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Hearing in Riverhead tomorrow to raise bus rates

BARBARAELLEN KOCH FILE PHOTO
BARBARAELLEN KOCH FILE PHOTO

A public hearing will be held tomorrow in Riverhead on raising bus rates throughout most of the Suffolk County bus transit system to $2.25 per ride in order to pay for Sunday and night service.

But East End routes will remain largely unaffected.

The $2.25 fare is already in effect on the S92 — which runs from Orient Point through Riverhead and out to East Hampton — as well as the 10C, which runs from East Hampton to Monatuk. Rates on those lines, which already operate on Sundays and evenings, would stay flat at $2.25.

Fares on the S92 and 10C were raised two years ago, allowing Suffolk Transit the funding to pay for weekend routes on the two lines. Proponents of expanding the system said at the time that Eastern Suffolk County’s economy was overdue for the move, as many people working in the service industries could use the system to get to and from work.

Deputy Presiding Officer of the Suffolk Legislature, Jay Schneiderman (I-Montauk), was chair of the county’s transportation committee when service expanded to the weekends on the S92. He said on Tuesday that the time has come to expand service throughout the county; beyond the two East End lines, Sunday and evening routes run along what Mr. Schneiderman has termed 10 more “critical arteries” across Suffolk County.

“Service on those lines is going really well,” he said. “It’s time to expand it. Unfortunately we are asking riders for a little more. I hate to see rates go up. But riders are already paying that on the East End.”

Mr. Schneiderman said he hopes that eventually, the county will be able to secure state or federal funds to expand service further.

Tomorrow’s public hearing will take place from 3 to 7 p.m. at the county center in Riverside. It follows a hearing also taking place today in Hauppauge from 3 to 7 p.m.