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MNRCC Statement – June 29, 2017 – Lower Hudson Link

Statement by Randolph Glucksman
at the Council Meeting
New York Metropolitan Transportation Council
25 Beaver St., #201
New York, N.Y. 10004

June 29, 2017

Good morning, I am Randy Glucksman, the Rockland County representative to the Metro-North Railroad Commuter Council and its chair. I was introduced to the Lower Hudson Transit Link proposed routings at the I-287 Open House, which was held in Nyack on October 19, 2016 and at that time I expressed my dissatisfaction with the proposal to route all peak hour Tappan Zee Express buses to White Plains rather than the way the current service operates. Presently, customers have an option to ride directly to/from the Tarrytown Metro-North station, a service I have frequently used, and in my opinion is a far better option than White Plains. I voiced my concerns to the staff who were there and was told that White Plains offers more service and with some traffic improvements it would be a better service. Well, I beg to differ, having experienced riding to and from White Plains in peak hours.

I prepared a spreadsheet showing the actual and average running times from the boarding at Lot J in West Nyack to both Tarrytown and White Plains to GCT. I did the same for the afternoon return trip to Lot J, and it is not even close. Every time that I rode a peak hour trip I asked riders if they had heard of LHTL and no one responded in the affirmative. I then gave a quick synopsis of the proposed routes and that it would replace the existing TZX service probably at the end of 2019. When I asked the question would you go to White Plains with an express or to Tarrytown via a local bus, almost always the answer was that they would not ride to White Plains and would seek other options. None were impressed that there was more service from White Plains.

This spreadsheet and report was emailed to Kevin Novak, Dan D’Angelo, Gerry Bogacz, Angelina Foster, Mike Giardina, and more recently to Michael Schaefer.

What I said at the various public meetings that I have attended since then was “You are taking something that is not broken, and breaking it.”

Rockland County elected officials support the continuation of the peak hour express service to/from Tarrytown. We are talking about ten morning and five afternoon runs. Again, I have to say, “You are taking something that is not broken, and breaking it.”

Download here: 062817 MNRCC NYMTC Lower Hudon Link