The county’s magic bus

The Ink rides with Move Sullivan

By Zoey McGee | Manor Ink

Sullivan County, NY – About three years ago, Sullivan County gained a service that changed lives for people that had no access to a car.

Our county once lacked a reliable form of public transportation. But the Move Sullivan bus service has changed that. It has improved people’s lives, as now there is an easier, and free, way to run errands, go to work, attend doctor appointments, or just get out of the house.

Laura Quigley, director of the Sullivan County Workforce Development Board, was an advocate of the bus service idea. Manor Ink had a chance to speak with her about Move Sullivan.

“Everything started in 2017, when Resorts World and the Kartrite Waterpark were coming, and they were bringing with them a couple thousand jobs,” Quigley explained. “There was a job fair, and people were getting job offers, but couldn’t get there because of transportation issues. This was brought to the County Legislature’s attention, and they asked us to put together a comprehensive transportation plan.” This led to the launch of Move Sullivan in August 2019.

“We started with two routes which would go through the three big towns – Liberty, Monticello and Fallsburg,” Quigley said. “One would go one way, and the other would go the other way, just to get started.” These are the current Routes A and B.

“And then I worked on an expansion,” she said. The first route addition went further into Liberty near BOCES, and through Swan Lake and Monguap Valley. This is Route C. The other expansion went through Wurtsboro and then Bloomingburg because of the increasing population there and the need to connect the hamlets to the rest of the county. This is currently Route D. Both routes began running in September 2022.

Ways to increase service

Each route is roughly 60 miles, and each route loop runs six times a day. The buses start around 5:30 a.m. and run until about 6 p.m.

A common complaint from riders is that the service is not offered on weekends. “We are looking at that, but it’s very expensive,” said Quigley “The four routes right now cost about $4.2 million a year. Between state and federal reimbursements, we only get about half that amount back.” She added, “So it’s very expensive, and so we have to balance whether we expand existing routes in terms of days and hours, or expand in terms of geography.”

Quigley said that the county is working on a plan for expanding the service area. She mentioned an idea that smaller buses might travel to less populated areas of Sullivan County, like Livingston Manor and Roscoe, to pick up the passengers and bring them to one of the four main routes where they would then transfer to another bus. “I have a lot of people calling me, asking ‘When are you coming out here?’ So this could be a possible a solution.”

Quigley revealed that every day an average of 266 passengers use Move Sullivan’s service, and that the county is “thrilled about that number.”

Getting on the bus

In mid-March, Manor Ink had an opportunity to ride the Route A bus loop, a trip which lasted for two hours. The day was slow, due to a massive snowstorm the day before; only nine people rode the bus within that time. But the passengers the Ink spoke with were pleased with the service and drivers.

Patrick Beatty, who was on his way to work, described Move Sullivan as a “much-needed service.” Beatty, as well as everyone else, appreciated that it is now free to ride, though the fare was originally two dollars. Other passengers mentioned that they would like the service to expand to later hours, and also be available on weekends.

The bus driver, Elvin Harris, was very friendly to all the passengers. Harris has been driving for Move Sullivan since its inception because he works for Rolling V, the Sullivan County company that provides the buses.

Harris’s shift is six hours, driving three complete routes. He told us the routes usually carry from 15 people to as many as 60 on some days, and that Fridays are the busiest days, followed by Mondays. The first of the month always has heavy ridership as well, as people are going out to cash SSI and Disability checks.

Harris enjoys getting to know his passengers well, because he has many regulars. He used to have an older couple ride every day to Walmart, just so they could go and get coffee together. He also had another lady go almost daily to the different libraries around Sullivan County. Harris added that he is allowed to pick up or discharge riders between stops so long as he has a safe place to do so. Rolling V, though, stresses that drivers keep to the schedule in order to provide a reliable service.

The Ink asked Harris if he had any unusual experiences. He said that one day, as he was letting a couple off near Key Bank in Liberty, he said to the man exiting the bus, “Have a nice day.” The man replied, “I will if this goes right.” “Not long after, I learned the man tried to rob the bank! He got about four minutes away and was caught,” said Harris, laughing. “Of course, I got a big ribbing that I was an accessory to the crime – heck, I’m not even sure the guy’s girlfriend knew what he was about to do.”

Aside from that, Harris has had few problems with passengers. “If you are nice and do your job well, people will respect and trust you,” he said.