Suffolk County Executive Bellone Unveils Final Redesign of Suffolk Transit Bus Network
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone has unveiled the final redesign plan of the Suffolk County Transit bus system. The final network plan reflects a multi-year community input process and was produced as part of the County’s ongoing Reimagine Transit Initiative, which is intended to restructure Suffolk County’s bus network in order to provide more useful, reliable service for residents.
The goal of the initiative is to restructure transit services to offer a more effective transit system that is in tune with the emerging technologies and trends, and identify opportunities for the use of new tools, like on-demand transit services.
“As we strive to expand economic opportunities for residents of Suffolk, it is critical to provide a transit system that values people’s time, and gets them to more places throughout the County faster.” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. “With longer operating hours, timed connections, and more high-frequency service, the new Suffolk Transit system will be far more useful for residents, workers, and visitors.”
“Beyond boosting local downtowns, this plan has the potential to jumpstart jobs and employment in Suffolk County by providing transit solutions to business and medical parks.” said Mindy Germain, Program Manager at Transit Solutions.
Following models across the United States, including Houston, Columbus, Rochester, Austin, Jacksonville, and Norfolk, the proposed redesign plan features a significant increase in the amount of service investment on higher-frequency, more direct routes, providing service in the places where riders need it most.
System changes are not limited to new route alignments. Under the new system, the entire network will operate seven days a week, while weekday hours of operation will be extended system-wide. The new system will offer timed connections at seven locations across the County to reduce wait times, strengthen connections to the LIRR, and get people to their destinations faster.
Building off the success of the Suffolk Transit On-Demand pilot microtransit service, the Final New Network would make the Southampton On-Demand Pilot permanent, while also introducing a new On-Demand Zone for the East Hampton/Amagansett/Montauk service area.
The new network will provide significantly more equitable service for County residents while increasing access to jobs and amenities. With improved frequency of service and timed connections featured in the final plan, the average County resident will be able to reach 51% more jobs and opportunities within 60 minutes via transit when compared to the current Suffolk County Transit network. In addition, low-income residents will have access to 60% more jobs, residents without cars will have access to 53% more jobs, and communities of color will have access to 68% more jobs. Across the County, more than twice the number of people and jobs that are near frequent service today will be near frequent service under the new network.
The Final Network includes key changes and additions based on public input to the Draft Network Plan. These changes include the addition of Route 3 along the former S23 route from Babylon to Wyandanch to Walt Whitman Mall via Five Towns College, operating every 60 minutes all day, seven days a week; the addition of Route 62 between Smith Haven Mall and Riverhead via NYS 25A and Sound Avenue; the realignment and extension of Route 5 to connect Smith Haven Mall, Smithtown and Hauppauge with half-hourly service through downtown Smithtown; the addition of service to Brookhaven Town Hall via a branch of Route 52; service to Yaphank Avenue; and the addition of Route 80, providing hourly service in the area covered by the 8A.
The goal of the Reimagine Transit initiative, which began in September of 2020 and is funded through a New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC) Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) grant, is to restructure transit services to offer a more effective transit system that is in tune with the emerging technologies and trends, and to identify opportunities for the use of new tools, like on-demand transit services to support the fixed route network that serves as the spine of the system.
As cities and counties across the country have done in recent years, in the face of declining ridership and a shifting economic landscape, it is more important than ever to ensure that the County’s resources are being put to use most efficiently to meet the County’s ridership and transit coverage goals. The new transit system is expected to launch in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The initiative builds on Connect Long Island, the County Executive’s signature regional transportation and development vision plan, and the Suffolk County Mobility Study which evaluated and sought solutions to the County’s transit challenges.