Hudson Link is a publicly funded commuter bus service. The public cannot see the operating contract, the 2025 RFP and bids, performance reports, or penalty records. We filed a Freedom of Information Law request to change that.
New York's Freedom of Information Law (Public Officers Law Article 6) gives any member of the public the right to request records held by a New York State agency. NYSDOT, as a state agency, is required to respond within five business days and to grant or deny access within twenty. Any denial must cite a specific statutory exemption, and the requester can appeal.
NYSDOT does not publish a public GTFS-Realtime feed for Hudson Link, and it does not publicly post on-time performance, cancellation rates, contract terms, or penalty records.
That is the entire reason Fix Hudson Link exists. The Ghost Bus Tracker on this site is a two-minute scrape of the public Hudson Link website, built by a rider, because the standard open-data feed that every major transit agency in the country already publishes does not exist for Hudson Link.
Scraping tells us what is happening right now. It does not tell us:
That is what a FOIL request can produce. It converts a rider experience into an agency record.
The request covers the Hudson Link service (Route 807 and related routes connecting Rockland and Westchester counties). Contract records go back to January 1, 2023. RFP and bid materials cover the 2025 rebid. Performance reports and correspondence go back to January 1, 2024.
| # | Records requested |
|---|---|
| 1 | Current operating contract. The contract between NYSDOT and Transdev (or any Transdev affiliate) for Hudson Link service, including all amendments, riders, exhibits, schedules, attachments, and task orders in effect from January 1, 2023 to present. |
| 2 | 2025 RFP for the new Hudson Link operator. Including all exhibits, scope-of-work documents, technical specifications, evaluation criteria, and any addenda. |
| 3 | All proposals or bids submitted in response to the 2025 Hudson Link RFP. Proprietary pricing or trade-secret information may be redacted pursuant to Public Officers Law § 87(2)(d). |
| 4 | Scoring rubric and evaluation records. The scoring rubric, evaluation criteria, weighting methodology, and any scoresheets or evaluation-committee notes used to evaluate responses to the 2025 Hudson Link RFP. |
| 5 | Performance reports submitted by Transdev to NYSDOT. Performance reports, service-quality reports, on-time-performance reports, and cancellation reports regarding Hudson Link from January 1, 2024 to present. |
| 6 | Notices of deficiency and penalty records. Any notices of deficiency, cure letters, penalty assessments, or liquidated-damages calculations issued by NYSDOT to Transdev regarding Hudson Link service performance, staffing, or contract compliance from January 1, 2023 to present. |
| 7 | Correspondence between NYSDOT and Transdev. Including email, concerning Hudson Link service reliability, on-time performance, driver staffing, or vehicle cancellations from January 1, 2024 to present. |
The request asks NYSDOT to contact us before proceeding if full production of any category will exceed $50 in duplication fees. If any portion is denied, the request asks NYSDOT to cite the specific statutory basis per Public Officers Law § 89(4)(a).
Submission was sent through the NYSDOT FOIL portal at dot.ny.gov/foil. Updates will be posted here as the request moves through acknowledgment, determination, and any appeal.
Any denial must cite a specific statutory exemption under POL § 87(2) and include instructions for administrative appeal. If that happens, the Committee on Open Government (opengovernment.ny.gov) provides free guidance on FOIL appeals, and we'll post the denial and the appeal here.
NYSDOT is rebidding the Hudson Link operator contract right now. The records in this FOIL request should not be the only way the public learns whether the service is meeting its obligations. A public GTFS-Realtime feed, published quarterly performance reports by route, and transparent penalty records should be baseline requirements in the next contract. The FOIL request is how we make that case with official agency records rather than rider-built scrapes.
If you are working on Hudson Link reliability or commuter transit accountability in New York State, the request letter and the response (once received) are available on request. Email carleyjhart@gmail.com.