Hampton Jitney, a popular bus company that transports New Yorkers to and from the Hamptons, has warned that it may be forced to increase ticket prices if New York City’s impending congestion pricing goes into effect.
Under the city’s fee proposal, private bus companies would pay twice as much to shuttle passengers from Manhattan to the Hamptons and the North Fork of Long Island, according to an email sent to passengers on Feb. 25. It is said to become. Obtained by Bloomberg.
“We need help with our ridership,” Hampton Jitney President Jeffrey Lynch wrote in an email, expressing support for the company to get new fee waivers for Hampton Jitney customers. I urged them to do so.
Under congestion pricing, Hampton Jitney buses entering Manhattan south of 60th Street will be charged $24 during peak hours.
Hampton Jitney-branded buses that pass through the Queens Midtown Tunnel (which runs under the East River and ejects vehicles onto 34th Street) have no access to Hampton Jitney-branded buses during the peak hours in question (weekdays from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.). ) will receive a $6 tunnel credit. Open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends.
Still, the Queens Midtown Tunnel also charges a toll, and if you don’t have an E-ZPass registered in New York, that fee can be as high as $11.19.
According to Bloomberg, the soaring tolls on the Hampton Jitney, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, could affect passengers as well.
For reference, Jitney vehicles entered that tunnel approximately 20,000 times in 2023, according to Lynch’s email, according to Bloomberg.
As it stands, the Hampton Jitney costs $40 for a one-way prepaid ticket from New York to the Hamptons, or $47 if purchased on board.
More expensive options to the Hamptons, where many New Yorkers seek refuge in vacation homes, include taking Uber or a helicopter, which can cost as much as $1,000 for a one-way seat, according to Bloomberg.
The Long Island Rail Road also offers trips to affluent seaside destinations for $31.75 for a one-way ticket. Bloomberg reports that it is cheaper than the Hampton Jitney, but runs less frequently.
Representatives for Hampton Jitney did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is expected to spearhead the new fare structure and hold a final vote on the plan as early as next month, Bloomberg reports.
The city’s transit system is not expected to offer exemptions or discounts to Hampton Jitney or other private bus lines, including the popular Megabus subsidiary Coach USA. This year it will carry an estimated 12 million passengers through the congestion zone.
“It’s confusing. It makes no sense,” Dan Rodriguez, Coach USA’s vice president of public affairs, told the Post on Sunday.
The MTA’s congestion pricing plan, scheduled to go into effect in mid-June, will charge one vehicle per day entering Manhattan below 60th Street.
Trucks larger than Hampton Jitney buses will be charged $36 for entering the congestion zone during peak hours, and car drivers will have to collect $15.
If your vehicle’s route on the rideshare app includes a congestion zone during those hours, you will be charged an additional $2.50 per trip.
Transportation officials said the new tax is expected to raise up to $1 billion a year.
The MTA plans to spend $15 billion to modernize and upgrade New York City’s more than 100-year-old transit system, Bloomberg reports.