Gas prices aren”™t going under the $4 mark with the same zeal they vaulted past it and tolls are rising, so taking a bus, whether across town or into White Plains or Manhattan is a comparative bargain for anyone living in points north, despite fare hikes looming ahead for commuters.
Orange County just took delivery on 13 low-emission buses for its Dial-A-Bus service, sporting the new Transit Orange logo, which appears on two new buses that follow a Middletown-to-Harriman route and that have met with more success than their predecessors, a charming but little-used red trolley.
The new Dial-A-Buses went to the towns of Newburgh, New Windsor (adding one to its current fleet of two), Monroe (gaining one to its current fleet of three), Cornwall and Wallkill. John Czamanski, deputy commissioner for planning and transportation for the county, says  38 Dial-A-Buses in Orange County municipalities are working together to make connections.
That situation will be helped when Orange County hires a new transit planner, with RFPs (requests for proposals) being sorted out. “The goal,” said Czamanski, “is to have one person dedicated to creating an intra-county system.” To be determined is “whether it grows out and connects with other counties, which will be the new transit planner”™s job.”
Shortline/Coach has also increased its fleet and expanded its schedule, not just in Orange, but in Dutchess, Westchester, Rockland and Sullivan counties, said Christine Falzone, Shortline”™s marketing manager. Right now, the company is waiting for the nod from the town of Chester Planning Department to build its new maintenance facility in Tetz Industrial Park in Chester.
“It”™s been a year in the planning process, and the entire facility for the bus maintenance will be indoors,” said Falzone. “We have a fleet of over 100 buses, and they are never in one place at one time. The maintenance facility will be as environmentally friendly as possible, and we have received assurances from the Empire State Development Corp. that we”™ll receive additional funding.
“As it stands now, the new maintenance facility is running close to $12 million,” she said. “We hope to clear all the hurdles by August and start building.”
Tetz Industrial Park has Empire Zone status, and Shortline pledged not only to increase service but hire new drivers, maintenance workers and mechanics to comply with Empire Zone regulations.
“Today, despite the rising cost of public transportation, it still makes more sense if you can take a bus or train than it does to drive,” said Falzone. “People who drive usually do it because they have to. There is not always a way to get to work without a car. But personally, I”™d fall asleep behind the wheel if I had to drive into Manhattan every day; the express bus lanes fly by cars going into the Port Authority terminal. It just makes sense for so many.”
Falzone said ridership in some areas of the mid-Hudson has remained stable, while Orange County has seen a 6 percent increase in commuters. “We expect it to grow everywhere, as the population grows and people get tired of sitting in traffic.” Many of the municipal dial-a-bus services have connecting links with Shortline and Leprechaun, another prominent regional bus line that was founded in 1934 and that maintains offices in several transportation hubs in the Northeast, including Poughkeepsie and Newburgh.
Ulster County residents will be able to link with the Poughkeepsie will run shuttle buses at three free park and rides: Route 32 in Rosendale and New Paltz, with plans to built a new parking lot on Route 299, and a stop on Route 9W in Highland. Fares will run from $1.25 to 2.00, or $40 a month for those who buy a monthly Metro-North ticket. train station starting in September. Ulster County Area Transit
SUNY New Paltz is no slouch, either. The college has recently created an in-campus route for students that will eventually hook up with Ulster County Area Transit and onward to Poughkeepsie.
Even the newly initiated Shawangunk master plan is looking at bus service as a means to transport hikers into fragile areas, thus eliminating the need for parking lots amid the splendor.
The cost for the first three years of service between Ulster and Dutchess is estimated to be $1.7 million, but with more than 25 percent of Ulster commuters relying on Poughkeepsie”™s Metro-North station, expect to see more people leaving cars at home and opting for public transportation. Despite fare hikes predicted for 2009, the cost of gas, car maintenance and sheer driving exhaustion makes trains and buses very attractive to weary commuters.
