Nassau County has agreed to renew for seven years its multi-year contract with Transdev to operate and maintain its bus service, the Nassau Inter-County Express or NICE Bus, from January 1, 2024. After a competitive bidding process was completed in January of this year, it was once again Transdev North America, whose initial contract began in 2012, that was awarded the bus transit system contract. The new agreement is worth almost $1.3 billion over its entire duration, until 2030.
In Nassau County, which stretches over 453 square miles on the western part of Long Island, the NICE Bus network includes 2,500 stops, providing residents bordering New York City with easy access to major subway, rail stations and bus hubs.
Transdev’s responsibilities not only include the operations and maintenance of the contract, but also encompass FTA compliance, marketing, HR, finance, procurement, ADA eligibility certification, reservations, customer service, scheduling and dispatching. The company oversees more than 850 employees and manages Nassau County’s fixed bus route service with 280+ buses, along with its paratransit services with a fleet of 100+ vehicles, providing approximately 300,000 trips per year.
“We appreciate the confidence and trust Nassau County has extended to us to provide innovative transit solutions to the surrounding communities,” said Jack Khzouz, CEO of NICE Bus. “Over the years, our partnership has also supported Nassau County’s commitment to remain fiscally responsible by saving the county more than $350M since we took over the contract in 2012.”
“Our strong commitment to the people of Nassau County was recognized through this contract renewal, ” said Laura Hendricks, CEO for Chicago-based Transdev U.S. “We are proud to connect people to the places they care about, through a safe and reliable service.”
NICE Bus relies on the work and commitment of 850 employees and manages the operations of 280 buses assigned to fixed routes and a fleet of over 100 vehicles dedicated to adapted transport for people with reduced mobility (with ADA – Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 – eligibility certification). In all, more than 300,000 journeys are made every year.
“We are strengthening ever more our activities in North America,” said Thierry Mallet, Chairman and CEO of Transdev, which is based in France. “Since the acquisition of First Transit last March, Transdev has become the leading public transportation operator in the United States and Canada. In the two largest countries in the Americas, we are meeting the needs of every local authority, with the key challenge to render mobility accessible to the majority of people. We will be transporting nearly 400 million passengers a year. At the same time, we are supporting transit authorities in their energy transition, through the increasing deployment of vehicles with an ever reduced carbon footprint.”
