Suffolk Transit
Encyclopedia
Suffolk County Transit is the provider of bus
services in Suffolk County, New York
on Long Island
in the United States
and is an agency of the Suffolk County government. It was founded in 1980 as a county-run oversight and funding agency for a group of private contract operators which had previously provided such services on their own. While the physical maintenance and operation of the buses are provided by these providers, other matters ranging from bus purchases to route and schedule planning to fare rules are set by Suffolk Transit itself.
Though serving the entirety of Suffolk County, the one exception is in Huntington
, located in the northwestern part of the county, where that town's private operator declined to join Suffolk Transit. Instead, Huntington took over that town's system which became Huntington Area Rapid Transit
, or HART. Most of HART's routes do connect to both Suffolk Transit and MTA Long Island Bus and one can transfer between HART and Suffolk Transit fairly easily.
In addition, the village of Patchogue
has its own local bus service.
1.50. For seniors and the disabled, the base fare is $0.50. Personal Care Attendant (PCA) is free, when traveling with handicapped passengers. Students with school ID, the fare is $1.00. Children under 5 years old are free, limiting 3 children when accompanied by adult. For the S92 and 10C, the base fare is $2.00
Exact fare is required when you board the bus, payable with coins or dollar bills. Bus transfer
s are $0.25 additional, and must be paid for when you pay the base fare. There is a 2 hour time limit, and one may transfer to Suffolk County Transit connecting routes, or to MTA Long Island Bus connecting routes with a special transfer request slip (transfers to Long Island Bus require payment of a "step-up" fare).
With the exception of the S47, S92, and 10C, there is no service on Sunday, New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day.
service for ADA
-eligible passengers with disabilities. SCAT service is available Monday through Friday, 6:00 AM to 8:30 PM and Saturday, 7:00 AM to 8:30 PM. The fare is US$3.00.
has proposed a takeover of Suffolk County Transit by the MTA.. Suffolk Transit has ordered 81 Orion VII clean Diesel buses. All the Orion VII NG's have since arrived and the 1996 Gillig 35TB102 and 1997 Gillig 30TB96, as well as most of the 1999 Orion 05.503's have been retired.
The Suffolk County Legislature have passed a bill that would raise the fare from $1.50 to $2.00 on the S92 and 10C routes only. In return, those two routes will receive Sunday service. The bill has been signed, and the fare hike will come in June, Sunday service in July. A previous bill that would increase the fare on all routes and give several routes Sunday service was vetoed by Steve Levy because he believed that routes which would not receive Sunday service should not get a fare hike. A veto override failed. The fare hike began June 17, 2011, and the Sunday service begun July 3, 2011. It ran until September 10, 2011 and will resume next summer.
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
services in Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York on the eastern portion of Long Island. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,493,350. It was named for the county of Suffolk in England, from which its earliest settlers came...
on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and is an agency of the Suffolk County government. It was founded in 1980 as a county-run oversight and funding agency for a group of private contract operators which had previously provided such services on their own. While the physical maintenance and operation of the buses are provided by these providers, other matters ranging from bus purchases to route and schedule planning to fare rules are set by Suffolk Transit itself.
Though serving the entirety of Suffolk County, the one exception is in Huntington
Huntington, New York
The Town of Huntington is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, USA. Founded in 1653, it is located on the north shore of Long Island in northwestern Suffolk County, with Long Island Sound to its north and Nassau County adjacent to the west. Huntington is part of the New York metropolitan...
, located in the northwestern part of the county, where that town's private operator declined to join Suffolk Transit. Instead, Huntington took over that town's system which became Huntington Area Rapid Transit
Huntington Area Rapid Transit
Huntington Area Rapid Transit is a bus system exclusively within the Town of Huntington in the state of New York. The system is completely separate from Suffolk County Transit....
, or HART. Most of HART's routes do connect to both Suffolk Transit and MTA Long Island Bus and one can transfer between HART and Suffolk Transit fairly easily.
In addition, the village of Patchogue
Patchogue, New York
-Notable citizens:* Franc D'Ambrosio, Broadway Actor, best known for being the longest running Phantom in Phantom of the Opera. Graduated Pat-Med HS 1981* Michael Fagan, professional bowler...
has its own local bus service.
Fare
The current Suffolk County Transit base fare for most one-way local bus is $United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1.50. For seniors and the disabled, the base fare is $0.50. Personal Care Attendant (PCA) is free, when traveling with handicapped passengers. Students with school ID, the fare is $1.00. Children under 5 years old are free, limiting 3 children when accompanied by adult. For the S92 and 10C, the base fare is $2.00
Exact fare is required when you board the bus, payable with coins or dollar bills. Bus transfer
Transfer (public transit)
A transfer allows the rider of a public transportation vehicle who pays for a single-trip fare to continue the trip on another bus or train. Depending on the network, there may or may not be an additional fee for the transfer...
s are $0.25 additional, and must be paid for when you pay the base fare. There is a 2 hour time limit, and one may transfer to Suffolk County Transit connecting routes, or to MTA Long Island Bus connecting routes with a special transfer request slip (transfers to Long Island Bus require payment of a "step-up" fare).
Bus service hours
Most Suffolk Transit bus service runs operate only Monday through Saturday at 5:00 am to 8:00pm, with the exception of the S69 which runs until 10:30PM Monday to Saturday, the S1, S40, S45, and S54, which run until 10:30pm Monday to Friday, and the S27 and S33 which run until 9:30pm Monday to Friday. The S47 runs June through September, 7 days a week.With the exception of the S47, S92, and 10C, there is no service on Sunday, New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day.
Routes
Main routes are prefixed with a "S" to signify "Suffolk County" to fall in line with other nomenclature used by the MTA. Nonetheless the agency has no ties to the MTA, and in fact the "S" prefix is already used for Staten Island routes. Feeder routes do not have the "S" prefix, however they have various letter suffixes.Suffolk County Accessible Transportation
Suffolk County Accessible Transportation (SCAT) is Suffolk Transit's federally-mandated paratransitParatransit
Paratransit is an alternative mode of flexible passenger transportation that does not follow fixed routes or schedules. Typically mini-buses are used to provide paratransit service, but also share taxis and jitneys are important providers....
service for ADA
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is a law that was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1990. It was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush, and later amended with changes effective January 1, 2009....
-eligible passengers with disabilities. SCAT service is available Monday through Friday, 6:00 AM to 8:30 PM and Saturday, 7:00 AM to 8:30 PM. The fare is US$3.00.
Future
Suffolk County Executive Steve LevySteve Levy (politician)
Steven A. Levy is the seventh County Executive of Suffolk County, New York, elected on November 4, 2003. Originally a fiscally conservative Democrat, Levy joned the Republican Party in an unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination for governor....
has proposed a takeover of Suffolk County Transit by the MTA.. Suffolk Transit has ordered 81 Orion VII clean Diesel buses. All the Orion VII NG's have since arrived and the 1996 Gillig 35TB102 and 1997 Gillig 30TB96, as well as most of the 1999 Orion 05.503's have been retired.
The Suffolk County Legislature have passed a bill that would raise the fare from $1.50 to $2.00 on the S92 and 10C routes only. In return, those two routes will receive Sunday service. The bill has been signed, and the fare hike will come in June, Sunday service in July. A previous bill that would increase the fare on all routes and give several routes Sunday service was vetoed by Steve Levy because he believed that routes which would not receive Sunday service should not get a fare hike. A veto override failed. The fare hike began June 17, 2011, and the Sunday service begun July 3, 2011. It ran until September 10, 2011 and will resume next summer.
Bus route assignments
Rather than operate its services in-house like most transit agencies, Suffolk County Transit contracts all their routes to private contractors. The table below lists the private contractors hired to provide fixed-route services. It does not include Suffolk County Accessible Transportation paratransit service.| Company | Routes |
|---|---|
| Suffolk Bus Corporation | Bay Shore Yard - 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, S40, S41, S42, S45, S47 (Summer Only) Ronkonkoma Yard - 6A, 6B, 7A, 7B, 7D, 7E, S59, S61, S66, S68 |
| C.B.S. Lines Incorporated | 5A, S56, S58, S60, S62, S69 (Night Loop), S71, S76, and S110 (Suffolk Express/Suffolk Clipper) |
| Inter County Motor Coach | 2A, 2B, S23, S25, S27, S29, S33, S35, S54, S57, and S63 |
| Educational Bus Transportation | 1A, 1B, S1, S20, S31 |
| Sunrise Coach Lines | 8A, 10D, 10E, S92 |
| Hampton Jitney Hampton Jitney Hampton Jitney is a for-profit bus company based in Southampton, NY, operating three primary routes from the East End of Long Island to New York City, as well as charter services, along with local transit bus service in eastern Suffolk County under contract with Suffolk County... |
10A, 10B, 10C, S90, S94 (Summer Only) |
Fleet
Suffolk County Transit Bus Operations employs many makes and models of buses between 30 and 40 feet in length. All are 102 inches in width. This table shows all models currently used in revenue service by any contractor. Suffolk County Accessible Transportation paratransit service is not shown.| Year | Model | Length | Engine | Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Orion V 05.503 | 35' 7.5" | Detroit Diesel Detroit Diesel As a corporation, Daimler Trucks North America has decided to rename the company "DETROIT".Detroit Diesel Corporation is an American-based diesel engine producer headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, USA... Series 50 |
13 |
| 2000 | Gillig Phantom Gillig Phantom The Gillig Phantom was a transit bus produced by the Gillig Corporation in Hayward, California. The Phantom was first introduced in late 1980 and, with the exception of a small number of buses built in a three-year-long joint venture with Neoplan from 1977 to 1979, was Gillig's first transit bus... 35TB102 Suburban |
35' | 5 | |
| 2005 | Gillig Phantom 35TB102 | Cummins Cummins Cummins Inc. is a Fortune 500 corporation that designs, manufactures, distributes and services engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission control and electrical power generation systems... ISM |
58 | |
| 2008 | Gillig Low Floor BRT T-40 Hybrid | 40' | Cummins ISL (GM-Allison EP-40 Hybrid propulsion system) |
4 |
| 2010 | Orion VII NG | 40' 35' 30' |
Cummins ISL | 15 50 16 |