Exclusive: Rockland County Electeds Driven to Expand TOR
by M.C. Millman
The Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of Planning and Public Transportation met with Rockland elected officials to discuss upgrades to the TOR Bus Service.
The conversation included the pressing need to expand the county bus service routes to include Chestnut Ridge, Airmont, and Montebello. Additional dialogue included the request to add a GPS tracking and delay notification system to the currently active routes so riders can know where the bus is at any given time and plan accordingly. The tracking system would be available both as an app and as a telephone info-line.
"The commissioners were very receptive to what we asked of them," Rockland County Legislator Joel Friedman shares exclusively with Rockland Daily, "and gave us instructions on how to start the process of requesting additional routes, which includes doing a survey with the local residents to see the transportation needs and work towards a solution to the satisfaction of the residents."
"I have been pushing for expanding public transport for years," Rockland County Legislator Aron Wieder tells Rockland Daily. "Hopefully, the county will be willing to listen to the resident's request this time and be open to these changes. Real-time tracking is the first step, and we are hopeful that the county will have the requested tracking system soon."
The meeting was attended by Rockland County Legislators Joel Friedman and Aron Wieder, Village of Chestnut Ridge Deputy Mayor Chaim Rose; Department of Public Transportation's Douglas Scheutz, Rockland County Acting Commissioner of the Department of Planning for the Department of Public Transportation; Michael D'Angelo, Deputy Commissioner Director of Administration and Research; John Lyon, Chief of Staff for the Office of the County Executive; and Steve Powers, Director of Public Policy and Intergovernmental Relations.