The Red Bus crisis deepened yesterday when RIOC abruptly canceled the Octagon Express service. The announcement also added to the mounting collection of cluelessness flowing from the scrambled state agency.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
Due to a shortage of buses, we unfortunately must cancel today’s Octagon Express Bus service. We apologize for the inconvenience, but with only 2 buses in operation due to maintenance issues, we must focus our resources on local Main Street service for island travelers.
RIOC Advisory, December 19th, 2023
Unmentioned in this last-minute advisory – the Octagon pays RIOC an extra fee for this service, unlike other building complexes except Manhattan Park. That is, apologies notwithstanding, they are not meeting their contractual obligations.
Don’t be surprised if the outsiders rolling out this information know nothing about that responsibility because there’s even worse. Immediately following the above statement is this:
“Please note that service on Main Street will remain on its current every 15-minute rush hour schedule…“
RIOC’s alleged communications team thinks a fifteen-minute schedule is the normal rush hour. It isn’t. That’s the normal, everyday and every night, schedule, including weekends. How disconnected and clueless must they be?
What’s Driving the Red Bus Crisis?
Then-President/CEO Susan Rosenthal discussed Red Bus problems at a 2019 RIOC board meeting. Broken-down buses were not an issue then. That took years of neglect and lack of replacements to accomplish.
She informed the board – and the public – that the state agency was having a devil of a time hiring and keeping drivers. The problem was simple. There was a limited number of drivers holding the required licensing credentials available. And they competed with other bus services that paid higher salaries.
And in the meantime, while Red Bus drivers were the only reliable state resource on Roosevelt Island during the pandemic, their high-risk work went largely unappreciated.
As a local observer wrote, “One of the veteran drivers has pointed out, they haven’t had a raise in 3 (!) years…”
Broken-down buses…
Anyone (except RIOC’s brain trust) who’s ridden a Red Bus in the past year knows that the buses in service are nearing the end of life expectancy. Repeatedly navigating the nerve-jangling surfaces on Main Street has a cumulative effect.
But until the Red Bus crisis made recognizing the deterioration unavoidable, it simply passed without notice in Blackwell House.
Now, President/CEO Shelton Haynes has announced a wish list for buying two new buses, but he’s harnessed it to getting a $1.4 million grant.
Do the math, though, that grant will not be announced until at least March, it takes a minimum of six months for delivery, and the buses are broken now.
RIOC’s failures in leadership, from its Albany handlers to the local headquarters, burst through in poor to canceled services for residents.
With no relief in sight.
Possible Solutions
With RIOC currently deep in batten-down-the-hatches mode, it’s unlikely they will do anything quick or sensible. That’s based on experience. RIOC – from Albany down – is stuck and frozen. Everything’s a reaction.
But there are solutions readily available.
The most obvious are for-hire shuttle buses that fill in transportation gaps. They’re currently in action for a variety of needs all over Roosevelt Island. RIOC could have got some going already but didn’t.
Reserve the broken-down Red Buses for routine Main Street schedules and bring in well-marked shuttles to fill the gaps. This option is more important today because, with a year or so ahead without new buses or enough drivers, the need will increase.
Wouldn’t it be nice if RIOC planned instead of dashing into ad hoc solutions all the time?
It would make life easier and more predictable for everyone.
On naming, neglect, and the quiet work that keeps things standing
About twenty years ago, there was Harbor Police activity near the water, just south of the subway entrance. At the time, no one really thought of it as a pier, though technically there was a small boardwalk there. Of course it wasn’t a pier. A pier implies intention.
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Considering the salaries RIOC staff is currently receiving we should have a top notch group keeping our island running like a fine Swiss watch. In the corporate world these people would have been fired a long time ago.
You’ve summed it up perfectly. What we lack is leadership with a vision of excellence. It starts in Albany and gushes down.
I had high hopes for Hochul since she had the opportunity to visit Roosevelt Island on a number of occasions before becoming governor. It seems the only way they pay attention is if we get the TV news involved on blast.