Bus service to Rockville Centre's Mercy Medical Center restored

For the first time in more than 18 months, Mercy Medical Center patients, visitors, staff and volunteers who depend on public transportation once again have direct access to the hospital by bus.

Service on the N17 line, connecting the Hempstead Transit Center and the Rockville Centre Long Island Railroad station, with a stop at Mercy on North Village Avenue, was resumed by the Nassau Inter-County Express, NICE, on April 9.It had been suspended as part of a series of cutbacks in 2010 by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operated Nassau County’s bus system at the time.

Led by Sister Mary Alice Aschenbach, vice president of Pastoral Care, the hospital’s administration had joined in extensive community efforts to maintain the service. They found support for restoring the route from Veolia Transportation which, on Jan. 1, under contract with Nassau County, assumed day-to-day operations of the newly established NICE system.

“Those most affected by the loss of bus service to Mercy were pregnant women and their children who utilize the hospital’s Women and Children’s Outpatient Center,” Sister Mary Alice said. “It has been a significant hardship for them to be without the bus, and both they and the hospital are most grateful to Veolia Transportation for restoring the service. Mike Setzer, NICE’s CEO, Rahul Kumar, vice president of business development, and others from the company took the time to meet with us to hear our concerns. They were instrumental in having this vital service restored, and we commend them for their responsiveness to our needs.”

Visit www.nicebus.com for routes and schedules.