Comptrollers Queens Report: Buses Getting Cleaner, But Still Not Running On Time

The City Comptrollers study of four Queens private bus lines revealed that while they are marginally cleaner, their on-time performance needs improvement.
The 1998 report also charged that the four Queens bus lines lagged behind city and state standards in their implementation of wheelchair accessibility for the handicapped. Installation of specially-designed wheelchair lifts on city buses are mandated by federal and local laws.
Despite these service shortfalls, said Comptroller Alan Hevesi, "Monitoring by the DOT has improved the service provided by the private bus lines." During the 1998 test year, he said, improvement of bus services have resulted in the distribution of $1.2 million in incentive payments to the four Queens lines.
Hevesi said that Queens has the largest and busiest private bus companies in New York City, The Green Bus Line, Jamaica Bus Co., Triboro Bus Co., and Queens Surface Corp., carrying an estimated 290,000 daily passengers along 62 borough routes not adequately served by the Transit Authority. The four local companies are currently contracted by the city DOT.
The report revealed increased compliance with city DOT regulations, and found that Queens Surface had the highest rate of compliance for cleanliness, climate, and on-time services required by the city DOT. Jamaica Bus generally scored the lowest.
Greg Jones, counsel for the New York State Office of the Advocate for Persons with Disabilities called for increased compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). "The bus companies must meet these federally-mandated laws," said Jones, "because they have a high priority on a communitys ability to provide adequate employment, education, medical and other community services."
A concerned Congressman Joseph Crowley (D-7th CD)
who has helped generate federal funding for local mass transportation declared, "The public and private bus lines should be in full and consistent compliance with ADA public transportation regulations. These rules must be observed, not only for the handicapped, but also for our growing older population."
Promising future rapid improvements and upgraded services, Myra Burke, President of Queens Surface Corp., said that her bus line had recently received a shipment of 200 new buses that are helping the busy line meet its increased ridership demands. "I am pleased to note," she said, "that our wheelchair accessible finally exceeds DOT standards."