The MTA board voted unanimously Wednesday to end its contract with Nassau County to run Long Island Bus, opening the avenue for a private bus company to take over next year.
The vote follows a recent public hearing where hundreds of riders voiced opposition to the privatization plan. The plan results from the county’s refusal to pay more than $9 million of its share of the system’s $136 million annual budget after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said it could no longer cover county shortfalls, as it has for the past decade.
“Nassau County will move forward with a public-private partnership that maintains bus service without demanding an additional $26 million from taxpayers,” County Executive Ed Mangano said in a statement after the vote.
The county has been studying final proposals submitted last month by the three bus firms being considered— Veolia, First Transit and MB Transit.
Mangano said in a recent interview that the three proposals will be up for public discussion in the near future.
Privatization was anticipated as early as this summer before state lawmakers found $8.6 million earlier this month to keep the buses rolling through Dec. 31.
Under the plan, private buses are expected take over the next day.
