage out on the street, we have 5 one right here. And there's five 6 others in the field, a digital sign and 7 a bus stop. And passengers can look at 8 the sign and it tells you actual bus 9 arrival, predicted bus arrival. We're 10 going to expand that program a little 11 bit. 12 And then happily, as we've been 13 asked about this for five years now, 14 the implementation, and that's a big, 15 big project, that means every bus will 16 have scanners and readers and new fare 17 boxes. That's an expensive -- very 18 expensive ordeal, but we have some 19 very, very good people managing that 20 project. 21 So, currently right now, all six 22 electric buses are in the field. 23 They're being piloted in limited 24 service. And as I mentioned, the 25 charging station on the back side of DS 14 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 this property, they're in completion, 3 still has some work to do going on. 4 And, again, we have made a lot of 5 progress with the MTA on getting the 6 OMNY rollout. 7 The next two pages are the detail. 8 So, I have given you the detail in your 9 decks. I highlighted all the important 10 things off side so I'm not going to go 11 into this and read the eye chart here 12 because it's kind of laborious, but 13 certainly something to look at, page 2 14 of it. 15 So, that's the capital plan and 16 the operating budget proposal. We're 17 going to get on to how it manifests 18 itself through the score card and 19 through our service updates. 20 So, on our score card, for Q1, 21 let's go through every piece of it. 22 The fixed route, on-time performance 23 goal was 75. Currently we're running 24 about just short of 92 percent on-time 25 performance. I'd love to see that DS 15 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 number to get to 94. And my operations 3 team will cringe every time I say that. 4 92 is pretty darn good but we want to 5 do better than that obviously. 6 Missed pullouts, our goal is zero. 7 We've had -- you know, again, we're 8 allowed a range there, and less than 9 one percent of -- less than one quarter 10 of one percent of all of our pullouts 11 we did not make on the fixed route 12 side. So, very, very little. 13 On the accident ratio, we're a 14 little high but we're still within 15 range. So, on the fixed route side, we 16 ended up with $5,000 incentive. I'll 17 remind everybody that we don't really 18 see this money. There was no money 19 exchange, it's all just credits and 20 debits. 21 On the paratransit side, on our 22 call answered ratio, as you know, all 23 our clients call to book appointments, 24 the goal is to always answer those 25 calls, you know, as quickly as we can, DS 16 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 get a lot of hangups, that kind of 3 thing, but our goal is to answer 4 90 percent of calls that come in, and 5 we're actually just under 92 percent. 6 And I think we're trending closer to 94 7 right now. 8 On-time performance, 85 percent 9 goal, we're now at about 87 by 3. 10 Again, remember, we're running service 11 all the way into Queens and still 12 running almost to 90 percent on-time 13 performance on our paratransit side, so 14 very happy with that. 15 Missed pullouts, the same thing. 16 Less than one half of one percent. On 17 the paratransit side, just remember, no 18 one misses a trip. We don't miss a 19 trip. But we miss a pullout. It just 20 means it didn't get out of the gate 21 within our five minutes that we allow 22 for that. 23 Our accident ratio has come into 24 line more recently. It's still a 25 little high on paratransit, outside of DS 17 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 the range, 1.23 accidents per hundred 3 thousand miles. So, it's a $5,000 4 payment. Then our productivity, 1.4 5 passengers per hour on the paratransit 6 side. We're at 1.34. Again, still 7 within range. So, the quarter, 8 basically, is awash. 9 Yes, Joel? 10 MEMBER BERSE: In the footnote B 11 here, it's an incomplete sentence. 12 What's missing? 13 MR. KHZOUZ: I'm sorry, I must 14 have cropped it off. A mistrip does 15 not mean the passenger did not receive 16 transportation. As the trip, the 17 missed trip definition is the vehicle 18 hasn't left the depot on time. It does 19 not necessarily mean a client missed a 20 trip. 21 Here is the fun part. How does 22 that additional funding translate to 23 service? And I will tell you right 24 now, we are running about 91 percent 25 back to previous service level, DS 18 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 previous ridership levels pre-Covid, 3 which is great; 70,000 trips a day. 4 Saturday and Sunday is actually 5 ahead of pre-Covid levels, so 6 Saturday/Sunday ridership is way, way 7 high. So, we're missing about 8 9 percent of those riders. Where did 9 they go? Where are they? 10 And what we really have 11 determined, that they really are train 12 connection riders. Long Island 13 Railroad, I believe, is about 65 or 14 70 percent maybe. And so that 15 connection is where we think we're 16 missing those riders. 17 But they're coming back. 18 Able-Ride is roaring back. 19 Paratransit, it's 105 percent previous. 20 So, we're doing about 5,500 trips a 21 week in paratransit. But, again, 22 70,000 trips a day on the fixed route 23 side, that's still a pretty substantial 24 amount of numbers. 25 So, as our strategy has always DS 19 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 dictated that the best thing we can do 3 for our riders is really increase our 4 frequency. So, with that, this is what 5 we are proposing for our -- or what 6 we're implementing beginning at the end 7 of May on through. 8 So, on the N1, we're gonna put 9 extensions serving the UBS arena during 10 the weekdays. That's been asked for by 11 the Elmont Group. So, that's going in. 12 So, you'll be able to get service 13 there. 14 N21, we added peak Sunday service. 15 There was no Sunday service on the N21, 16 so now we have peak service. N24, we 17 have increased weekday frequency. N25, 18 we're gonna increase weekday peak hour 19 frequency so commuters can get to where 20 they go and they don't have to wait for 21 a bus. 22 I'm excited about the new N31X. 23 It is a new express service to Far 24 Rockaway. That's pretty exciting. 25 N35, we have increased Sunday frequency DS 20 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 there. Again, supporting those weekend 3 travelers, as I said, we're well beyond 4 our previous on weekend. 5 N58, again increased weekday peak 6 hour frequency. N70/71, increased 7 weekday frequency with extended evening 8 service all the way to 10:30 p.m. 9 Then the Elmont Flexi, we've 10 increased midday frequency and extended 11 evening service until 9:30 p.m. and 12 then we'll also extend that service 13 down south to connect with the N31/32. 14 So, some real great service 15 improvements for this next quarter. 16 This is the first set of service 17 improvements. There will be others in 18 the next two quarters that we will talk 19 about in the next meetings. 20 We're still studying all the 21 issues there, making sure that we have 22 the appropriate staffing, and to get 23 those things done. So, I'm very, very 24 happy with our increased service that I 25 think is really gonna serve our DS 21 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 communities well. 3 So, special services, just to let 4 everybody knows, we're going to serve 5 the Long Island -- we did serve the 6 Long Island marathon with chase 7 vehicles. We have air show coming up. 8 We have air show service. That's 9 great. 10 Games for physically challenged, 11 this is our 12th year, 12th year. The 12 May 31st to June 1st. New thing this 13 year that we're still trying to get our 14 arms around, this World Cup Cricket 15 Tournament. Huge event. It's the 16 first through the 12th. They're 17 expecting roughly 25 to 30,000 people a 18 day at the new stadium they built over 19 in Eisenhower. 20 We're working Long Island 21 Railroad. We'll be running shuttles 22 between Westbury and Eisenhower Park, 23 serving every one of those games. So, 24 that's obviously a huge strain on our 25 operation. But we've got our ops teams DS 22 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 here and they're gonna get it done. 3 So, that's great. 4 Eisenhower Park, obviously the 5 park and concert service, we will find 6 out more about that once they have that 7 scheduled. Then we're going to start 8 Jones Beach concert service and then 9 the N88 Jones Beach service in general. 10 So, a lot of special services that we 11 run beyond the schedule. Again, part 12 of what we do. 13 So, that's all I've got as far as 14 our presentation goes. Mr. Gallagher, 15 if it's okay with you, if any of the 16 board members have a question, I'd love 17 to answer them. 18 MEMBER ROSARIO: How are you 19 doing? 20 I saw about the accidents. Like 21 you said, I'm aware of those long 22 deadheads, which I could see frequent-- 23 I mean, I'm not projecting, but it 24 does -- it's a lot of strain on the 25 drivers. DS 23 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 Is there an upgrade in training 3 still or is the training the same or 4 how frequently is the training? 5 MR. KHZOUZ: Yes, so good point. 6 Todd Cheever, our director of training 7 and safety, is here, and Todd will 8 correct me if I misspeak here. 9 So, we did extend our on-board 10 training, number one. Number two, 11 we've added things like night training, 12 driving at night. And then we have 13 refresher training. And we have beefed 14 up refresher training and used some new 15 techniques to keep that ahead of time. 16 On top of that, we started 17 broadcasting short what we call safety 18 minutes. It's a little video. It's a 19 one-minute video that we actually 20 created through AI, and it goes to 21 every driver every Friday. It kind of 22 reminds them of different techniques, 23 you know, best practices, vision, 24 things like that. 25 Additionally, we're going to be DS 24 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 the first complete fleet in the system 3 that's going to deploy digital mirrors. 4 So, these mirrors replace the hang-off 5 mirrors that come off. Those mirrors 6 will come off. The digital mirrors 7 will have already been installed. 8 They improve night driving, they 9 improve rear vision, they're a huge 10 increase in safety vision awareness 11 around the vehicle. So, all those 12 things together I think will help. 13 But I understand your point, 14 because a lot of accidents happen 15 during deadheads, and we're watching, 16 those data points very closely. 17 MEMBER FALCO: I just have a 18 question. 19 You stated that the extended 20 service to Queens and Suffolk was 21 mandated, and I'm just wondering, was 22 that mandated by the state as part of 23 an exchange for the amount of STOA 24 funding that was provided? 25 MR. KHZOUZ: No, that was mandated DS 25 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 by the federal government, by the FTA, 3 and they ruled during our last review 4 that our paratransit service did not 5 match our fixed route service, so we 6 were forcing our paratransit customers 7 to transfer on to a New York City 8 Access-A-Ride bus and take that bus. 9 That was an arrangement that had 10 been here for 25 years, and last year 11 they decided that that was not 12 appropriate, and so we quickly -- well 13 not quickly, it took us a little while, 14 but we quickly implemented a program on 15 how to get that into compliance. 16 MEMBER FALCO: Is that something 17 the FTA will decide annually or is this 18 permanent? 19 MR. KHZOUZ: It's permanent as far 20 as we know. So, we've never received a 21 finding on any of our FTA reviews. 22 That was our first. And, so, we 23 believe that's the way it will have to 24 operate as we go forward. 25 We don't know what demand is going DS 26 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 to peak out at. That's what we don't 3 understand. So, we have to plan for a 4 big demand. You know, it does put a 5 strain on our operation, but it is 6 something we're completely in 7 compliance with and gotten pretty good 8 reviews on. 9 MEMBER FALCO: Thank you. 10 MEMBER BERSE: Anybody else before 11 I start my dissertation? 12 MEMBER FALCO: Yeah. We're saving 13 you for last. 14 I just want to ask you a quick 15 question about regarding the large jump 16 in the casualty and liability. 17 Who is NICE's carrier? Do you 18 have multiple carriers? 19 MR. KHZOUZ: So, transit, our 20 parent company, is self-insured, and 21 that's the majority of our coverage. 22 So, that does put a strain on the 23 operation. Because we're a private 24 company, we can't easily access New 25 York State group funding or group DS 27 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 coverage. 3 We are now working toward that. 4 In the past, our costs were in line 5 with New York State group funding. Now 6 they're higher. 7 It's going to take us a little 8 while to get -- hopefully we get 9 acknowledged as a agency and not a 10 private company because we're providing 11 agency service. 12 MEMBER FALCO: Is that a process 13 that's in the works? 14 MR. KHZOUZ: That's a process 15 we're currently exploring. I can't 16 even say it's quite in the works yet 17 because there is a lot of issues 18 legally on how we get there. So, we're 19 trying to figure it out. 20 MEMBER FALCO: Only because that 21 would help a lot with, you know, better 22 premiums and policies. So, you are 23 kind of stuck -- 24 MR. KHZOUZ: Yes, exactly. 25 MEMBER FALCO: Thank you for DS 28 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 clarifying that. That's it for now. I 3 reserve my right to ask additional 4 questions. 5 MEMBER BERSE: I'm glad that other 6 than me is asking questions. 7 MEMBER FALCO: I always have 8 questions. 9 MEMBER BERSE: But I'm saying -- 10 MEMBER ROSARIO: Can I ask another 11 question? 12 MEMBER BERSE: Absolutely. 13 MEMBER ROSARIO: As to these extra 14 routes that we got and all that, I 15 don't know if I missed it, what's the 16 projection on manpower? How you are 17 going to resolve that? 18 MR. KHZOUZ: Luckily, we have Hope 19 Smith here. Hope is one of our senior 20 directors in planning and scheduling. 21 They've been very creative on the way 22 that we have worked the additional 23 service. 24 MEMBER ROSARIO: With the current 25 manpower? DS 29 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 MR. KHZOUZ: Slightly higher. 3 Diane Ialenti, our HR director here, 4 will tell you, she is working her tail 5 off to try to get drivers in, but for 6 as much new service we have in there, 7 it doesn't reflect as much in the 8 manpower needs because, again, what 9 we've done is really looked at adding 10 frequency, and especially weekends, 11 which doesn't put a strain on our peak 12 driver requirement Monday through 13 Friday as much. It does but not as 14 much as it could. That's a great 15 question. 16 (Crosstalk) 17 MEMBER ROSARIO: Thank you for 18 your answer. 19 Go ahead, Joel. 20 MEMBER BERSE: Okay, my turn. 21 First question I have for you is, 22 why was the jump so big in the 23 depreciation category? 24 MR. KHZOUZ: Well, I can tell you. 25 Let me get my list out and I can give DS 30 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 you kind of an understanding of that. 3 So, here I am, okay. 4 So, on the depreciation side, 5 again, some assets purchased, video 6 mirrors, we put aside depreciation 7 holdbacks for all the equipment needed 8 for the video mirrors and for the OMNY 9 fare box starting. So, all that in 10 there plus all the new vehicles coming 11 in will all be part of that. 12 MEMBER BERSE: But that creates a 13 greater deprecation. 14 MR. KHZOUZ: It does. 15 MEMBER BERSE: Since you just 16 brought it up, the MTA has been talking 17 they're still delaying their OMNY 18 installation. How are you so positive 19 on us doing it? 20 MR. KHZOUZ: I tend to be a 21 positive guy. 22 MEMBER BERSE: You are the driving 23 force. The county exec said so. 24 MR. KHZOUZ: Based upon where we 25 were a year ago with our negotiations DS 31 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 with the MTA and where we are now, 3 that's where I'm feeling we're coming 4 along. And it's getting to the point 5 where now, really the MTA doesn't have 6 as much to do with it. It's really a 7 hardware issue and a software issue. 8 And we're dealing with the hardware and 9 software issues directly with the 10 manufacturers. So, that speeds things 11 up. 12 MEMBER BERSE: Okay. 13 MR. KHZOUZ: Which I'm still 14 saying -- I'm not saying it's going to 15 come this year but what I'm saying is 16 it's moved along quite a bit further -- 17 MEMBER BERSE: In other words, 18 when they finally get their act in 19 order, you're ready. 20 MR. KHZOUZ: We're ready. 21 MEMBER BERSE: That's a good thing 22 to hear. All right. 23 The 99 Station Plaza project over 24 in Hicksville, have they cooperated 25 with talking to you about bus stop DS 32 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 changes or anything like that yet? 3 MR. KHZOUZ: Not yet. 4 MEMBER BERSE: Because I have been 5 watching and I haven't seen too much 6 disruption to the area. 7 MR. KHZOUZ: I was in the initial 8 discussions a few years ago but we 9 really -- they haven't really contacted 10 me since then. 11 MEMBER BERSE: Right now they've 12 only really done demolition and digging 13 for the subterranean garages. They 14 haven't closed off stuff along the 15 roadways. 16 MR. KHZOUZ: Yeah, so we still 17 have some work to do there. 18 MEMBER BERSE: I'm going to be 19 having a meeting that includes them in 20 the next week or two. 21 MR. KHZOUZ: Great. 22 MEMBER BERSE: Hopefully my last 23 thing. With the cricket games, being 24 on the police commissioner's community 25 counsel, I've been privy to a lot of DS 33 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 the things they're talking about, major 3 plans and problems, and that includes 4 the Eisenhower Park is going to be 5 completely shut down and they're going 6 to want to shuttle everybody in. 7 Are you involved with beyond the 8 Westbury station? 9 MR. KHZOUZ: Yeah. 10 MEMBER BERSE: And the additional 11 service? 12 MR. KHZOUZ: We have been working 13 with the PD also. We're going to come 14 all the way into Park Street. Park 15 Street is it? 16 UNKNOWN MALE: The aquatic center. 17 MR. KHZOUZ: Right, in the aquatic 18 center. And drop off in a loop and 19 head back out. We're picking up in 20 that same loop. 21 MEMBER BERSE: What other 22 locations in the Westbury station? 23 MR. KHZOUZ: That's it. 24 MEMBER BERSE: Because I had heard 25 something about using the coliseum and DS 34 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 other stuff. 3 MR. KHZOUZ: We're dropping off 4 where we're dropping off. The coliseum 5 may be a secondary point, but they are 6 going to security screen everybody at 7 the aquatic center. So, you are going 8 to park wherever you park if you drive 9 in. You can park at the coliseum or 10 you can park at the museum row. 11 They'll have a private company shuttle 12 parking shuttles to the aquatic center. 13 MEMBER BERSE: So, it wouldn't be 14 NICE shuttles, it will be private. 15 MR. KHZOUZ: It will be a private 16 shuttle. We're not participating in 17 that. 18 MEMBER BERSE: Okay. I thought it 19 would be something sort of like when 20 you do emergency Long Island Railroad 21 service. 22 MR. KHZOUZ: No. So, that's what 23 we're doing, though, that we've got 15 24 buses basically doing shuttle work back 25 and forth from Westbury to the aquatic DS 35 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 center. 3 MEMBER BERSE: And part of the 4 problem is, the discussion was, in the 5 morning they'll be starting right at 6 the tail end or after rush hour, but in 7 the afternoon when the games release, 8 it's going to be the height of rush 9 hour. So, you might need more buses 10 than that to move those thousands of 11 people at the end of the day. 12 MR. KHZOUZ: Yeah, so -- 13 MEMBER BERSE: I'm just saying, to 14 think ahead of them when they start 15 telling you and then looking, hey, the 16 buses didn't get us. 17 MR. KHZOUZ: Yeah. 18 MEMBER BERSE: You can't allow 19 that. 20 MR. KHZOUZ: We've got our plans 21 in place and we're working with PD. We 22 will see how it all works out. So, I'm 23 confident we will have a smooth 24 operation. 25 MEMBER BERSE: Great. DS 36 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 I will stop now, gang. 3 MR. KHZOUZ: Mr. Gallagher, if 4 it's okay with you, if you could you 5 ask for a vote on the operating budget 6 and then a separate vote on the capital 7 program? 8 MR. GALLAGHER: Will someone make 9 a motion for the approval of the 2024 10 operating budget? 11 MEMBER BERSE: So moved. 12 MR. GALLAGHER: Who is going to 13 second it? 14 MEMBER ROSARIO: I will second. 15 MR. GALLAGHER: So carried. 16 Another motion to approve the 2024 17 capital program? 18 MEMBER BERSE: So moved. 19 MEMBER ROSARIO: I second. 20 MR. GALLAGHER: And it carries. 21 MR. KHZOUZ: Thank you. 22 MR. GALLAGHER: All those in 23 favor? 24 (All members respond in the 25 affirmative.) DS 37 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 MR. GALLAGHER: So carried. 3 MR. KHZOUZ: So, that concludes 4 what I have got, Mr. Gallagher, for 5 today. I know we want to hear from our 6 riders if there's any concerns or 7 questions, if that's okay with you? 8 MR. GALLAGHER: Sure. 9 MEMBER BERSE: Remember to state 10 your name and affiliation, et cetera. 11 Dawn will be her usual timer. She is 12 the efficient one at that. 13 MR. TORCIVIA: Okay. Joe 14 Torcivia, Levittown. 15 I remain overall satisfied with 16 the system. More recently, NICE has 17 done a great job in providing the most 18 service within reason, especially with 19 early morning and later evening 20 services versus when I first began 21 attending these meetings with nothing 22 but a long list of valid criticisms. 23 I especially appreciate the 24 consideration you've given to some of 25 my suggestions in the past, so thank DS 38 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 you to Jack and thank you for everyone 3 on this staff. 4 But there is always something, 5 isn't there? Combining the N48/49 6 paper schedule with the N54/55 just 7 makes it all the more clear that unlike 8 the 54 and 55, which are largely 9 parallel, the 48 and 49 should be 10 considered to be two completely 11 separate and independent routes and 12 scheduled accordingly. 13 The 54 and 55 are true parallel 14 routes with only a slight separation in 15 the Seaford/Massapequa area. The 48 16 and 49 are widely separated on their 17 northbound legs with only the 18 commonality of Front Street. 19 I don't have an actual mileage 20 breakdown, but the period of trip 21 separation is much longer and wider for 22 the 48 and 49 than the 54 and 55. 23 The distance of the separation for 24 the 48 and 49 between Carmen Avenue and 25 Newbridge Road is closer to that of the DS 39 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 22 Hillside Avenue and 24 Jericho 3 Turnpike. 4 I have walked both for reasons 5 unrelated to bus transportation than 6 the distance of the separation between 7 the 54 and 55. That's just my own 8 evidence based on walking. 9 Yet, despite the commonality of 10 Roosevelt Field, Mineola, and Jamaica, 11 the 22 and 24 are scheduled 12 independently of one another, as they 13 should be, and so should the 49, having 14 its own independent hourly schedule on 15 weekdays and weekends with no periods 16 of 90 minutes without service due to 17 its linking with the 48, especially on 18 Saturdays. Reasonable? 19 Of lesser concern but anyway 20 noted, the trend toward shortening or 21 splitting apart various routes, first 22 the N20 in Great Neck making my regular 23 trips to Flushing more difficult and 24 inconvenient, having to wait for three 25 buses rather than two. DS 40 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 Then it was the 22 and 24, 3 reducing the latter, the 24, to a 4 shuttle between Hicksville and 5 Roosevelt Field as it was back in 1970 6 when it carried few riders. Now the 71 7 is also reduced to a shuttle. And 8 despite any free transfers -- 9 MEMBER FALCO: I'm sorry, it's 10 gone beyond time. Would you be willing 11 to submit the remainder of your 12 commentary? 13 MR. TORCIVIA: I have one more 14 sentence. May I finish it? Sure you 15 are going to let me finish it. Thank 16 you. Jack wants to hear it. 17 Now, the N71 is reduced to a 18 shuttle despite any free transfers. 19 One seat trips are better than two or 20 three. 21 And thank you very much. 22 MR. KHZOUZ: Okay. Thank you. 23 Yes, ma'am? 24 MS. SIMPKINS: My name is Lucia 25 (phon) Simpkins from Franklin Square. DS 41 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 I just wanted to know if I'm going to 3 be able to get the disabled MetroCard 4 from the NICE bus system because 5 previously I've gotten it from the 6 city, and they gave me the last one 7 because, you know, they switched 8 completely over to OMNY. 9 So, when this MetroCard expires, I 10 have to be able to get another 11 MetroCard. Will I be able to get -- if 12 they switch over to OMNY, will I be 13 able to get a half fare OMNY card? 14 MR. KHZOUZ: Yes. So, I believe 15 the MTA -- and I am going to speak 16 completely off the cuff here, and I'm 17 not a hundred percent sure, maybe you 18 can help me on this -- I believe the 19 MTA has realized their shortcoming and 20 not bridging that gap between the 21 disability card and OMNY, not being 22 able to get OMNY card, and they have 23 extended that this is your last card 24 that philosophy. 25 I can't speak for sure on that, DS 42 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 but certainly if you would please leave 3 your name and phone number with Erica 4 or myself, we'll check on that for you 5 and let you know. 6 Once OMNY comes into our system, I 7 would hope that the MTA has all that 8 figured out. Currently, it's not, but 9 that's what my hope is. That's a great 10 point. 11 MS. SIMPKINS: This expires 12 September 30, 2025. 13 MR. KHZOUZ: Okay. So, let's all 14 keep our fingers crossed they have all 15 that solution in place, but good point. 16 MS. RICHARDS: They're going to 17 continue to issue them until the 18 conversion to OMNY is complete. 19 MS. SIMPKINS: They wrote me a 20 letter. They said that this might very 21 well be the last card we're sending 22 you. Now I have to pay full fare when 23 I go to the city because I have to use 24 my credit card. It doesn't connect 25 anymore with -- DS 43 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 MS. RICHARDS: Leave me your phone 3 number and we can talk about it. 4 MEMBER BERSE: Just to interject 5 here, I got the same letter. My card 6 expires at the end of July in '26. So, 7 they're not projecting, you know, 8 rejecting my card before that time. I 9 just pulled it out to look at it. But 10 I also happen to have an Able-Ride card 11 also. Just, fortunately, never needed 12 it. 13 MR. KHZOUZ: That's a great 14 question, ma'am. 15 Anyone else from the public? 16 Yes, sir? 17 MR. HIRSCH: My name is Matthew 18 Hirsch. I'm from Great Neck. 19 First, I would like to show my 20 appreciation for NICE bus implementing 21 the two suggestions I put out the last 22 time I was here. 23 One was the shuttle bus for people 24 who don't own a car and rely on the bus 25 as a permanent mode of transportation, DS 44 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 but still would like to attend these 3 meetings. 4 Finally, do any routes justify 5 double-decker buses? Thank you. 6 MR. KHZOUZ: We really are not a 7 double-decker fan, to be honest with 8 you. What we find -- and I know lots 9 of other systems in Las Vegas, 10 specifically they run double-decker 11 buses. 12 What ends up happening is, the 13 bottom is under utilized because they 14 have to build the top out to hold the 15 passengers, and there's a stairwell, so 16 the bottom holds a lot less people. I 17 would prefer and we do have them as the 18 articulated buses. 19 MR. HIRSCH: What about 20 bi-articulated? 21 MR. KHZOUZ: We're not quite there 22 yet. I don't think our streets can 23 handle those. We'll continue to look. 24 And my hope is that soon we will have 25 another purchase of articulated buses DS 45 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 and we will be able to get those on the 3 probably N4 will be the next route. 4 They'll have those. 5 Any other questions? 6 MR. HO: I have one. Alexander Ho 7 from Farmingdale. It's just two 8 letters, Hotel Oscar. 9 Thank you very much, everybody, 10 and NICE for having this service. I do 11 take it occasionally. Not today. 12 Don't kill me because I drove today. 13 So, for the bus service for the 14 World Cup Cricket matches, what's the 15 rolling stop you are using to get 16 from -- 17 MR. KHZOUZ: So, currently we have 18 a plan of using 14 fixed route 40-foot 19 buses, potentially inserting some of 20 the articulated buses in there, and at 21 least two paratransit shuttle vehicles. 22 That's our current plan. 23 We have restrictions on where we 24 can park in Westbury and how many 25 people we can load at once, but we're DS 46 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 working with the railroad station to 3 make sure that is a smooth transition 4 from train to bus to aquatic center, 5 then back. 6 MR. HO: Just another one. For 7 these particular special event buses, 8 do you only allow front door boarding? 9 MR. KHZOUZ: We're going to allow 10 both door boardings because we're going 11 to gate everybody before they get on 12 the bus. So, everybody will be paying 13 a fare before they get on the bus and 14 then we'll open both doors. 15 MR. HO: Thank you. 16 MR. KHZOUZ: Certainly. 17 No other questions? 18 Mr. Gallagher? 19 MR. GALLAGHER: I think next on 20 the agenda is to approve the Q1 score 21 card. 22 Do I have a motion? 23 MEMBER ROSARIO: I motion. 24 MEMBER DUROSEAU: I second. 25 MR. GALLAGHER: All those in DS 47 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 favor? 3 (All members reply in the 4 affirmative.) 5 MR. GALLAGHER: So carried. 6 We need to elect a chair. 7 MR. KHZOUZ: Joel? 8 MEMBER BERSE: I'm not going to 9 nominate myself. 10 MEMBER ROSARIO: I nominate 11 Ms. Falco. 12 MR. GALLAGHER: Anybody want to 13 second? 14 MEMBER DUROSEAU: I second it. 15 MR. GALLAGHER: All those in 16 favor? 17 (The members reply in the 18 affirmative.) 19 MR. GALLAGHER: So carried. 20 MEMBER BERSE: One more thing that 21 was explained to me. Are you aware 22 that the system that's going to be, is 23 the chair until or is the chair -- 24 MR. GALLAGHER: The chair is in 25 place for one year. The chair is in DS 48 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 place for one year. Pursuant to the 3 charter, I believe -- actually, the 4 rules of procedure, the chair is 5 elected annually at the first meeting 6 of the year. And there can be officers 7 too but that's not mandatory. That's 8 up to you guys. 9 MEMBER ROSARIO: I'm sorry to keep 10 you again, but the only question, are 11 we looking to enlarge the board so that 12 we could have quorums when emergencies 13 arise? Like last time I got sick, we 14 didn't have a quorum. 15 What is the procedure to get more 16 candidates to be on the board? 17 MR. GALLAGHER: The legislature 18 has appointments, both the minority and 19 the majority, as well as the office of 20 the county executive. So, we've been 21 in discussions with them, and hopefully 22 the appointments will be forthcoming. 23 MEMBER ROSARIO: That would be 24 great because it puts less -- We do 25 have families. These meetings do come DS 49 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 up certain times of the year. I was 3 ill last time. I apologize for not 4 being here. But this puts less 5 pressure on the board member that if 6 things arise, we will still be able to 7 carry on. 8 MR. GALLAGHER: Absolutely. We 9 have flagged this to both the majority 10 and the minority legislature as well as 11 to the county executive. 12 MEMBER ROSARIO: With that, I 13 appreciate this is one of the best 14 board meetings that I've been to in a 15 lot of years in hearing that you are 16 expanding the service and how the 17 service is doing, your performance. 18 So, I guess an accolade is due. And I 19 appreciate NICE's service and to all 20 the employees, all the members. I'm so 21 appreciative. 22 MR. GALLAGHER: Motion to adjourn 23 anyone? 24 MEMBER ROSARIO: I motion to 25 adjourn. DS 50 1 NASSAU COUNTY BTC - MAY 2024 2 MEMBER FALCO: Second. 3 MR. GALLAGHER: All those in 4 favor? 5 (All members reply in the 6 affirmative.) 7 MR. GALLAGHER: So carried. 8 MR. KHZOUZ: Thank you so much, 9 everybody, for your service. I 10 appreciate it. 11 (Whereupon, at 7:22 p.m. the above 12 matter concluded.) 13 14 15 16 ***It is hereby certified that the foregoing is a true and accurate transcript of the 17 stenographic minutes of this meeting. 18 19 <%28116,Signature%> ________________ 20 Debra Smith, Court Reporter 21 22 23 24 25 DS