The Alternative Commute

By Drew Scott

  "This is the way to go!"

  That was the comment transit bus commuter Gary Davis of Roslyn. His bus pulled out Thursday morning from Christopher Morley Park and headed toward Manhattan with me and camera in tow. 

The new bus service is called "Long Island Transit". Passengers told me they pay a flat monthly fee of $199 to get daily service in and out of midtown, they never need to buy an extra MetroCard and never need to make subway connections because they get off in the middle of the city.

There's also a cost saving compared to riding the LIRR. A monthly ticket on the train from Roslyn including a MetroCard is $292. Passengers tell me compared to their $199 bus ticket, they're saving $93 monthly! Plus, the commute time is nearly the same amount of time, 1 hour and 10 minutes to Sixth Avenue and 50th street.

In addition to commuter buses, there are car pools organized by individuals and Long Island commuter groups. Riders could make a monthly shared commute for about $200, again $92 less than the train and subway ticket.

Another commuter service starting up again is the Glen Cove to New York City ferry. Much of the start up funds were provided by the Obama Administration's economic stimulus money. Time to Manhattan from Glen Cove just 55 minutes!

Many commuters tell me when the MTA raises bus and rail fares by double digits in June, they'll be planning alternative ways to get to the city.  

Comments

[John]

Unfortunately, the LI Transit bus doesn't do much good for the casual rider, but it's a start. I also await the ferry, and hope that Port Jefferson will join in on that.

Honestly, anything would be better than the MTA. I made the mistake of watching the "debate" yesterday, and I'm disgusted with their disregard for their customers and complete disinterest in the fact that they CAUSED the problem in the first place, instead blaming Albany for not handing them big sacks of cash.