Suffolk County Transit on arvau

Wikipedia / Suffolk County Transit

Suffolk County Transit (SCT) is the public transit bus system of Suffolk County, New York, on Long Island, 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 previously provided such services on their own. While the physical maintenance and operation of the buses continue to be provided by these contractors, 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 SCT. 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 County Transit and Nassau Inter-County Express, transfers can be made between HART and SCT. In addition, the village of Patchogue previously had its own local bus service, but discontinued it.

History

Predecessors

Prior to the formation of Suffolk County Transit in 1980, public bus services within Suffolk County were provided by private operators. These included the Bornscheuer Bus Company, which served Amityville, Copiague, Lindenhurst, West Babylon, and Babylon. An affiliated company – EBT, Inc. (an affiliate of school bus company Educational Bus Transportation, Inc.) – continues to operate several of these routes under contract with Suffolk County Transit.

In Central Suffolk, the East Patchogue-based Louis A. Fuoco Bus Line (1962–1992) served Patchogue, East Patchogue, Hagerman, Bellport, South Haven, Mastic, Mastic Beach, Port Jefferson, Medford, Coram, Ridge, Calverton, and Riverhead; it continued to exist during early years of Suffolk County Transit. Additionally, although Coram Bus Service (1958–1992) primarily operated school buses, that company began operating mass transit routes in the Town of Brookhaven towards locations as far west as Commack and East Northport, and as far east as Riverhead.

In Western Suffolk and on the North Shore, the Huntington Coach Corporation (1927–present) served Huntington, East Farmingdale, Melville, and Halesite. Quinn's Bus Lines (and later Coram Bus Service, after the two merged in 1969) mainly served the area between Port Jefferson and Wading River – especially after the demise of the Wading River Extension of the Port Jefferson Branch.

In the western parts of the Town of Islip, Suffolk Bus Corporation (1946–present) served Bay Shore, Brentwood, West Brentwood, Central Islip, Islip, and Babylon; it continues to operate several of these routes under contract with Suffolk County Transit.

On the East End, Sunrise Coach Lines (1946–present) served Greenport, Riverhead, Southampton, Sag Harbor, and East Hampton; it continues to operate several of these routes under contract with joint venture Twin Forks Transit for the routes they originally operated for Suffolk County Transit. In 2006, Sunrise Coach's EXPRESS Routes were purchased by Hampton Jitney. This joint venture was discontinued on October 29, 2023, as the discontinuation of the S92 – which had been co-operated by Sunrise and Hampton Jitney – rendered it obsolete.

Utility Lines – a Bee Line, Inc. subsidiary – ran from Patchogue via Montauk Highway, thence Merrick Road into Nassau County. This line was merged into the Metropolitan Suburban Bus Authority (MSBA) in 1973, but funding and service disputes lead to the splitting of that route between the N19 west of Babylon and S40 east of Babylon.

Inter-County Motor Coach Incorporated – based in the Village of Babylon – has been operating since 1922. Affiliated companies included Babylon Transit (operating from 1937 until around 1986), and Lindenhurst Bus Company (which operated from 1952 to 1986) – both companies running in their final years under contract with Suffolk County Transit.

Alert Coach, an affiliate of Baumann & Sons Buses, Incorporated, and Acme Bus Corporation began on November 30, 1966, and had at least four lines within the county, which included a troubled history with the Suffolk portion of the old Utility Lines bus.

Suffolk County Transit (1980–present)

Suffolk County Transit was established in 1980, as the consolidation of the various private bus companies – several of which would become contractors for the county and its new bus services – that predated the agency and previously operated the bus services independently.

During his tenure as Suffolk County executive, Steve Levy proposed a takeover of Suffolk County Transit by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

In 2011, the Suffolk County Legislature authorized a fare hike from $1.50 to $2.00 on the S92 and 10C routes only. In return, service on those two routes was expanded to Sunday during the summer months. The fare hike took place on June 17, 2011, with Sunday service operating from July until September.

In 2023, Suffolk County Transit released their redesign plan for routes, as part of its "Reimagine Transit" initiative. This redesign was supposed to go into effect on October 1, 2023, but was postponed until the end of that month. Because of this, NICE bus made a change to weekend service on the bus route in September 2023, to provide a connection to the timed transfer point at Amityville from the Sunrise Mall in Nassau County, where both the n71 and S20 (now route 2) previously terminated.

On October 29, 2023, the redesigned network's new services went into effect. All new routes, maps, and schedules were posted on the agency's website – and the "S" route prefix was eliminated on all bus routes and their designations.

Fare

The current Suffolk County Transit base fare for most one-way local bus travel is $2.25. For seniors, veterans, and disabled people, the base fare is $0.75; personal care attendants (PCA) may ride for free when traveling with seniors or disabled people. Students with school-issued identification pay a reduced fare of $1.25. Undergraduate students of Stony Brook University – which prepays for the rides at the start of the school year so that it does not have to run its own buses – may ride to the Smith Haven Mall on Route 51 for free on weekends, with a valid SBU ID. Children under five years of age are free, with a limit of three children for every paying adult.

Fare payment is conducted with Suffolk Transit bus tokens, coins or paper currency, or via the FastFare app. If excess fare is paid, a paper card is issued with the difference in balance. Bus transferss cost an additional $0.25, and must be requested and paid for upon boarding the bus. These transfers are valid for two hours after issue and can be used on Suffolk County Transit connecting routes, Huntington Area Rapid Transit (HART) or to Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) connecting routes. Transfers from SCT to NICE require payment of an additional $0.25 "step-up" fare, while transferring from NICE to SCT does not.

Operations

Bus service hours

Suffolk Transit bus service operates seven days a week. All routes run Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturdays 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sundays 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. with a few exceptions on weekdays where some routes start around 5 a.m. and others end service right before 12 midnight.

On weekdays, routes 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 17, 51, 52 (between Central Islip and Selden, and the Gordon Heights terminus), and 66 operate every 30 minutes on weekdays until 6 p.m., with route 17 until 7 p.m., and route 1 until 8 p.m. When both are running, route 77 (regular daily service) – along with the 77Y (weekday peak hours) – operate alternately every 30 minutes between Patchogue and Sunshine Square. Past Sunshine Square, there is 60-minute service on both the 77 and the 77Y.

Routes 3, 10, 15, 53, 55, 56, 58, 62, 80, and 92 operate every 60 minutes on weekdays at all times. Route 110 operates in directional 60-minute peak service only, and routes 52A/B run every 60 minutes on weekdays between Selden and Gordon Heights.

On weekends and holidays, all routes operate every 60 minutes.

Routes 52B, 56, 77Y, and 110 operate weekdays only.

Routes 77Y and 110 operate during peak hours only.

Route 56 operates mid-morning until mid-afternoon only.

Route 15 operates only during daytime in the summer.

SCT now runs on all 365 days of the year, including holidays.

Route assignments

Rather than operate its services in-house like many other 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 and their assignments as of June 3, 2024. It does not include Suffolk County Accessible Transportation (SCAT) paratransit service, which is solely operated by Suffolk Bus Corporation.Note: EBT Inc. is the operator of Suffolk County Transit Buses, and is the sister company of Educational Bus Transportation (a school bus company).

Note: As of October 29, 2023, Twin Forks Transit has been split into separate operations by Sunrise Coach Lines and Hampton Jitney, as route 92 is no longer co-operated by Sunrise and Hampton Jitney.

Fleet

Current bus fleet

Routes

Effective October 29, 2023, the Suffolk County Transit Redesign removed the "S" prefix from all routes.

Suffolk County Accessible Transportation

Suffolk County Accessible Transportation (SCAT) is Suffolk County Transit's federally mandated paratransit service for ADA-eligible passengers with disabilities.

Overview

SCAT service is available Monday through Friday, 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM, Saturday 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM, and Sunday 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM. The fare for an ADA eligible rider is $4.00. When that rider is accompanied by a personal care attendant (PCA), that PCA does not pay a fare, but must have the same origin and destination as the rider. If riders choose to travel with companions not a PCA, that person must pay the fare of $4.00.