'Free Ride' Offers Transportation Alternative in the Hamptons

As the old expression goes, in life there are no free lunches -- but in East Hampton, there may soon be a free ride to the beach.

Alexander Esposito, James Mirras, and Jaymes Westfall, who will all turn 24 next month, have a groundbreaking plan to revolutionize the transportation system in East Hampton Town forever.

On Memorial Day, they plan to kick off an initiative that will provide visitors and residents of East Hampton, Amagansett, and Montauk with a free, eco-friendly, 100 percent electric shuttle service to and from key locations in the area, including the train station and the beach.

Free is key, said Esposito. “Free is the future of business,” he said.

Esposito explained the three partners, who have been friends since they met in East Hampton High School, have “bounced around” the idea of a shuttle service in East Hampton that would provide rides to and from the long-term parking lot.

A few years later, Esposito read a book about the future of business, “how everything is free nowadays,” a concept that ignited when Gillette began offering free razors as a marketing tool to sell blades.

With businesses giving away goodies to consumers without cost and generating profits through advertising, the idea of providing free transportation on the tony East End was born – and plans for Hamptons Free Ride began to materialize.

Incorporated as Jamjem, Hamptons Free Ride will offer fully electric, six-passenger Chrysler GEM cars, model E6, to transport individuals to and from beaches, businesses, village centers, bus stops and train stations.

The service, he said, will facilitate beach goers who want to grab some lunch in the village without losing their parking spot – or those who may not have a parking sticker but still want to spend a day on the beach. And, Esposito said, the shuttle puts an end to traffic frustration. Hamptons traffic, he said, “is insane. Not to mention congestion. It’s horrible for the environment.”

Multiple television screens inside the vehicles, brochures distributed inside, and advertising on the outside of the cars will provide advertiser's promotional opportunities.

In addition, a QR code campaign – or a quick reference code - -will enable passengers to scan their cell phones inside the vehicle to reference websites of various companies and advertisers. Both local and corporate advertisers will be featured, Esposito said.

The cars are coming with the summer crowds, launching on Memorial Day and running through Labor Day. “Our realistic goal is to have nine cars on the road,” he said. “We would like to offer as many as we can, and the area would permit.”

Once sponsors are onboard, the goal is to expand to other areas on the East End and possibly heading south in the winter.

The idea has generated excitement: “Hamptons Free Ride represents a bold approach to making the Hamptons experience better for everyone. If they do, as we hope, expand their operation to Southampton Town it will promote more shopping, dining and easy access to off-beach leisure activities and could be obviously quite beneficial to the overall business community,” Hank Beck, chair of the Hamptons Visitors Council, said.

The electric vehicles would run approximately 10 hours a day and need about an hour each to recharge. “Introducing the electrical side created a logistical hurdle,” Esposito said; charging and parking stations will be located outside the village.

Electric cars, Esposito said, promise benefits for passengers and municipalities. “It just makes sense. We, as a society, are headed in that direction. This helps alleviate fuel costs, helps the environment and provides free transportation. It’s a win-win.”

Concerns about “push back” from taxi companies are unwarranted, Esposito added. “We won’t be deviating from our fixed loops at all. This is a key point – we’re not operating as a normal for hire transportation service. Our goal here is not to ruffle the feathers of taxi companies.”

The trio has met with town attorney John Jilnicki and will go before the town board with their proposal soon. The town code, like that in the village, requires taxis to be licensed.