MTR 315, Rail Station Shuttles for Long Island Get a Start in Islip

Issue 315

April 30, 2001

Rail Station Shuttles for Long Island Get a Start in Islip

Last week, Suffolk Transportation Inc. announced the launch of a new rush hour station shuttle service for Long Island Railroad commuters in Central Islip. The door-to-door service will deliver train commuters to the station in the morning and from the station to home at night. Established by the Town of Islip and the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, the Central Islip Railroad Jitney Service is funded by a grant from the NY State Department of Transportation. The service is intended as a pilot project that will promote shuttles for other Long Island towns and villages.

"The institution of jitney service will make it easier for the people of Central Islip to get around," said Islip Town Supervisor Pete McGowan. "It gives commuters another option and an example of how different levels of government can cooperate with the private sector."

"By signing up for the jitney, Central Islip commuters can do something better with their morning than looking for a parking space. At the same time, they will be reducing pollution and congestion," said Tri-State Campaign Long Island coordinator Chris Hewitt.

The Maplewood jitney drops off morning passengers at the NJTransit train station

According to LIRR data, 1,200 rail commuters now vie for 650 Central Islip parking spaces. Although a significant portion of LIRR commuters live within 1½ miles of the station, 60-75% drive and park. For more about the shuttle, visit www.suffolkbus.com/jitney.html
In early 1998, the Campaign helped to launch a rail station shuttle in Maplewood, NJ. Today, the Maplewood jitney picks up 200 NJTransit passengers - 12% of the town's ridership - along two full routes. A survey found that 45% of jitney customers previously drove to the station and that half had moved to the Maplewood area in the last two years, citing the jitney as a factor.
The success of the Maplewood program led congressmen from NJ to obtain a $6 million in earmarks to fund station jitneys and other NJ Transit station improvements. This allowed NJTransit to begin a state-wide Community Shuttle Program in Fall, 1999. Under the Program, rail station communities can apply for grants of $70,000 to purchase mini-buses and up to $30,000 annually in operating assistance. NJTransit has already awarded twenty grants to sixteen towns and expects to award twenty more grants this year.