47.0°,
Mostly Cloudy The buses are back in Rockville Centre
NICE restores Rockville Centre Loop, Mercy Shuttle starting June 27
Starting next week, Rockville Centre residents will once again be able to take a bus around town — though their options may be somewhat limited.
NICE Bus will be reinstating the N14 — which used to be known as the Rockville Centre Loop — and N17 lines, which were eliminated last year due to low ridership. Instead of restoring full service, NICE Bus is turning the lines into “community shuttles,” which will run only during peak hours in the morning and evening: 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. and 3 to 7 p.m. The shuttles will begin service on June 27.
The fare will be $2.75 — the same as regular buses. It’s payable with cash, a MetroCard or NICE’s GoMobile app.
“The restoration of two community shuttles within our village will provide our residents a dependable method of transportation to work, school and medical appointments,” said Mayor Francis X. Murray. “Although these new shuttles will only be used during peak hours, I commend the Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) for coming up with a solution that will have minimum impact on our commuters.”
The Rockville Centre Loop — which has been renamed the Rockville Centre Community Shuttle — will stay in the downtown area, running north for the length of Maple Avenue, on the south side of the street, to the intersection of Long Beach Road and DeMott Avenue. It is bound on the east by Long Beach Road and on the west by North Village Avenue.
The N17 line, now known as the Mercy Medical Center Community Shuttle, will run south on North Village Avenue and stop only at the train station, Mercy Medical Center and the Hempstead bus depot.
The Loop shuttle will stop at the train station every 20 minutes, while the Mercy shuttle will do so every 40 minutes.
Sister Mary Alice Aschenbach, the director of pastoral care at Mercy, said the months since the routes were cut were difficult for many members of the hospital’s staff, who depended on the lines to get to work. They were getting by, she said, but restoring the buses would be a huge help.
“People are making do,” she said. “Some of our staff know people that have cars, and they’ve been joining in with them. Some families are driving here and dropping them off. It’s our maternal and pediatric clinic that’s impacted most by this.”
Even with limited hours, the shuttles will allow people to more easily get to and from work, Aschenbach said. They will also help patients who are discharged and have no other way to get home.
Aschenbach was instrumental in getting the Mercy line reinstated. She petitioned the county to keep it, and worked with County Legislator Laura Curran. She also got calls of support from Town Councilman Anthony D’Esposito and Congresswoman Kathleen Rice’s office.
“I’m appreciative of NICE Bus,” Aschenbach said. “They really did try. I understand ridership and money. They’ve been generous to me, and they gave us the schedules. They’ve been good.”
