Purchased Buses Sit Idle, Awaiting Paperwork

Andrea Klein and some of her fellow Monsey Trails commuters have been wondering about the three new buses they were supposed to be riding in by now.

The 53-seat coaches, each costing $483,409, were delivered in late November but have been sitting in a Monsey garage ever since because the seller hasn't sent in crucial paperwork required to get them on the road. Because the county purchased the buses for Monsey Trails and Coach USA with federal and state transportation funds, it must verify through an audit that 60 percent of the buses' parts were assembled in the United States.

"It's a formality, but unfortunately, it's a big formality," said Susan Meyer, who is Rockland County's spokeswoman for planning and public transportation. So until the bus manufacturer, Motor Coach Industries, provides the necessary paperwork to comply with the federal Buy America audit, they can't go anywhere.

Klein said Monsey Trails riders have been hearing about the new buses, but thought maybe there was a problem getting them registered or licensed by the state. "People are curious," she said. "The schedules were changed to accommodate the new buses and the new buses are not out."