Students Get Free NICE Rides to Campus

Pictured: Dean of Students Felipe Henao at the press conference announcing a new program offering free bus passes to New York Tech students for travel on the NICE bus.

New York Tech students commuting to the Long Island campus can take advantage of a new program offering free bus passes for travel on the Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) bus. Through a recently established New York Tech-NICE partnership, initiated by Registrar Kristen Smith, Ed.D., and administered through the United Way of Long Island, students are now eligible for up to 20 MetroCards (good for two trips each), which can be used for bus travel on Long Island through March 2022.

On April 28, New York Tech Dean of Students Felipe Henao, M.A., and College of Engineering and Computing Sciences student Anvay Gumaste joined Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, Transdev (operator of NICE Bus), and the United Way of Long Island at a press conference at NICE headquarters in Garden City, N.Y., to unveil the Everyone Rides NICE. The program, in its second iteration, is providing 70,000 free rides to members of 22 charitable and nonprofit organizations and educational institutions, including New York Tech.

New York Tech student Anvay Gumaste thanks Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, NICE, and the United Way for establishing the program.

“For Nassau residents who rely on public transportation, a missed ride is a missed opportunity,” said Curran. “Thank you to NICE bus and United Way for ensuring that qualifying individuals and families continue to have access to vital public transportation during these challenging times.”

Henao noted that “the COVID pandemic has resulted in increased financial stress on many of our students, including those who rely on the NICE bus system to travel to and from campus. As more of New York Tech students are returning to campus after a mostly virtual academic year, there will be a significant need for this type of assistance to help us get back to a new kind of normal.”

Gumaste, a senior majoring in electrical and computer engineering and a peer advisor at New York Tech, thanked Curran, NICE, and the United Way for this critical program, adding, “It will help support our success and make our lives less stressful while we focus on pursuing our degrees.”

Students may apply for the MetroCard bus passes online and may receive one set of 20 passes between now and March 31, 2022. The initiative will become one of the benefits offered through the Bear Bytes: Healthy Eating and Student Support Program.