Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi released his budget for 2005 last Monday, with funding to Long Island Bus proposed at $10.5 million. Suozzi said he was doubling the county’s bus contribution, though the doubling is more in line with what he proposed last year than in what the bus agency in fact received. Last year, Suozzi proposed $5.9 million to support bus service, and the county legislature increased it to $7.3 million (additional money the county said it would release to Long Island Bus in mid-year if needed is still being negotiated between the bus agency and the county).

The state contribution to LI Bus was $34 million in 2003-2004, and it was not cut in this year’s budget.

In releasing his budget, Suozzi declared Nassau’s budget crisis at an end. It’s important that Nassau’s 105,000 daily bus riders are sharing somewhat in the good news, since they have suffered severe county cuts and faced the prospect of drastic service cuts annually since 1999. In 2000 former County Executive Thomas Gulotta cut Nassau’s $20.7 million commitment to $14 million, and the 2001 budget chopped it by another $7 million (MTR #296). Until now, the county contribution remained around $7 million for the following years, despite steady ridership growth.

There has been some suggestion that Suozzi’s largesse is related to elections coming up next year. If true, that is not bad in the short run for Nassau bus riders. Because Nassau approves its budget in the fall, Suozzi will have another executive budget to propose before November 2005.

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