Sunday Bus Ridership Making Gains

Two years after securing funds to offer Sunday bus service on the East End, Legis. Jay Schneiderman – the South Fork legislator who helped get the service implemented in full – said that ridership is up year-over-year, after comparing numbers so far this year with last summer's first full season of service.

“The noticeable jump in Sunday bus ridership speaks to the strength of the East End economy and the need forSunday service,” said Legis. Schneiderman, I-Montuak.  “I don’t know how we managed to go so many years without public transportation seven days a week."

Though the sample size is small at this point, the chair of the Public Works and Transportation Committee said what he's seen so far affirms what he and others had thought all along: that the East End's summer, tourist-driven economy has evolved long past the days of sleepy Sundays, and many without cars need the service to at least get to and from their jobs.

"Businesses need workers and workers need affordable public transportation to get to work," he said. "The new numbers really show the demand.”
The first Sunday bus leaves Greenport at 6:15 a.m. and arrives at the East Hampton railroad station at 8:15 a.m. The last bus leaves East Hampton at 5:40 p.m. and ends its run in Greenport at 7:40 p.m. 

Numbers provided by Schneiderman report the following: on the S92 route, which loops around from Orient Point to East Hampton, riders between 2012 and 2013 increased from 245 to 374 on the Sunday before Memorial Day, from 415 to 498 on Memorial Day, from 386 to 539 on the first Sunday in June, and from 415 to 607 on the second Sunday in June.

The 10C route, which shuttles between East Hampton and Montauk, saw gains as well: numbers grew from 36 to 42 on the Sunday before Memorial Day, from 45 to 71 on Memorial Day, from 38 to 71 on the first Sunday in June, and from 73 to 77 on the second Sunday in June. 

Fares were originally increased from $1.50 to $2 in 2011 – an increase the previous county executive said was too much – and on the East End, currently stands at $2.25 to account for the extra service. The five western towns in Suffolk do not currently receive Sunday service, though that could change.

Suffolk officials are working to expand Sunday bus service throughout the county. Over $1 million in state funding is being reserved for further routes, though an exact plan remains in the works.